Fresh water leak

[Smitty]

Just came back from a camping trip this past weekend. After filling up the fresh water tank at the dump station, we got to our camp site and while I was cranking down the back jack, I noticed the water dripping from the fresh water tank drain plug. As I looked closer, it was running down the pipe which goes up inside the cover on the bottom of the fifth wheel. I stuck my finger through the foam insulation and it dripped faster. It took well into day 2 before it stopped. The water never ran out fast but had a continuous drip for most of two days, slowing down into day 2 then stopped. I called the service dept where I bought it and the guy said lots of customers are complaining this year and he thinks it's condensation. I hate to say it but I think he has condensation of the brain. It never even hit 60 degrees this past weekend and the day we hooked up it was in the low 50's. I have no idea how to even check this one out. That bottom cover looks like it would take a lot to lower and wouldn't the fresh water connections be at the top of the tank? Hmmmmm:mad:

[Johnnyfry]

Does anyone know if this unit has a fresh water tank overflow? Is it possible that it overflows inside the belly pan? (certainly a bad design if so)

I agree that condensation is a bit of out of the park guess. If it were 90 outside and you put 60 degree water into the tank I could buy it, but not as you describe.

John

[Handysam]

No I don't believe the tanks have an over flow valve on top of the tanks. It would just overflow back out the fresh water inlet. Smitty the low point drains you speak of are just piping threaded into the bottom of the tanks and my guess would be that it is loose there. The underbelly would be easy to lower just to get to that connection, however if it is under warranty I would have them do it. However again, if the "condesational" (I just made that word up) brain heads were to be part of the fixing it I would do it myself. An easier solution might be to cut a small hole through the underbelly at the low point drains and get a flash light up in there and see what you can see and perhaps get a wrench up in there to tighten it. Then you can purchase a small piece of underbelly at your leisure and put it all back together. By the way I would be willing to bet the dealer will try and cut a section out as opposed to lowering the whole thing.

[hankaye]

Smitty, Howdy;

You didn't mention where the water level was when it quit drippin? Helps to figure out if it is just a loose connection or a real problem (split in tank's side, top or bottom etc.).

That bellypan can be cut with a utility knife. There IS a tape for closeing up the gash. A tad spendy ($1.50 /ft at my local parts place). However, it will do the job it's designed for IF you clean the surface for the tape to stick.
Personnaly, I would make a cut across the full width. About 1/3 of the length 1/2 way between 2 of the attaching bolts. Unscrew the self tapping bolts that hold the 'pan' it place. carefully remove the insulation and stick my head in there to really SEE what is going on.
Typically the water tank will have the inlet near the top. An overflow line that connects back to the inlet connection (where it squirts out when you have it FULL), then down at the bottom is where the drain line is.

That's my 2 pence worth;
hankaye

[Huskerdude]

On our Bullet Premier, 2nd time out water was coming from around the fresh water drain tube. 3rd time out was leaking the same. Took it to dealer, found out fresh water fill hose was loose. Easy fix !!!

[Smitty]

I'm gonna try some snipping up above the black stuff but will see if I can find some of that tape first. FFor reference the tank was full up when leaking and it was probably two thirds full when it quit.

[JReinhart]

It is probably from the low point drain on your fresh water tank. Mine was loose last year and got the insulation so wet the belly started to sag considerably. At first I just assumed it was from the rain we drove through, but when I opened it up, presto...there it was. Put some thread sealant on it and tightened it up. Seems to have solved it!

[JRTJH]

Our HR fresh water tank leaked when filling it. That trailer had an all aluminum belly, what a pain when things went wrong but a reliable way to seal the underbelly. Anyway, when filling the fresh water tank, once water started flowing out the overfill vent, water would start dripping from a couple of rivets on the belly. After a couple of trips to the service department, they finally agreed something "must be wrong" and opened the belly, The clear plastic vent hose from the overflow vent was split where the clamp went around it to hold it onto the tank. The air/water would still vent out the fixture on the side of the trailer, but also was venting into the belly from the split hose.

Hopefully yours is an easy fix, but as for condensation..... Like you, I'd say something "condensed" in the serviceman's head also.

[Smitty]

Well got all three leaks fixed. Skipped using the RV dealership think there would have been lot of run around. They first wanted me to bring it by so they could look, then contact Keystone to see if they would authorize a fix for a unit 1 week out of warranty. I unscrewed a good portion of the back underbelly and exposed the whole fresh water tank. Both hose clamps on the fresh water fill hose were loose, the threaded overflow fitting was leaking alone with the low drain fitting were all leaking and the hose clamp was also loose on the over flow fitting. Neither fittings screwed into the tank had any Teflon tape or pipe dope on them. When I unscrewed the low drain fitting the threads looked stripped and ended up putting a new one on. Taped all threads, tightened all hose clamps filled the tank and so far no leaks. Waiting to put the foam back around the low drain pipe until I'm satisfied all is still dry. Did this all the day before a week out camping trip. Yikes had no idea what I was gonna get into but now I know what's under there.

[KanTC]

Should you ever need to investigate the underbelly, you can cut a 3-sided flap in the covering and then repair with Gorilla Tape. It's made for non-smooth surfaces, and it works!! ;) http://www.gorillaglue.com/tapes.aspx

I don't know this to be true, but we were told it's made from the same 'stuff' as Bare Bond (? Bear Bond), used by the NASCAR teams.

Available at:
http://www.gorillaglue.com/information/where-to-buy.aspx

Just an FYI...

