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Old 03-07-2012, 06:48 AM   #1
Dam-man
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Belly full of water

It all started with a flat tire. The 5er has been sitting for a while and noticed a tire getting low. Had the flat fixed, put it back on and then I checked level again. Made a minor adjustment and then noticed a slow drip. It was coming from outside the support beams. Curiousity got the best of me and I removed a few of the screws holding up the coroplast and WOW! There was water everywhere! CLEAN WATER thank goodness! All the insulation was wet in the front of the trailer. Worse in some spots, center. I then had to inspect the belly under the kitchen. The coroplast is a little higher in that area. Water again! I did get permission from the dealer to do this. And called them back with a report of what I found. They will get with Keystone for warrenty work to be done. How long will this take? So, then I had to look inside. Took one basement walls out and did not find any water anywhere. So the good news is from what I can see there is no water on top of the floor. I got about 5 gallons of water out of the coroplast and don't really know what to do next. I am fixin to find out how good my rv dealer is in customer service. I am 3 hours away from the dealer I bought it from and they will have to come to me to fix it. Working to many hours to get it there and I am living in this thing pretty much full time. I would appreciate any advice or ideas where the water is coming from.
Thanks,
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Old 03-07-2012, 07:14 AM   #2
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Dam-man -

If the water is clean and not soapy, and if you aren't using the fresh water tank, then my bets would be on a leaky Pex connection on one of the water lines from the City Water connection to the use point (faucet). I have to admit, I'm a little surprised since I haven't found anywhere the coroplast is actually sealed water-tight against the beams. Since you found water on the upper coroplast level, I would also guess that the leak is somewhere up there. I can say, on our Alpine, there were about 3 connections I had to tighten up a little to stop a drip when it was new. Now, every spring, I take the storage basement walls off, connect the city water system to pressurize the system, and with flashlight in hand, inspect the plumbing in the upper basement for leaks - especially at the Pex connections.

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Old 03-07-2012, 07:48 AM   #3
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Could it be rainwater? After one rain, I moved my trailer to sloped ground and got an endless drippy stream of water.
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Old 03-07-2012, 07:49 AM   #4
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Geo

I am on city water. I have inspected the basement and removed the panel in the kitchen cabinets where the water filter is and found no water. No leaks anywhere. There is a drain back toward the front axel and I have not removed the coroplast on that side to inspect that line. I guess after the insulation got wet the coroplast began to sag and all of the water collected in the middle. I have been hooked up to city water for a couple of months now, and if it is a slow leak, it would make sense to not notice this right away. I am waiting on the dealer to see what they say. If they won't take care of it. I will remove everything needed to go thru all the water lines and re-insulate everything.
Thanks for your reply!
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Old 03-07-2012, 08:00 AM   #5
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I suppose it could be rain water. Haven't had rain in a couple of weeks. Water will follow the path of least resistance and will move to odd places sometimes. I can't imagine getting several gallons of rain water down there.
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Old 03-07-2012, 08:02 AM   #6
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If you suspect a water line leak, you could put a pressure gague in line from water spigot to trailer. Make sure hot water heater is turned off, remove all hot water from heater via faucet as hot water expands and as it cools it will decrease pressure, then shut off incoming water and see if pressure drops slowly. Also make sure that the water hose is protected from any sunlight as the water will also expand a little to increase pressure. Of course it will take some time to see results if leak is a slow drip so give it several hours of your time. Note if possible install shut off at trailer if possible to eliminate water hose. Happy Campin and good luck..............Ron
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Old 03-07-2012, 08:42 AM   #7
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FW drain

Dam-man -

The drain back by the axles is more than likely the drain for the fresh water tank. Have you put any water in the fresh water tank? I assumed that you had not. But it is possible the connection between the fresh water fill line and the tank could leak. Also, if you overfilled the fresh water tank or traveled with water in the fresh water tank, the vent line could have leaked. I did not account for this in the previous answer because I figured you had not done either. And, to carry it further, if there was water in the FW tank, the drain line might could be leaking. Tough to say until one finds the 'drips'.

There's just no guarantee that water lines, etc., are run in the same fashion or location between models (Avalanche and Alpine) or even within the same model (Alpine 3640RL). I think I have a good handle where most of my plumbing runs, but trying to second guess on others . . .

Ron has a good suggestion, but it would take time and only confirm a leak.

Say, are you using a pressure regulator on the incoming city water line? If you are not, you might be getting water pressure spikes that are causing the Pex connections to leak but then reseal when the pressure abates. There has been a thread elsewhere on the Forum that talked about a rise in water pressure during the night only to drop to "normal" during the day. That would make finding a leak really maddening!

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Old 03-07-2012, 09:01 AM   #8
Dam-man
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FW drain

You assumed right. I have not used the fw tank. I do have a 40psi regulator installed on the faucet, before the hose. I will do some more checking later today. From what I have seen, there is a mess of water lines and wiring in the basement. I am going in there to get a closer look. I don't want to get to far in there, I may not get out! The wife would have to tie a pork chop to my a$$ and let the dogs drag me out!
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Old 03-07-2012, 03:32 PM   #9
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We had a similar problem, except I have verified that it was rain water. It was running down the back outside wall, down the bumper and then would run under the bottom edge just enough to enter in to the belly. The coroplast was actually sticking out a little farther then it should be and wasn't helping the problem. I sealed up the edge of the coroplast and drilled a 1/8" hole in the center of each under belly section to allow any collected water to run out. The tiny holes will also let me know if there are any leaks in the water systems or drainage pipes because water will drip out before it can accumulate.
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Old 03-07-2012, 08:48 PM   #10
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The same thing that happened to Terrydactile with rain water can happen with A/C condensate. If you have been running A/C check where the condensate has been running off your roof and down the side. I drove through a bad storm and rain water built up in the chloroplast. I poked a Philip's head screw-driver through the low points so any water that gets in can now drain out.
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Old 03-12-2012, 03:28 PM   #11
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Found It!

After a couple of days of bad weather, finally took the coroplast down. Both pieces on three sides. Which kinda sucked. The black tank flush line was spraying water. I had only used this three times which would explain the amount of water that was in the belly. The leak was spraying right at the edge of the other piece of coroplast under the kitchen which explains the water there. Still have not heard from the dealer but all is good at the end of the day. Still love my Avalanche!
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Old 03-12-2012, 03:39 PM   #12
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I’m glad to hear you’ve solved that mystery. Where in the flush line was it leaking? How did you fix it?
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Old 03-12-2012, 03:45 PM   #13
Dam-man
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It was the pex nut that holds the line on the tank. It was loose. Couldn't tell where it was until I had the wife turn the flush on while I was under trailer. I was on the way to frustration by this time!
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