Water Leak

As new owners, we need some help.

We purchased a 93 2720 TM and while camping this weekend, we developed a water leak.  The weird thing is all the pipes inside and the floor is dry.  The box around the hot water tank is dry also.  The water is leaking before the wheel well through the screen.  We took the lower vent panel off and everything is dry except the foam inside the vent.

It is fresh water leaking.  Could it be the hot water tank?  How hard is it to pull the hot water tank or is this a job for the experts?  ANy ideas besides the hot water tank?

[Bill]

When you went looking for the leak, was there pressure in the system? If there is a pinhole leak somewhere, it will look dry if there is no pressure, but will spray in a fine stream when you put  city water pressure on the system.

If city water pressure doesn't uncover the leak, fill the fresh water tank and turn on the demand pump. See if that brings out anything.

Good luck

Bill

I'm not sure of the model you have.  If it is one with the side mounted air, and you ran the air, it may be your problem.  The AC is a model that uses the water that condenses in the pan to help cool.  According to the people at the factory, the fan throws the water back up on the cooling coils to help cool them.  There is an overflow tube that is fairly inefficient, and is easily blocked.  Even if it does work properly, the water that remains in the pan when you close up shop will often slosh out as you start to move and you will see it coming out the hole that is covered by the screen.  It isn't a major problem as you have only a little water in there to start with and it does leak out.  Just don't put anything that can't get wet under the AC or on either cabinet to either side of it on the floor.    I installed a seconddrain on mine and put silicone around the fitting in the pan on the drain that the factory had installed.  Also make sure that the hose isn't clogged ( I tied a little bit of mesh over the end to keep the mud-daubers out)  Denny

Yeah, I'd say that is a very likely source for your water....the AC unit. When I was active duty army, I did a brief stint and barracks repairman while recovering from surgery......I must've vacumed out 20 of those AC drainoff's while doing that, plus my own ac unit at home will clog up frequently, and put water ALL OVER THE PLACE till I hit it with the wet/dry vac.......that'd be the FIRST thing I'd check out..........and it's VERY easy to fix, just vacume it out with a wet/dry vac is all that's required!

Uh,

Dipsmom describes the leak on the water management side of the camper not the AC.  

I'd also say that it was unlikely that he/she/it ran the AC camping at this time of year.

The city water idea was a good one.  Make sure you fully prime the hot water tank.    If you use the water pump, does it periodically have to run to maintain pressure?

Also check the P trap plumbing on both sinks, although this should have been easy to spot.

Uh,

The city water idea was a good one. Make sure you fully prime the hot water tank. If you use the water pump, does it periodically have to run to maintain pressure?

That brings up a question for me.......when I turn on my water faucet, the water pump turns on....not much pressure....am I missing something? Is the system supposed to be "pressurized"? My hot water tank is disconnected right now, I'm guessing for "winterization" from the previous owner...........Is something messed up here with mine? Or just an "old style" way of doing things? Just curious.......

Bill -n- Karen

If you have your water tank filled, and the pump on, the pump will pressurize the tank for awhile, then stop.  When you turn on the water, and let it run for even a little while (like 5 seconds) the pump will come on again to replace the water you just took out of it with air -- essentially re-pressurizing it.

Someone had a great suggestion here a few weeks ago regarding turning on the city water.  They suggested opening the drain valves before turning on the city water.  When you connect the city water and turn it on, the drain valves will bleed the air out of the system, and when water comes out of each drain, close it.  In this way, you will fill up the lines immediately, and not have the annoying problem of turning on your kitchen faucet and having it burp and spit water at you.  I tried this and it really works.

You may want to ensure that your anode rod in your hot water tank is in before turning on the water as well.  We had a bypass installed last fall so I could winterize the system without putting antifreeze in the hot water tank, so you may have one of those installed as well.

Winterization of the TrailManor Plumbing?  I thought that was one of the beauties of this trailer.... that all you had to do to winterize it was to open the four drain spigots.  We have owned our TM since 1999.  We live in a very cold climate (Colorado) and haven't once done anything other to winterize our trailer.  I do know of people that open their hot water heater to drain it but that is the purpose of one of the spigots.  I had been told by our dealer that the p-traps are impervious to freezing.... that any expansion does not cause them to break.

Hal

[RickNewcomb]

I do similar to Hal. When returning from my last trip of the season, I open the four drain spigots and both sink faucets before leaving. I assume during the drive home any water that might remain will be sloshed out. However, I do add anti-freeze to the p-traps. I have also owned my TM since 1999. I also live in a cold climate and haven't had any problem.

To clarify a previous post:


The water pump pumps water not air.  It's actually a diaphragm pump for those who care.

Whether one uses city water or the water pump, removing the air from the lines is the first thing one does.   Opening the drain valves will only purge the air from some of the system and this is more trouble than its worth.  [This however a fast way to unload your water but don't run the pump dry.]   Use the faucets instead.  This includes purging the hot water tank.  Otherwise the water pump will work to compress the air in the tank.