Community Forums

TimS5842 · 10-04-2021, 07:57 PM

Hi - I hoping someone may have had a similar issue and can give me good guidance on the most likely place to look for a water leak. I have a 2019 DS 4369, and today I had water dripping into my 3rd bay compartment on the door side, within 6" of the door opening. This is directly under the kitchen, and the water was dripping from the openings where the slide mechanisms are - therefore where the black underside membrane has holes. I checked under the sink, and in the 1/2 bath - all dry. So this is under the floor, and could be dripping at this spot purely because that is where it can get out, although this is the only place that I found it to be wet. The RV is on jacks and basically level, so it shouldn't be traveling too far.

I believe the water source was one of two things - my gray tank hit 100% when I was showering (noticed when the pan stopped draining), and I used the sewer flush. (No water used in the kitchen in 2 days in sink or dishwasher, and no, I didn't fill the black tank with the flush.) I've used the sewer flush before, so I'm guessing this came from a gray water pipe / vent somehow when the tank was full. I hate just to start tearing holes in the cargo ceiling to look around. I checked all the caulking around the water lines that go up through the floor at the corner of the 1/2 bath and kitchen and nothing was wet there, but I didn't actually remove the silicon to see if that would open up a hole for it to drip. I'm trying to make the smallest mess possible...

Any suggestions?

ThunderRidge · 10-05-2021, 06:35 AM

I had an elbow fitting that was poorly installed at the factory causing a leak in the basement ceiling area dripping down into the pull out slide tray below my half bath. It was heavily caulked with a black rubber but, since it appeared to be dripping straight down from that point I made a small slit in the ceiling material with a razor blade. Sure enough water came dripping out and the insulation was wet. There were three elbow fittings in that area and, finding the leaking fitting was quite evident. I removed that cheap plastic elbow fitting and replaced with a shark bite fitting. You can get more ceiling material from Newmar. I fixed the leak because I was on the road at the time. My dealer repaired the ceiling when the coach was in for warranty work. They used some type of black tape that matched the ceiling material and, then resealed with the black rubber type caulking.

bneiva · 10-05-2021, 06:55 AM

It's just a guess...

if the manufacturer used a hose clamp to connect your tank to the house piping (at the top of the tank), it could be loose. Being you know for a fact that you topped off your gray tank, I would give it a couple of days to see if the water leak comes to a halt. At least you would know the drip is related to the gray tank.

Bill
03 American Tradition

TimS5842 · 10-06-2021, 05:20 PM

I found my leak. I took the sliding trays out from under the kitchen sink, removed the bottom tray and the side panel and exposed the drain and water lines that are in a U for the slide movement. At the tail end of that the flexible rubber drain line attached back to PVC pipe and there is a cleanout. Someone (assuming factory issue) overtightened the clean-out cap and cracked the T just under the threads. I was able to remove the cap, clean the crack with PVC cleaner, and then use "hot" PVC cement carefully inserted in the crack line and let it set under a few pounds of pressure to adhere. After it was cured, I used teflon tape on the cap to make it tighter in the opening without having to be screwed down so far that it bottoms out and pushes against the collar causing it to crack again. Tested for leaks, and everything is dry.

You might ask - why glue the crack why not fix it by replacing the cleanout? Well, there just isn't any room to work back there. To do that properly I think one would have to pull the sink and cabinet from the 1/2 bath to expose the other end of the pipe and end up reworking the whole corner section. Considering this should not ever be under pressure, and that crack is above the water line for normal sink/dishwasher drain purposes, I think the glue method will serve just fine for many years to come.

Here are a few pictures - the crack didn't show up great. It's on the collar just above where you can see the metal strap that holds the fitting to the floor. Pictures should be turned 90 degrees clockwise...

2cyber71 · 10-06-2021, 05:24 PM

Good catch, easy fix

Dutch Star Don · 10-09-2021, 11:14 AM

That was both a good and lucky find! Always nice to find a definitive problem that can be fixed, versus tightening everything and hoping it's fixed.

hogdriver · 10-09-2021, 11:22 AM

I don’t know if this is the same leak but I just finished 3 months in the mountains and developed a leak into the lower bay under the kitchen the last week.

I thought I had a cracked fitting like Tim. Got home and started the hunt. At first I thought it was a loose fitting because the water was dripping from the pipes that go thru the floor to supply water. After two days of searching and cutting away pieces of the moisture barrier and buckets of wet insulation I found the culprit. The grey water drain hose had a split. Hard to find because it was on the bottom. Probably not secured correctly during manufacture. Called Newmar. Awaiting a new hose (couldn’t find a 1-1/2 fitting flex hose anywhere). DIY repair because nearest dealer is 300 mi. Going to do a better job protecting that hose from slide /in slide out.