I might get long winded here, but I am so upset and I hope someone can help guide me in the right direction! We bought a 2001 Prowler 25' tongue pull in July from a friend. We paid $4500 for it, which I still believe was a great price...we have only used it twice since then and had a trip planned coming up in December. Went to check on the camper today (parked at parent's house). My Mom goes out and opens the windows to air it out every couple days for us, and today she went out and found MOLD EVERYWHERE...we have had quiet a bit of good rains latley and it's obvious the roof has leaked and water has traveled (through the ceiling??) from one end of the camper to the other. There is water between the ceiling and the roof and dripping out of the cabinets over the front bed. EVERYTHING is wet and mold has started to grow on every single thing in the camper, beds, blankets, kitchen cabinets, the carpet..you get the picture. The ONLY RV place close to home is closed until Monday, so we can't get any "direction" until then. I have been sick all day, crying like a baby, scared to death of what they are going to tell us. In the more experienced opinion of you guys, I HOPE you can help me out here. We are young and have young kids, this is our first camper and we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Any idea what repair costs on something like this might cost us? With out a doubt the entire roof and the beds are going to have to be replaced and I'm thinking probably the cabinets. I know I am in for it, BIG TIME, but are we talking thousands or TENS of thousands? I am afraid it may cost more than we paid and if so...I just don't know what to do....HELP! Thanks in advance!
HELP...we have mold!!!
- Thread starter rhodesk75
- Start date
TexasClodhopper
Senior Member
Re: HELP...we have mold!!!
Kim, simmer down there! You won't help your problems out by worrying yourself sick about them.
Be practical and analyze the situation.
Think the problem through, write down the possible scenarios and propose a solution for each path that you can imagine.
Start thinking about how much in dollars would a repair have to cost to make it not worth it to you.
At the very worst, you lose your $4,500 initial investment and gain a lot of experience.
One scenario is that you find and fix the leak, open it up and let it dry out and clean it up.
Also, don't just let it sit out in the rain with a leak. Get it covered up before things get worse.
Just think, now you know where to go for a second opinion when you find out what needs to be done. Right here!
Kim, simmer down there! You won't help your problems out by worrying yourself sick about them.
Be practical and analyze the situation.
Think the problem through, write down the possible scenarios and propose a solution for each path that you can imagine.
Start thinking about how much in dollars would a repair have to cost to make it not worth it to you.
At the very worst, you lose your $4,500 initial investment and gain a lot of experience.
One scenario is that you find and fix the leak, open it up and let it dry out and clean it up.
Also, don't just let it sit out in the rain with a leak. Get it covered up before things get worse.
Just think, now you know where to go for a second opinion when you find out what needs to be done. Right here!
Re: HELP...we have mold!!!
I'm going to be very optimistic here. Most important is to cover the roof and clean and dry everything . If after a good inspection of the roof area reveals nothing obvious is it possible that more than a couple of days elapsed between opening up and airing out? If it rained and was nasty outside like you said and if all the windows and vents were closed tight theres a possibility that the inside of the unit produced its own rain forest. RV's must have air circulation inside or they will sweat leading you to think thare is more serious problem. Good luck.
I'm going to be very optimistic here. Most important is to cover the roof and clean and dry everything . If after a good inspection of the roof area reveals nothing obvious is it possible that more than a couple of days elapsed between opening up and airing out? If it rained and was nasty outside like you said and if all the windows and vents were closed tight theres a possibility that the inside of the unit produced its own rain forest. RV's must have air circulation inside or they will sweat leading you to think thare is more serious problem. Good luck.
Grandview Trailer Sa
Senior Member
Re: HELP...we have mold!!!
Sorry, but you have a roof leak. RV's don't act like rainforests. I would suggest you put in a dehumidifier and get it dry as soon as possible. Of course, you need to stop the water from getting in also.
Sorry, but you have a roof leak. RV's don't act like rainforests. I would suggest you put in a dehumidifier and get it dry as soon as possible. Of course, you need to stop the water from getting in also.
Re: HELP...we have mold!!!
