Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Adios Nautilus

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Adios Nautilus

    I ripped the Nautilus out and built a replacement as some others have done. It was a project first conceived shortly after purchasing our Solitude 310GK/R January 2019, At first look at the unit in the wet bay I have to admit it looked very nice, but after having a chance to crawl around in the basement and looked at the backside I thought this can not be so complicated. I also after close inspection realized it was susceptible to failure and would likely be a costly and difficult repair/replacement and began to draw out some ideas. Procrastination and a wait and see attitude delayed the process, until recently when two of the valves seemed to be failing as they were becoming more difficult to turn and would not align directly down or to the side. So my original preemptive strike became a necessity as we are full-timers.

    It took me about 12 hours of work from start to finish and cost $202.00 in parts. I am happy with the result as it so much less complicated, does everything the Nautilus did, the fact all the parts can be obtained locally is a real plus as full-timers and frequent boondockers and it is a more reliable system. In operating with it I discovered the additional benefit of much better water pressure from both the city water and the pump.

    In taking the Nautilus apart and removing the panel to build my manifold I realized what a huge effort and PIA it would have been to replace any of the valves and should either the water inlet or black tank flush valves fail it would be a nightmare to do with the panel in place because of the ridiculous way they are secured in place. As I would no longer need the water intake valve, I removed it and had to move the black tank flush valve. In doing so I ended up having to break the crazy retaining contraptions. As part of my overall project, not too much of a big deal, but would be a nightmare if one had to replace one of this valves with the panel in place. I ended up putting a hose clamp on the back of the valve to hold it in place which will make it easier down the road should it need to be replaced.

    The first two photos attached here are the before and the last two in a follow up post

    Many thanks to bogen2 for his excellent post on the job he did, answering a couple of questions, and to a post on the other site.
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Hermes; 09-05-2021, 10:46 PM.
    Regards Bruce & Lin An
    Our Two Akitas Kenji & Suki
    2019 Solitude 310GK/R
    2015 Ram 3500 DRW Turbo Diesel With.AISIN
    Tranny

  • #2
    Here are the after photos
    Regards Bruce & Lin An
    Our Two Akitas Kenji & Suki
    2019 Solitude 310GK/R
    2015 Ram 3500 DRW Turbo Diesel With.AISIN
    Tranny

    Comment


    • #3
      Bruce - Awesome job. I unofficially appoint you as our forum plumbing guru!

      Jim
      Jim and Ginnie
      2024 Solitude 310GK
      GDRV Technical Forum Moderator
      GDRV Rally Support Coordinator

      Comment

      Working...
      X