Sewer pipe leak.

flyfishing48

Active Member
I have a 2009 Sundance. On the maiden trip our power center stopped working and we had a leak from the toilet area into the basement area. WE left for home a day early and dropped the 5th wheel off at the dealership where we bought it. (70 miles from home). They replaced the power center and said they fixed the leak. They had the unit a full week because of waiting for parts. I towed the 5 th wheel home only to find the next day that the toilet/sewer pipe still leaked into the basement area. I pulled off the ring covering the sewer pipe opening in the ceiling of the basement, to get a better look at the source of the leak. It appears like the flange slides over the black sewer pipe and is glued to it. Having the DW flush the toilet I can see water leaking from the joint. Is the flange assembly glued to the pipe or am I seeing the gasket/seal going over the pipe? I have attached a video clip (Quicktime) showing the leak. Be aware that you are looking up at the ceiling where the sewer pip comes through the ceiling of the basement. If it doesn't work I'll get a still and post it later.
I have a call into the service department, but would like to know what we are dealing with. If this is glued and leaking....this will require re-piping the first foot or so of pipe.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
K

Ken Washington

Guest
Tom,
I would post this in Ask The Factory. They should know right off and tell you how to fix it!

Ken
 

Forrest Fetherolf

Senior Member
Photo of toilet flange similar to what is in the RV. The flange is glued to the 3" ABS drain pipe with ABS glue. If this joint is leaking, reseal the joint by applying more ABS glue around the bottom lip of the toilet flange joint. If water is leaking over the top of toilet flange, then the rubber seal or waxed toilet ring is leaking between the toilet base and toilet flange.

http://www.ashvillemobilehomes.com/waxfrtose.html
http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/changingtoiletsealvar.htm
http://www.geocities.com/fulltimedreamer2004/toilet_upgrd.html

Forrest
 

flyfishing48

Active Member
It looks to me after watching the video that it is the joint leaking. I didn't know you could reseal the joint after the fact. Never tried that. The dealer is sending someone out to fix it.
 

flyfishing48

Active Member
Fixed I hope

The service tech came out today to work on our 5 er. He ended up re-piping the drain pipe. It looks like the original pipe didn't get enough glue or cleaner. The flange and fittings were pretty much like what Forest Fetheroff had posted.
The tech was the same one who worked on it before. It appears that the miss the first time around was a communication problem. After my B.S ing with the service tech I feel better about my dealership.

It is tough to deal with issues on something you just bought new. I have too keep reminding myself about what I did for a living. A great deal of my time in the working world was spent starting up new equipment. Despite my detailed PSI checklist and all of the checks and setups we did, we still had issues. Our goal was to have the equipment run 85% efficient and it took a few weeks to get there. Those that work in reliability engineering will tell you that equipment is most likely to fail in the first hours that you try to use it. After that the curve flattens out until the life of the parts are used up. ( Bath Tub Curve )

I hope the issues of a new RV are behind us and we can enjoy our new camper. We do love our new 5er and still think this is a good fit for us. The more time we spend inside the coach the more impressed we are with how the mfg has done things. Sure there are things I would have done different, but I realize that for the most part it comes down to personal preferences. Besides, the customizing is fun. Whoever bought our trade in got a whale of a deal.
Bottom line...we are happy campers once again.
 
Top