Leak in Conn. to H.W. Bypass Valve

I (John) noticed a puddle of water on the floor of the basement, so we took everything out and I noticed that it looked like it was coming from behind the large panel, so I removed it. I saw that it was coming from the connection to the Hot Water Bypass Valve. When I move the hose connecting to the center connection, the water sprayed out. It seemed that the black "L" connector had a crack in it. We are not near a dealer and don't have a way to move our Bighorn 3385 RL, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and go to the local RV Store near Young Harris, Ga and get parts. The owner there was not to flattering on the type of hoses and connectors I described, but did have a brass inline connector and a couple of clamps that I figured I could to a temporary repair by disconnecting the two active connections and hooking them together. The other one, which is the bypass had to stay connected to the valve. I brought them back to the campsite and did that, which worked fine. I then called Heartland and talked to Eric, who said he would send a valve out to us, which would have the "L" connectors already on it. While I had the panel off, I checked all other connections that I could see and found several were not tight, so of course I tightened them all. I would recommend that as a part of routine mtc. to take this panel off and check connections. One note: The screws on the right side of the panel are screwed in from the back side. Remove all others and pry gently to get the others to release. Be careful not to cut yourself (like I did) on the screws sticking out.

Oops, I just noticed that the screws on the right side of the panel are screwed in from the docking station.

John

Sorry to hear about your H.W. connection problem. Same thing happened to us yesterday. Luckily we are in Elkhart for the time being and were able to get a replacement connection from the factory. Will replace the plastic pieces with brass later.

Happy Camping.
C.J.

When you put the black panel back, get some latches from the hardware store so you can easily get back in, as you will be back in.

KENNY COCHRAN said:

When you put the black panel back, get some latches from the hardware store so you can easily get back in, as you will be back in.

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What kind did you use? I agree that there is so much back in there that entry should be made easier, if just to check and make sure everything is still tight.

cjwigley said:

John

Sorry to hear about your H.W. connection problem. Same thing happened to us yesterday. Luckily we are in Elkhart for the time being and were able to get a replacement connection from the factory. Will replace the plastic pieces with brass later.

Happy Camping.
C.J.

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I don't think you will be able to unscrew the plastic without breaking it. You'll have to chip it out.

I had the same problem, I don't use the bypass valve so I just removed it!! End of problem.

I have thought of putting Velcro on the panel, I have had to remove it so many times, Instead I just use one screw on each side now!

johnjoanw

No problem getting bad plastic piece off. Screwed replacement part right on. No problems. Knock on wood.

The factory sent us a replacement that had white plastic instead of black. I got it on without a problem. All is well (for now). Thanks all for the help.

hazdude0861 said:

I had the same problem, I don't use the bypass valve so I just removed it!! End of problem.

I have thought of putting Velcro on the panel, I have had to remove it so many times, Instead I just use one screw on each side now!

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I cut a door in the panel held closed with a slide bolt.