3 Leaks and Counting

[BigJohnD]

Well, maiden voyage and just found another plumbing leak. Prior to leaving, I had fixed a leaking p-trap under the outdoor kitchen, which was 100% cedar creek's fault for trying to fill it with sealant instead of properly installing the o-ring / gasket. Second one was the black flush anti-syphon valve that leaked and sprayed water under the bathroom vanity, which I have removed now.

Tonight, went to disconnect water from RV since it'll be in the 20's here, and found water in the basement behind the connection panel. Traced it up and it was coming from behind the shower. I had already installed an access panel behind the shower faucet connections just for checking connections, but after a week of having it pressured up, it didn't leak so all was good. Now, it leaks, or did leak and I can't replicate it again while watching it. All I know as there was traces of water on the hot line going to the shower faucet. Now, even though I have an access panel, I can't get to where it's wet underneath the shower, so I'm a little on the aggravated side. I plan on installing a second access panel closer to the floor where I can reach up in there and get to a little more area. But, that'll be several weeks out. All I can hope for is that it dries and hasn't done any damage I can't see.

If nothing else, throwing my reasons out there for installing access panels. At least you can catch / find a leak before it damages too much.

[sidney]

Sorry about the leaks.

Where do you get those access panels?

[crunchman12001]

Home Depot or Lowes.

Search Results forÂ*plumbing access panelsÂ*at The Home Depot

[BigJohnD]

I got them at lowes, but they are available at just about any home improvement or hardware store. Both that one and the 14" in the basement are the Oatey brand. I'm thinking now more of cutting a seam just below that panel and making that lower section of wall removable. Did this in multiple places in our forester. The staples pull out easy then resecure with tiny screws.

[ourflat]

Nice job!

Frank

[MIFarmer]

You're making me nervous...

We brought our 35QB4 home the first week of January, so I haven't had a chance to put water to it yet. But with some of the other fit and finish issues I've found, I'll definitely take a hard look at the plumbing. So far the toilet paper holder in the front bath has fallen off just by touching it and the lift struts under the bed have pulled out (and judging by the four other holes on each side where they tried to mount them, not the first time). And then there's the valves they added on the outside of the camper to shut off water to the outside kitchen to prevent freezing...

On the other hand, we opened it up and set the heater to 72 on a windy 36 degree night, and it wasn't drafty and stayed nice and toasty. So I'm encouraged by the build quality of the structure, just a little scared about what other treasures the "C" team has left for me.

Out of curiosity, what are you doing to keep your OK's plumbing intact as the temps head into the 20s?

[BigJohnD]

I "think" I have found some of the leaking issue. See picture. On the faucet, the larger plastic mount if you want to call it that sticks out from the shower wall, it is butyl taped to the wall and secured with 4 screws. However, where the faucet itself is, there is nothing more than that black plastic piece to keep water from seeping in. I had my wife spray in that area while I watched and sure enough water was coming from the black washer type nuts on the backside in the wall. I pulled it all loose and it was full of water. So, first plan of action, take the faucet off and flip it over. Will just have to pull the "Hot" and "Cold" caps and reverse them. You can see where the shower hose connects it's a open spot for water to get in. Seems like it should've been mounted with the hose coming out the bottom to start with, but we've had other RV's like this so I originally didn't think anything of it. Before securing, I'll probably just do some butyl tape around where the water lines go through the wall and around the perimeter of the faucet, tighten it up and trim the squished out tape. May also do a fine sealant around the perimeter.

Where the pex line 90's and secures to the back of the faucet, those fittings were also dripping a little. I pulled that apart, dabbed a little Vaseline in the fittings and that solved that leak.

MIFarmer, we had the toilet paper holder issue too. Funny they added shut off valves to the outdoor kitchen, as I had to do that to ours. Unfortunately, I had to add the valves where the pex comes out from under the RV, but I insulated it from there up. Just disconnected the soft lines and drained as I never use that sink. Be sure to watch the back flow valve under the master bath sink while flushing the front black tank. The little valve in ours didn't seal well and put water in that cabinet. I have since removed it as it really isn't that necessary. I just use a back flow preventer on the black flush inlet and a designated hose instead. As for preventing freezing in the 20's, fill water tank, disconnect hose / put it in the basement and close up the access cover to the hook up area. Insulate low point drains, and as mentioned earlier insulate the pex and valves to the outdoor kitchen. We keep our gray tanks empty, and the valves to the black tanks are in the belly which is supposedly heated so no freezing there. I hate running the furnace, but in temps that cold, we do run it and have yet to have a line freeze. Tomorrow is supposed to be around 22° I believe so we'll see. Was 26° last night and no freezing of lines.

My added panels may not always look like the latest interior décor design, but they have the potential to save a lot of $$ in damage. Plus, make it easier later if you want to change things.

[BigJohnD]

Success. No leaks. Lining the black spacer with putty tape and trimming worked. You can spray it all with water now and no leaks, so I'm a little more at ease now.