New 5th wheel water pump leaves a lot to be desired

Susido · 03-31-2015, 07:13 AM

A couple days into owning my new 2014 Laredo 329 RE and I dewinterize to discover the water pump seems not to provide adequate pressure and is loud as heck. It also turns on every 20 - 30 minutes all night long but I can find no leaks anywhere. So that is perhaps a bigger concern...

Compared to my old 5th wheel, I get relatively poor water pressure at all faucets. The shower pressure in particular is brutal but I don't know how much of that can be attributed to the cheap showerhead. And this factory pump is way louder as well.

I'm wondering if installing an accumulator would help increase water pressure? I know it would help with the noise by running the pump less often. I'm also willing to replace the pump with something like a shurflo revolution pump assuming its 3 GPM would help improve things. Thanks for your advice.

raineman · 03-31-2015, 07:21 AM

Does not sound right. Since it is new can't you take it in under warranty for that? My water pump got really loud once, and I discovered I was almost out of water. Once I refilled it went back to normal.

PARAPTOR · 03-31-2015, 07:45 AM

When you said comes on every 20-30 minutes at night I assume it happening all day long but annoying more at night when trying to sleep? Your are loosing pressure somewhere that is why pump is coming on to restore pressure. If you can not find a leak could it be somehow water is back feeding into your FW tank ,thereby dropping the pressure? As far as noise these pumps are basically screwed into the floor vibration/noise is carried through the floor material as well as connecting pipes banging against each other and surrounding structures. Have my area opened up now and was thinking about possibly adding some rubber between floor and pump ?? Not sure how much that will reduce the noise.

As far as pressure not sure really what to expect from an RV pump? Thought I had read that some spigots may have water restrictors to save water

Susido · 03-31-2015, 08:14 AM

Yes, I've only noticed the pump running without water being turned on the one night I tested it. Could be happening during the day too but I'm not in the trailer much then. I haven't had a chance to thoroughly check for water leaks but there's a chance I might not ever find it until it starts dripping out the underbelly. If there are possibilities other than water leaks for the pump running then that's probably good news.

There's the usual rubber mounting feet on the pump so don't think additional cushioning would make much of an improvement. Will have to get down there with the pump operating to better see what's happening. Didn't consider that there might be flow restrictors on facets now; my old 5th wheel is 24 years old. I'll take off the kitchen faucet end and see what's on it.

trueweb · 03-31-2015, 08:28 AM

I assume it's possible, if the pump is defective, that you are losing pressure past the pump back into the fresh water tank if you are not seeing water loss anywhere including the toilet. If this is the case you deserve a new pump.

As a side, I installed the FloJet 02840100A after dealing with the pump running all the time just to rinse a plate or wet a towel, I also had some crazy water hammer with my old pump when running hot water. No more! and you can flush the toilet a time or two at night without waking everyone up!

Javi · 03-31-2015, 08:31 AM

Pretty sure ALL the new faucets have water restrictors.

As for vibration even with hard rubber feet if the pump is mounted where the PEX is rubbing on the board or frame it will vibrate and make plenty of noise.

Periodic running of the pump can result in a loss of pressure from a leak or from a faulty pressure switch. I'd check the toilet valve and see if there is a slight leak if nothing else stands out. And make sure the outside shower is completely turned off..

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