Lot’s of Problems

ImNotThereYet · May 12

It’s been a while I know. This all started with a very cold camp last year. It was so cold the hose to our TAB broke off at the source, not the camper, but the campsite part.
The next time we went out, I tried filling the tank to use dry camping, could not get it to work, no worries, we were going somewhere that had water. No issues!
Then this last weekend. We planned to go dry camping for the first time, no water or electricity. 3 days before we left I got the trailer and tried filling the tank. Purchased a gallon gauge to make sure I did not over fill. At 6.5 gallons, it started to overflow! I thought the tanks were bigger, but I went in the TAB to try to get the water to work. Nothing. Ran pump for a long time, opened all the fixtures, nothing. Hooked up to City water, got water working all faucets including toilet. Disconnected, tried dry camp, nothing!
Frustrated quit for the day. Tried city again, now this time the minute I started water, water started pouring out the back right by driver’s side tire. Tried the screen where you put the water in, resetting that value, (read that on here) Still same problem. Called NuCamp, emailed NuCamp, no help, they just asked my model number, which they have. We went out using gallon water jugs to flush toilet.
Wait there’s more!!!!
When we got to camp the rug that my wife puts on the floor between two bench seats where wet! Checked the entire trailer, no water anywhere else. Raining on the drive there.
Got back yesterday, floor was wet again, same place, raining on the drive home.
What is happening?
I plan on taking it to Camper World to see what is wrong unless someone here might have a clue on what to check. Very disappointed with NuCamp, went from calling us back when we called before to waiting 3 days to get, what year and model is your TAB?
Our dealership is a horrible as well, that is why I’m taking to Camper World for those wondering why I’m not taking back to dealer.
Thanks in advance!

pthomas745 · May 12

Water pouring out behind the driver's side tire is the Famous Yellow Flapper Valve. If that valve was open, it is also the reason your pump would not prime. Go under the bench where the Alde is and find the Yellow Valve. It is designed to drain most of the Alde hot water tank....and....is the pressure relief valve for the entire plumbing system when on city water. If you did not use a water pressure regulator on your city water hose, the valve opened to protect the plumbing. The valve gets a bit forgotten with the Nautilus trailers, since it is out of sight and out of mind.

This is a thread from a few years back with a quick rundown.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/4860/where-is-this-water-coming-from

Water inside the trailer is hard to sort out. It could be entering from one spot, and then with the trailer moving, it winds up somewhere else. Check your fan cover. Check the windows were completely closed....there is a little "vent" position on the windows that sometimes gets overlooked. Check the space directly under the door.

NuCamp sometimes takes some weeks off at random times of the year, so be patient on the emails.

We can help! Send pictures of what you are seeing.

ImNotThereYet · May 12

I did that, it was not popped up. I was just reading about other issues and it seems my City Water connection value might be bad, but now there are more problems with the water leaking. Windows where closed, I did have fresh water tank valve open to drain all the water out, could that being open while driving cause problems? I’ve done it before when raining and never had this happen. Thanks for the response!

pthomas745 · May 12

Low point drains are also over on that side of the trailer along the frame, so have a look at those. Look at the back of your Nautilus panel. Go around and work on all the little fittings and connectors and see if anything is loose.

Famous Yellow Flapper Valves can fail and get "loose". Under a bit of normal pressure, they can start to open very slightly and leak. (Mine is doing this now when the Alde compartment gets warm, and I get a little drip.)

If you suspect your city water connection or something in the Nautilus is leaking, find an assistant and watch the back of the panel while water is flowing into the trailer.

ImNotThereYet · May 12

Ok thanks!

EasternJL · May 12

What model and year Tab do you have? (no, I don't work for Nucamp--haha. Just curious.

elbolillo · May 12

Water on the floor after driving in the rain seems to me to be leaking from the door. Do a spray test. Have someone inside while spraying around the door frame to see if water comes in.

The nautilus is another issue. Could be a bad valve or the pump has an airlock.

ImNotThereYet · May 12

EasternJL, I have a 2023 TAB 320 Boondock. Elbolillo, no water by door, only in the middle of the floor. I’m thinking bad valve as well. I think I’m going to have some pros look at it. Might be beyond my skills and knowledge. I’m a drummer for Pete’s sake who thinks he can write music!

