Water leaks

[Matt Adams]

Hi everyone, we purchased a 2019 gc two months ago it had only 25k miles at the time. This is the first time we’ve ever owned a campervan/motorhome and we absolutely love it. Done around 6000 miles so far and just got back from a 10 day trip in Scotland! The dealer that we purchased it from (motorhome depot) had no idea about how anything worked on the van so we’ve kind of had to work it all out ourselves or from YouTube etc. The first time we ever used the kitchen sink/tap we noticed a large amount of water in the area under the sliding door. I wasn’t 100% sure if it was from the sink or it was rain water.
We stopped using the kitchen sink from then on and the problem seemed to stop with the water under the door or at least I thought. I wasn’t sure whether it was rain water coming in or it was from sink waste etc so we started using the kitchen sink again and it seemed fine then a few days later there was water in the door and what seemed like bubbles from fairy liquid. Also at this point there was water coming out from near the back doors which I wasn’t sure if this was connected to a leak or it was just normal rain water/condensation etc.

Has anyone else had this problem with water building up under the sliding door? I did contact the dealer but didn’t trust them to pull the van apart as they didn’t seem like they had any clue about these vans.

2nd issue occurred last night. The shower hose wouldn’t pull out it seemed jammed which had never been the case before. I managed to free it up and use it like normal. When I put it away I opened the cupboard door under the sink and noticed the hose was all over the place in there. I’d never noticed it before so is this the correct place for it to be stowed away? Thought it was ok but seems jammed again now I’ve just tried it!

Also after using the shower I noticed outside the toilet door the floor seemed a bit wet around the edges so I opened the flap under the bench seat an there was abit of water, not much but this had also never happened before. It could possibly be that I need a slight re-seal in places in the wet room or could it be a waste pipe leaking under the shower tray? Does anyone know if the piece of wood under the toilet door removes for access under the shower tray?

Does anyone know of any garages that actually know about the grand California? After reading all the posts on here I’m not too confident in taking it to any Vw dealership I need someone who knows about these vans. Based in the west mids but happy to travel.

Finally sorry for all the questions but I don’t know where else to go for help!

Matt

 

[Matt Adams]

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[Woody Woodwood]

Hi Matt

Where are you based in the UK? I believe there are about 16 California centric VW dealers in the UK. These are the ones to head for as the staff get regular training courses to do specifically with the California and Grand California campers. Ordinary VW Van centre staff are good with the van side of things but not with the habitation type issues

 

[Woody Woodwood]

A quick Google AI search reveals these. I think there are more.

Official
Volkswagen California Centres
are specialised dealerships in the UK equipped with trained experts and dedicated showrooms for the California campervan range.
JCT600 +1

Official California Centres & Specialists
These locations are recognised specifically for their California campervan expertise:

• Leeds (JCT600)
  :
  133 Carr Moor Side, Leeds LS11 5HL
  .
• Crawley (JCB)
  : Overdene Drive, Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 8DU.
• Sittingbourne (JCB)
  :
  St Michael's Road, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 3DN
  .
• Birmingham (Swansway)
  :
  St Stephens St, Birmingham B6 4RG
  .
• Edinburgh
  :
  Moorfoot View, Bilston, Roslin EH25 9SL
  .
• Cardiff (Sinclair)
  :
  Tyndall St, Cardiff CF10 4BB
  .
• Sheffield
  :
  2 Europa Cl, Sheffield S9 1XS
  .
  JCT600 +3

 

[Razor Crest]

Hi Matt,
There are some clever people on the forum, and on the Grand California UK Facebook page. Have a search on both and you will probably find people have had the same issues and how they sorted them. Most VW garages are not good on handovers, but look up VW California Chris on YouTube, he does some good instructional videos for the GC. Also, try to get to a club meeting, always a great place to learn about the vans.

 

[Deise13]

Hi Matt,
I suspect you may have a leak from the bathroom tap or the bathroom sink waste pipe. I would dry and dehumidify the van, then place a basin in the bathroom sink. Run the tap, but catch all the water in the basin. Empty the basin externally. Check carefully in the sink cupboard for water leak. Repeat this a few times. If everything appears dry then remove the basin and run the tap into the sink, complete it a few times and check carefully for water. I suspect you will find your leak. If not move onto the kitchen and repeat. Still no leak, move outside with a watering can and pour water over the toilet access hatch, this can sometimes leak. Other possible options are the rear mid break light, but that water normal comes in at the rear or the front dash cup holder, so I don't suspect it is that. I'm betting on the bathroom tap connection needing a tighten, new o ring or replacement (cracked due to frost damage?).

 

[PaulGC680]

Hi Matt
Welcome and pleased you too like Scotland. We go up at the end of the month.
If you have a leek in the pressurised water it will only loose a bit of water when the van is not used, ( it will loose some water once ) but when you are on a trip each time you use a tap and it pressurise, it may then leek out after the tap is closed .
Locate the fuse for the pump.
Run any tap and then close off and remove the fuse.
Then 1 hr later open the tap ( without the fuse inserted) if your system is sound, water will flow from the tap because the pressure ( and water ) havnt leaked away. Maybe about a cupful. If nothing - then the water has leaked out.
If you suspect a leek in the pressurised water, I would look in the bathroom cupboard first. Place copious quanties of blue paper towel around the various pipes and see if they pick up any water.
We will await further feedback, once you have assessed this and other posts/comments, and can move on from there.

 

[Hammer]

There are a few well known leaks that are well documented, the underfloor one could well be leak from bathroom tap, do you have water in the cupboard at all? its common for the pipe to come out from the tap unit and there are varies posts about how to repair. If the water leak is definitely only when using the kitchen sink check the drain pipe as that would be most likely cause, pull the kitchen draw out and check black drain pipe is not leaking.

The shower hose is normal and a bit of a pain some times, i have recently noticed after 5 years of ownership if you don’t swivel the tap all the way to right the hose moves fine but if all the way to right seems to trap it a little!

You have one of the first batch of GC’s and the water leak when showering was common and fixed by a small strip along the bottom of the shower door. Check that is in place and also make sure the step if well siliconed in place as i did get leaks past that when i first got van.