Terri, the Chevy co-pilot :)

[hankaye]

Smitty, Howdy;

Good on ya!... Glad to hear that you found and fixed the leaks.

hankaye

[chuck&gail]

Just in case.

I've personally never seen a outlet for potable (non-polluted) water at a dump station. Most places that is illegal. Be careful not to use the water connections put there for washing out sewer hoses, it is NOT suitable for drinking.

[loonaticfringe]

We're newbies to the full-time RV lifestyle. We had learned a lot, but we know we've hardly scratched the surface...yet.
My question is this: the plastic drain valves which looks to me to be the ones used to drain the rig for winterizing. Since we'll never winterize, there's no need to open these little spigots. Should I ever have to even open these at all?
I did, just fooling around with it. I also put a small amount of water in the fresh tank just in case we were to boondock.
Now they drip water almost constantly. I say constantly because if we put no water down any drain for a good part of the day, they don't drip. As soon as we begin to allow water to drain, they commence dripping again.
The water has built up enough to where it has collected in one small (I hope) spot in the underbelly membrane. I also notice that the water somehow makes its way to the forward part of the rig, on the very bottom, and drips from there as well.
Just so y'all know, I leave the grey tanks (we have two) open all the time while keeping the black tank closed.
Thanx in advance for the info y'all might provide.:confused:

[Outbackmel]

You might take the caps back off and put a little plumber's piping (white) tape around the thread. That will stop it from coming around the thread. You can get the tape at Walmart RV supplies section or any Ace or similar hardware. It's cheap and easy to use.

One thing you want to check is that while trying to remove the end caps, you did not loosen the tube further up. I had to hold mine with pliars while removing the end cap. Water could be slowly seeping along and dripping just about anywhere.

I cannot think of any reason you would need to reopen these if winterizing is not an issue. If there is a reason, someone will speak up. This is not a SHY group here.

[SteveC7010]

Plumbers teflon tape may not be needed with some of these PEX fittings. Some have a rubber gasket in them, and if you take them apart and then reassemble them, they can leak if not accurately put together.

These are fresh water drains. There is no way that they can leak based on draining gray water.

The fresh water tank should have a single drain. There should be two other drain points right next to each other some where on the under belly. These are low point drains and there is one for the hot side and one for the cold side. If they are going to leak, the will do so whenever the water system is pressurized either by turning on the pump or by hooking up to and turning on the city water.

If water is accumulating in the underbelly, the leak may be from elsewhere in the piping as already pointed out to you. Any leak has the potential to seriously damage the wooden components of the trailer, especially the floor.

If you aren't able to find and repair this yourself right away, I suggest you get it to an RV repair shop immediately and have it fixed.

[CarKath]

loonaticfringe, Hi

The leak you seek is on drain side from what you are saying, not supply side. Drain lines will be 1 1/4" and larger. The small lines you describe with spiggots don't sound like the issue to me, if when you drain the sink and water appears. You are best tracing your drain line system and inspecting for leaks. Wouldn't hurt to inspect your grey and black holding tanks either.

Good Luck

[f6bits]

The “drains” they are talking about are for emptying the hot and cold fresh water from the trailer – not the drains that lead to the grey tank. Since they’re for hot and cold water, they’re the same small PEX tubing that lead to faucets, etc.

[hankpage]

Okay. So what exactly is the purpose of those little plastic spigots?
I hate to ask this silly question, but like I often say, "there are no stupid questions, just stupid people who ask them."

They are to drain the water from the hot and cold water lines and are called "Low Point Drains". Even in warm climates water lines must be drain before extended storage. It sounds like the water you see dripping is coming from a drain and running along the sealed under belly and out the hole made for the low point drain. Pour water down each drain one at a time from a bucket till you see which one is leaking and go from there. One common leak is from the shower pan drain and a little plumbers putty will seal that easily. JM2¢, Hank

[loonaticfringe]

Thanks to all y'all for the info. I tightened up the fittings on both the spigots and in seems to have stopped the dripping...for now. I've learned a few things from all the replies. Anytime you can learn something is terrific!
I thought for while I was going to have to gut the underbelly and do some surgery. Hopefully it's all good now.
Another thing that confused me after we'd hauled it about 150 miles recently, something was shaken loose. It didn't drip prior to that, but did afterward. Also I put maybe 10-15 gallons of water in the fresh water tank before making the trip.

[Michael Watkins]

No I don't believe the tanks have an over flow valve on top of the tanks. It would just overflow back out the fresh water inlet. Smitty the low point drains you speak of are just piping threaded into the bottom of the tanks and my guess would be that it is loose there. The underbelly would be easy to lower just to get to that connection, however if it is under warranty I would have them do it. However again, if the "condesational" (I just made that word up) brain heads were to be part of the fixing it I would do it myself. An easier solution might be to cut a small hole through the underbelly at the low point drains and get a flash light up in there and see what you can see and perhaps get a wrench up in there to tighten it. Then you can purchase a small piece of underbelly at your leisure and put it all back together. By the way I would be willing to bet the dealer will try and cut a section out as opposed to lowering the whole thing.
You all are great. I am having the same problem with my 2012 Cougar. Started after 2 trips took to where i bought it and the dealer fixed it, 2 times then fine. 3-4000 miles later its doing it again. Glad to now that is a nipple because it is easier for me to fix that then take to dealer. I could feel it turn slightly when playing with it. did not want to find out i was twisting some hose attachment. Thanks again this site has help me in 2 situations now. You all are the best.