Fresh Water Tank Drain Pull Rod - So that's 2!

[KWyer]

So, we are the new owners of a 2021 Solitude 375RES-R and the first stop about 40 miles after picking up the new camper from the dealer I did a walk around and found the fresh water drain valve pull rod had become disconnected from the valve and had been dragging on the pavement for quite some time and had worn away the connector. GD and dealer were great and had a new one sent directly to me and I screwed it on.

First stop on the second trip with the new rod was dragging on the pavement again. Strike two.

So it appears that you have to really get under the camper with some plyers and torque this rod to the threaded valve connector to get a sufficient fit and I am contemplating using some of that low heat aluminum brazing rods to lock the rod to the valve.

Anyone else having these issues?

KW

[howson]

KWyer -- the issue is difficult for me to visualize, as the OEM handle config on my 315RLTS is so short. (The pic below shows the dump valve and handle with the coroplast down.)

Can you post a pic of your Solitude's setup?

[JBill9694]

No personal experience with this problem, just thought I'd toss a couple of ideas out there.

Instead of soldering the threaded connection, how about using one of my favorites, Lock-Tite? I use the non-permanent type for the screws and bolts on on my bow sight and rest and haven't had anything come loose. Oh yeah, I've used it on our rig just about every time I find a loose threaded connection.

Would a secondary support keep the rod from dragging if it does back out? No specific suggestion, I imagine there are several ways to accomplish this.

[Canyonlight]

Possibly it is this rod that appears to run from the white "T" handle to the fresh water tank 2" dump valve located roughly between the two wheels next to the blue overflow tube in this picture ?

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/202...S-R-5014773873

Dan

[KWyer]

Possibly it is this rod that appears to run from the white "T" handle to the fresh water tank 2" dump valve located roughly between the two wheels next to the blue overflow tube in this picture ?

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/202...S-R-5014773873

Dan

Yes

[KWyer]

KWyer -- the issue is difficult for me to visualize, as the OEM handle config on my 315RLTS is so short. (The pic below shows the dump valve and handle with the coroplast down.)

Can you post a pic of your Solitude's setup?

Same valve but they attach a 4 foot rod to it because of the location behind the wheels.

[KWyer]

No personal experience with this problem, just thought I'd toss a couple of ideas out there.

Instead of soldering the threaded connection, how about using one of my favorites, Lock-Tite? I use the non-permanent type for the screws and bolts on on my bow sight and rest and haven't had anything come loose. Oh yeah, I've used it on our rig just about every time I find a loose threaded connection.

Would a secondary support keep the rod from dragging if it does back out? No specific suggestion, I imagine there are several ways to accomplish this.

John, i would agree that the Lock-Tite would be a good choice and would probably work but I really want to kill this issue dead and I think that brazing that connection would go above and beyond.

As for an additional retainer to hold the rod up if it disconnects again I had a similar thought and will incorporate that into "round 3".

[howson]

KWyer ,

See https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...0006#post20006 for ideas on how I extended my handle. Maybe something similar will trigger an idea of how to fix your issue.

Howard

[Canyonlight]

KWyer - another consideration would be ensure that the handle actually still has threads for the 4' rod to screw into. Yes, it may somewhat challenging to do/see this but possibly there is a problem here or maybe there is a crack preventing the rod from getting or staying secure.

By the way, this is the first I have heard of this on any GDRV and I've been here on this forum since inception and elsewhere for nearly 7 years as one of the early GDRV owners.

Dan

[KWyer]

KWyer ,

See https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...0006#post20006 for ideas on how I extended my handle. Maybe something similar will trigger an idea of how to fix your issue.

Howard

Loving this engineering my friend!