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Old 07-18-2010, 03:16 PM   #1
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1970 31' Sovereign
Elderton , Pennsylvania
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Cool Water, water everywhere!

We bought a 1970 Sovereign, which we have pretty much completely redone inside. We are now working on plumbing and electric. We hooked it up to the water supply and have water pouring out the underbelly. We repaired one cracked pipe in the bathroom near the water heater, but can't find any others cracked. Nothing inside seams to be leaking. The pipes in the rear access door all look good--nothing squirting in there. Is there a cap or something that may have been removed for winterizing and not replaced? We can't see anything obvious. Don't want to remove the underbelly unless we have to.
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Old 07-18-2010, 03:45 PM   #2
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1971 23' Safari
Valley Grande , Alabama
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same problem

Hi! We had the same problem. PO told us that there was a leak in the rear but that was all he told us. We pretty much did the same thing you guys are doing. We made our 71 Safari water tight and repaired floor and redid the inside. Waited on the plumbing because that was the least knowledge my husband had. Just for the giggles we hooked up the water to it and water water everywhere under the belly pan. That is when hubby decided to do the pex for the entire trailer. All of the pex he put in is on the ground floor since he didn't want to open the belly pan. So far has worked great. We now have water in the kitchen and bath. Pex supplies and tools cost us about 225.00. Here is a good link:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f443...ign-23313.html

Best of luck. It really does make camping much more fun with water! Brenda
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Old 07-18-2010, 04:33 PM   #3
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The first thing I though of was the possibility that the PO left the system drain valves open after winterizing....we can hope...
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Old 07-18-2010, 05:31 PM   #4
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Call the PO. and ask... If you are near each other have the po come by and show you what you may have missed.
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Old 07-18-2010, 07:04 PM   #5
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1973 25' Tradewind
Chatham , Ontario
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I hate to be the possible bearer of bad news, but I had the same thing with my '73 Tradewind. Thought the same as you about a drain or something left open. Turned out to be a big crack in the fresh water holding tank. Hopefully it isn't that with yours.
here's the story. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f443...aga-59247.html
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Old 07-18-2010, 07:23 PM   #6
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1976 27' Overlander
Scarborough , Ontario
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We had, at last count, 7 burst pipes this spring. We found leaks:
- in the side access hatch, going from the water pump to the rear.
- going to the toilet water supply
- 4 burst sections going to the shower water supply
- the water filter directly over the electricals was leaking through the bypass valve.
- the water supply to the rear bath was burst as well.

ok, that's more than 7 leaks. Basically, I found them by watching the different areas of the belly and watching for water, then tracking them down by feeling each pipe through the various access panels. The shower water supply was the most fun, because I had to find it and fix it all blind, with the fiberglass digging into my arm all the while.

Have fun.
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Old 08-07-2010, 04:56 AM   #7
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1976 31' Sovereign
Springfield , South Carolina
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Wow you guys are realy getting me discouraged. I have found four leaks so far and haven't even filled the water tank yet for a looksee.

Anybody tried: Just For Copper Epoxy Putty

for a fix on the road?
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Old 08-07-2010, 07:54 AM   #8
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hours and hours

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hummer View Post
Wow you guys are realy getting me discouraged. I have found four leaks so far and haven't even filled the water tank yet for a looksee.

Anybody tried: Just For Copper Epoxy Putty

for a fix on the road?
I have spend hours and hours working on water pipes. If I had your problem I would replace all the pipes. The water tank will probably be OK. What I found was, once one spot was repaired, the wiggling of the pipes to repair it, make another leak. Use what Airstream uses today, Pex.

It will be a big job but problem free for years.

Dan
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Old 08-07-2010, 07:59 AM   #9
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drain valve

Quote:
Originally Posted by janmarie View Post
We bought a 1970 Sovereign, which we have pretty much completely redone inside. We are now working on plumbing and electric. We hooked it up to the water supply and have water pouring out the underbelly. We repaired one cracked pipe in the bathroom near the water heater, but can't find any others cracked. Nothing inside seams to be leaking. The pipes in the rear access door all look good--nothing squirting in there. Is there a cap or something that may have been removed for winterizing and not replaced? We can't see anything obvious. Don't want to remove the underbelly unless we have to.
If it were a drain valve it would be sticking out of the bottom. I would spend more time looking for the problem before I took the underbelly down. Get on the ground near where you think the leak is and have someone turn the water on. You may be able to find a way you can get to it without much work.

Dan
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Old 08-07-2010, 08:54 AM   #10
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1972 31' Sovereign
Lexington , Minnesota
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Janmarie,

When you say you hooked up to the water supply, how do you mean? Did you connect the city water inlet to a hose so that it's providing pressurized water, or did you fill the water tank and are running the pump? If it leaks on one system but not the other (city water vs. water tank and pump), that will narrow your search down for the leak quite a bit. So, if you’re currently using the city water inlet, try filling the water tank and running the pump to see if it still leaks.

Good luck!
Chris
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Old 09-07-2010, 08:22 AM   #11
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1966 26' Overlander
Woodstock , Georgia
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hot water heater tanks leak too
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Old 09-07-2010, 09:14 AM   #12
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1966 22' Safari
Hilltop Lakes , Texas
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Old, stretched, burst in places copper is a pain! PEX is wonderful stuff. Easy to work with--slithers into small spaces easily. We used the crimped fittings and had to plan carefully to make the last crimp in a place where the tool had room to operate. The copper brings a good price at the recycling yard.

At least on our unit, all the water lines are above floor level, so opening the belly pan is not an issue.
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