Underbelly water with sag

[THolden]

Hello,

we have a Momentum 397TH, 2021. We are on a cross country trip and noticed sagging in the underbelly while we were outside watching a movie. We called GD and they said it’s likely a water leak. We called coach net and they said to put a hole in the sagging part and let the water drain. We did that. Then the black mesh (sorry I’m not super knowledgeable on terms yet - our first RV) started coming off and breaking away from the underbelly and you can see white foam. We got worried at this point and have stopped and found an RV repair shop that is going to at minimum secure the underbelly (today). We have two more weeks planned for this trip but wondering if we should turn back home — which is a 2 day drive.

[ncitro]

THolden Welcome to the forum, sorry it's under these circumstances. I personally would not let much get in the way of a two week trip, but that will depend on either their ability to fix the issue or your own. I would be less worried about the corplast tearing and more worried about the source of the leak. If it's torn you should be able to install new fasteners to reattach rt until you get back. I'm not sure what the white foam will be, usually there's fibreglass under there, and then the tanks, plumbing, and wiring. Regardless you'll need to drop it (work from a corner) to get a look under there and see what's leaking.

[Yoda]

Hello,

we have a Momentum 397TH, 2021. We are on a cross country trip and noticed sagging in the underbelly while we were outside watching a movie. We called GD and they said it’s likely a water leak. We called coach net and they said to put a hole in the sagging part and let the water drain. We did that. Then the black mesh (sorry I’m not super knowledgeable on terms yet - our first RV) started coming off and breaking away from the underbelly and you can see white foam. We got worried at this point and have stopped and found an RV repair shop that is going to at minimum secure the underbelly (today). We have two more weeks planned for this trip but wondering if we should turn back home — which is a 2 day drive.

First welcome to the sight. I would have the RV shop see if they can find the leak. Usual spots are behind the nautilus panel, the water heater (tank type check valve), water pump fittings and filter, aand the typical sink and shower fittings. Most can be visually inspected (you can do it). The false wall in the pass through is easy to remove (roughly 6 screws a the ends) to see the back of the Nautilus panel - GD calls this the universal docking station. The water pump is usually behind this false wall too. too.

Please post back what they find - it helps other later

Keith

[Cate&Rob]

Is the water that came out . . . Clean? Grey? or Black? This would be an indication of where it is coming from.

Rob

[THolden]

Rob, the water is clean.

[THolden]

First welcome to the sight. I would have the RV shop see if they can find the leak. Usual spots are behind the nautilus panel, the water heater (tank type check valve), water pump fittings and filter, aand the typical sink and shower fittings. Most can be visually inspected (you can do it). The false wall in the pass through is easy to remove (roughly 6 screws a the ends) to see the back of the Nautilus panel - GD calls this the universal docking station. The water pump is usually behind this false wall too. too.

Please post back what they find - it helps other later

Keith

The RV repair shop (along with our goal to get back on the road and finish our trip — Moab and Fort Collins, CO), decide to brace the underbelly. Since we are camping with sites that have bathrooms, we decided to not hook up to water. This will give the insurance company time to assess the underbelly damage once we get back home and the braces can be removed and underbelly taken down to fix any damage and find the leak. This will make it less stressful while taking things at the pace the insurance company needs to get the documentation they need. I’ll post some photos here and will keep this forum updated regarding the root cause. I’m the meantime, my husband will take that panel down you talked about and see what he can see. He is handy and an engineer, but we are new to RV life — and this is our first trip! Thank you so much for your helpful response. I will let you know what he finds when he takes down the panel.

[THolden]

Is the water that came out . . . Clean? Grey? or Black? This would be an indication of where it is coming from.

Rob

It is clean water.

[Cate&Rob]

A clean water leak is the best of the three alternatives . . . and usually the easiest to find and fix. Likely a cracked fitting or a poor crimp of a hose to a fitting. Many of us have encountered something like this. Waiting two weeks to get the underbelly opened up and dried out risks further issues . . . depending on what is wet in there.

Rob

[THolden]

A clean water leak is the best of the three alternatives . . . and usually the easiest to find and fix. Likely a cracked fitting or a poor crimp of a hose to a fitting. Many of us have encountered something like this. Waiting two weeks to get the underbelly opened up and dried out risks further issues . . . depending on what is wet in there.

Rob

Thanks for the reply. We learned there was a panel we could open so we did that a couple of hours ago. From our novice eyes, everything looked dry with No sign of obvious water. We were not planning to hook up water the rest of the trip, but found ourselves in a park without bathrooms. So, we hooked up the city water and are cautiously watching. Here is what we saw when we opened the panel up. Is there anywhere else to look? What can I look for to find the leak?

[THolden]

First welcome to the sight. I would have the RV shop see if they can find the leak. Usual spots are behind the nautilus panel, the water heater (tank type check valve), water pump fittings and filter, aand the typical sink and shower fittings. Most can be visually inspected (you can do it). The false wall in the pass through is easy to remove (roughly 6 screws a the ends) to see the back of the Nautilus panel - GD calls this the universal docking station. The water pump is usually behind this false wall too. too.

Please post back what they find - it helps other later

Keith

we opened the panel — no obvious signs of water, but it has to be coming from somewhere. I attached some photos of what we saw behind the panel .

[Beachcamper]

Sorry this is happening on your first trip. Have you looked also under your sinks? Any water under kitchen sink or bathroom sink? Other than behind the panel could be one of the tanks is leaking, were you traveling with fresh water on board?

[THolden]

First welcome to the sight. I would have the RV shop see if they can find the leak. Usual spots are behind the nautilus panel, the water heater (tank type check valve), water pump fittings and filter, aand the typical sink and shower fittings. Most can be visually inspected (you can do it). The false wall in the pass through is easy to remove (roughly 6 screws a the ends) to see the back of the Nautilus panel - GD calls this the universal docking station. The water pump is usually behind this false wall too. too.

Please post back what they find - it helps other later

Keith

Update. We finally see water after having the city water hooked up. The water is pooling around the transfer switch. I made a photo. We immediately turned off the water. Though we cannot confirm, we feel it is coming from the ice maker water line. We cannot get back far enough to confirm. We turned off the ice maker and will test again tomorrow after the water dries. The timing makes sense because we have never used the ice maker until this trip and we got the RV in December.

Tina

[Jlawles2]

I suggest you start feeling the black connectors. In a previous TT I had several that were not tight, and the gaskets were bad. Another thing to watch is the traps under the sinks and shower. Again previous TT the P-trap nuts came loose and were leaking, but only when using the kitchen sink.

Seals I have found bad look like this: https://www.amazon.com/Flair-16435-P...0IRUKIO8&psc=1

[THolden]

Sorry this is happening on your first trip. Have you looked also under your sinks? Any water under kitchen sink or bathroom sink? Other than behind the panel could be one of the tanks is leaking, were you traveling with fresh water on board?

There is no water under the sink. Since we turned off the ice maker, we have not seen any water and we did see pooling of water before that. I still don’t understand why I see water in the area I do if it is coming from the ice maker.

[Country Campers]

There is no water under the sink. Since we turned off the ice maker, we have not seen any water and we did see pooling of water before that. I still don’t understand why I see water in the area I do if it is coming from the ice maker.

If the ice making was not winterized there may be a break in the line or a fitting. It may also be a loose fitting somewhere in the line feeding the ice maker.

Brian