Now I am really confused

[Theo]

It rained last night, torrentially, so this morning I went leak hunting. I found evidence of seapage, on the frame of the vista window, which can be easily remedied, so of no concern. I found no apparent leakage anywhere other than a slight leak by the water heater, which alerted me to a considerable problem under the sink..

I had drained everything, and re closed the stops, with the system dry, because I noticed a small leak in the water heater, which prompted investigation, and uncovered that it needed replacing, but the water system was drained and left DRY..

After the rain, the tube under the sink from the filler point outside was leaking profusely, at the union where it goes from diagonal, to vertical, by way of a grey plastic fitting. Water was pouring out of it, like a stream. I tightened up the clamp, and started to investigate why it should do this, and found to my total surprise, that the water tank was backing up the fill pipe, with the filler hatch locked shut, and no water connected to the trailer. I drained everything last week. That I know. I cleaned under the sink and it was bone dry, after the faucet leak I found when testing the water lines. Nothing had water in it, no pump was on, no hose connected. So. How did the fresh water tank get filled to overflowing, during a rain storm? There is no evidence of any other water anywhere, the belly pan is not flooded, there isn't a grey tank to go crazy, and the black tank is empty. SO, where did the water come from. How did it get into the fresh water tank, and how do I get out of the twilight zone? This is totally bizzarre, as I obviously opened up all of the stop taps, and drained it again.. Exactly the way I did it before, and it drained.... and drained. It seems reluctant to stop draining. For over an hour it has been draining water in a slow, but steady stream, and the trailer is now surrounded by water. This is funny, were it related to me from someone else, but I am totally confused.

How did the water tank get filled to overflowing?

Theo.

[thenewkid64]

Theo,

Let me ask a couple of questions. ..............

Is your trailer currently parked level?

Where is the water fill door, roadside or curbside?

Where the water fill door is closed is it sitting flush with the surrounding skin?

I have a theory, but would like to know these facts first.......

[Theo]

Trailer parked on level ground, slightly nose up. The water fill is on the curbside of the trailer, and is locked flush to the skin. I tugged on it, and it is well fitted, with no obvious gaps.

Any theory is bound to better than mine.. I know a trailer can't be posessed, so someone should be able to come up with a better idea... It is still draining, but slower now..

Theo

[thenewkid64]

Level is good, I was thinking if it was leaning like your avatar then lots of water could enter around the filler door.

I still think the filler door is the culprit here. There is no way for that volume of water to get into the tank while raining unless the trailer has a tremendous leak that somehow drains into the fresh tank?????? Are you certain that the fresh water tank was empty? Your tank should be in the 25-30 gallon range and that seems like a lot of water to get in.

If the rain was torrential as you describe and the only thing I can surmise is that the water running down the side of the rig entered into the filler around the seam of the door. It filled the tank and the fitting that was marginal before began to leak due to the water standing in the fill tube. There is no overflow on a trailer tank.

If you patent the idea you could make a mint. Imagine never having to fill the fresh water tank!

[Theo]

That must have been the way for it to get in, but there is no evidence of that happening. The tank should have been empty, as I did exactly the same sequence of actions that I did today, to drain it. The tank was overflowing through the union in the filler pipe, not through any other place. I checked the filler hatch and it was dry, with a tight fit - the turning of the key drew it in some to lock it, but there is no other explanation, unless a previous owner installed a rain gatherer on the roof. I have not got a ladder to go investigate this, but casual inspection with binoculars from an upstairs window does not reveal anything unexpected. The photographs that make up my avatar, are those taken by the seller, and copied from e-bay, shrunk to size and animated. I have not cleaned the beast yet, so have yet to photograph it. I have it standing on level grass, next to the house.

I actually lowered the nose an inch, and the draining water sped up.

Theo

[RivetED]

I might try looking to see if it is remotely possible for a roof vent to be suspect. Although late model units vent air out of the fresh-water via the filler (sm. hole under the cover) there might be a vent on the roof. Wild guess but ...