Any body know if plumber's putty or silicone tape would work?
most plumber's putty should not be used on plastic. the oil in the putty breaks down the plastic over time.
I had the same leak problems when I first purchased my BH. must have been a sleepy line worker.. the nylon compression fitting ring was just stuffed in the pipe sideways and the pipes under the sink were screwed together loose.. it was an easy fix and haven't had a problem since...
__________________ AZstreamin goin' where the weather suits my clothes....
Our experience has been like Rick's: once a small leak, and since being tightened it has never happened again. We've towed close to 60k miles at this point.
Krista, don't get paranoid about what the dealer said. Crumbs of food down the drain are not a problem. You can do your dishes without fear. Just don't dump large quantities of food down the drain like you might with a household "Insinkerator" disposal unit.
In any case, a little enzyme-type ("green" or "formaldehyde free") black tank chemical down the sinks once in a while is a good idea -- it helps digest any food particles that get into the gray tank.
Digest-it was recommended to us by a fellow camper. It is difficult to find, though. But I was told we should put it in the black tank and in the gray as well to break down grease.
Also, I was told that if you hook up to sewer and leave gray valve open, the grease will coat the bottom of the tank and create problems. Not sure about that piece of advise, though. Seems the grease would either coat the bottom or coat the sides a la bath tub ring. If you put the enzyme type treatment in there with a little gray water and travel with it for a while, the enzyme will get stirred around evenly, or at least will swim around to all parts of the tank submerged in the water and eat away at whatever is in there. I generally try to leave a few gallons in the gray tank for this purpose and to keep the seals from drying out.
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2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
Our experience has supported that theory about problems resulting when the gray valve is left open. For two years we closed the gray valve and only used it for dumping. This left the pipe pretty clean after dumping.
Then we stopped for three months and lived in the Airstream with the gray valve mostly left open. A disgusting slime mat built up in the dump pipe and hose. (The slime mat is a layer of bacteria that is feeding on organic material.)
We have been using enzyme-based tank chemicals to encourage the breakdown of this mat, and have resumed our practice of closing the gray valve except to dump, but progress has been slow. After a month of use, the pipe is just now coming clean again.
There's no question in my mind that prevention is far better than cure in this case. I agree with the advice to leave the gray valve closed rather than letting it run for long periods of time, and to keep some chemical/water mix in the tanks to help organic material break down inside them when the trailer is stored.
Hey Minnies Mate-
Got some Georgia questions for you, if you don't mind. Or anyone else whose been down this way. We are heading to Orlando shortly from Charleston, and there are a couple of places about 1/2 way- Jekyll Island or St. Marys. Both sound very interesting and wondered if you had any personal experience at either place. Thanks!
Krista
Jekyll Island is a beautiful and quaint little island full of rich, and I do mean rich, history. It is one of Georgia's five Golden Isles.
The island was purchased in the late 19th century as a private retreat for America's wealthiest upper crust to escape the New England winters. While most of the members of the exclusive Jekyll Island Club stayed in the main lodge during their stay, several members built beautiful "cottages" on the mainland side of the island in what is called "millionaire's village". Such cottage owners were the Macy's, the original owners of the dept. stores, the Van der Bilts, the Astors, the Pullitzers, the Firestones, and the Cranes (of Crane bathroom fixtures), and others. These Victorian jewels are open to the public for a small tour fee for self-guided tours. The main lodge is now a luxury hotel in the Westin chain, I believe.
Most of the cottages (mansions by today's standards) have been fully restored. One of the most spectacular restorations is the chapel with its dark stained Victorian/Gothic revival interior and stunning stained glass window. Try to visit it in the morning as the window deliberately faces east and is simply gorgeous with the sunlight streaming through. The very first transatlantic telephone call was made from Jekyll Island in the early 1900's.
The state recently completed a wonderful suspension bridge to Jekyll Island that is work of art in itself. The design has one awards and has been featured in many commercials and movies because of its design.
The island was purchased by the State of Georgia shortly after WWII. There were German U-boat sightings and more than one ship torpedoed off the shore of the island during the War and the members no longer felt safe so participation dwindled so the club closed and sold the island to the State with certain provisos. While there are a number of homes on the island, none are built on private property; they are all built on leased land. There are only a few lodging options and one campground as I recall on the island but a number of restaurants and two or three golf courses. Because of the State's tight building regulations (at least until now) nearly all of the beaches are pristine and undeveloped. They are as they always have been. Unfortunately, the State is planning to open the entire island up for redevelopment that will end its current state of natural appeal.
I am less familiar with St. Mary's. I know that St. Mary's is experiencing quite a renaissance recently with wonderful salt-marsh developments and new golf courses and is becoming not only a tourist destination for the golf and access to both the inter-coastal waterway and direct access to the Atlantic, but as a vacation home resort as well. There is a Naval Base with one of America's main submarine bases on-site and there are lots of deep-sea fishing opportunities as well.
