Help! Ron Dittmer or anyone

Ron,  the reason I'm addressing you is that your 07 is very similar to my 08 and for the first time in 9 years my Baby sprung a leak.
This morning as we were preparing to leave the campground my wife noticed water coming from under the bathroom door. When I looked in I noticed that the water was coming from the backside of the toilet,  not from the toilet itself but from the box it is mounted on.   Now for the strange part,  we were Not hooked up to a campground connection, we had been using the pump to lighten up the amount of water in the FW tank.  When I went into the outside storage compartment there was some water.  I opened up the two drain valves and allowed the lines to drain out.  With that done there was no more water.   I am now in a campground in Pelham Alabama and hooked up to their water supply ....   and I have NO leaks.  I have tried to figure it out.  If the pump is off where is the water coming?  If there are no leaks while attached to the cg hook up, it must be the PUMP.  But how is the water going into or out of the pump.  Or maybe a supply line is damaged.  Hmmmm.

Bill Golden

Have you checked the fittings on the pipes behind the shower to make sure none have come loose?  You access them through a panel on the other side of the shower wall at the head of the bed.  You have to take off the mattress and the bed platform board to really get in there.  Underneath those pipes it is open to the corrugated material that runs under the floor so if there is a leak at that spot, the water will run into that outside storage compartment.  Good luck and let us know what you find.

Carol ... thanks so much for the reply. I am on the road at this time.  I did see the access panel.  Once I can get settled in for a few days I'll make an attempt at it.... or just go carefully until I get home.
Again I thank you
Bill Golden

Carol has great advise.

Some (maybe all) of the final-end connections for the plumbing fixtures on my PC are hand-tighten.  They are big wing nuts.  I looked at some pictures of my water accumulator installation and see the same wing nut for the on-board water pump.  Phoenix might have used similar wing nuts for the toilet and shower, but I have not yet had a need to access them.  I do wonder about the connection to the toilet, specifically how to get to the final connection.  It could require removing the toilet.  Hopefully someone with experience in that department could provide instruction.

Given the severity of on-board pump vibration, I would make sure to hand tightening that connection at the pump.  Hopefully you only need to snug-up your fresh water lines by the fixtures by hand.  Just 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn may be all you need.

Because I installed a water pressure tank one year after we got our PC, our fresh water line has not vibrated except the first year.  That may have reduced the need for me to tighten those wing nuts.

If you study this picture closely, you can see the PC-original white plastic 3-wing wing nut on the pipe going into the carpeted wall, located between the bottom of the tank and the pump.  Every plumbing fixture I have dabbled with on our PC has the same final connection, both hot and cold sides.

Could FW tank be source?  Might switch back to pump with tank at low level, if no leak then fill tank and recheck.

Bill,
If you are heading South toward Mobile,AL.  We have a driveway and tools,  not sure about the value of advice...most of our experience in on a 1975 GMC motor home.🤤We have only had our PC about 6 months

Bill, this is no help right now but sort of on topic. We went to an RV show and bought "Emergency Tape" which I think is self sealing silicone tape. I've been told it is sold at Home Depot and like stores also. Part of the sales pitch for this wonder product was that not only could you use it to patch a leak until you can fix it BUT you can put it on your connections BEFORE they leak to help keep them from wriggling loose. I have always intended to do this but my laziness has kept it from happening and the tape has now journeyed around the country without use.

However, if you are going to start unscrewing panels and checking fittings, I suggest you first get some of this stuff and wrap all your connections as you find them even if they aren't leaking. You just stretch the tape, wrap the hose while the tape is stretched, then release the tension and it sort of glues to itself. No sticky stuff or mess. Supposedly it can stand up to pressurized hoses, radiator hoses, etc. Since I haven't used it yet, I can't guarantee that but I figure it can't hurt. You can easily cut it back off if you need to access the connector later.

Good luck with the leak. If you get back up toward us and need tools or assistance, give us a call and we'll come running. We may not know what we're doing but we're happy to help you disassemble your rig and play RV Doctor.

Could FW tank be source?  Might switch back to pump with tank at low level, if no leak then fill tank and recheck.

randallandchris may be onto something.  If it leaks with a tank-full of water while using the on-board water system, the leak could be the tank, the line between the tank and the on-board pump, or the pump itself.  A check valve assumed located at the outlet of the pump prevents pressurized city water from back-filling the fresh water tank which would explain why it doesn't leak when on city water, and with a drained tank.

Your answer may be found after removing the wood platform of the bed.

Let me start by thanking everyone for the helpful replies.  I'm saving them in my notes so when I'm back home  and the storage area is empty I can use your suggestions.

CatHouse I appreciate the offer, if I were still in Pensacola I would have jumped on it.  We are going back north, right now we're in Chattanooga.

Hi Holly and John

Ron, I heard you stopped to visit Don Keller,  and there I was a few miles down the road. 

Again, thank you all.  When I do solve it I will post my findings.


Bill G

Ron, I heard you stopped to visit Don Keller,  and there I was a few miles down the road.  

Yes we stopped by Don to meet for the first time.  We bought our PC through East Acres back in 2007 but was never out that way until this past fall.  We just had to get off the expressway to drop in.  I forget how old Don is but he's no young pup, yet sharp for his age.  It was a great visit.

I mapped Bellingham and wonder if we drove through your town to get back onto the expressway.

Hi,

Well this week I took the bed apart filled the FW tank and began probing.  I had two leaks. The water pump was one, thats been replaced.  The other was the needle drain valve, it seems the that the nut was loose, tightened it up and no more leaks.

I'm taking advantage of this opportunity to clean around my FW tank and the storage compartment,  I did notice the backflow tube needs cleaning, that comes off today.  I also used my snake camera to get inside the nooks and crannies to see how the plumbing is set in.  More photos taken to keep on record so when I put it all back together I'll not forget in the future how looks.

I did fail to mention that although I fixed my problems I also created one.  I broke the top of the drain valve off when I closed it.    Off to the hardware store.

Thank You To All for your Help
Bill Golden

Glad you got it fixed, Bill

Glad you got it fixed, Bill

Yes, glad you were able to remedy your water leaks!