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dsbike · 03-09-2012, 12:48 PM

The other day I noticed water dripping from my niegbors RV, and the heater was trying to light continously. I knocked on thier door but no one was home. We hadn 't seen anyone there for the past week. Thier truck was in the driveway. My dw & I both were working all week and were not sure if we just missed them. We do not know them, they have only been there a short time. I called the office and reported the incident. I checked with the office later in the day to see if they got a hold of the owners. Office said no but had left a message with a friend.
The following day we came home and there were several people there looking at our niegbors rv. Turns out the water was leaking into the bathtub, the gray water valve was closed and the tub overfilled. The heater fan was running but in the off position. I opened the external panel and turned off the fan.
Come to find out the niegbors had to go home for an emergency and had been gone for 2 weeks. I felt very bad for not doing more. But I did not feel right messing with someone else rv .
What would you do or do you think I could have done.

Clanton24v · 03-09-2012, 01:37 PM

It would be a tough call really. I probably would have just shut the water off going into the rv. Other than that not sure

Larry & Rita · 03-09-2012, 02:46 PM

Why was thier unit water still on if they were gone? Thats the first thing I tun off If I am leaving.
I think I would thank anyone that realized there was a leak, and knowing I was gone, would have at the very least turned off the water.
You did the second best thing by notifying the office, I think if I worked in the office and knew the people were gone for a long period of time, I would have gone over and turned off the water. jmho

Steve N Sal · 03-09-2012, 02:56 PM

Sometimes when you have to leave in a hurry things can be forgotten. Our friends had to return home for some medical procedures and the wife called me in a frantic and asked if I would go over to make sure they had turned the water pump off. Well, all was well for them when I checked and I always think it's a good idea to ask someone if they mind keeping an eye on there unit. In your situation it's a tough call you don't want to monkey with someone elses rig and that's understandable and I think you did what you could by reporting it. Some neighbors depending on how far they have there nose stuck in the air can be quite arrogant. I for one was just looking at someones property and happened to just put my hand on it and was told by someone else to keep my hands off of something I don't know anything about. So there you have it, you never know at times if your doing the correct thing or not. Now I pretty much just mind my own business.

dsbike · 03-09-2012, 04:06 PM

One thing I didnt mention was I did turn the water off then after about an hour the water had not stopped dripping. We had 2 days of rain & I suspected it was run off at that time. So I turned the water back on. I realize now I should have left it off. I can only assume at this time that they just forgot & left in a hurry. Much bigger concerns at the time.

We always turn our water off also when we go for an extended time.

cmpncrsaider · 03-09-2012, 05:39 PM

I'm glad you shared this story with us because I don't know if I would have thought to shut off the water to someone elses rig, I would have told the office like you did for sure, but now I will definetly go over shut the water off and notify the office. So you did what you thought was right and that's that.

rmmpe · 03-10-2012, 06:18 AM

I would have shut the water off. It's my nature.
If I was criticized for it later, I would simply tell them to pound salt. It's my nature.

rjf7g · 03-10-2012, 07:14 AM

I have a seasonal site and many of us have exchanged cell phone numbers for just this sort of thing. The office has keys to most of our campers or someone we trust knows where the keys are hidden. We often text folks or get text messages saying, "Hey, I just noticed...do you want me to check it out?" It's great to know folks have your back, but for anyone I don't have contact information for myself I would work through the office.

lanerd · 03-10-2012, 11:52 AM

I agree with most here. After insuring that no one was home, I would have turned off the water to the rig and then notified mgt of what was happening and what I did.

The issue with the heater trying to light.... I think once again, I would have removed the outside cover and unplugged the heater.

I would hope that if it was my rig, someone would care enough to investigate on my behalf and take appropriate measures as if it was their own coach.

Ron

Ernie Ekberg · 03-10-2012, 05:20 PM

I would have shut it off. and turned the heater off. What are they going to do to ya? Probably give you a big thanks. I did that with an airstream that was leaking water in all the wrong places. Its the best thing to do is help out

Dr4Film · 03-10-2012, 05:38 PM

Turn both the water and the LPG valves off. Let the owners deal with the issue when they return. That is providing that the rig is not in any risk of freezing.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

ghoststories · 03-10-2012, 05:47 PM

I agree you did the right thing. I hope I camp next to you sometime in the future, good to know there are people out there who care.

SarahW · 03-11-2012, 01:38 PM

I think you did the right thing to notify the office. Personally, I would not touch anyone's RV unless I know them. Too many anxious to place blame nowadays.

CarlGeo · 03-11-2012, 04:07 PM

I had a similar situation a few years ago. In a state park campground, and a neighbors in a trailer were gone for the day. Mid-morning I noticed water coming out from under entrance door. I immediately went to the trailer and knocked on door to be sure no one was there. After no response, I turned off the water, and put note on door.
When they returned, I went over and explained what I did and why. They were very gracious and thanked me for turning off water because a pipe inside the trailer had broken. I would proceed in a similar manner if I saw something amiss at any trailer or MH. Prevention and safety are prime concerns.