Basil48192 · May 12

I had water on my rug one time as well. I found that the fan cover was not latched when I was driving through the rain. I had latched it, but realized later that the plastic latch mechanism had broken. My T@B is a 2021 and I had nothing but good experiences with Nucamp while it was still under warranty. They sent me a new latch right away. It sounds as though things may have changed a little since 2021.

Regarding your water issues:
Most of our camping is 'off grid' so I use the dry camp mode almost exclusively. Thankfully, the system has worked very well on each of 25-30 outings. The only time I've had trouble in 'dry-camp' mode is when I forgot to switch the valves. A few times, after filling the tank, I mistakenly turned the pump on while the valves were still in the 'tank-fill' position. It ran for a few minutes before I realized my mistake. This introduced a lot of air into the system and took a little effort to bleed it out. I've found that opening the system drain valves at the bottom of the Nautilus panel, for a few seconds at a time, helps purge the air from they system relatively quickly. Once I got the air out of the system the pump primed and worked as it should.
I hope some of this might help.
And, by the way....don't beat yourself up....some of my best friends are drummers

.

ImNotThereYet · May 13

Thanks, tried all these steps. My two biggest concerns are water leaking out the back when hooked to city water, and only being able to put 5 gallons in when tank was empty. Then the water on the floor, not a lot, but enough to soak the carpet that was put down. Yes, very disappointed with NuCamp. Makes rethink purchasing a 400 from them, or anything as far as that goes.

EasternJL · May 13

@ImNotThereYet I've posted this a couple times for people who mentioned leaks in their 320s.

I had a 320 and had an issue with some water coming out from underneath (and in the camper). Turns out that the compartment where the hose connects to nautilus wasn't caulked in the corners (the ones you can't see). So, if you are facing that compartment-- the left/right corners closest to you. So, if any water gets in there it should drain out the bottom hose inlet, but with the missing caulk, water just went out those holes and came out elsewhere. I was on an up-hill slope (when filling), so mine came out towards the back of the camper. This may not apply to your situation, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. And I'll add, if you have a tight hose connection and no water leaking into that compartment, this clearly doesn't apply to you. This would only happen if your hose connection is loose and water is collecting in the Nautilus compartment (this happens a lot because it's hard to get that connection tight in that cramped space). I had to get my camera and put it in the compartment facing back at me to see the missing caulk in the corners. Those little voids made water come out under the camper and into the floor of my camper (mostly around the nautilus compartment-- under the driver's side seat). A little caulk on both sides solved the problem for me. Just sloppy work at the factory. Oh, and this doesn't explain the problem with only being able to put 5 gallons in. But, I will say that when we were on a slope (uphill), we also had trouble getting the tank truly filled. The display showed full, but the tank was only partially full.

Basil48192 · May 13

I wish I could be more help. Attached is a plumbing diagram of a 2021 320S...but I'm guessing your system is very similar. It seems to me that 'water coming out near the driver's side tire' would have to be:
A - A broken line or fitting. I believe nearly all of the plumbing on that side of the unit is accessible under the driver's side seats...so you should be able to see the leak.
B - A leak in the water tank or the supply to the water tank. This seems unlikely, because the 'blue' valve should not allow flow in that direction when in the 'city water' position.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/6f/lkoe3rbhl3zm.jpg

EasternJL · May 13

@Basil48192 when I had the issue described above (caulk)-- I had water coming out near the driver's side tire-- like it was coming out around that fender-- and underneath the camper. It was not coming out in the expected overflow (yellow flapper) locations.

ImNotThereYet · May 13

EasternJL said:EasternJL said:

@ImNotThereYet I've posted this a couple times for people who mentioned leaks in their 320s.
I had a 320 and had an issue with some water coming out from underneath (and in the camper). Turns out that the compartment where the hose connects to nautilus wasn't caulked in the corners (the ones you can't see). So, if you are facing that compartment-- the left/right corners closest to you. So, if any water gets in there it should drain out the bottom hose inlet, but with the missing caulk, water just went out those holes and came out elsewhere. I was on an up-hill slope (when filling), so mine came out towards the back of the camper. This may not apply to your situation, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. And I'll add, if you have a tight hose connection and no water leaking into that compartment, this clearly doesn't apply to you. This would only happen if your hose connection is loose and water is collecting in the Nautilus compartment (this happens a lot because it's hard to get that connection tight in that cramped space). I had to get my camera and put it in the compartment facing back at me to see the missing caulk in the corners. Those little voids made water come out under the camper and into the floor of my camper (mostly around the nautilus compartment-- under the driver's side seat). A little caulk on both sides solved the problem for me. Just sloppy work at the factory. Oh, and this doesn't explain the problem with only being able to put 5 gallons in. But, I will say that when we were on a slope (uphill), we also had trouble getting the tank truly filled. The display showed full, but the tank was only partially full.

