Help - Underbelly leak

[Marguerite]

Hello, we had our Sundance stored for a year. It rarely freezes here in Florida, but may have touched freeaing while we were away last winter.
anyway - when we filled it for the first time yesterday - all the water ran into the underbelly. Where do we even start?? We drilled holes to let it drain - the underbelly looks really hard to remove.
It's a 2008 Sundance

As a PS to this - this morning we tried it with the hose on city water and it does not leak out - so it's only on th etank part we think.

 

[cookie]

Marguerite, If you are not leaking hooked up to city water then it could be your tank or a fitting in the line or a hose itself. Loose, broken or cracked.
I would start by removing the bulkhead in the basement and look at all the connections for the water fill. I would look at the connections on any water line as well as any fittings on the pump including the pump sediment filter bowl.
The bottom is not that hard to access. You just need to get down there and start remving screws. You will not be able to pull the bottom off without cutting it but you might be able to remove the screws along the side of the I-beam and the center and be able to pull it down far enough to at least be able to see or feel the lines. With that access have someone add water to the holding tank an watch for where the leak come from.
Oh and one more thing. Be careful when drilling holes in the bottom Coroplast....thats where your tanks are and you might wind up with more leaks.
Good luck and let us know what you find.

Peace
Dave

 

[Marguerite]

OK, it appears the edge of the bottom panel is glued. I think we want to loosen it all around, drop it and then cut the panel in sections (being careful as you warn about hitting other things) (not today - another day). If we pull it down, do we need to reglue it? Is there anything that will be water damaged and needs to be dried out (e.g. wood rot etc?)

 

[goodtruck]

Like cookie the bottom is not hard to unscrew just takes a little time.when you remove the last screw do not do what I did and that was be in front of the bottom when i pulled the last screw(got a shower).I left the bottom down for a few days to make sure that it was totally dry before I put it back.I found that I had a 2 inch break in the side of our water tank.After pricing the tank I decided to try a repair first.Got a small tube of 3M 5200 and 8 stainless screws and a thin plastic cutting mat.Cut the mat so that it had 2 inch over the crack,put a 3/8 inch layer of the 5200 on the hole mat piece and used the screws (8) to attach the mat to the tank.It has been about 3 months and the tank seams to be fine.

 

[Marguerite]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

Thanks - does anyone know where we can get a schematic? He cut the front part off but that is not where the leak is. thanks.

 

[cookie]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

Maggie, before you have the whole bottom cut up, take all the screws out along one side. I suggest the off door side. You should be able to pull the Coroplast down far enough to peek inside with a flashlight and find your freshwater tank. It should be somewhere above the axles. Put some water in the tank and look for leaks. If you find none, turn on a faucet and let the pump run. Again, look for leaks. You should be able to find the leak that way. You may have a cracked tank, a loose fitting or a leaky water line. That procedure will help determine which one it is.

Peace
Dave

 

[Marguerite]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

thanks Dave and Mr. Goodtruck.
I called the factory and got no help so I'm back here. We took the entire underbelly off by cutting it in sections. We found the problem - it is at the fitting where the pump takes water out of the water tank - it is broken half off where it meets the tank. So now we are thinking of taking Mr. Goodtruck's suggestion and 5200-ing the joint and then maybe wrapping it with that super silicone tape that melds to itself. If that doesn't work maybe we can drill the fitting out and patch that spot and put a whole new one in.

but meanwhile this has been leaking so long into the underbelly that the straps are all rusty. There are only 2 and they are close to the sides so the middle of the tank sags down... Is there any danger of these rusty straps breaking or worse the jagged edges wearing a hole thru the tanks? If so, how can we protect the tanks from these and should we insert another strap to help support the tank and if so how? Thanks so much for the help....

 

[cookie]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

It's hard to tell from here but those straps would have to be really rusty to break. Many people have added support to their tanks.

Peace
Dave

 

[Marguerite]

How to Replace water tank outflow fitting? who makes the tank & of what???

We've been struggling with a leak in our water system.... took down the entire underbelly and isolated the leak - where the tube to the waterpump connects to the tank (on the port rear bottom of the tank) there is a fitting that makes a sharp right angle. The fitting is broken off right at the tank and that's why it was leaking.
We tried glueing but there is constant pressure on this right angle as you drive, so the glue may not hold. So we need to know who makes the tank, what material it is made of, and if necessary how to seal up the current hole and replace the entire fitting with something stronger or at least with better support.
Does anyone know who makes the tank and what material it is made of?
Also it is only supported at the front and rear edges on L brackets (welded to the frame) and by 2 straps close to the sides - since it was leaking while in storage these straps are totally rusted. Is there danger of them breaking or the jagged edges rubbing a hole thru the tank? If we need to add a strap nearer the center of the tank belly can this be done - we DON'T want to have to remove the tank! It looks like it would have to come up thru the floor - That would be a whole nother thread.

 

[cookie]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

I did a little search and found a couple of places that sell freshwater RV tanks. Not real expensive.
Check out THIS and THIS.

Peace
Dave

 

[Marguerite]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

The issue of course is not the price of the tank but tearing the entire trailer apart as I explained it would have to be replaced form above. This is not a viable option so that's why I requested permission to post in another thread rather than continuing thins one. I need to find out what the tank is made of and the manufacturer. I spent over an hour on the pohone with the factory and got no information from them so that is not a viable option either...
Thanks for understnading the need for another thread.

 

[Marguerite]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

maybe I wasn't clear - the way the tank is installed it can NOT be removed from the bottom and a new one cannot be installed that way - we would have to rip the entire floor apart... it's just plain bad design...

 

[jmgratz]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

Have you tried calling Heartland Customer Service at that could be your best resource for solving your problem

 

[FennerJ]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

All of our tanks are made to be removed. the sides of the tanks are held up by cross members (angle iron) one is welded in place and the other is lag screwed into place. the one that is screwed is the one that can be removed so the tank can be removed.

 

[Marguerite]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

Thank you very much for the reply. We didn't see any screws holding the cross members on - on the sundance 2800 the supports run crosswise and it must be the front one which we couldn't really see. We just looked at the back one which is visible and saw it was welded in place. We'll get back over to the lot and crawl under and see if the front one can come down somehow... meanwhile we glued the problem (the fitting where the tube to the water pump attaches to the tank is split) and are hopeful the glue will hold until we can get the tank replaced. Thanks again for the information. We did call the factory but didn't get that information.

 

[SJH]

Re: Help - Underbelly leak - need schematic

Difficult for me to visualize where the crack/break is but for what it's worth, if there is room to work, you can have someone "plastic weld" the tank. If it is just a fitting then this is not an option. The black tank of our previous SOB rig developed a crack at the drain pipe and we were able to have it welded. Quick fix and it was only about $150.00.

Best Wishes!

 

[ncc1701e]

Marguerite,

I just read through all the replys to your post and am really interested in your final solution. We will be picking up our 2011 Sundance 2800RL next week (delayed a week because of weather). Not that I'm expecting problems, but knowing the possibility and a solution certainly is a good thing to file back for reference. Wish you the best in resolving your issues.

Tom & Millie