Not Very Happy Fresh Water tank maybe?

[yepuhuh]

Today I moved the 5th wheel and water gushed out from underneath.
I got the 5ver back where it was parked and began looking around.
The under material holding up the insulation and such had a big bulge in it over the axles. I pushed up on it and sure nuff water went to the sides and came out.

I then drilled a small hole in the center and water drained for nearly an hour.

From what i can see, the fresh water tanks has about 2 inches of water in it.

I believe I had filled it up and it may have leaked down.

My question, how the **** do you get at the fittings or the tank for that matter and see a leak?

I'm calling Hertland tomorrow to find out if they plan to do anything abouot this . I'm out of my 1 year warrrnty of course.

I also hve extended warranty but I need to know who is covering what if any before I go any further.

Any ideas?

 

[dbbls59]

I have the same problem and my dealer can not find the problem. I guess it is up to me to find the leak and point it out to him. Sorry but I can't help you with your problem but I'll be watching this thread to see how you get it fixed.

 

[JohnDar]

Prior posts on similar conditions have indicated that the check valve on the water pump was defective, allowing water to back feed from the city connection into the water tank. Check there first, since it's the only way water can get in there if you're on city water.

 

[yepuhuh]

Where would that check valve be located.

I've just about taken all the under material down behind the axles and am still looking for a leak. I'm suspicious about the read cap maybe allowing water in some and it goes into the underbelly. Verdict still out.
Randy

 

[dbbls59]

If it was the check valve allowing water to enter the fresh water tank, wouldn't the tank overflows take care of the excess water preventing it from getting into the underbelly?

 

[danemayer]

I think I can clear up a few things.

1. The check valve being discussed is internal to the water pump. Some people call it by other names, but whatever you call it, the idea is that you don't want city water to flow backwards through the pump into the fresh tank. Some of us have had problems where the fresh tank slowly fills when we're hooked to city water.
2. In the original post, the fresh tank is described as having 2 inches of water left in it and a lot of water in the underbelly. That doesn't necessarily implicate the water pump check valve - although in theory, if the check valve failed and you were hooked up to city water, you might be able to damage the fresh tank and/or it's fittings.
3. So far as I know, the overflows on the fresh tank are new with the use of the Thompson Valve in the UDC. With the new water system, you're feeding water into the fresh tank under pressure. The old way was to use the gravity fill hose. With the gravity fill, there was a warning to never leave it unattended while filling so you wouldn't overfill and damage the tank - an indication that there was no overflow.

If your rig was in storage, it probably wasn't hooked up to city water. Damage to the fresh tank or its fittings could have occurred earlier, when hooked up to city water and maybe you just noticed later.

If you've already taken the coroplast down by the axles so you can inspect the tank and fittings, hopefully you can find the leak. If not, you might have to go somewhere where you can fill the tank and see where the water's leaking.

If you have tank heating pads, press on the pad to see if water comes out. As I recently learned, if you have the tank heaters turned on when there's no water in the tank, you can damage the tank causing a leak. Don't pull the pad away from the tank or you'll be buying a new one. Of course, if it's leaking there, you'll have to.

When you talk to Heartland about your out-of-warranty situation, keep in mind that leaks can come about from many causes - most of them having nothing to do with manufacturing defects. The customer service rep will be thinking that, so it shouldn't surprise you if they say that after warranty, the repairs are your responsibility. But perhaps you can convince them to give you some help if a Dealer Tech thinks the leak was a manufacturing defect that showed up a little late, rather than a usage problem, or consequence of a water pump failure.

 

[yepuhuh]

Fortunately Dan, my rig is on the side of my house and I can hook up city water to it. It has basically been sitting since June and it is covered with an adco cover. I had to pull it out yesterday to put my son's car in the backyard . I'll get to the bottom of it. Fortunately I can crawl underneath it and look for things.

As far as the pump, I have left it on and it doesn't recycle so it stays pressurized.

Last night It appeared that the line in front is where it may be a problem.

As for the warranty and factory, I have little to no respect for that.

Basically you buy the unit and they hope the year comes by real fast and they have nothing to fix. After that they don't care.

I used to own a big boat. Same there. One out of warranty you are basically screwed.

 

[danemayer]

As far as the pump, I have left it on and it doesn't recycle so it stays pressurized.

