On the Road Repair

[SeymourAC]

Seymour Sprung a Leak

Our trailer Seymour has been in the shop lately to get a new freshwater tank and has been unable to get out on any new adventures. Our problems started during our recent trip out to the Northwest when I noticed that we seemed to run out of freshwater quickly. Looking at the underside of the trailer, I could see a tell-tale drip and water puddling on the ground. The drip was slow a first but over the next several days increased to a constant dribble, draining the 35-gallon tank overnight.
I couldn’t see the cause of the leak because the tank is encased in a plastic box below and covered by the floor above. There is a small access hole under a cabinet, though, where I could reach in my hand and feel wetness around one of the flanges at the bottom of the tank.
Admittedly, I thought, I could find some epoxy or putty to patch the tank and slow down the leak until we could get back to Mississippi for a formal repair. I was not so lucky. Apparently, the container is made of polyethylene, the same material of glue bottles, and nothing sticks to it. A call to the Airstream factory confirmed this and the only option would be to replace the tank – but they were on backorder for six weeks, well after the conclusion of our vacation.
We stopped at an Airstream dealer in Billings, Montana, only to be told that there was no temporary fix to our problem. They did offer to look at the tank the next week, and if they could “spin in” a new flange, it would take another week longer. We kept moving.
In Glacier National Park we were camped at a picture-perfect site, with complete privacy, a stream in our backyard, and views of the mountains out our bedroom window. However, there was no water hookup, so I had to continually fill the tank with a 5-gallon can carried from the campground spigot; only to watch all the water dribble on the ground over the next few hours.
In desperation, I came up with a solution. In Spokane, Washington, I stopped by another Airstream dealer and suggested that they cut off the flange and plug the hole with an expanding rubber stopper, then drill a new hole in the top of the tank and drop in the tubing going to the water pump. Viola, it worked, and we were able to enjoy the rest of our trip without me feeling like a “water boy.”
So, now Seymour is getting a new water tank. When he has recovered and is feeling better, we will once again hit the road for more Airstream adventures. Stay tuned.

[Jim J]

Your solution was very creative, I wish I had read about it before my tank sprung a leak at the drain flange earlier this year. Could have saved me a lot of anguish.

[ITSNO60]

good idea, what kind of expanding rubber stopper did you use? Like a rubber freeze plug repair type?

[dbj216]

Airstream ought to be very interested in why your tank failed. It is unusual. I have performed the spin weld operation. It is "friction welding". You take a plastic fitting with a flange and drive nubs on it, and spin it against the plastic tank until melting occurs and the two part fuse together. We used a big hand held router to do the job. It works good.

I had the distinct pleasure of pulling the fresh water tank out of our 86 Limited. The crummy grey poly butyl plumbing lines above the tank, but below the subfloor developed a leak. I re-plumbed with PEX and no leaks.

Many Airstreamers have problems with the fresh water drain valve between the wheels on their Airstreams. This plastic ball valve often fails, or the crummy plastic tapered pipe threads develop a leak, like on my trailer. I repaired it with a copper nipple and my fingers crossed.

I will remember the expanding rubber stopper trick. Very good idea. They are available at the hardware store. Airstream adventures like this one keeps us young.

David

[SeymourAC]

Actually, 3 of the 4 flanges on my freshwater tank failed. A search of this forum will reveal that others with trailers made about this time (2012) had the same problem. The first flange to start leaking was from the fill line but this was high enough on the tank to not be too bothersome. After my outlet flange failed and I had the dealer cut an access hole in the tank cover and do the above mentioned temporary fix, the tank drain flange sprung a leak one week later. Because I already had access to the area, I took a small saw and cut the flange off myself and put in a 1/2 rubber expansion plug that any hardware store will have. I would recommend anyone doing alot of boondocking to carry one. The one pictured below would be easy to insert by hand, but any style will do. 1/2 inch will fit in the outlet and drain flange holes, a larger one would be needed for the water level sensor flange. The hardest part of this temporary fix would be cutting an access hole in the tank cover on the road. This is what kept me from doing the whole job myself.

[GettinAway]

I'm going to get one if these. Great idea. When we were boondocking in a popup with the three kids (including teenage daughter) I felt like a water boy, even without the leak.. Just two of us now, we can go a week without hauling water. Our 23 is a 2011, so I'm thinking it's in the timeframe window of bad tanks. Thanks for sharing your fix.