Saga continues

[Dan S]

I dropped off the Argosy to a guy that just works on Motor homes and and he actually owns an Airstream too. Therefore, he's familiar with their issues but not so much with the Argosy's. He is diving into the dump valve issue and looking at where the leaks are coming from where the other access panels were cut (by the shower pan and a bit north of that).

He said after he jacked it up on the drivers side, water was weeping out the panels but the water pump never cycled on. He thought it was traveling down the main frame rail as well? He also said the bottom side insulation was all wet.

With the pump not cycling, could the potable water tank be leaking from the front and traveling all the way back? If so, is there a specific area he should be looking? Or, could this just be residual water in the pan and when jacked up, it drains?

Thanks for any insight.

Dan

[Argonaut20]

This is just me, but without the belly pan down, I don't see how one could actually locate leaks. It is possible that the potable tank is leaking, and it is not difficult to take loose to get it out to look at it. I doubt the water is running down the frame, but it could be. Colored water in the gray and black tanks (one at a time) sounds like a winner, but taking the belly pan down is quick, likely less time than cogitating about what could be happening around those pipes and tanks. Finding the problem goes more quickly when you can see the area.

[steelbird312]

By all means, jerk that belly pan down, find the leak, repair it, and REPLACE that wet insulation to prevent smells, homes for bugs, rodents, etc. Clean new insulation works so much better than nasty, wet does. If you find mice droppings, wear a small face mask to clean it all out.
Noe, clean the belly pan and rerivet it to the trailer.
DONE!

[Dan S]

Keep in mind, I'm not doing the work.

Update today was that he was replacing both leaky valves and pulled out all the plumbing after removing the back half of the belly pan. What isn't clear is that what was causing the drip by the shower. Could it be all the leaks looking for an exit?

If I recall, the leak in that area didn't start untill he flushed out the septic a week or so earlier. I believe he said he had a hose in the toilet and just continuesly flushed. If so, could he have overfilled and it seeped from somewhere else?

Thanks,

Dan

[Argonaut20]

Could be the residual leaks finding a place to happen. It can leak around the toilet if the gasket is bad and long flushing/overfilling might, repeat might, get a leak there. There is also a vent pipe connection to the black tank. I'd be checking the tank neck where the valve sits and other areas for fatigue cracks. If it looks sound, replace the valves, check for leaks again, and use the rig if you don't find any leaks. If your repairman is pulling the pipes to get the valves in, likely he is dealing with all the possible leaking areas.

My '79 had a leaky black tank due to cracks in the outlet neck of the tank. New tank, new valves, new pipes all the way around. Cured the leak.