Replacing Argosy Water Lines

[GLovedahl]

I have a 1978 Argosy Minuet that I've been working on during the past year. After refurbishing everything inside, I've discovered that the there are numerous leaks in the water supply lines. It appears that everything needs to be pulled out and replaced with PEX. Has anyone done that, if so how difficult, and how expensive?

[apltrez]

I have never done a complete replacement. All 3 of mine had some replacement done....some with PEX and some with another oddball material. PEX is not hard to work with at all. Home Depot has it as well as tools and fittings. I didn't think it was terribly expensive. After usiing Shark Bite fasteners in a Casita and an Argosy project, I broke down and bought the clamps and the crimping tool for my current Minuet. This is way less expensive than using all Shark Bites. Also, my Home Depot had both red and blue as well as semi-clear Pex.....helpful while trying to keep hot and cold straight. The toughest part, but doable, is the "shower" faucet and "snaking" the lines around the shower to the kitchen.

Good Luck.

Greg

[rogerdodger]

I did a complete replacement using pex and crimp rings. I ran all my lines back to a manifold, one for cold and one for hot. This eliminated T's in hard to reach places. It is not expensive except for the ring compression tool. Also, don't pull out the old behind the tub until you are ready to put the pex in, and use the old line to tape new pex to and pull it around the tub. The hardest was the tub faucet, and I needed to replace it anyway.
I think the whole job only took a couple of days, and my days are only 4-5 hours till nap time. LOL

[idroba]

It is a very common upgrade, and I have done it on two Argosy trailers. As has been mentioned the hardest part is the tub/shower system, you may need to cut and patch the fiberglas or ABS tub material, as it is very difficult, if not impossible to get the old pipes out and new ones attached to the shower valve.

On a one time deal, I probably would spend the extra money for the Sharkbite type fittings for your connections. I finally did buy the crimping tool, but then I had a mobile home re plumbing job to do too. The main problem with the crimping system is finding enough room to work the handles in some tight places. Mostly you can build the fitting system out where you can get at it, and then put it back into the inner recesses of the cabinets. This does take a bit of planning and thought to do it right.

[rogerdodger]

"Mostly you can build the fitting system out where you can get at it, and then put it back into the inner recesses of the cabinets."
I did it this way, pre-measuring, built all of it in my living room(please don't tell my wife, she was out of town) LOL. It was 100+ degrees with no AC in the Argosy. So indoors I went, then installed it as a system, hooked up faucets-done.

[NJtoNC]

agreed. i replumbed our whole house in pex and it was the first time i ever did it. i had no experience in this, not an expert, and a girl at that. agree that the crimp tool is much much cheaper than sharkbite or quick compression fittings, but can be hard to clamp in tight spaces so build what you can on the floor of the trailer or your wife's living room floor

[rogerdodger]

Originally Posted by NJtoNC

or your wife's living room(or kitchen) floor

SHHHHHH She might be reading over my shoulder!

[DryFly]

Depending on your layout, you may need both the Sharkbite connectors and crimp style. I used both.
Also, don't bother buying the "pocket pex tool". They are great in theory but fail in execution (IMO).
I replaced almost my entire plumbing line system with Pex, and I'm glad I did.

[rogerdodger]

Originally Posted by DryFly

Depending on your layout, you may need both the Sharkbite connectors and crimp style. I used both.
Also, don't bother buying the "pocket pex tool". They are great in theory but fail in execution (IMO).
I replaced almost my entire plumbing line system with Pex, and I'm glad I did.

Nope, I disagree, I used the pocket pex tool with a vise, did my whole system with it!

[apltrez]

No recommendations or expertise here, but I also got along fine with the pocket tool and used vise grip pliers....no leaks or disasters.

Greg

[AlbertaBound]

I used the longest braided stainless supply lines I could find (with a built in shutoff and pex connector) at each tap/toilet/shower/pump/heater and used pex in between. took about 15 minutes and around $100(wholesale). as long as you plan your crimps in places you can easily reach it is very simple

[woodlandfarm]

I have done a couple of houses an d am in the middle of the trailer. Pex with crimpers is cheaper in the long run than shark bites. Our local hardware rents the crimper as well. One note. I went with plastic elbows, but anything with a screw was brass fitting. Plastic seemed to leak a lot.

[Roadrunner]

We have contemplated using these in several trailers. They are easy to use and don't require any additional equipment. We have used them in our home without any problems. The concern I would have is that our Airstreams flex and move in many directions. I'm curious how shark bites would hold up under these conditions. Like many others, we have used pex with crimps. No problems...no leaks.

Bob
Indiana, PA

TAC PA-5
WBCCI 4871

[mimiandrews]

We used PEX with crimp connectors 5 years ago. Job was more planning than work--had to get that last connection in a place where the crimp tool had room to work. No problems since--great system.

[Stumpjumper]

PEX is the way to go! Pre planning, as stated, use brass fittings when available, also stated. A hint: After a fitting is crimped it can still be turned as when needing to screw it in a pipe fitting. Sometimes this is the easiest way and seems to be without any problems in doing so. Buy your crimps and major fittings such as elbows in bulk bags, a lot cheaper.