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Old 06-30-2019, 08:33 PM   #1
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Help, did I ruin my camper

I accidentally hooked my fresh water hose up to my black tank flush and left. The campground called and said they turned off the water when they noticed water coming out of my door. When I check it out, it wasn’t too bad. Mostly clear water with a little paper. My big concern is that the shower tray was over flowing. Wonder if water got underneath the side wall of the shower. We had water under the shower , at the outside compartment.
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Old 06-30-2019, 08:36 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lacrawgator View Post
I accidentally hooked my fresh water hose up to my black tank flush and left. The campground called and said they turned off the water when they noticed water coming out of my door. When I check it out, it wasn’t too bad. Mostly clear water with a little paper. My big concern is that the shower tray was over flowing. Wonder if water got underneath the side wall of the shower. We had water under the shower , at the outside compartment.
Well I would get it dried out ASAP, water and wood covered with paper make mold. Turn the furnace on and dry it out. Remove access panel under shower tray and clean water out from there.
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Old 07-01-2019, 05:46 AM   #3
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Get a dehumidifier
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Old 07-01-2019, 06:40 AM   #4
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You need to look under the trailer. If the insulation is wet, well call your insurance. Look for water in the underbelly. I was working on mine, long story short. bathtub ran for two hours over night and filled the grey tank. Overflowed the bathtub. They totaled the trailer.
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Old 07-01-2019, 09:19 AM   #5
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Water can certainly get in places you can't see or even know about.
If it was running out your door, it likely has water in those places.

I would open it up as best as possible and use a dehumidifier.
You may still have issues down the road. It's hard to tell.

This should be a lesson to everyone.... NEVER leave your water turned on when leaving your campsite for any length of time.

My Uncle had a toilet valve stick (Aunt used bathroom right before leaving for a day long sightseeing excursion) and they had a flooded camper when returning. Gallons run out when they opened the door. They cleaned it up best as possible but had soft floor issues about a year down the road.
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Old 07-01-2019, 12:20 PM   #6
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As silly as it sounds I don't leave my brick and mortar home overnight without turning off the water before we leave. That being said the same process has carried over to our camper trips as well. Any long duration sightseeing trips I always turn off the external water and shore power. I've heard of others having similar events happening and I don't want to experience them for myself.

Sorry for your water issues and hope everything works out for the best.
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Old 07-01-2019, 01:12 PM   #7
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Worst case scenario will be a total loss like explained in this video where a toilet overflowed.

At the least, get underneath and pull down the coroplast. Check in bottom cabinets, under bank of drawers, under shower base, etc. Turn the furnace on full blast and open all the vents and windows. Run roof fan(s). And call your insurance agent.

We've had our toilet overflow twice but fortunately it was overnight when we were there and we stepped into water. Once a sticking ball valve and once the foot valve. First time was the worst. First thing we did was mop up all the water with towels. Found standing water in the under-bed storage, under the bathroom sink and under the shower. Use a hair dryer to dry out the bottom of paneling anywhere where the water was. Then I got under our TT in the CG and pulled down the coroplast and found sopping wet insulation. Replaced it with new batt stuff from a nearby lumber yard. Our TT has a plywood floor which helps. OSB can soak up water and turn to mush. Second time wasn't as bad since the floor was tilted forward and to one side a bit and water ran forward and down under the front cap and no water in the insulation. We survived both these events without any visible or permanent damage.

I've installed a solenoid valve on the incoming water line and a switch near the door so we can shut the water off with a flick of the switch. Am thinking of adding a count-down timer so the water only stays on for 15 minutes when need (or set to whatever is best). We've also replaced the ridiculous problematic Thetford toilet with a Dometic 310.

Besides a toilet or black tank overflowing, sometimes a kitchen, bathroom or shower faucet can be not fully shut off. Water inside any RV can spell disaster.

Hope it works out okay for you.
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Old 07-01-2019, 01:20 PM   #8
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Do what you would do, if it were a house. If you have insurance, call your insurance company and see how they want to handle it.

