Truma A/C leak

[SteveCr]

8 hours ago, jim sroka said:

Gald to hear you got a Truma installed . I made a appointment at the Elkhart Service Center back in when the install coupon can out for a March 13th install. Drove 5 hrs

down on Sunday to make the 9am on Monday and backed my trailer into the garage and went to the waiting room. Now I filled out the forms Ii first sighted up confirmed my date (twice) . Twenty minutes later i was told they won't do the installs only Oliver will do when and is should call Oliver service. At 3:20pm that day i get a email me telling me they won't do the installs on Olivers The next day I get a email saying they are doing aftermarket installs on some Rvs. I understand they don't want to undercut the clients (Oliver) but what bad deal for me, 10 hrs of drive time and fuel burn for a sorry. They made no effort to correct the problem other then saying sorry. Glad you got your installed , I was told they only have done one in Fl. that must be you.

Wow...my visit to the Lakeland service center went smoothly. They completed the install in about two hours.

They planned to run new thermostat wires and install their thermostat for the Dometic heater. However, they ended up modifying the Dometic box and keeping the existing Dometic thermostat. Both the Truma ac and Dometic furnace work fine. I did have to reprogram the thermostat delay time to eliminate the dreaded clicking.

The Truma installer mentioned the difficulty of running new wires in a double hull trailer led to his decision to reuse the Dometic components. Maybe they don't like modifying other OEM's components and given the low number of Ollies.......just punted retrofits to Oliver.

As far as water leaks, they did not water test the installation. They explained their confidence with water tightness based on installation materials. He mentioned torque sequencing of the hold down bolts was important. He partially torqued hold down bolts before applying the final torque.

Going back to the beginning......Initially I corresponded with Oliver to do the installation. At the time (Nov or so), Oliver was experimenting with the installation and was having to overcome roof flatness/AC level issues. Developing a mount platform was mentioned. Rather than wait on Oliver I took advantage of the Truma installation offer....and I guess it worked out.

Time will tell.

Steve

[SteveCr]

38 minutes ago, John Welte said:

There are six screws that hold the Truma AC cover that don't have any rubber washer or sealant.  The screws sit in a small cup indentation about an inch across so any water on the roof will leak inside.  That's the first area leakage.  Seems crazy not to have some rubber washer under the screw head.  The MaxxAir screws weren't sealed either.  It's still in the shop waiting for Oliver to give guidance on how it should be remedied.  Frustrated that a new trailer first had the gas leak, then this water leak.  Hope to have it fixed before 2024.

John

I'll check but I don't remember those cover mounting screws sealed on my unit either. I removed and reinstalled the cover. The Truma installer cautioned me to NOT use a power tool on those screws. The max torque is 1.6NM and he said a power tool will easily strip the screw anchors....which becomes a difficult repair.

I don't believe any of those cover mounting screws are inside the "water tight square" (shown below). Outside of the "water tight square"....rain water enters maybe and condensation drains on the roof if there is no internal drain kit.

Steve

[Patriot]

I received a return phone call from Mike Sharpe with Oliver Service today regarding our upcoming  scheduled Truma retro fit.
He answered all my questions and addressed any concerns I had very throughly.
Based on my discussion with Mike we are moving forward with the retro fit of the Truma Aventa. 

Patriot🇺🇸

[Rivernerd]

11 hours ago, Patriot said:

He answered all my questions and addressed any concerns I had very throughly.

What were your questions, and what were Mike's answers to them?

[Patriot]

6 hours ago, Rivernerd said:

What were your questions, and what were Mike's answers to them?

I asked him detailed information on the install and finish of the Truma Aventa with regard to some of the information I read here.

If you have any further concerns or detailed questions I highly recommend you give him a call. 

Patriot 🇺🇸

[Patriot]

On 3/15/2023 at 5:28 PM, John Welte said:

There are six screws that hold the Truma AC cover that don't have any rubber washer or sealant.  The screws sit in a small cup indentation about an inch across so any water on the roof will leak inside.  That's the first area leakage.  Seems crazy not to have some rubber washer under the screw head.  The MaxxAir screws weren't sealed either.  It's still in the shop waiting for Oliver to give guidance on how it should be remedied.  Frustrated that a new trailer first had the gas leak, then this water leak.  Hope to have it fixed before 2024.

John

John, 

We just had our Truma installed and the (6) screws that are counter sunk holding the Truma cowling onto the unit is a design flaw which Oliver has addressed with Truma. These counter sunk holes will collect water which could result in a leak.

The fix-
Per Oliver service these counter sunk holes are now filled with a sealant by Oliver to preempt water intrusion. All new Olivers and retrofits get this sealant.
This sealant is not permanent and can be removed to access the fasteners. Unfortunately, I don’t recall the name of the sealant. I will try and ask Oliver Service staff the name of the sealant they are using tomorrow. We are still at Camp Oliver giving our newly installed Truma a two day shake down before departing.

Will this sealant require regular visual inspection and maintenance? My guess is like any other sealant yes.

Patriot🇺🇸

 

[Rivernerd]

10 hours ago, Patriot said:

Per Oliver service these counter sunk holes are now filled with a sealant by Oliver to preempt water intrusion. All new Olivers and retrofits get this sealant.

After I recently submitted another service ticket noting leakage under the Truma Aventa air conditioner, I was referred by Jason Essary to Truma.  Truma recommended sealing those countersunk holes with silicone sealant.  Once on the roof, the sealing process took about 15 minutes. 

[ScubaRx]

Would an unsealed countersunk screw that leaked allow water to enter the cabin or only into the inner workings of the A/C?

[Rivernerd]

18 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

Would an unsealed countersunk screw that leaked allow water to enter the cabin or only into the inner workings of the A/C?

In our experience, twice, it allowed water to enter the cabin.  I believe this is because the air conditioning unit is mounted over a large hole in the roof, and is not internally sealed.  Truma relies on external, not internal, sealing.

[ScubaRx]

31 minutes ago, Rivernerd said:

In our experience, twice, it allowed water to enter the cabin.  I believe this is because the air conditioning unit is mounted over a large hole in the roof, and is not internally sealed.  Truma relies on external, not internal, sealing.

I can see how that is a big design flaw. As usual, Oliver has found a field fix. Hopefully, Truma will respond with a better shroud design. 

[Patriot]

6 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

I can see how that is a big design flaw. As usual, Oliver has found a field fix. Hopefully, Truma will respond with a better shroud design. 

Let’s hope so. Oliver has addressed this with Truma. It may take a number of end user complaints to Truma get Truma to move forward.
Time will tell.