DETERMINED: Water leaking from underbelly

[Brireey1600]

I have a problem with water leaking from underbelly. Not sure where it's coming from. I just started having a problem with one of the grey water valves not being able to be pushed in all the way so I think it may be related. I left all the valves open as I have full hook ups, and to see if the water stops running. If not I will look into fresh water system. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Rig is a new 2016 bighorn and I am 300 miles from dealer and unit is under warranty

 

[danemayer]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

If the water is leaking toward the rear, and you haven't been towing in rain, you may have fresh tank overflow. A 2016 should have overflow fittings outside the frame, but there have been a few posts about manufacturing leaving one inside the frame. When you fill the fresh tank, you should see water coming out of these fittings - or at least one of the two.

When hooked up to city water, if the internal check valve in the water pump gets stuck partially open, water can flow backwards into the fresh tank, overfilling it.

Are you using a pressure regulator to ensure water pressure is 60 psi or less? High water pressure can also be responsible.

The gray tank valve not closing completely is probably a separate issue.

 

[farside291]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

Are you leaving the black valves open all the tim also?

 

[JohnD]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

Are you leaving the black valves open all the time also?

Just wanted to add to this . . .

It is not a good idea to leave the black and gray tanks open when hooked up to a sewer.

It is better to let the tanks fill up and then drain . . . most especially the black tank!

For starters, you risk the chance of having sewer gasses coming back into the trailer, despite p-traps and all of the other stuff that are 'supposed' to stop them.

Plus, when you leave the black tank open all of the fluid drains out . . . but the solids stay!

If the solids dry out or harden . . . then you are in for a GREAT BIG problem!

- - - Updated - - -

I have a problem with water leaking from underbelly. Not sure where it's coming from. I just started having a problem with one of the grey water valves not being able to be pushed in all the way so I think it may be related. I left all the valves open as I have full hook ups, and to see if the water stops running. If not I will look into fresh water system. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Rig is a new 2016 bighorn and I am 300 miles from dealer and unit is under warranty

I have gotten into the habit of hand tightening as many of the plumbing fittings as possible before each time I hit the road!

Only takes a couple of minutes.

 

[farside291]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

An easy pre-hook up to utilities check is to turn on the water pump and listen for it to stop running. If it stops running then more than likely you don't have any fresh water leaks. I still have a leak on the top of my fresh water tank that if I fill up with fresh completely water will drip out of the under belly for a few hours, even after the over flows have stopped overflowing. Until I can get it fixed I only fill until the 3/4 light on the panel illuminates. The only way I know of to find where the leak is is to drop the coroplast and look.

 

[Brireey1600]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

I haven't been leaving my valves open only now to troubleshoot problem and eliminate one tank at A time. I have not used a water pressure regulator but have been at sites with very low water pressure. Also I don't believe it is my fresh water tank. I have everything completely empty now and will begin putting each tank back online to try and narrow things dowm

 

[JohnD]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

We don't boonedock on a regular basis, so generally only fill the fresh water tank 1/4 to 1/3 so that we can use the plumbing while on the road.

 

[Bgthomas]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

.
.
.

Plus, when you leave the black tank open all of the fluid drains out . . . but the solids stay!

If the solids dry out or harden . . . then you are in for a GREAT BIG problem!

.
.

The dreaded pyramid of doom.

 

[Brireey1600]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

Thanks for all the replies to my problem. I think danemayer got it right. When I was at my previous campground I had to pull up a steep incline and I think the fresh water tank leaked out the overfill into my underbelly. After testing all the other tanks and confirming they were ok. I drained the underbelly best I could into a bucket, and found it was definetly fresh water. I also drained my fresh water tank and everything seems to be ok. For now

 

[Brireey1600]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

Thought I had my water leak problem solved but getting ready to leave our last campground I hooked up the black water flush and water started to leak from the underbelly again. Also have issue with grey tank valve not going in all the way which leaves a slug of water in the pipe so I have to put a bucket to catch it while I hook up my sewer hose. Starting to get frustrated with Bighorn. I know you have problems with new units but we are traveling and full timing and can't get back to dealer very easily. Looks like they now need to remove underbelly and we will have to wait for work to be done as this is our home. Starting to second guess Heartland quality in workmanship especially when you have problems inside the underbelly

 

[cookie]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

If you are getting water leaking when you have the black tank flush hooked up they you need to check that portion of the system.
The easiest thing would be to remove the wall in the basement so you can observe the plumbing.
Turn on the flusher and look for a source of water leakage. It might be at the back of the Anderson Valve, coming down from a wall where the back-flow preventer valve is located or it could be leaking where the water line enters the fitting on the black tank.

