Leaky compartment screenshot

melpeter

melpeter

Thanks again everyone. I found the Airforce Guy's video helpful. I was able to take a screen shot from the video of the area where my Tab is leaking. I can't begin to get to that compartment and I'm taking it to an RV repair place tomorrow. How the heck they will access it I don't know. I hope someone can get to that area. Water just pours out when I try to fill either the city water or the water. Here's where the leak is happening, thanks to the Airforce Guy's video. 

Sharon_is_SAM

From where does the water exit?

Dalehelman

I would try to use a light and a mirror to get a better look inside the pump compartment to pinpoint where the actual leak is.

Sharon_is_SAM

@Dalehelman, he said it was leaking "from directly below this compartment, front of trailer, driver's side. Something is very wrong in there. I have a video of the leaking water exiting beneath this compartment."

Sharon_is_SAM

@melpeter, were you using a pressure reducing valve when you attempted to hook up to city water?  

ScottG

Looking forward to hearing how you eventually resolve this. A question of how the heck you access that space was my very first post on this forum.

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be a definitive answer. Worst case, if I couldn't reach far enough down through the pump access door, I decided I would have to remove the toilet and cut a hole in the wall behind it. Seems like patching the inside rather than the outside would be easier...

melpeter

ScottG said:

 I decided I would have to remove the toilet and cut a hole in the wall behind it. Seems like patching the inside rather than the outside would be easier... 

yes, that's exactly what the RV repair guy and I decided to do this morning. He's been fixing RVs for 40 years. I left it with him. I don't mind having a patched wall behind the toilet. How did your patch job turn out?

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@melpeter, were you using a pressure reducing valve when you attempted to hook up to city water?  

Yes. I tried two different kinds of pressure reducing valves. In fact, water leaked even when I tried to use the pump (non-city) fill.

melpeter

I'll let y'all know how it turns out. 

ScottG

@melpeter, knock on wood, but I haven't needed to fix anything down there, so no cut and patch...yet. I originally asked the question just 'cause I inherently dislike utilities that can't be easily accessed for inspection or repair.

Lucky you, you're the first owner I've heard of who has had to get down there for something. Thanks for the followup and let us know how you and your guy end up putting it all back together. If I do ever have to do this I might just leave the hole and install some sort of water tight access panel to facilitate future access to the area.

Sharon_is_SAM

@melpeter, Did you purchase your TaB new?  If not, have you used it without problem in the past?

melpeter

Sharon_is_SAM said:

@melpeter, Did you purchase your TaB new?  If not, have you used it without problem in the past?

lucky me- I bought it used from a private seller. I never thought to hook the water up before I handed over the cash. I've only had it for a couple of weeks. For a couple of days I had it in the driveway, getting to know it a bit, before I hooked up the water and there was water water everywhere. Live and learn.

Sharon_is_SAM

Well, one good thing, the floors are non-wood.  Did you disconnect the city water before you tried the pump?

Yes. I tried two different kinds of pressure reducing valves. In fact, water leaked even when I tried to use the pump (non-city) fill.

According to the Plumbing diagram under User Manuals (thank you ScottG), if the pump has a leak on the outlet side, and the city water check valve failed, both the city water inflow as well as the fresh water tank outflow could result in a leak.  Hopefully, he can identify the leak without too much hassle.

melpeter

I haven’t found a plumbing diagram under User Manuals. I’ll look again. Thanks.

melpeter

Found it!  the plumbing diagram! Thanks. 

RollingBnB

So far have seen 3 Tabs with leaks. The fitting on the back of the fresh water input can loosen from road vibration and you can reach down and tighten it thru the water pump door but, it’s not easy to reach. Lots of cursing and beer involved.

BrianZ

Interesting topic.  Like humans, the T@B apparently can also suffer from a type of "compartment syndrome"; and like humans, it can result in loss of body parts if not promptly treated with surgery. 😉  We haven't had any plumbing problems in that area of our T@B, just a minor plumbing leak near the Alde; though I have had compartment syndrome in my hand from a rattlesnake bite.  I wish you a complete recovery like I had, but hopefully much less painful.

melpeter

RollingBnB said:

So far have seen 3 Tabs with leaks. The fitting on the back of the fresh water input can loosen from road vibration and you can reach down and tighten it thru the water pump door but, it’s not easy to reach. Lots of cursing and beer involved.

