Leak

[BirdieGirl]

Good morning! While on my “shakedown” camping trip, I hooked up the water hose to flush out winterizing fluid, and when we turned on the pump water gushed out from underneath the camper and out into the pass through. Another camper checked underneath, and pushed up on the bulge to remove the water. There appears to be a hole where a rivet pulled away. Also, I saw the gas pipe is loose. Does this look like it’s been damaged or leaked before?
I drained the fresh water tank, and we used the campground’s facilities. The good news is that everything else worked well, and we made the best of it. The bad news is I can’t take the camper to do relief work tomorrow. I think I need to take it to the repair shop as I’m not inclined to do plumbing. Thought I’d get your opinions first. Thank you in advance.

[Country Campers]

In picture 3 that wood panel is removable to gain access to the back of the water panel as well as the water pump should be there as well. If you remove the end of that panel you can check the back side for leaks, it might just be a loose fitting. Post a picture or two and we might be able to help you repair this yourself.

Brian

[Cate&Rob]

There are MANY locations for a plumbing leak that will end up with water in the underbelly. Where the water is collecting can not tell us much about where it is coming from. You are going to have to open up access panels to look for the source of the water.

Rob

[BirdieGirl]

Ok. Back home and took off panel as directed. Here’s what I see - the white pipe does not get caught by the threaded black piece? Is it missing a connector piece? Thank you in advance for your help.

[TedS]

Should the white piece be inserted into the black fitting to the right?

[Country Campers]

BirdieGirl

Yes the white elbow should be inserted to the black screw on fitting to the right. Unscrew the black part and try to push it back on to the white elbow, there also should be a cone washer inside the black nut that slips over the end of the white elbow. The fitting may have been tightened too much and pulled over the ridge on the elbow. It may be damaged and need replaced but I can not tell that from the picture. If it needs replaced get a whole new fitting.

Brian

[BirdieGirl]

Thank you. I’ll give that a try and let you know tomorrow!

[ncitro]

BirdieGirl I'd bet the hose is too short. They tried to use the threads on the connector to pull it together, as you bounced down the road the strain on it caused it to pull loose. If I'm right you may need to splice in a piece of pipe (I'd use PEX) between the elbow and the panel.

[Cate&Rob]

The white inner part and the black outer part are supposed to be one fitting. They are usually pushed apart as shown in the picture by freezing water inside the connection. This fitting will need to be replaced. The connection in the background of the picture is a straight version of what this elbow fitting is supposed to look like.

Rob

[BirdieGirl]

Hi again. The rubber seal had been smashed down. I got a new one. Here are the parts. If I’m understanding you correctly, the white seal goes inside the black piece then over the pipe? Which direction does it go? Does the metal washer go in before or after the rubber seal? The pipe is not too short. Thank you in advance.

[Cate&Rob]

Putting this fitting back together is going to be difficult. It looks like the metal ring fits into the groove in the white part to keep it within the outer black part. Getting this ring back into the groove and keeping it there will not likely work out well since the groove in the white part looks damaged. The best solution would be a new elbow fitting. You would need to remove the PEX clamp from the hose, remove the old fitting, insert the new fitting and clamp it with a new PEX ring (this requires special pliers).

Rob

[BirdieGirl]

Thank you. I think I’ve reached my limit on this….I cannot use the water at all because of this, so I think I’ll take it to the shop.

[Cate&Rob]

Thank you. I think I’ve reached my limit on this….I cannot use the water at all because of this, so I think I’ll take it to the shop.

With the service backlog at most RV dealerships, you might try a local mobile RV repair person to replace this fitting. It should only take them a few minutes.

Rob

[TedS]

Replace the elbow with a hose barb swivel, not a pex swivel.

[Jlawles2]

BirdieGirl As mentioned by Ted, the nylon braided hose actually is using the wrong connection and should be a barbed vs a PEX. Barbed connections are simple and use a worm clamp or a crimp ring to hold them in place. With the work you have done this far, a worm clamp is definitely in your skill set.

Example available at most hardware stores and auto parts stores. https://www.amazon.com/WINL-Stainles...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==