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05-13-2019, 02:02 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 45
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Replacing the Kitchen Sink Faucet
My faucet needs replacing and we’re traveling now. Without removing the water tank nor the water heater (under the sink)(but I will take out the sink drain line),does anyone have a trick for loosening the supply lines to the hot and cold sides of the faucet??? By hand I can unscrew the flat holddown plastic screws but the supply lines need a pliers or vice grip, but there is no room to turn any to tool. Plus my arm is nearly fully extended in wires and pipes. Any ideas??
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05-13-2019, 05:33 PM
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#2
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 893
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Disassemble as much of the faucet as you can from the top, removing the spout and knobs, and some nuts. The metal body lifts off, exposing the plastic interior. Then take a big pliers and destroy the rest. The inside of the faucet was plastic, and that worked for me to get it out of the way, but didn't solve the access problem. If yours is somehow brass instead of plastic, you'll have to cut the pipe.
The new faucet didn't have its connections in the same place, and the old pipe would not reach or even if it did reach I couldn't get back there. So, I put flexible appliance tubing on the bottom of the faucet from the top of the sink, fed that down through the holes, bolted the fixture down with the flat nuts, and ran that to where I could actually reach the connections on the right side of the cabinet. That took new PEX pipe, and a PEX ring crimper, and I replaced all of the pipe in that cabinet. But now I can reach everything important, and there's even a little more room in the cabinet because I re-routed a pipe that was in the way. This was a whole day's work.
Trailmanor gets minus points for not designing this to be serviced. If I can do it, they could have. The appliance tubing cost a bit more.
Some other folks have actually cut an access door in the side of their camper! This is more straightforward, and allows you to preserve the original pipe. And may be the only alternative for people with shorter arms.
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05-13-2019, 09:31 PM
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#3
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 45
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Well that was what I was afraid of. I’m not completely tooled up enough to take on either plan. I will nurse what I have for the time being and open until that can of worms when I’m home. I was hoping for an easier fix I could do that on the road. Thanks for the advise.
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05-13-2019, 11:11 PM
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#4
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sunny Beaches of Los Angeles
Posts: 3,256
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I have replaced the faucet in my 2720SL without removing either the water heater or water tank. It's not fun, requires a bit of contortionism, and a beer or two helps significantly. Be sure no young kids are around, as you will probably swear alot, too.
There are at least 3 ways to approach it, in addition to, as you said, removing the sink drain pipe:
1) You can loosen the sink hold-down clips with a very long flat bladed screwdriver such that you can lift the sink up an inch or two to get a wrench in to those supply lines. A mirror can help depending on where exactly they are located, but it's still painful. Reinstalling them is far more difficult, but you could save that part till you got home if you needed to.
2) You might be able to use a basin wrench to loosen them, too. Loosening supply lines is exactly what that tool is designed for, I just don't know if there's enough clearance in there to turn it.
3) You can cut the PEX supply lines (PVC pipe cutters work great), and then completely remove the sink using method #1 above to remove the nuts. To reinstall, provided you don't have a PEX crimping tool, you can use Shark Bite connectors (at Home Depot when I last checked a few years ago); one end slips right over the PEX, and the other end has a threaded connection to which you can attached a flexible braided standard supply line.
I ultimately did #3.
I can't remember if I looked into this, but when the bathroom walls are folded down, you do get some access to under the sink. Check out whether you can sneak something in to at least the hot water side of the faucet.
Dave
__________________
2000 2720SL & 2007 3124KB
2005 Toyota Sequoia
Twin Battle Born 12v 100Ah LiFePO4 (BBGC2) batteries, 300W solar on rear shell, Link 10, Lift kit, Maxxis 8008 225 75/R15 E tires
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05-14-2019, 09:27 AM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 45
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Those are some great ideas that I will look into. Have you had any luck cutting a handhold access opening between the refrig compartment and the undersink area? It only 1/4” plywood. Maybe large effort to get one hand thru to get a wrench around those supply nuts? I’d hate to cut the hole to find out I couldn’t access those nuts and retighten them again. Thanks for all the ideas!
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05-14-2019, 12:01 PM
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#6
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Site Sponsor
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Sunny Beaches of Los Angeles
Posts: 3,256
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Are you talking about trying to get access to under the sink through the outside access panel that covers the bottom of the fridge? No, I didn't not even consider that. I think the above ways are probably a better approach, even though they are a PITA, but, that's just my opinion.
Dave
__________________
2000 2720SL & 2007 3124KB
2005 Toyota Sequoia
Twin Battle Born 12v 100Ah LiFePO4 (BBGC2) batteries, 300W solar on rear shell, Link 10, Lift kit, Maxxis 8008 225 75/R15 E tires
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05-14-2019, 12:36 PM
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#7
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,121
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I think (correct me if I am wrong) that the OP is thinking of pulling the refrig forward several inches into the kitchen, then going outside, removing the louvered panel behind the refrig, and cutting a hole in the plywood that forms the wall between the refrig area and the under-sink area. This might work, but in some TMs, anyway, the water heater might be in the way.
First suggestion. When working from inside the kitchen, remove the doors under the sink, as well as the stile between them.
Second suggestion. Think seriously about a basin wrench, as Dave suggested above. The snapshot below shows a picture of one. The black jaws at the end of the shaft grip the fitting you are trying to loosen. The shaft is long enough that the crosswise handle ends up where you have enough space to turn it. What the first pic doesn't show (but the second one does) is that the jaws can flip over to the side of the shaft, so they can grip a nut in a tight space. Wikipedia has some good info if you have never used one. Or a quick Google search will bring up videos, etc.
Bill
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06-19-2019, 08:37 AM
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#8
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New Member
Join Date: Jun 2019
Posts: 3
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts on that.
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