Hand tighten, do you think? Or does cursing and beer imply a wrench is involved?

Sharon_is_SAM

This should help.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/7602/city-water-port-and-black-female-thread-fitting


https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/6306/city-water-leaking-underneath-the-of-camper

Ratkity

melpeter said:

RollingBnB said:

So far have seen 3 Tabs with leaks. The fitting on the back of the fresh water input can loosen from road vibration and you can reach down and tighten it thru the water pump door but, it’s not easy to reach. Lots of cursing and beer involved.

Hand tighten, do you think? Or does cursing and beer imply a wrench is involved?

Hand tighten! Still knuckle scraping if you have big hands.

Sharon_is_SAM

This may help.  So, on the S model, is the city water inlet under the fresh water tank inlet?

RollingBnB

melpeter said:

RollingBnB said:

So far have seen 3 Tabs with leaks. The fitting on the back of the fresh water input can loosen from road vibration and you can reach down and tighten it thru the water pump door but, it’s not easy to reach. Lots of cursing and beer involved.

Hand tighten, do you think? Or does cursing and beer imply a wrench is involved?

Hand tighten but you need to be a gymnast with 6 foot arms to reach the fitting. The cursing is when you try to get your arm out and the beer is for the pain . Picture above shows fitting under white fill hose that you will need to tighten.

BrianZ

Here's another view - crop of a photo shared by CincyKid..

I'm curious what path water would take to exit this compartment.  The wiring hole is at the bottom left of the compartment as seen here.  I guess there is also a plumbing exit through the floor for the black water tank too.  I wonder if water can get through that front edge of the floor, and that seam where the front wall joins the floor is the only place where there is wood in the floor.

gbell

We had the same problem summer 2018. Had to take it 2 hrs North of us and have the dealer work on it. I still don't know how they fixed it, but they did. City water Port behind the wall loosened up, probably between travel vibration and other stuff. I couldn't get my arm down the hole to try to tighten the connection. But somehow they did.  I know someday there will be an access hole behind the toilet probably.  (It's a double wall) We are extremely careful with water and checking down the hole for any drips. Not much you can do with road vibration etc.

melpeter

BrianZ said:

Here's another view - crop of a photo shared by CincyKid..
I'm curious what path water would take to exit this compartment.  The wiring hole is at the bottom left of the compartment as seen here.  I guess there is also a plumbing exit through the floor for the black water tank too.  I wonder if water can get through that front edge of the floor, and that seam where the front wall joins the floor is the only place where there is wood in the floor.

I'm curious too if I look at this photo you shared. I can't see where it exited. But it did, in large quantities. 

ScottG

@malpeter, can you tell approximately where the water is coming out under the trailer? Does it pool up inside the compartment as well?

Granted, these are probably academic questions, as there shouldn't be any water in there at all, but I am curious about the whole exit question.

If everything else were intact, my first guess (and that's all it is) would be the wire loom/harness that comes in from the junction box centered under the front of the trailer.

Dalehelman

In order to find the leak. I suggest you blow the water lines clear with air. Then close the faucets, and pressurize the system with air. You should be able to locate the leak by reaching through the water pump access door and feel the air  escaping. First check the hand tight connections between the flex hoses and the PEX tubing.

melpeter

It’s in the hands of the RV repair place now. 🙁yours is great advice. I hope they know this trick. 

dinzzy

I do know T@B have had the city water connection come loose from the water supply line in the cabnet.  Mine came loose but I have a CS-S and access was very easy!  Adding a access door sounds like a great idea.  There are other things in there that you might want to get at!

melpeter

It’s fixed. Congratulate me. (Knock on wood.) Apparently the repair person had a long enough arm and a strong enough grip to hand tighten all the fittings. He was mystified how they got loose. $127.00 Those cone fittings aren’t supposed to loosen, he said. I’ll be forever checking for leaks. 

dinzzy

Glad it’s fixed.  They do bounce around a lot on the road. I believe mine also came loose as I took it off and on.  It’s tight now and I do check it once in a while just to make sure!

And congrats!!

lkc001

Yea--there should be an access panel to reach those fittings . . . . not good.    Did it flood that entire front portion of the trailer?  That would be my concern.