Of the two, I would highly recommend Jekyll Island for the history, natural beauty, and tranquility. The only caveat I can add is that there can be tons of mosquito's at certain times of the year (other times not) and 30 years ago, the shrimp boats often came too close to shore and would stir up the bottom of the ocean floor and cause the water to be murky on the windward side of the island. Not a place for snorkeling, but a nice beach for sun bathing.
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2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
rluhr says
A disgusting slime mat built up in the dump pipe and hose. (The slime mat is a layer of bacteria that is feeding on organic material.)
........ After a month of use, the pipe is just now coming clean again.
There's no question in my mind that prevention is far better than cure in this case. I agree with the advice to leave the gray valve closed rather than letting it run for long periods of time, and to keep some chemical/water mix in the tanks to help organic material break down inside them when the trailer is stored.[/quote]
Rick,
I also full time in my BH. I could not agree more. I believe grey water
tank management is every bit as important as black water. Chemicals
and flushing vs bribbling is key to overall grey water disposal.
I've been having this ongoing debate with another fulltimer in a 34 foot
with a slide out- ha. That is about all you need to know.
Well except he loves to shower in the trailer every night and gets
bothered by the need to go outside and flush the grey tank. I on the
other hand will take advantage of any provided facilities and leave the
grey water management to the park.
We finally brought our Safari into Colonial Airstream to have the leak repaired on our front compartment. When we tow in wet conditions, water gets into the front compartment, due to the compartment door being mis-aligned. While we were at it, we asked the service guys to look at the issue of the small cracks coming from the lower corners of the door.
The fix was to remove the compartment door, re-attach it a bit straighter than it was originally made, add reinforcing aluminum behind the lower corners, re-rivet, re-caulk, and adjust the gasket. So we still have our compartment door for use, and with luck it will no longer admit water when we tow.
The cracks have not changed much in the past year, despite another 20k miles of towing. One terminated at the lower edge of the aluminum sheet, so it had nowhere to go. The other angled off about 45 degrees but had stopped getting longer. They stop-drilled it, and inserted a rivet for good measure.
We also had found in the last six months that several of the lower rivets along the bottom of the compartment door (below the hinge) had broken. I talked to people at AS about this and their theory is that hard scrapes on the rear end of the trailer transmit force to those front rivets and break them. This is plausible to me, since we hit a bump coming out of a California gas station last December, and the force of the scrape was enough to turn the rear scraper bars into U-shapes. Prior to that event, none of the front rivet had broken.
Just FYI to those concerned about leaks, broken rivets, or cracking on their Safari 30. I've come to no permanent conclusions about this phenomenon but will continue to monitor the situation (and my "incidents" when towing that might contribute to future problems). In the meantime, I'm just happy the leak might be fixed!
We have had a great first two years without many issues. The only "body" leak we have discovered is the leak Rich described around the front storage bay door. And yes we do have the cracks. I called Airstream and registered the cracks before the warranty ran out this past week and will be taking it to an Airstream dealer with a body shop in a couple of weeks for the repair. I'm hoping that the repair will also stop the leak that occurs only during rain while towing. Beyond that we have had no body leaks.
We have one leak that seems to either be intermediate or a one time leak. Last year during the Can Opener Rally in early January I noticed what appears to be a high pressure water leak. We were using the heat pump but not the A/C. There was a puddle of water that remained constant on the concrete parking pad at the street side front corner even when the heat pump hadn't run for some time. This was well away from both the HVAC condensate drain and from any plumbing and continued all day both days even after the sun had burned off all the dew. I'm thinking that corner might have been a little low and the water ran through the belly pan and dripped out through the seam between the first belly pan segment and the banana wrap segment of the belly pan. I've not been able to replicate the water drip since even when using the A/C in Florida over Spring Break or Memorial Day (Central Florida both occasions). We did, of course, have the drip of the condensate at the wheel well opening on the street side on both trips.
I registered this leak as well as the cracks at the front storage compartment door issue so hopefully the dealer can find it when I leave the trailer for a week at the end of the month.
__________________
2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
I'm thinking that corner might have been a little low and the water ran through the belly pan and dripped out through the seam between the first belly pan segment and the banana wrap segment of the belly pan. I've not been able to replicate the water drip since
Likewise, I have seen this exact same condition occur randomly on our Safari 30 and came to the same conclusion. Condensate water seems to gather overnight in the belly pan under certain circumstances and drip out for hours after the dew is gone. It has even happened in the desert many times.
It is freaky to see, but we've eliminated the possibility of a plumbing leak simply by turning off the pump, city water, and emptying the tanks, so there's no other possible source of the water than condensation. (I also smelled and tasted it -- a risky move -- and it was definitely fresh water.)
I just had the Dometic refrigerator recall done on our ‘30BH. The recall was recently expanded to include the units that were installed between 2003 and 2006. They add a heat shield and some wires and a sensor that I presume turns things off if it gets too hot.
I was not notified by Dometic of the recall. I found out about it through an associate.
I checked and our 05 Safari bunkhouse's refrigerator is included in the recall as well. I immediately checked for evidence of a problem (leaks, yellow stuff, etc) and will schedule the free recall service soon. Thanks for posting the link.
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