Water lines in bathroom cabinet '18 2106 DS

[Awhirly]

Hi all I am a newbie with 2106 DS 2018. The lower cabinet in bathroom has red and blue pex water lines with shut offs exposed. Is this for shower? Not sure what position T shaped little shutoffs should be in if not for shower. Do I close these off when trailer not in use? Thanks

Awhirly
2011 Tundra
2018 2106DS

 

[LarryW-WO]

No need to shutoff when in storage. In 2015 they were drain lines but regardless there is no pressure in the lines. In cold weather when camping however keep that cupboard door open slightly so that it will be “room” temperature.

 

[Awhirly]

Thank you.

 

[old_engineer]

Those are your low point drains. If you live in a colder climate you open those to drain water from the lines to avoid freeze damage to the water lines. Just opening them and letting the water drain will not remove all of the water from the water lines. There are two schools for winterizing. One uses RV antifreeze and the other just blows out the water lines. In any event the procedures are similar and you should become familiar with them if you have freezing winter temperatures.



Whether using RV antifreeze or not I recommend draining and blowing the lines out as it reduces antifreeze needed. To do this open the low point drains and all faucets to drain the water. Don't forget the outside shower or toilet. Put the hot water heater in bypass mode and drain it. Close the faucets/low point drains and hookup to an air source of 30 - 40 lbs of pressure open the faucets one at a time (hot and cold) to blow any remaining water then close. Do this for each faucet ending with the low point drains. This is where I leave things.



If you wish to use RV antifreeze locate the water pump. There will be two valves, one to the fresh water tanks and the other to an open ended tube. Turn off the supply to the water tank and turn on the valve to the tube. Put tube in a bottle of RV antifreeze and use the water pump to pump antifreeze through the water lines. Again you will need to open the faucets one at a time until you see the pink liquid coming out. When you want to use the system again you will need to flush the lines until the water runs clear and use water in the fresh water tank to flush the pump.

Regardless of winterization method you also need to put some antifreeze down the drains and in the toilet bowl to stop the traps from freezing and the toilet seals covered.

If you have an ice maker be sure to follow its directions for winterizing and don't use RV antifreeze as it is the devil to flush.

 

[Awhirly]

That’s a wealth if you’re nformation. I appreciate it.

 

[Awhirly]

Oops sorry for sticky fingers. Much appreciated

 

[TravelinPair]

Thanks for the info !!

 

[old_engineer]

It can seem overwhelming at first but it really isn't that much work once you do it once or twice. You can also pay your dealer to do it. I should mention the reason I don't use RV antifreeze (the pink stuff) is we camp year round. If I lived further up north such as the Upper Midwest I would probably add the antifreeze since the trailer will be sitting for 3 or 4 months. We only have a week or two where we have daytime freezing temperatures so filling and flushing the lines would be a real pain not to mention expensive.

 

[PlanB-WO]

Btw, pull up to open those. Down to close.

 

[stoney1]

Good info...but where is the water pump located on the 2106DS?

 

[Sun_Seeker]

Also, put one full gallon down of Anti freeze into your Black Tank, and pour 1/4 gallon down all your P traps. Put one inch of A.F. to sit over your toilet seal. Check that each month of storage, because it can leech past the seal. You always want that seal 'wet', 365 days of the year!

 

[Sun_Seeker]

Good info...but where is the water pump located on the 2106DS?

Not sure, but a good first place to look, is the front storage locker...if you see an open access space in one of the inner walls, or a screwed panel...it is most likely there. If you see a short length of hose, that is what you'd place into a open gallon of A.F. , after you set the by-pass valve to your potable water tank. If you have the factor installed by pass, and that hose, you WILL have that shut-off valve already installed as well. Same for the water tank by-pass hot and cold, and the two valves that cut off water into, and out of your HWT.

BTW, the most complete method of Winterizing, is to do both venues...blow out your water lines, (through the city water port (with the filter screen removed, and no more than 30 PSI set on your compressor regulator knob)), and then use your water pump in by-pass mode, to push A.F. to all water fixtures. Run your facets, shower wand, outside shower hot and cold, with the hand wand turned on, and toilet foot flush lever, until you see a full pink flow of A.F. If you have an outside cooking centre...make sure that is taken care of as well.

