Columbus 320RS plumbing vent -- lesson learned

[dbuster]

A winterizing tip, probably applicable to any trailer....

Opened the cargo hold in our 5er yesterday and noticed that the plumbing vent pipe was hanging about 18 inches below where it is supposed to be. Opened the cap at the bottom of the plastic pipe and noticed that the pipe was full of ice, which led it to be very heavy, eventually weighing enough to cause it do dislodge from the cheap plastic collar in the cargo hold that was holding it in place. During the winter (well, the winter so far, anyway) snow had covered over the vent on the trailer's roof and because of repeated melting and snowfall, rain and ice storms, etc. water had gotten into the vent and frozen, causing the problem. We got the vent reseated and climbed up onto the roof to put a bit of duct tape across the vent where it comes out of the roof. (We'll have to remember to take the tape off before we use the trailer.) But that now will be part of our winterizing routine -- throw some duct tape across the mouth of the plumbing vent to keep out the elements.

[LandJ]

There should be a cap on the vent... is yours missing?

[rapper]

Are you sure that it was the actual vent for plumbing & not the conduit that runs from roof to basement for future wiring? The conduit would have a plug or cap on it in the basement & roof area to prevent water intrusion, the vent would not have a plug as it goes to the tanks. Just a thought. Jack

[dbuster]

Hmmm. Good question. It's black plastic pipe about 2 inches diameter. Cap on bottom. It pokes into the ceiling of the cargo bay on the street side maybe a foot inside the bay and about a third of the way from the front of the bay towards the rear. Sound like a plumbing vent or wiring conduit?

[dbuster]

Thanks. There's no cap and there's no evidence (scratches, mounting hardware, etc.) that there ever was one. The end of the pipe coming out of the roof, however, has sort of a built-in screen. Actually, I think the pipe that came detached seems to slide up into the one that pokes thru the roof, given that the one coming out of the roof is obviously larger in diameter than the one that was hanging down into the cargo bay.

[SYE]

Originally Posted by dbuster

Hmmm. Good question. It's black plastic pipe about 2 inches diameter. Cap on bottom. It pokes into the ceiling of the cargo bay on the street side maybe a foot inside the bay and about a third of the way from the front of the bay towards the rear. Sound like a plumbing vent or wiring conduit?

If it is what you are describing on here, it is not a plumbing vent. It is just an empty conduit that runs up to the roof for future installs like solar panels, Satellite dish etc. There should be a vent cap on top and a screw in cap in the cargo bay area. I put a photo as to where they are located.