As far as the leakage from your waste valve do as many of us have done and that is to get a turn on Valtera waste gate valve. No more bucket.

Peace
Dave

 

[Brireey1600]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

I did take the wall out in the basement already. Everything is dry there. All the plumbing looks good. Cannot see the black tank. The problem seems to be between the basement floor and underbelly.

 

[rxbristol]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

As much of a pain that it will be, it's time to open the underbelly and find out what's happening. If nothing else, you need to get it dry. If you don't or can't do the work yourself, you may want to consider a mobile technician--dealerships are not known for their expeditious repair work. I'm full timing and have used two mobile technicians--Heartland honors warranty work with them.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

I hooked up the black water flush and water started to leak from the underbelly again.

If you have an access panel in the shower, you can open it to get a look at the black tank flush vacuum breaker. If there's water leaking when you use the black tank flush, that vacuum breaker would be the first thing to look at. Also, if you take down the rear wall of the pass through basement storage, next to the UDC, you can inspect the black tank flush connection on the back side of the UDC to see if there's a leak there.

I've attached a picture of what it looks like behind the shower access panel, along with a drawing of the vacuum breaker setup, and a picture of typical plumbing on the backside of the UDC (yours could look a bit different).

As for the water waiting for you when you uncap the sewer outlet, there may be a couple of things going on. If a gray valve is not closing all the way, you'll get more than a slug of water, unless the tanks are pretty empty. Sometimes when you dump the tanks, there's a little water left in the pipes that are near horizontal runs. Then as you tow, the water shifts. If you're getting a quart or so, that may be what's happening. If it's a gallon or two, you may have a leaky valve.

A leaky valve can be verified by adding water to the gray tank with the dump valve closed. Put a bucket under the sewer outlet for an hour to see if it's leaking, and how fast.

 

[Brireey1600]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

How do you get warranty approval from heartland when using a mobile tech. Do you need to pay the tech upfront or do they handle the paperwork and payment thru Heartland

 

[murry135]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

I would check to see that your over flow tubes are visible through the frame or underbelly before removing any coroplast materials. Had this issue and it was the over flow tubes which pulled back into underbelly of unit. Correction was to extend tubes further out and secure them with expandable foam insulation.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

How do you get warranty approval from heartland when using a mobile tech. Do you need to pay the tech upfront or do they handle the paperwork and payment thru Heartland

First step is to find a mobile tech who is willing and able to do the work. Ask if he'll accept direct payment from Heartland - most probably don't.

Second step is to call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. Ask for approval to use that mobile tech. Do so even if the tech says he has worked on Heartland warranty previously. You need prior approval.

Mobile techs charge for travel time. Sometimes it's called travel time charge. Sometimes it's a service call charge. You'll have to pay that. But often it's a good tradeoff compared to the cost and inconvenience of hitching up and towing to the dealer, dropping off, and coming back later. Not to mention the disruption if you're full time.

If the tech wants you to pay him directly, you'll do so at completion of repairs. Then you submit the bill to Heartland for reimbursement of parts and labor cost. If you have a scanner, or a scanner app on your smart phone, you may be allowed to email the invoice.

Heartland may have established limits on labor for a particular repair. You might discuss this up front when you call customer service for approval. Occasionally repair people come up with unreasonably high labor charges. It's usually not a problem, but you don't want to be caught in the middle.

It's also a good idea to discuss with the tech how he handles call backs if the problem is not fixed the first time. RV manufacturers generally don't pay twice for the same repair. With dealers, the expectation is that they stand behind their work.

 

[Brireey1600]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

With all the responses I think I am going to do some more investigating before I call in a Tech. With all the responses, I got some good direction. I did look underneath the rig and did not see any overflow hoses. The only hose coming through the underbelly is the low point drain. What I might do is take a few bolts out of underbelly and try to take a peak to see if I can see what's going on in there.

 

[danemayer]

Re: Water leaking from underbelly

With all the responses I think I am going to do some more investigating before I call in a Tech. With all the responses, I got some good direction. I did look underneath the rig and did not see any overflow hoses. The only hose coming through the underbelly is the low point drain. What I might do is take a few bolts out of underbelly and try to take a peak to see if I can see what's going on in there.

Fresh tank overflows come out through the side of the frame, probably near the axles, and may take a 90 degree turn with additional pex tubing added along the frame. Eventually there'll be another 90 degree fitting directing water down.

I've attached a picture that shows where it comes through on one side, before the pex tubing is added.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

PM me and I'll give you my number. I think we can narrow it down.
Wheres the leak at front or rear of the coach


Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk