Little Guy Silver Shadow Issues

[Dagny]

I'll chime in as I have had leak problems and I hate to have any damage to my baby. I have a 2006 Silver Shadow. Initial tow from Ohio in May, traveled in heavy rain and some water got in door wells and onto plywood under matress. I dried it up and haven't had an issue since that time. My factory installed tongue box (diamond plate) leaks into the box every time it rains. My dreaded problem is that 3 times when it has rained, water got into the galley (right half of galley only, weird). Looks like dripping down from hatch seam and into top shelf. 2 times I didn't expect it and it discolored the plywood and got a bit moldy under my items on top shelf. I hate this, because I love the look of my birch galley. Any suggestions on how to fix would be great. I love my Silver Shadow and just want to keep her in the best condition possible.

[Roly Nelson]

Dagny, I think I can help you with the water stains on your birch cabinetry. Years ago, my brother in law, had a badly water-stained wooden sail boat mast. He stripped it clean in my garage and then applied a material to bleach out the darkened stain. That material was called "Oxalic acid". (I can't believe I can remember the name after about 40 years, didn't know how to spell it so googled it)

Don't let the word "acid" frighten you, as according to the google info, it is a mild acting wood bleach that can be applied liberally without fear of any "acid" worries. Check it out yourself, and you can probably get some at a boat supply shop or, of course, over the internet. Good luck.

Sorry to hear about your leak problems, things like that should never happen within quality built teardrop trailers. My mickey mouse piano hinge leaks in a hard rain at my galley, but I solve the problem with sticking a full width piece of duct tape over it when rain is threatening. I have no one to blame but myself, since I built it and have to suffer the occasional moisture problem. Hey, I never even heard of a huricane hinge.
Roly

[ParTaxer]

I have a 2006 Silver Shadow. The only water infiltration for my galley was from road spray thru the side circular vents. Only happened once and was a very minor issue. I am very pleased with the quality from this mfg. I am surprised that at least one door window doesn't leak. I have vertical sliding doors ( meaning they slide horizontily ). They are reversed from one side to the other and the leading glass does not overlap the other from the front of one window. This looks like it should allow water infiltration but none so far. In the 2007, they changed to a house like sash. Perhaps a leading edge spoiler in front of the window would be an improvement.

[Cirque Peak]

The hatch leakage isn't my biggest concern, since like most of you, we now tarp over the entire trailer when we arrive at the campground. It just would have been nice to pull over at a rest stop for some lunch, and not have to worry about taking on water in the galley (and then the mattress).
If you have your the hatch open one day on your Silver Shadow, try pouring some water on the roof of the trailer, then see if it drains into the top of the galley from where the door is hinged on. It leaks on ours, and I have tried it on two more Shadows at the dealer, both of which also leaked. I would be curious to see if yours leaked.
Also check the bottom mount of the gas shocks to see if they are pulling out of the mounts; we have less than four weeks total of camping, and the screws are pulling out of the wood. (and I am always careful when opening the door).

[Cirque Peak]

To Dagny:
Good (I think) to see I'm not the only one with galley leakage. Our dealer installed a make shift plasticized canvas cover over top of the piano hinge which takes care of a light rain, but once a heavier rain hits it, it will overflow into the top shelf of the galley regardless. Like yourself, I am also afraid of the beechwood getting wet and moldy.
I would be interested to see what type of vehicle you tow your unit with, as I think our window leakage is due to turbulence pushing water up into the drain holes.
In retrospect, I think we should have opted for a regular Little Guy trailer, not the Silver Shadow model. Some design features seem to be poorly thought out on the Shadow.

[S. Heisley]

It seems to me, and I could be all wet (pun), that this galley leak problem may be fixed with a water diverting mechanism. They make a rain gutter material for RV's that is fairly small.... If I were you, I would visit an RV supply store and look at some of it. Maybe the RV place could also recommend a temporary glue to use so you could try it. You might be able to attach it on the roof, just above the hinge, but far enough away so the hatch doesn't rub on it when you put it up.

If nothing else, you could temporarily attach an uncut piece with rubber cement and try flooding the top of your tear with water from a hose to see if it helps. Just let the excess gutter stuff hang down on the sides for this test. (Rubber Cement peels off most surfaces; but, try it on both the tear and the gutter stuff in inconspicuous places to be certain it will work okay and not harm anything.) If it doesn't work, peel off the RC and take the unblemished, uncut gutter product back and get a refund.

If it works, you wouldn't need a lot; and, if it sits too high and looks offensive to you, you might be able to trim it down some....don't know....It's just an idea ...Might be worth a try.....

[Cirque Peak]

Thanks Sharon. I have thought of rigging up something similiar last year, but now that you mention there is actually a product designed just for that purpose, I will see if our local dealer(s) carry it.

[ParTaxer]

No strut problems. The only parts that have broken are in the battery area. The plastic strap tie down broke away from the floor almost immediately. Two weeks ago my three year old battery needed to be replaced and the battery box bottom was shattered so bad I was suprised it held the battery when I traded the old battery for the new. New battery box came with new plastic tie down connections.

[iplay10us2]

OK. I just went out and poured several glasses of water on my Silver Shadow, and no leaks. Of course, this would only simulate a very small, and not long-lasting rain event.

I did pour fast enough that water did flow over the first lip area where the body meets the hinge area. Water that hit the first area (indicated in the first picture below and on the silver portion) seemed to take a natural path and flow down the channel seen in the 2nd picture. Water that went over the first lip and accumulated on the hinge part (black caulking) pretty much stayed there. I don't know if it would also drain if there was more water flowing or not.

I did let the water stand for about 15 minutes and I never noticed any leaking into the galley area.

I would probably re-caulk all of this area and see if it leaks if I was having the troubles you are having.

[planovet]

My factory installed tongue box (diamond plate) leaks into the box every time it rains.

That happened on our first trip also. I got my box at Northern Tool so I don't know what brand yours is. I found that mine was not tight against the seal when the lid was closed. You can adjust the pin that the latch fastens onto to make it tighter. It worked for my box.

[Cirque Peak]

To Iplay10us2:

What year is your Silver Shadow? It looks like the hinge assembly and channel are different than our unit. The overlap is bigger, probably ensuring that the water actually drains down the channel, instead of around the end of the hinge and into the galley.

[iplay10us2]

To Iplay10us2:

What year is your Silver Shadow? It looks like the hinge assembly and channel are different than our unit. The overlap is bigger, probably ensuring that the water actually drains down the channel, instead of around the end of the hinge and into the galley.

It is a 2008 Silver Shadow. However, at some point...and I don't know when, Little Guy started manufacturing their own Silver Shadows, instead of them being made by Pleasant Valley. At least that is an understanding I got from Scott at Little Guy. My Silver Shadow does not have the little side vents on the sides near the galley area, and Scott said that Little Guy does not make their Shadow series with this, and that had been a feature of those made by Pleasant Valley. Of course, I may have gotten some of this mixed up and I could be way off base.... old timers, you know.

[tearhead]

I recall seeing a post somewhere in here suggesting that if you want to have your galley open in the rain, you could put a piece of cotton rope (has to be cotton) just above or over the galley hinge, to sop up water and divert it over the side where it would drip onto the ground. So the rope would have to be maybe 12-18 inches longer than your tear is wide.

That doesn't help with the other issues, obviously! There are some threads in here about leaking, if you do a search.

[Cirque Peak]

Thanks tearhead, for the rope trick suggestion. I will give that a shot.

iplay10us2:

It does look like our 2008 Silver Shadow is slightly different than yours, so that tidbit regarding Pleasant Valley doing the contract construction for Little Guy makes sense. I wonder if the Amish-built models are better in quality. Things that make you go hhhhmmmm....

[FireLion]

No, no, no, Pleasant Valley did NOT do contract work for Little Guy! Little Guy bought the Silver Shadow division from Pleasant Valley in 2007 (?).
Little Guy then started building their own Silver Shadow, while Pleasant Valley started making the Little Travelers. I don't know how Little Guy builds its trailers but Pleasant Valley teardrops are Amish made.