fresh water leak

Greatscot · 02-26-2021, 04:20 PM

My 2004 Itasca Suncruiser 38R has been in storage for about a year. I just pulled it out and have been going through maintaining systems. It seems I may have a leak somewhere in the pipes. When I turn on the water pump, I have very low pressure and water is coming out from underneath. Best I can tell, it is coming out in the area of the left rear wheelwell. The washer/dryer combo is right above that area. Also, when I turn on the pump a hammering noise comes from behind the w/d. Any ideas?

powercat_ras · 02-26-2021, 05:32 PM

There's shutoff valves on the hot and cold faucets the W/D combo is connected to. I suggest you need to close those valves and see what happens. Hope the diagram helps, it was downloaded from the Winnebago Owner Resources Area in their web site.

Click for: Plumbing Diagram for your RV

Greatscot · 02-26-2021, 06:10 PM

Thanks ! Interesting to see the schematic. I have always kept the hot and cold faucets shutoff, so I'll have to keep looking

Greatscot · 02-27-2021, 09:16 AM

OOPs. Just read my post and realized I should have said RIGHT rear wheelwell.

**macnut** · 02-27-2021, 02:45 PM

On my 35P, the connection between the two fresh water tanks became loose and just needed to be retightened. However, on the 35P, that meant taking of the rear wheels and wheel well on the drivers side! Wishing you the best of luck tracking down and fixing the leak.

Greatscot · 02-27-2021, 04:56 PM

I'm going to pull the w/d out of the cabinet space tomorrow or Monday. Hopefully, I will find something that I can fix. Thanks

Greatscot · 03-01-2021, 02:47 PM

I was correct the first time. The leak is on the driver's side, rear wheel well area. May I ask if you did the repair or pay someone. If you paid, how much was it?

**macnut** · 03-02-2021, 09:12 PM

LaMesa RV did it for us. I think they charged 2 hours labor, which I think was reasonable. Once they got to the area to inspect, they simply tightened the connection. Of course, it could have been the tank, which would have been more. In my case, that would have cost less because the extended warranty would have paid to replace the tank! :-)

Before I had them remove the wheels and wheel well, I used my iPhone to record the source of the leak. I was able to get my iPhone under the metal face plate in the wet bay, and over the tank towards the rear of the RV (just don’t drop it!). It was a good shot of where the water was dripping. I couldn’t see a drip, but I could see where the water was pooling before finding a way out of the underside of the RV. It was a slow drip and totaled maybe 8-10 ounces a day. That’s also how I knew it was fresh water and not the gray tank. Once again, best of luck with the repair.

Greatscot · 03-03-2021, 04:27 PM

Thanks. I think my leak sounds a lot like what you describe. I did check in back of the W/D and it was dry but the cold and hot pipes were hammering against the outside wall, so I wrapped them in pipe insulation. I will see if I can get my phone up in the wet bay to record the dripping. I think I can afford 2 hours of labor. I live in Casa Grande AZ and we have a couple of RV shops, but the place where I store it has a 3 week backlog. I would prefer going to RV Expert since he has done great work for me, but I just don't want to deal with the logistics of getting the MH to him. Thanks for your time and help

Morich · 03-03-2021, 04:43 PM

If not able to get a good enough look, there are some really cheap endoscope available. I have never gotten around to one for myself but for grandchildren they work great!
Maybe time to get one?
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...droid&_sacat=0

HappiHenri · 03-03-2021, 06:21 PM

Was it stored in cold weather? If so it sounds like you had a pipe freezing, which then split and is causing your leak and low pressure.

Greatscot · 03-23-2021, 02:51 PM

Just wanted to report back to everyone that were interested and contributed helpful comments. I found the leak today. I had isolated it to the plumbing in the kitchen sink and shower area. (They share a wall) I did acquire an endoscope but turns out I did not need it to see the leak. As soon as I removed the escutcheon to reveal the shower valve, there it was in plain sight. The plastic elbow connecting the pex to the brass shower valve. If there is enough slack in the pex I can repair it myself for a $7 part. So, thanks everyone for adding comments and suggestions.

imnprsd · 03-23-2021, 03:51 PM

This would be a good time time to add a Shark Bite Check Valve to the hot water shower valve "in" hose. It will save water and hopefully eliminate any hot water pulsing that occurs from time to time. Why? Because the cold water mixes with the hot water through the shower valve if you have a single handle type... Moen or other type.

Likewise, after this much time, if they have not yet failed, there are check valves just behind your water tank and these things rust out can cause hot water problems. The solution here, IMO, is to just drill the guts out. This turns the check valve into a pipe nipple and you just reinsert it... with a new "donut seal."

* I think you can pick up these Flair-It donut seals at Camping world for $2-$4 each, and I think HD carries them in the plumbing isle, but I'm not sure. (It's not a commonly used part so you may need to ask for help finding it. ...On Amazon these things are $10 each so I don't get that.

* Don't over tighten the plastic connector or it will crack.

**macnut** · 03-23-2021, 08:02 PM

Greatscot, thanks for following up on your solution. Glad you found the source of the leak!

Morich · 03-23-2021, 08:42 PM

Yes, fully agree that it is nice to hear what becomes of some of the problems we see come up. Thanks for the report and glad it turns out to not be a major, major item.