leak again?

[dhe9]

hello,

have been on the road for 6000 miles and have noticed a problem. when i hook up city water i get a leak from directly below the hook up from behind of the wheel well and it drips from out of the plastic belly pan underneath the trailer on to the ground. also when i shower using the water pump i get a leak in the same place. any ideas and how would i fix?

thanks,
david
socal (onthe road)

[HowieE]

Add some more info. What size and year.

If you leave the pump on does it cycle ever few mins.? Can you isolate the hot water by turning off the water to the hot water heater?

If the pump cycles while no water is being used you have a leak in the pressurized side of the plumbing, not in the sewer side. If you can turn the water off the the heater and still have the leak it is in the cold water side.

If it is a leak in the pressurized system it is above the floor and you want to get into it ASAP as floor rot will happen quickly.

You just have to get in and under things to locate the leak. If your trailer has rug it is most likely completely over the floor and will be wet to the touch in the area of the leak. That's the starting point.

Post what you find for repair comments.

[dhe9]

'03 bambi.

pump does not cycle if water is turned off but pump on. also when i hook up to city water the water comes out from directly below the hose hook up and behind the wheel well. no wet or damp anywhere inside the trailer. it looks as tho the city water is coming from the wrap around the bottem. the wrap that has that cheap plastic belt in it.

thanks again if you can help me.

david

[TBRich]

We had a similar situation in our 06 19' Bambi at one time...when we were connected to city water, we found a very slow drip coming out through the small outside work light fixture on the belly pan behind the wheel well, near the sewer hookups...upon inspection, we found that the city water fitting was slightly loose from the inside allowing a small amount of water to drip between the exterior and interior skins, finding its way out through that fixture. I knew this was what was happening because the insulation between the skins was damp from the leak. We tightened up that fitting from the inside and have not had a problem since...it was a bear to get to in the vanity cabinet.... Something you might check... Good luck!

[HowieE]

Can you see or get to the inside of the city water connection. Mine comes into one of the storage compartment and I can get directly to the city water fitting.

If you can get to the fitting you should be able to tell if it is the fitting that is leaking or the connection to the trailer plumbing that is leaking.

Have you had a freeze while hooked to city water? If so the fitting may be cracked.

You had originally mentioned that it leaked while showering. That is why I questioned the pump and listed how to check that system.

[dhe9]

it seems that i have two leaks but coming from the same location and that is behind the wheel belly pan. one is when i turn on the hot water heater and the other is when i hook up to city water and turn on the water. both create a leak. i have looked under the cabnet and can see the city water hook up and will get the hose back on and see what i can see.

this is getting to be a real PIA.

sigh.

david

[dhe9]

got under the cabnet and found the city hook up. water is coming in there when city water is hooked up. the hose and the insulation between the inner and outer shells is damp. does anyone know if i can fix this city connection from the outside or must it be done from under the cabnet? the city connection has a plate and there are four screws holding it in place, i am wondering if i can take the fixture off, pull it outsiide and then replace?

thanks,

david

[HowieE]

You can remove the fitting from thr outside but you may haqve to cut the pipe inside to have enough room to get the fitting out to a point you can do anything. If you have to cut the pipe try and cut it where you have a straight section of pipe at least 2 or 3 inches long. If you cut the pipe you can use a Sea Tech coupling to fix it. No glue, no effert, and easy to remove in the future.

If the hot water heater is leaking when hot open the outside cover and look at the safety relief valve. They commonly leak at high temperature. another point of a leak is the drain plug. If that is the leak you will need a basin wrench, Home Depot, to get it out.

[TBRich]

Originally Posted by dhe9

got under the cabnet and found the city hook up. water is coming in there when city water is hooked up. the hose and the insulation between the inner and outer shells is damp. does anyone know if i can fix this city connection from the outside or must it be done from under the cabnet? ...<snip>...

thanks,

david

That's exactly what was happening with ours (see post #4 above)...I was able to get my hands and a wrench back there and tighten up the fitting without removing it...it was just loose...hopefully yours is just loose, too, and not damaged somehow...it is VERY tight to work in the space, but be patient and you should be able to tighten it without removing if you'd rather not remove it. These things are definitely a PIA...whey they didn't make them a bit more accessible I'll never know... Again, good luck.

[dhe9]

good information here and thanks for the replys. guess i will concetrate on the city hook up leak as i know where that is coming from. what is strange is that when i heat water, or hook up city water both leaks show up in the same location behind the wheel well at the bottem of the trailer road side. heating the water causes the leak without the water being turned on.

david

[HowieE]

The city water pressure is more likely higher than your pump pressure. That may account for the second leak when hooked to the city.

If you fix the city connection leak you still have to find the other leak ASAP to save your floor.

[dhe9]

Originally Posted by HowieE

The city water pressure is more likely higher than your pump pressure. That may account for the second leak when hooked to the city.

If you fix the city connection leak you still have to find the other leak ASAP to save your floor.

i removed the carpet some time ago to put down laminate but have not put it down yet. the plywood floor is dry and not getting wet from these leaks so this tells me that the leak is below the wood floor.

this is getting stranger by the day.

me