Thanks guys...we went over today and found he "culprit". The sky light over the bathroom shower leaked and water ran from the bathroom all the way to the front of the camper through the ceiling. Also, the bunks beds beside the bathroom were soaked and the side wall is rotted. We pulled out the bunkbeds and the ENTIRE master bedroom....bed, all cabinets, drawers, carpet, etc. The ceiling in the master is were the most damage is at. THANK GOD the beams and structure aren't wet. It's only the ceiling "paneling" (?) and the insulation. In the front right corner there is some wood that will need to be replaced, but otherwise I think we are pretty lucky. Another week or so in that condition would have required us to rip the whole ceiling out I'm sure. There is one semi-soft spot in the floor that concerns me, otherwise it seems to be ok. We pulled out all the wet stuff and put a high-powered shop fan on the wet corner in the ceiling. We covered the roof with a tarp (it IS forecast to rain here tonight), contacted a friend that does carpentery work on the side to help rebuild everything we pulled out. We have even talked about changing a few things around from the original design since we are essentially starting out with a blank slate in the master! I am budgeting approx. $2000 for the repairs. I am HOPING to get the roof professionaly replaced/repaired out of that same budget. I feel like we got a fair enough deal on the camper by paying only $4500. If we invest another $2000, that brings us darn close to the value of the camper. If we can get it fixed up good enough to last us another year, maybe two, i will be happy. We bought it with the intention of it being a STARTER RV!! Boy, we sure got broke in quickly! On the way home, we stopped and looked at a COVERED storage space for lease and will be pulling it there very soon! Thanks to all you guys that helped calm me down.....since I didn't get much sleep last night, and we have been gutting the camper all day, I think I am going to call it a night! I am sure once the repairs ACTUALLY BEGIN I will be back for more info. Thank GOODNESS for this forum! Until next time........-Kim
Thanks guys...we went over today and found he "culprit". The sky light over the bathroom shower leaked and water ran from the bathroom all the way to the front of the camper through the ceiling. Also, the bunks beds beside the bathroom were soaked and the side wall is rotted. We pulled out the bunkbeds and the ENTIRE master bedroom....bed, all cabinets, drawers, carpet, etc. The ceiling in the master is were the most damage is at. THANK GOD the beams and structure aren't wet. It's only the ceiling "paneling" (?) and the insulation. In the front right corner there is some wood that will need to be replaced, but otherwise I think we are pretty lucky. Another week or so in that condition would have required us to rip the whole ceiling out I'm sure. There is one semi-soft spot in the floor that concerns me, otherwise it seems to be ok. We pulled out all the wet stuff and put a high-powered shop fan on the wet corner in the ceiling. We covered the roof with a tarp (it IS forecast to rain here tonight), contacted a friend that does carpentery work on the side to help rebuild everything we pulled out. We have even talked about changing a few things around from the original design since we are essentially starting out with a blank slate in the master! I am budgeting approx. $2000 for the repairs. I am HOPING to get the roof professionaly replaced/repaired out of that same budget. I feel like we got a fair enough deal on the camper by paying only $4500. If we invest another $2000, that brings us darn close to the value of the camper. If we can get it fixed up good enough to last us another year, maybe two, i will be happy. We bought it with the intention of it being a STARTER RV!! Boy, we sure got broke in quickly! On the way home, we stopped and looked at a COVERED storage space for lease and will be pulling it there very soon! Thanks to all you guys that helped calm me down.....since I didn't get much sleep last night, and we have been gutting the camper all day, I think I am going to call it a night! I am sure once the repairs ACTUALLY BEGIN I will be back for more info. Thank GOODNESS for this forum! Until next time........-Kim
TexasClodhopper
Senior Member
Re: HELP...we have mold!!!
You are doing just about what any of us would do in that situation.
Just make sure you don't cut any corners with sealing the leak(s) and don't ASSUME you have found the ONLY leak. Look elsewhere also.
You are doing just about what any of us would do in that situation.
Just make sure you don't cut any corners with sealing the leak(s) and don't ASSUME you have found the ONLY leak. Look elsewhere also.
Re: HELP...we have mold!!!
What Tex said. Also you probably need to wipe down all the walls with a chlorox bleach to kill the mold you have found. Hope it all works
out for you.
How much of an area of the roof is bad ? If its not a lot, you could consider doing this yourself. I separated the rubber roof on my damon from the front cap to find the 1/4 in "gap" that was installed at the factory. I pulled it back far enough to replace the old wood, filled void areas with a product called "Great Stuff" from one of the box stores, pulled the rubber back over it all and used a product called "eternabond" to cover the gap between the rubber and the front cap. No more leaks. Cost under $100. Just be patient while doing the work. If you have it covered it makes it easier to work on.
cheers
What Tex said. Also you probably need to wipe down all the walls with a chlorox bleach to kill the mold you have found. Hope it all works
out for you.
How much of an area of the roof is bad ? If its not a lot, you could consider doing this yourself. I separated the rubber roof on my damon from the front cap to find the 1/4 in "gap" that was installed at the factory. I pulled it back far enough to replace the old wood, filled void areas with a product called "Great Stuff" from one of the box stores, pulled the rubber back over it all and used a product called "eternabond" to cover the gap between the rubber and the front cap. No more leaks. Cost under $100. Just be patient while doing the work. If you have it covered it makes it easier to work on.
cheers