KSDP water compartment leak

[JC3]

We just returned from an extended trip of 5 weeks. Toward the end I opened the peg-board compartment opposite the water compartment, and found it had standing water.
SO we have a leak and I am looking on advice on where to start. Pegboard side or water compartment side.
Any and all suggestions appreciated.
BTW, this is an 06 3510 on a Spartan. Before the trip I installed a Splendide washer/dryer combo 2100. Ran several loads at home and saw no leaks.
Any thoughts appreciated.
John in Palm Bay FL

[Mr_D]

Could the fresh water overflow be leaking? We had that problem with both our DSDP's.

[judgebobk]

Check the gasket on the doors. Look at the door when open for seal marks. Both our doors on a DSDP leaked.

[Skip426]

Welcome to iRV2.

If you were not driving in a rain storm then there's a good chance ; as Mr_D says ; its the fresh water overflow or vent valve leaking behind the peg board.
Several posts with pictures of what other members have done to repair the issue.
I'll track one down.

EDIT: Here's a post with pictures.

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/fres...ak-337724.html

[rewillia]

Did you drive through a lot of rain/water (source) on the way and notice any water on top of the fresh water tank (tell tale sign, your frame rail seals may have started leaking).

If the frame rail seals are not in tact, when driving in rain/water, the rear axle wheel splash can result in water encroachment into the rear basement (wet bay/water tanks) area where the frame rails penetrate (hence, frame rail seals).

[FLCPA]

Have you been able to confirm the leaking water is from the Fresh H2O tank. Could it be from the Grey tank? Maybe someone did too many loads of wash and overflowed the Grey tank. There might be a leak in the top of the Grey tank. The usually place, you see a Grey tank overflow is when water backups into the shower from the drain. Given the age of your MH, maybe the Grey tank is leaking around one of the inlet pipes.

[dms]

Had the same problem and thought it was the overflow. Since I had to remove the pegboard, I decided to re-plumb the overflow and add a gravity fill inlet for those times we boondock and may want to haul water.

Once the pegboard was removed, I removed the black studor valve, which I planned to use as the gravity inlet. Discovered the tank fitting was split causing water to slosh out around the valve when the tank was full or near full during traveling. Obviously the brass valve was overtightened during manufucture and cracked the plastic tank fitting. I replaced the valve with a 90degree "ell" for the gravity inlet, and used JB weld in the crack. Then added a radiator clamp below the "ell". Then ran 5/8" hose to across to the wet bay for the inlet.

Re-plumbed the old overflow by adding a 1" pvc stack and Tee, with a real studor valve about 8" above the tee. This repaced the black oem studor valve, and the stack prevents siphoning. Cut the 1 3/8" nylon overflow hose to connect to the 1" pvc tee with stainless hose clamps.

Problem solved and no leaks from either the old valve fitting or the re-plumbed overflow.

If your leak is the same as mine, remove the pegbopard, fill the tank full until it comes out the overflow. Feel around the black valve for leaks.

[USMCRET]

Originally Posted by rewillia

Did you drive through a lot of rain/water (source) on the way and notice any water on top of the fresh water tank (tell tale sign, your frame rail seals may have started leaking).

If the frame rail seals are not in tact, when driving in rain/water, the rear axle wheel splash can result in water encroachment into the rear basement (wet bay/water tanks) area where the frame rails penetrate (hence, frame rail seals).

That is a very interesting post. I've never heard of frame rail seals before. Can you describe those?

[rewillia]

Originally Posted by USMCRET

That is a very interesting post. I've never heard of frame rail seals before. Can you describe those?

It was recently determined by Newmar's Service Department in Nappanee during our annual maintenance appointment that our frame rail seals were leaking and in need of repair. They determined this by using a water hose & nozzle and spraying water from the underside of the coach against the belly pans where the frame rails penetrate the basement just forward of the rear drive axle.

The frame rail seals are a packing type sealant that is applied to the exposed gap between the frame rail and the basement under-wall (belly pan) and if not intact can permit road wash (i.e. water) from the rear drive wheels to enter into the basement area behind the water & fuel tanks. The point of entry inside of the basement is not easily seen without removal of all water tanks in the aft basement compartment. Repair to the frame rail seals is a big job and requires all tanks to be removed from the basement area, removal of the existing seals and replacement from inside (the rail seals cannot be changed from outside alone).

[USMCRET]

Thanks Rewilla. I had to R&R my entire water compartment last year due to water intrusion from the wheel wells. I think I have everything sealed, but it really hasn't been tested rigorously. For once, we haven't encountered that much wet weather in our travels. Another poster here has talked about wheel well liners available from Newmar. If the condition still exists, I'm going to go the liner route I think.

[JC3]

Fellow Members,
WOW ... some really great suggestions to investigate.
After my initial post I went out and started ... and to project grew. I took off the pegboard, and saw nothing that alarmed me except the wet carpet and the under lay board seemed "soft". Why does Newmar use the flake board rather than plywood or in the best case, marine plywood ???
Anyway, went to the other side and started removing "stuff".
I removed the board and exposed all the plumbing and saw nothing obvious. I then replaced some hose clamps and pressurized the system with city water at the inlet .... no obvious leaks. Then I ran the fill. Checked both sides. Did not fill to overflow because I had not read the responses to my post yet :-(
Since I knew the underlay board needed replacement I then removed the tank. The board is so wet that it sagged at least 1/2 and is "real soft". Fortunately there appear to be three metal supports under the tank.
This forum gave me some really great areas to investigate. On this trip we did encounter a day of driving in serious rain ... but the basement has apparently been wet for a while, so though I will look at the frame rail "issue" I am not confident that is the problem. The overflow and the pressure relief will be seriously checked today.
Oddly there are two "valley's" molded in the top ... probably as stiffeners or something ... but they had a little water in them. So maybe the frame rails are an issue.
Do I need to find some similar carpet to cover the new wood? or is paint or sealer enough. Does the carpet "protect" the underside of the tank?
Thanks for your help so far. I will keep this forum informed of my progress.
John

[Skip426]

I would consider the carpet under the tank an insulator , against chaffing , should the tank move at all over the plywood .
Don't think you'd have to match factory , but something between the plastic and wood.

[GaryKD]

Hi JC3,
We have basically the same coach. Went through this a couple of years ago. In 05 Newmar stopped using wheel well liners. Instead they gunked up all the connections and seams. I wire brushed the wheel well seams where ever they were exposed in the wheel well. Front and rear both sides. Heavily coated the wheel well with Flex Seal. 3 coats front/back, top to bottom. Followed the directions for allowing time to dry. This was done in the camp Newmar parking space. Then Newmar installed wheel liners on both sides. 2 years later and everything is dry a can be.

I did this because Newmar wanted to take everything apart. Replace whatever and put everything back together, sealing like was done when new. I did not like this as it did not solve the problem. The sealant stuff will wear out. The wheel liners will eliminate the force of the water hitting the coach underside. The water will then fall to the ground. The Flex Seal (behind the wheel liners) is insurance against leaks.

[hp178]

I have a ‘15 DS4312 with a similar issue. Noticed peg board and carpet wet. Took it to Newmar and they said it was leak from shower drain. Appeared to fix the problem, but now 4 months later, leak worse than before.