Make sure to also place 1/4 gallon of A.F. into each of your kitchen sink P-traps, bathroom sink, as well as the shower stall., as this will add in total, about the gallon of A.F. that you need in the Grey Water Tank. Place a full gallon of A.F. down the toilet into your Black Holding Tank..and then when you close the foot flush lever...place one to two inches of A.F. into the bowl, to keep your black seal ring, moist and lubricated. Check once a month during the Winter, to make sure the seal hasn't dropped that one to two inches of A.F. past it...as this is a good test of the seal's integrity.

If you ever do see it dry...you will need to obviously fill that one inch of A.F. back up...and in the Spring before you De-Winterize, buy a new seal and/or flush ball kit, and install in the toilet. The toilet should always hold enough water during camping season, to keep the flush seal moist. Never let it go dry, and stay dry between flushes. That one inch of water, you keep over the toilet flush seal, acts like your sink P-Traps...to keep gasses seeping up from the Black Holding Tank, let alone protecting the seal from dry rot deterioration.

 

[Celtic74]

My 2018 micro mini

I have a question please. My 2018 Micro mini blue waterline valve maybe got bumped (I keep toilet paper and hairdryer in that cabinet) and was up about half an inch. When I turn on the shore water it all just pours out the blue drainage hose on to the ground. Could that the be issue? I’ve been living in mine for work and no issues until yesterday when it froze and some hoe the valve is up a bit as I noticed it this morning. The water is all froze at the shore line so I haven’t tried turning it back on yet. Later today will be nice.

 

[AveryF]

I have a question please. My 2018 Micro mini blue waterline valve maybe got bumped (I keep toilet paper and hairdryer in that cabinet) and was up about half an inch. When I turn on the shore water it all just pours out the blue drainage hose on to the ground. Could that the be issue? I’ve been living in mine for work and no issues until yesterday when it froze and some hoe the valve is up a bit as I noticed it this morning. The water is all froze at the shore line so I haven’t tried turning it back on yet. Later today will be nice.

I think someone mentioned above that those were drain valves. I would think that you should be able to close it and all will be well again.

 

[Blubugger]

I think someone mentioned above that those were drain valves. I would think that you should be able to close it and all will be well again.

The valve may have been "pushed up" from possible freezing water in the line at that point. This may be a blessing in disguise since the resulting water flow prevented a hard freeze and plumbing damage. A good habit in cold climes is to slightly open cabinet doors to let additional heat from your furnace keep hidden pipes from freezing.

 

[Blubugger]

Water pump: 2106ds

The water pump is under the sink cabinet floor. Remove four screws and floor panel to gain access.
And, from my experience (with the same 2018 model), periodically check the tightness of the filter and the water lines to the pump. We had small leaks in our unit from fittings at the pump that worked loose.

 

[Celtic74]

Water valves

Thank you for suggesting we tighten the hoses to the water pump. My water valves will not push down all the way. The valves in the bottom cabinet in the bathroom. The cold valve is lacking about 1/4” to closing and it is causing the outside water drain to drip all the time now. I noticed the indoor valves have a small metal clamp in the neck. Wonders if I should just remove that. I’m seriously gonna need to zip tie it down if I can’t get it to close all the way.

 

[PlanB-WO]

Water line low point drain valves

I also had a slight drip from one of the valves and disassembled them as you mentioned by removing the metal clips. All I found were simple o rings and nothing to service. I realized that I had been trying to push them closed too far and too forcefully while trying to get the drip to stop. Now, I just gently push them to the closed position and the drips seem to have stopped. I’m not sure what I did, but have to attribute it to closing the valves without expecting the two plastic pieces to come into contact.

 

[Blubugger]

Since these two valves are at the lowest point of the plumbing system....they may accumulate hard water deposits, debris or what-have-you existing in the pipes. And those clamps at the joints of fittings secure the PEX tubing to the fitting, so they should not be removed.
You might do a thorough purge of the system by connecting to city water, open up those valves and all valves in the trailer one by one and let fresh, clean water flow through the pipes and the water heater to clean the system.
If there indeed is "stuff" in the pipes that might be why those valves are stuck.
As a last resort, it looks like those drain valve pipes go straight down through the underbelly insulation to the outside. I dont have any way of verifying this, but they may be easier to replace than it looks. Again, lack of documentation is an issue here. Good luck.