Fresh Water Holding Tank

I've had my TM for almost exactly one year. I have never used the fresh water tank. I am always hooked up to a supply. About 1/3 of a tank of water (40 gal tank) has sloshed around in there since I bought it. I drained the tank today and filled it with a sanitizer solution. I now note a leak around the water intake fitting. The leak is coming from the seam around the fitting. The hose connection seems to be secure. Is it possible to repair the leak? If so is it a possible owner fix or will it need to go to a shop?
Thanks,

dbm

[wbmiller3]

I am not sure if this is the exact same problem, but there is a discussion of a similar problem at http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=5425

We were starting to go on our first trip in our new 2720. I was filling the tank and noticed that water was spewing all over the place inside. The fill tube was leaking at the top and bottom. I did a temporary seal with some sealer I bought at Camper World. Noticed that the drain tube fitting was also leaking. When I looked underneath the foam stuff that seals the holes that the drain tubes go through was almost gone. Now TM, this is a 2009! The AM on the radio doesn't seem to work. Had to sit in the Jeep Liberty to listen to the Indy 500! I hope these are my last surprises. TM is going to the dealer on the 18th.

In my experience, the corrugated hose material is fairly hard and does not easily conform to the fitting on the top of tank. We had a similar leak at the hose fitting site on our '07 2720sl. Double hose clamps failed to stop the leak which really only occurred while the tank was being filled. We removed the hose and both clamps, then applied clear silicone around the side of the tank's hose fitting and at the fitting's base. Then we slid the hose back in place, reclamped with only one clamp, and there has been no trace of a leak in the last 6 outings. Hope this helps.

I cut a 5" hole in the top of the fresh water holding tank and installed a water tight screw in boat deck plate. This allows easy access to all the fittings and also makes cleaning and totally emptying the tank easy. For long term storage,you can use a wet/dry vac to remove that last 3/4" of water that the drain will not let out. You can also get your hand in to clean the tank with a min of solution. and avoid wasting large amounts of water getting the system rinsed. It also makes replacing tank fittings easy.

[Wavery]

Silicone sealer should be an acceptable solution. However, I would let it cure for about a week before testing. That stuff will firm up over night but it takes a long time to cure and it's best to keep it dry and vibration free while curing.

The coiled hose is used to keep it from collapsing (as stated by wbmiller3) where it makes the bend. The problem is, the fitting should be barbed. Also, there are coiled hoses that are smooth on the inside for that very reason. They are available at marine stores.

Rumbleweed,
Great idea... I have been wondering how to get easy access to clean/drain the tanks (I have 2- 20 gallons). Is there a backer plate for that screw in?

There is no back plate, but the female portion of the plate is held in place by 6 screws and if fair sized stainless washers are used, will stay flat and not leak with a minimum of caulk. This is the only way I have been able to get that last 3/4" of water out of the tank even tried traveling with drain open. Here is a link for one version. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...classNum=12946

Rumbleweed,
Thanks for the info. Another project to get done as soon as we return from our current trip.

I installed the water tight deck plates referred to by Rumbleweed. When I opened the tanks to install them the reaction was YUK! There was a lot of junk in the tanks... dirt, plastic, etc. Obviously it was there from the time of manufacturing since there is no real way to clean them afte they are installed. I highly recommend adding the access plates. It's an easy job and makes cleaning a snap. It also makes filling the tanks from portable water containers a lot easier. Just raise the couch cushion and pour. No more messing with a funnel etc. on the outside. Again thanks to Rumbleweed for a great idea.