Bathroom Sink Leak - Drain pipe came loose

[jbeletti]

Hi folks,

Just a few words of caution to new TM owners. Two weekends ago, our 3rd trip out with our 2004 model 3023, we were relaxing by the campfire at the back of the trailer when we noticed water dripping from the bathroom-side rear corner of the trailer box. The floor of the outside rear storage compartment was wet too. Nancy checked the bathroom and there was water in the cabinet under the sink.

What had happened is that the vertical drain pipe that is attached to the sink drain, came out of the connection to the horizontal pipe that goes under the kitchen sink area.

Upon close inspection, it appears that the horizontal pipe was cut too short and maybe too low. I had to put quite a bit of force on both the vertical and horizontal pipes in order to get the vertical pipe inside the elbow at the end of the horizontal pipe. Then I had to hold it together while trying my best to hand-tighten the plastic nut on the vertical pipe to the threaded elbow.

The water that leaked was from using the bathroom sink to wash-up and brush teeth etc. Guess we didn't hear it running onto the cabinet shelf at the time.

It has held together for yet another weekend outing, including another 1,200 miles of bouncing around. Still, there's a lot of tension on that connection so I check it daily.

I reported this to my dealer and will have it checked/re-worked next time I make it up to his area. My guess is that they will have to cut out the horizontal pipe and add in a longer section. Being short on 2 axis is bad, but if the horizontal section is lengthened such that the elbow center is aligned with the sink drain pipe, forcing it up an inch should work fine and allow water to gravity flow into the rest of the plumbing under the kitchen sink.

Long story short, if you have a 2004 TM made in November/December, you may want to check on the bathroom sink drain pipe every now and then. I know that they busted butt to get all their 2004 orders out the door before Christmas and in the rush, maybe I got a short pipe and maybe you did too.

Jim

[Bill]

Jim -

What a wonderful place to use that roll of duct tape you have been carrying around!

More seriously, if you are of a mind to fix it yourself, rather than spending time at the dealer, it is easy to fix.

First, can the horizontal pipe be loosened at the kitchen end, and slid back toward the bathroom a bit? I know some of the pipes under the kitchen sink are glued, and some are screwed, but I've forgotten which are which.

If not, you can easily lengthen the horizontal pipe a bit. The size of the bathroom drain pipe is 1-1/4". You could go to your local hardware store and buy a 1-1/4" PVC coupler. This is a short (probably 2&quot length of plastic pipe that is designed to join two long pieces of 1-1/4" pipe. It costs about half a buck. Go under the bathroom sink, or under the kitchen sink (whichever is easiest) and cut the too-short drain pipe. A hacksaw will cut it in a few seconds - make sure the cut is square across the pipe. Push the cut ends into the coupler, and voila, the whole pipe is as much as an inch longer. You will need to glue (aka "solvent weld&quot the ends into the union, and if you don't already have the glue, that will be the most expensive part of the project. A small can of PVC pipe cement probably costs $2.

Alternatively, you can buy a 1-1/4" drain pipe extender that uses the same kind of big-plastic-nut attachment method you have already experienced under the sink. No glue needed. Probably $4.

Yes, you shouldn't have to do this, and if TM had a perfect quality control program, the problem might not have come to pass. But at this point you are faced with the reality of the leak, and have to decide how best (for you) to take care of it. I know that not everybody is willing to undertake these projects, but to me, if I can do it in 15 minutes and be done with it, it sure beats driving to my dealer and waiting two hours for him to do it - or leaving the TM with him overnight!

Bill

[Cateye]

Our sink cracked and we thought it was the problem you described. We eventually discovered that it was vibration from unbalance tires (other problems were also created by this vibration). You may want to get your tires spin balanced as additional protection.

[jbeletti]

Bill,

This is a job I could do myself as well, but I have a longer list of stuff and may just have my dealer take care of it all at once. We may camp up near Coloma, WI yet this year and will schedule a Friday afternoon with Danny's Campers.

CatEye,

That's something to think about, but so far, I have not felt any vibration in the tow vehicle. Before whatever happened to your trailer, did you feel any vibration caused by out-of-balance tires?

Thanks as always guys,

Jim

[kempert]

Somewhere on this site, over a year ago, someone mentioned getting their tires balanced. When I picked up my TM, I looked at over a dozen different brands of TT and none had had their tires balanced. As soon as I got home, I took my TM to my local garage and had all 3 tires balanced and I've had none of the problems others have had.

[Cateye]

We had no idea that vibration was causing some of our problems. Car Show in CO. Springs had had some very difficult learning experiences in this regard. We never experienced any vibration in the TV. Apparantly, the torsion bar suspension with no shock absorbers, as are found on passanger cars, makes this vibration inside the trailer very violent at high speeds.

[jbeletti]

Thanks CatEye,

Perhaps the next time we have back to back weekend outings where I have the trailer at home in the driveway, I'll jack it up, set it on blocks, remove the wheels and have them spin balanced. Suppose it can't hurt (except a few buck and some sweat).

Jim

[Civil_War_Buff]

I will be getting the tires on my TM spun balanced when I have the sending units for the Smartire temp/pressure monitor installed. See http://www.smartire.com/products/rec...nal/index.html

I haven't had any issue with leaks resulting from vibration (yet), but will be taking extra care in looking for evidence of it.

Sorry to hear of your vacation killer Jim.

Larry

[jbeletti]

Hi Larry,

It wasn't a vacation killer. More of a vacation "what!" - since it was easily fixed, albeit temporary.

That SmarTire thingy is really cool.

I am putting my TM in storage today. It's here in the parking lot at work, hitched up and empty. I'll test my tire pressure before I pull it out of here.

Jim

[Cateye]

Can you tell me how much the SmartTire system cost?