Water system leaking

[Vanlifedream]

Hope I’m putting this in the right place. We attached our hose to the hookup on the exterior of the van and when we turned on the water, there was a lot of water leaking from under the van. Turned the water off and the leak slowed. We turned on the pump and the leak increased again. Turned the pump off and there was still water leaking slowly. We tried to look under to see where the leak was coming from, but it is hard to tell because the drip is pretty spread out. Not sure where to start to trouble shooting it. Any help is appreciated!

[marret]

Sorry to hear of the problem.

This is under the van, right?

You will have to get under the van to see look at your plumbing and I assume PEX lines. You will probably need to look with the hose connected or water pump on. I'd turn the water pressure down if using the hose connection. The water will drip along the water lines and other horizontal areas of the van.

I had the same problem last year with a burst PEX line under the back of my van. Actually I had 2 issues, one under the van with a PEX line and a fitting on my shower broken inside the van.

Your water connection is on the drivers side, right?

I assume you have a sink. Which side?

Do you have a shower connection? If so, which side?

Type of water heater?

I'm not familiar with all the variations of SMB plumbing systems, but my flat plate water heater is under my shower connection along with the exterior PEX lines.

While it was something of a pain to work through for me, it made me become more familiar with the water system and how to repair it.

[86Scotty]

Your van looks to have the old standby Shur-flo water inlet that SMB has used for 20 years or more.

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/shur...BoC0OkQAvD_BwE

It is a plastic water inlet/one way valve/pressure regulator in one unit and they don't last forever. One freeze will kill one is someone didn't reach under the van and open the drain relieving water and pressure from the inlet. Age kills them too.

As you can see in the link they aren't expensive and I don't remember them being difficult to replace. Seems like I've done a few of them but it's been a few years. I do not think you need PEX tools or fittings to do one, however you need to verify that the leak is from the inlet itself and not the PEX coming from it. Seems like SMB just put a screw on connector to the van's plumbing on the back side if I remember right.

Good luck!

[BrianW]

+1 on it being the inlet. Happened to mine a few years ago. Very easy to replace. If I recall I think the SMB online store actually had the best price for one, even over Amazon, etc.

[Scalf77]

Also don't forget the drain valves, if it was recently winterized the drains may have been left open, the number and locations will depend on your layout. There are usually at a minimum one at the tank, one that Eric referenced below the intake. If your water goes to the other side of the van, there would be one on that side also.

-greg

[AndrewInSeattle]

Ditto on checking all your valves. Every time I've had some mysterious leakage out the bottom, it always turned out to be either a drain valve I forgot to close or overflow from a full tank. I'm sure something will genuinely fail eventually, but right now, my own brain is the weakest link.

After the 3rd time I panicked for an hour over a "leak" I couldn't find when de-winterizing, my wife made me write up a cheat sheet for myself, dumbed down to the point that even I can follow it! It's slightly customized for our setup, but the steps should be roughly the same for most other SMBs. Amendments from more experienced SMBers welcome!

De-Winterize Camper Van
1. Close sink and shower faucets
2. Close sink drain valves
In the bottom compartment below the sink are the red and blue water lines supplying the sink. Turn both valves closed (perpendicular to pipe).
3. Close shower drain valves
In the compartment below the refrigerator are red and blue water lines supplying the shower. Turn both valves closed.
4. Attach 25’ white hose to water supply
Run water through hose to drive out the air, plus a little bit more to rinse out the hose itself. Turn off the water at the source. Attach hose to van.
5. Set city water valves to allow water into the van
There are 2 valves in the rear luggage compartment on the driver’s side behind a flap. Close the lower valve (city water drain valve) and open the upper valve (city water supply valve).
6. Prepare to fill fresh water tank
Lift driver’s side bench cushion, close the drain valve on the floor next to the fresh water tank. It’s slightly hard to reach. Open the fill valve at the top to permit city water into the tank.
7. Fill the fresh water tank
Turn on the water at the source. If everything above is correct, you should see and hear water entering the water tank with no water flowing out the bottom of the van. Wait until tank is full, when water overflows out the bottom of the van. Close the fill valve next to the water tank. The fill valve should only be open when filling the tank.
8. Flush air out of the system
With the city water still connected and providing pressure, use the sink faucet to run cold water until it stops sputtering and flows smoothly. Repeat for hot water. Aim showerhead into a bucket and turn on cold water until it flows smoothly. Repeat for hot water.

[86Scotty]

A cheat sheet is a wise thing with an RV of any kind. The bigger the RV, the more to remember.

In that spirit.....we set forth....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXSkkzmFkeU

[Vanlifedream]

Thank you all! We took a look at the water inlet when we had a little more time and sure enough, there was a crack in part of the shurflo. Thanks to amazon prime, we are back in action! Such a sinking feeling that it was something major wrong and a huge relief that it was a quick and inexpensive fix. We are filled up and ready for our next adventure.

[marret]

Awesome, glad you were able to get it resolved quickly and easily.