Water pump issue

cabells

Member
I have a 3010 Cyclone went camping over thanksgiving, the second time out, and noticed that after a couple of days the water pump was losing pressure and making a lot, and I mean a lot, of noise for a good 10 to 15 seconds after the water was turned off. Went home and filled the tank up so it was a little over half and water pump worked perfectly. Went camping this last weekend and after about two days the water pump started acting up just like it did before, probably worse. Any solutions besides taking it to the dealer or getting a new waterpump? Also noticed a small leak were you step to flush the toilet, seems to be coming from the bottom of the seal on the step. Again any solutions would be very helpful, don't really want to take it to the service dept.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
cabells, normally the water pump makes noise. It's the pulsation of the pump vibrating the pex plumbing lines against each other (hot & cold) and against any walls they may be lying next to. When your tank starts running empty, the pump will start pulling air and sound strange so you may just be running out of water. Although when the pump runs dry, it is usually quieter because it's not pumping anything. Try isolating the pex plumbing lines with foam insulation from Home D or Lowes.

As for your leak. Leaks are hard to determine unless you can see or feel it. I noticed a puddle near the peddle on our toilet and it was the vacuum valve beginning to come out of the rubber washer/gasket up at the top rear of the bowl. I pulled out the vacuum breaker and cleaned off the whole shebang, used some plumbers grease and put it back together. No more leak. Also check the fitting at the flush valve.
 

newbie

Northern Virginia
You may have been running out of water after two days if your water tank only fills up half way (or you have a teenage daughter ;) )

John
 

cabells

Member
I thought about running out of water and it says it is still half full and it wasn't working correctly when it was full. My daughter is not a teenager yet. I have made an appointment with the service dept. so will see what they say.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I thought about running out of water and it says it is still half full and it wasn't working correctly when it was full. My daughter is not a teenager yet. I have made an appointment with the service dept. so will see what they say.
The level monitor panel in ALL RV's is pretty unreliable. There are after market units available that can be installed. Most manufacturers use the same monitors so it's not a "Heartland thing". Depending on where the sensors are attached to the tank, the difference between 2/3 and full could be as much as a half tank of water especially when filling due to splashing of water on the sensors. When emptying the tank, it takes time for the sensors to dry and may still indicate an incorrect level.
John was funnin with ya regarding "teenage daughters". They can use a lot of water as can kids of any age. We learned early on, how to conserve water when dry camping.
 

Gary521

Well-known member
Let us know what the service departments says. I did two things to quiet my pump. I put thicker, softer feet on the pump and I put a small surge tank just after the pump. Collectively, the two things worked very well. A friend of mine's pump was plumbed directly to the PEX. By adding flexible lines before and after the pump, quieted his down a lot also. He does not have a Heartland and I think that Hearland uses the flexible lines before and after the pump. Something to check anyway. The surge tank is available at most RV parts outlets.
 

cabells

Member
I got the part about the daughter using the water, just having fun myself. It just seems everytime we go out we have a problem, I would like to go out and not worry something is going to break down, sepecially when they told me it was ready to go camping right off the lot. We have only been out three times and we had battery problems the first two times, which I fixed by putting in 2 - 6 volt batteries, worked like a charm, and we have had water pump problems the last two times. Maybe by the time its paid off, I'll have all the bugs worked out of the system. Just mad that when you pay so much for something ya think it would work and work well for awhile.
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
cabells, I believe the original battery supplied in these trailers is from the dealer, not Heartland. They probably used a series 24 battery which won't last long at all when dry camping. It sounds as if you found this out the hard way. Please follow up when and if you get the water problem figured out. There may be a problem with the pick-up line in the tank being too high or the tank being not level and therefore seeming to run out of water when in fact there is water in the tank, just not reachable. Hopefully your dealer will be able to get it straightened out. Good Luck.
 
Last edited:

mdhill

Active Member
Let us know what the service departments says. I did two things to quiet my pump. I put thicker, softer feet on the pump and I put a small surge tank just after the pump. Collectively, the two things worked very well. A friend of mine's pump was plumbed directly to the PEX. By adding flexible lines before and after the pump, quieted his down a lot also. He does not have a Heartland and I think that Hearland uses the flexible lines before and after the pump. Something to check anyway. The surge tank is available at most RV parts outlets.

If pump is a Shurflo 5.7 the manual says to not use a surge tank ?? I am on my 3rd pump in a year and a half and rarely dry camp.
 

gpshemi

Well-known member
J U N K....been there done that. Mine was repaired under warranty. The 5.7's are known for having issues.
 

Lamphere

Member
We just got back from camping and while out water from the pump filled the basement storage, along with everything in it. This will be our 3rd pump. Glad to hear were not the only ones but seriously doubting the quality in heartland.
 

Grdsman

Member
We just got back from camping and while out water from the pump filled the basement storage, along with everything in it. This will be our 3rd pump. Glad to hear were not the only ones but seriously doubting the quality in heartland.

I wouldn't call this a Heartland quality issue. These pumps are used in just about ALL campers. I have your same problem, though. Twice now I have seen water come in next to my steps. The pump will keep pumping after it has already hit full pressure and will then leak out. For me, the easiest spot to come out is next to the steps that go up to the bedroom. Luckily, I've caught it both times.
 

Wharton

Well-known member
We were on our 2nd Shurflo 5.7. Lasted less than a week. We called Shurflo and they said send in the label and they will send a new one. We will do that and keep it as a spare. We needed water(we are on the road). Stopped at a Camping World and bought a basic Flojet. No more fancy water pumps for us with the chip or whatever to give you better flow. A basic pump is all we want vs. the failure of a pump. Some things are just not meant to be. Sound good in theory but if you research the 5.7 it has been a problem from day one. I don't know why Shurflo keeps producing it. Either make it work right or stomp making it.
 
Top