Sink Drain Pipe Failure in New SMB

[arctictraveller]

Wow, I expected to see a nipple between the two fittings, I can't imagine how they expected that to stay connected for long. It reminds me of a ship I once worked on where the shipyard (in Columbia) re-plumbed a lot of the staterooms with PVC, but apparently ran out of glue, so they just pushed the fittings together. We discovered this shortly after putting the boat in service, and the pipes began separating. Unfortunately, many of them were behind the new walls they installed.

[1der]

I thought it looked like the male threaded portion on the black ABS sheared off and is in the white nylon. At least that is what I am hoping.

Did water get under the diamond plate flooring?

[barrel47]

That's a good question. Any advice on how to evaluate this?

[jrobe]

The biggest issue I have had with any water related problems is keeping water off the the edges of all the plywood. The plywood panels that SMB uses are waterproof on the face side but not on the edges. I have had multiple panels that have had bubbling from a little water seeping down into the panel ends. I installed a back splash on our kitchen counter and have sealed every panel edge with caulk that could ever get water exposure including all the cabinet doors around the kitchen and bathroom. I wish SMB would have sealed all these plywood ends when they were made. If I had any water leaks like your drain pipe I would now watch for plywood bubbling.

[barrel47]

I spoke with Peter from SMB this morning. He explained that there is a threaded nipple from the tank side to the ABS. He believes this must have been defective in some way. Given the uncertainty about the complexity of repair (whether the tank needs to be removed, or not), I will bring it to SMB-W for the work. I will report back when I learn the true nature of of the failure and also what it took to repair in the event anyone else faces this. Thanks for all the help!

[SCTN]

Just what you wanted to do...10 hr road trip to Fresno.

[Twoxentrix]

I would insist on seeing the parts they remove, just to inspect & verify it was some sort of failure - I'm pro SMW, but that doesn't protect against a single employee making a poor decision.

[1der]

Please consider renting a moisture meter and poke it around the area impacted. Water likely ran down the through floor opening and possibly wicked into the plywood and also found its way under the plywood. Hopefully it did not. Removing the through floor fitting would allow you to see what might be detectable.

I do not know what SMB uses for under floor insulation but if it is water absorbing it will never ever dry out unless it is opened up and exposed to lots of warm dry air. If the insulation or water/moisture is allowed to remain in contact w the metal floor, it will rust. And from what I have seen of older Sprinter’s rust is something I would take very seriously.

The other part of the fix I would strongly look st is a flexible piece of hose between the holding tank and the plumbing below the floor. I would also give consideration in the connections to future repairs that may be necessitated by a cracked pipe as a result of freezing. Just seems like many of these upfitters/builders do not take into account ease of future repair work. One thing is built on top of another then attached to something else and the serviceable component is buried. (Vans and boats)

[regis101]

What is Wrong with those people.
There. Someone had to say it. I feel much better now. Thanks,

[Orv]

It's a little hard to tell, but I think in the video I see some black inside the white part. So I'd buy that this was a threaded nipple that broke. A threaded nipple seems like a reasonable choice, given that you can't glue those dissimilar types of plastic, but it's hard to see why it would break unless it was under some kind of stress.