Do it soon, as the longer you wait, the more the damage will be.
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Old 07-01-2019, 02:08 PM   #9
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I don't understand something. If you hooked up your hose to the black water flush and the black water tank overflowed, how did your shower get full of water?
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Old 07-01-2019, 03:51 PM   #10
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Old 07-01-2019, 04:41 PM   #11
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It sounds to me you need to do what you can to get it dried out, that said usually insurance will cover plumbing issues that cause flooding/ wet floors. That said you will need to ask them, if your agent is good, he might be able to work with you. If not, like the others said, get it dry, dehumidifiers, fan blowing across the floor, go under and around the walls of your tub etc, do a thorough check. If it's totaled or not, after cleaning it up, I might consider trading it in on a new one, another option. I had a plumbing issue that flooded my basement floor once and my insurance paid everything to replace flooring and repair pipe. My daughter had a similar broken pipe issue after having a plumber install new kitchen sink, that night a fitting broke apart and flooded her kitchen and dining room and her insurance paid to have it repaired and replacement of all of her hardwood flooring in those areas.
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Old 07-01-2019, 04:43 PM   #12
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I don't understand something. If you hooked up your hose to the black water flush and the black water tank overflowed, how did your shower get full of water?
There have been several reports here of the shower draining into the BLACK tank on some units. Plumbed this way from the factory.
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Old 07-01-2019, 04:47 PM   #13
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I don't understand something. If you hooked up your hose to the black water flush and the black water tank overflowed, how did your shower get full of water?
It goes through the vent pipe, I guess
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Old 07-01-2019, 07:13 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Lvn2tvl View Post
As silly as it sounds I don't leave my brick and mortar home overnight without turning off the water before we leave. That being said the same process has carried over to our camper trips as well. Any long duration sightseeing trips I always turn off the external water and shore power. I've heard of others having similar events happening and I don't want to experience them for myself.

Sorry for your water issues and hope everything works out for the best.
Not silly at all. We came home from dinner and I heard water running. I opened the basement door and it was raining down there. The seven year old rubber hose to the washing machine had developed a pinhole at the outside of the bend and it was squirting a tiny stream of water halfway across the basement. It couldn't have gone on for more than a few hours but it was a real mess.

So now I use the steel-braided washer hoses and turn the water off whenever we're away overnight. And replace those hoses every six years.

Ray
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Old 07-08-2019, 06:56 PM   #15
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That just happened to my son in law. Little over 10k to repair the damage.
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Old 07-08-2019, 07:17 PM   #16
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So now I use the steel-braided washer hoses and turn the water off whenever we're away overnight. And replace those hoses every six years.

Ray
I doubt this applies to many RVs but we have braided hoses for our washing machine that has a pressure sensing valve in them that will shut off the water if it feels no back pressure...
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Old 07-08-2019, 10:39 PM   #17
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The taps to our washer get shut off when we are finished using it for the day.
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Old 07-09-2019, 07:14 AM   #18
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I will never use the city water hook up again. I've read the horror stories about floods from broken water lines, faucets left turned on etc... We camped at Cherry Hill Park Washington DC last year for the 4th of July. We had full hook-up and I used the city water connection.

Every day when we left for the day I double and triple checked that the water was turned off. Every evening when we returned the water was turned back on. After the 2nd time I complained about it to the staff thinking that some kids were playing around. Found out that it was the workers who were performing maintenance on the water lines and went around turning everyone's water off and then when finished for the day went around turning everyone's water back on....including mine. Fortunately we did not have a problem.

Since that day I'll use the city water to fill my fresh water tank and use my pump.
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Old 07-09-2019, 07:22 AM   #19
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I will never use the city water hook up again. I've read the horror stories about floods from broken water lines, faucets left turned on etc... We camped at Cherry Hill Park Washington DC last year for the 4th of July. We had full hook-up and I used the city water connection.

Every day when we left for the day I double and triple checked that the water was turned off. Every evening when we returned the water was turned back on. After the 2nd time I complained about it to the staff thinking that some kids were playing around. Found out that it was the workers who were performing maintenance on the water lines and went around turning everyone's water off and then when finished for the day went around turning everyone's water back on....including mine. Fortunately we did not have a problem.

Since that day I'll use the city water to fill my fresh water tank and use my pump.
The cause of this was "not paying attention" This was a "Human Error" and nothing more.
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Old 07-09-2019, 07:32 AM   #20
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Side question:

Have y’all found RV insurance to cover water damage caused from plumbing problems? I just spent $s replacing some soft flooring due to shower fixture dripping water behind the wall; the small caulking seal around the faucet/handles had failed.

Previous insurer blamed the soft floor on leaking slide seals (they weren’t) because his fancy moisture meter told him there was moisture in the walls, and denied coverage.

We finally found a shop that figured out the real culprit. I’m wondering if I’ll have any luck going back to insurance.

Just asking for experiences, before I make the call.

Thanks
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