Yepuhuh,

If you're hooked up to city water and the pump's internal check valve is leaking, the pump doesn't run as it would when there's a leak downstream from the pump. It just quietly fills the fresh tank.

This may not be what's happening, but here's a diagram that may help explain this possibility. It' shows the new Thompson 4-way valve, but other than that, it's the same issue.

 

[yepuhuh]

I've gone from the rear of the unit to the middle searching for a leak and put the fan under there to dry it out.
I may have found the problem.

A line going or coming to the tank is hanging over an crossmember and it is rubbing on the metal. I'm searching to that end point and I've taken some pictures of the underneath stuff and I got to tell you, if you have not taken the coroplast off you are in for a big surprize.

All the loose stuff flops down with the insulation and clorofast. I also seen the connections for my cable and satelite, they did a poor job on the connectors! Ground wire all outside the crimps. While I am in there I am re-doing those and using tie straps to tie up some loose stuff.

Geez, they must have made this unit on friday during happy hour....

Lastly the underneath I-beam is seriously rusted. So much for their powder coating process....

I am cleaning that off wth a wire brush and sandpaper and spraying it with a rust protection black paint.

I wish I could post pics......

If someone would tell me how.

 

[yepuhuh]

try picture

 

[RAHanock]

Could this water be accumulated from rain? I have found that there are a few placed for rain water to get into the underbelly area. For example, the coroplast turns up at the back of my Sundance and is screwed to the frame across the back. But it bulges out between the screws and acts as a nice water catcher. I have resolved this temporarily by stuffing a piece of foam swim noodle between the coroplast and the inside rear bumper. This keeps the rain out.

 

[yepuhuh]

Could this water be accumulated from rain? I have found that there are a few placed for rain water to get into the underbelly area. For example, the coroplast turns up at the back of my Sundance and is screwed to the frame across the back. But it bulges out between the screws and acts as a nice water catcher. I have resolved this temporarily by stuffing a piece of foam swim noodle between the coroplast and the inside rear bumper. This keeps the rain out.

It is coming in somewhere .

I've had city water on for 24 hours now and the holding tank full and no sign of a leak.

On the back , mine has the clorofast connected as well like yours and early on I sealed it with foam.

This morning I pulled a tail lamp out to see any residue of mositure and it was dry as bone there as well.

I'm not sure what to do next other than finishing the painting and cleaning of the i-beams and changing out the drain tube on the fresh water tank.

That line is laying over a cross member frame and looks flattened. It is going to be a bear getting that corrected.....

 

[Bob&Patty]

YEP, water can get into the underbelly when it rains or driving in the rain. The quickest and cheapest way to correct the problem is. Drill a small hole in the low/bulges in the coroplast so water can drain out. A 1/4 drill bit works fine....BUT....use a short bit so you dont drill a hole in a holding tank.

 

[yepuhuh]

That is what I actually did to start with and about 5 gallons drained out just above the axles.

It has been raining here this morning as well so I am eager to see what is leaking and where.!

 

[brianharrison]

Sorry, I cannot help pinpoint your leak but I have some thoughts after I looked at your pictures.

As I look at the pictures of the rusted beam, I am wondering if the water accumulation in the underbelly is coming from road wash from the tires. The last picture shows a bit of white, looks like road salt but I am thinking you have no road salt in FL so maybe was from original transport from the factory during winter? Secondly the surface rust on beam should not create any concern, in my opinion, other than asthetic - it looks like crap.

You may find when you pull through rain and wet roads, water may accumulate in the underbelly. The drilling of drain holes may be the simple solution.

Sorry cannot be of more help.
Brian

 

[yepuhuh]

Sorry, I cannot help pinpoint your leak but I have some thoughts after I looked at your pictures.

As I look at the pictures of the rusted beam, I am wondering if the water accumulation in the underbelly is coming from road wash from the tires. The last picture shows a bit of white, looks like road salt but I am thinking you have no road salt in FL so maybe was from original transport from the factory during winter? Secondly the surface rust on beam should not create any concern, in my opinion, other than asthetic - it looks like crap.

You may find when you pull through rain and wet roads, water may accumulate in the underbelly. The drilling of drain holes may be the simple solution.

Sorry cannot be of more help.
Brian

Thanks.
I believe they brought this down in winter when there was salt on the roads.

I never did find any leaks and the last time I pulled it was in rain.