Community Forums

bigb56 · 04-24-2022, 09:16 AM

I do all my own work on both chassis and coach and have done my best to foresee problems and make things as bullet proof as I can. So far it has paid off with relatively few problems on our outings all of which were easily fixed on the spot. One thing I have read is folks having the water pump fail. How common is this, and is it worth it to carry a spare? I try to limit carrying a lot of spare parts due to weight and space and debating if a spare pump is a good idea or not. Or maybe a rebuild kit?

Mile Marker 42 · 04-24-2022, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigb56

I do all my own work on both chassis and coach and have done my best to foresee problems and make things as bullet proof as I can. So far it has paid off with relatively few problems on our outings all of which were easily fixed on the spot. One thing I have read is folks having the water pump fail. How common is this, and is it worth it to carry a spare? I try to limit carrying a lot of spare parts due to weight and space and debating if a spare pump is a good idea or not. Or maybe a rebuild kit?

I carry a few things including filters, and a spare water pump as well. I think it is a worthwhile investment.

wolfe10 · 04-24-2022, 09:27 AM

Brian,

No simple answer to "carry a spare water pump".

Depends on where you are (how far from a replacement pump you are) AND if you do much dry camping. If you only stay at CG's, you could go some period of time before replacement is critical.

We always carried one when RVing in Mexico, as it is not a commonly available part.

Were we in a smaller RV with limited weight capacity and only traveled in the U.S. we would not carry one.

Gary RVRoamer · 04-24-2022, 09:59 AM

I would never carry a spare of a part that has a service life of 8-10 years even in constant use. Especially when the part is a fairly common one. Besides, the failure mode is typically not an instant & total failure, so you usually have some warning.

If you carry that sort of spare, what about the engine water pump? Starter motor?

CamJam1 · 04-24-2022, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

I would never carry a spare of a part that has a service life of 8-10 years even in constant use. Especially when the part is a fairly common one. Besides, the failure mode is typically not an instant & total failure, so you usually have some warning.

If you carry that sort of spare, what about the engine water pump? Starter motor?

I assumed he was talking about the engine water pump, which might not be easy to find for a Mercedes in small town America. I carry both a spare water pump and a starter solenoid for my Workhorse 8.1.

Seems like water pumps for the house should be relatively easy to find.

vsheetz · 04-24-2022, 10:23 AM

We dry camp much if the time. I carry a spare water pump. Have used it twice over the years.

Fiesta48 · 04-24-2022, 10:32 AM

Don't carry one, you'll need it. Carry one and you'll never need it. Same for tools.
My original repaired spare is in the garage. Probably never need it.
My original pump was totally unreliable.

fcbbob15 · 04-24-2022, 10:37 AM

I have carried the same spare pump in two RVs now for eleven years. So long now I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work. If I leave it home,I'm sure to have a failure so I guess I'll leave it on the RV.

spierce617 · 04-24-2022, 10:39 AM

Use to never carry a spare water pump. Then we had a pump go out without any warning and had to drive 80 miles one way to get another. Now I carry a spare.

bigb56 · 04-24-2022, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamJam1

I assumed he was talking about the engine water pump, which might not be easy to find for a Mercedes in small town America. I carry both a spare water pump and a starter solenoid for my Workhorse 8.1.

Seems like water pumps for the house should be relatively easy to find.

Sorry I was referring to the coach water pump.

bigb56 · 04-24-2022, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfe10

Brian,

No simple answer to "carry a spare water pump".

Depends on where you are (how far from a replacement pump you are) AND if you do much dry camping. If you only stay at CG's, you could go some period of time before replacement is critical.

We always carried one when RVing in Mexico, as it is not a commonly available part.

Were we in a smaller RV with limited weight capacity and only traveled in the U.S. we would not carry one.

Makes sense and if I think about it, I only really dry camp when my wife is not with me and a pump failure would be no big deal for me, I could just pull water from the tank drain.

edgewant · 04-24-2022, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spierce617

Use to never carry a spare water pump. Then we had a pump go out without any warning and had to drive 80 miles one way to get another. Now I carry a spare.

Same here! Pump head was leaking very bad. Had to cut off water to keep from flooding wet bay!

Definitely carry a spare.

M&MM · 04-24-2022, 02:47 PM

Mine just quit last week while on a trip. It is on a 2008 model coach and the pump has a mfg date of '07. If my next pump lasts anywhere close to as long, I'll never have to worry about replacing it again. Biggest inconvenience to us on this trip was having to pay for a site in RV park for the nights we were planning on boondocking. We do boondock quite a lot and our pump has seen plenty of use.
Also, I did see a mobile RV repair guy and asked if he had a pump. He did although it wasn't exact one I needed(I opted to find the exact replacement) so if I was in a bind, I could've been fixed quickly.

Ray,IN · 04-24-2022, 04:56 PM

The only time I've seen spare parts carried is when we drove to Alaska. One cannot simply drive to an RV store to buy a water pump, or whatever. It must usually be flown-in from Seattle.
I had to sit alongside a highway for 3 days waiting on axle parts being ordered and flown to Alaska, then flown by a bush pilot to ToK, then the repair shop had to drive 60 miles to my location. Can you say expensive? Thankfully we have Good Sam emergency roadside service, i was only out the tip I gave the mechanic and his helper.