Not sure where this is, my floor has wood or fake wood, I’ll will check that thought, thanks!
@ImNotThereYet I've posted this a couple times for people who mentioned leaks in their 320s.
I had a 320 and had an issue with some water coming out from underneath (and in the camper). Turns out that the compartment where the hose connects to nautilus wasn't caulked in the corners (the ones you can't see). So, if you are facing that compartment-- the left/right corners closest to you. So, if any water gets in there it should drain out the bottom hose inlet, but with the missing caulk, water just went out those holes and came out elsewhere. I was on an up-hill slope (when filling), so mine came out towards the back of the camper. This may not apply to your situation, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. And I'll add, if you have a tight hose connection and no water leaking into that compartment, this clearly doesn't apply to you. This would only happen if your hose connection is loose and water is collecting in the Nautilus compartment (this happens a lot because it's hard to get that connection tight in that cramped space). I had to get my camera and put it in the compartment facing back at me to see the missing caulk in the corners. Those little voids made water come out under the camper and into the floor of my camper (mostly around the nautilus compartment-- under the driver's side seat). A little caulk on both sides solved the problem for me. Just sloppy work at the factory. Oh, and this doesn't explain the problem with only being able to put 5 gallons in. But, I will say that when we were on a slope (uphill), we also had trouble getting the tank truly filled. The display showed full, but the tank was only partially full.

ImNotThereYet · May 13

Thanks everyone for the insight. I will look into these things to see if I can find a solution.

EasternJL · May 13

@ImNotThereYet -- if you stand outside and face the side of your camper where the nautilus box is-- it's in that compartment. But those little caulk spots are on the side closest to you (still facing). If you could get your head in that compartment and look back in the corners-- you'd see this spot. In the picture below, I'm circling those spots from the outside. You can use your camera to see these by pointing it backwards in the corners. This may be goose chase, red herring material here, but it's worth checking.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/p1/fv2po7jbla5n.jpg

Basil48192 · May 13

Again, my T@B is a 2021, but I had a similar issue that I discovered when I had a bad washer on my hose connection. The water was dripping into the Nautilus compartment, then migrating through the gaps and back into the rear of my camper (storage area behind the folding seat). Like @EasternJL said, the low-point drains are so close to the bottom of the compartment that they have difficulty sealing it. It isn't pretty, but I just pushed as much silicon caulk as I could into each corner.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/ll/t3sayxbrk2dp.jpg

EasternJL · May 13

@Basil48192 and @ImNotThereYet -- just to clarify-- my missing caulk was on the opposite side from yours-- up against the wall closest to you. Those pictures I posted were taken by putting the camera in that compartment and pointing it back towards the corners. So, just be sure to check all four corners -- the ones @Basil48192 is showing and the two on the opposite side which are impossible to see without a camera. It doesn't seem like these spots would cause much of a problem but they will leak to the outside of the camper and inside too.

Marceline · May 13

ImNotThereYet said:

Thanks, tried all these steps. My two biggest concerns are water leaking out the back when hooked to city water, and only being able to put 5 gallons in when tank was empty. Then the water on the floor, not a lot, but enough to soak the carpet that was put down. Yes, very disappointed with NuCamp. Makes rethink purchasing a 400 from them, or anything as far as that goes.

To be fair, you stated, "This all started with a very cold camp last year. It was so cold the hose to our TAB broke off at the source, not the camper, but the campsite part."

These are not sold as four-season campers. It sounds like you were camping in an un-winterized camper in temps that were well below freezing. That was an operator error. Since you pinpoint the time that things started going wrong as being that "very cold camp," it's entirely possible that water froze in your water system, expanding and breaking components. It's not fair to blame NuCamp for that.

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

Lot’s of Problems

Comments