Leak gremlins are in my basement!

[emessmer1]

Found a leak like this last night. 3 weeks ago got unit back to storage facility and began spring maintenance (unit had been at dealer for literally 1 year to replace fridge and all the damage done in the process of same to doors, moldings, etc). Was pulling all the misc stuff from basement and found mold on the carpet (keep in mind this thing has only been used ONCE so far). Searched. Found nothing wrong. Cleaned up mold, sprayed with commercial inhibitor and left to dry. Submitted claim to dealer with 2 days on the clock for factory warranty left, so at least there's that paper-trail in progress. Went out of town on business. Came back and this past Monday night I was back at it, doing maintenance and summer-time load-out. Found damp carpet in the basement in same place (on the divider walls in the basement). Emptied basement, pulled all walls loose, crawled back in there with a bright light again.... Nothing. Well, Cr@p. So SOMETHING caused the mold and now the damp carpet. Looked over every fitting. I had assumed that the previous mold was b/c the shower above was not properly caulked from the factory and was leaking all over the bathroom upon the 1st trip out last year. I fixed that to the best of my ability while on the road but there was certainly no guarantee that it hadn't leaked down below. I have one of those dealers that if they can't see the problem they're not lifting a finger to look for it either. Finally fed up after an hour of emptying compartment, dying stuff out with hairdryer and searching for leak, I grab a hose, shut the basement and lay into it for about 2 seconds from outside. I open the door and I have a puddle. The leak was NOT coming from any plumbing (well, mostly and technically it was not a 'plumbing' leak anyway) but was coming in like a tsunami around the piss-poor gasket they used on the back side of the outdoor shower connection. Mind you, NOT a 'plumbing' issue but coming in around the through-wall plumbing fixture. I did what I could while onsite and silicone it good including all the screw holes and put in back together. Also silicone the outdoor 110v outlet cover directly above it. Let it stand for 30 minutes and hit it with water again.... Ahhh…. nice and dry at last. So while you may have water BY your pump, do not assume that it is actually plumbing related until you find the source for sure. Mine had been sitting on the lot leaking for a year and I had no clue.

[hotroddergirl]

Hey there sadie bear here. Those to-25 hoses are NOT the same size as the proper pex and therefore a weak link... here is what I found with a intermittent leak...
The info above about the hot water tank is VERY IMPORTANT and to understand what is going on know this:
The hot water tank has two check valves in the lines.
When the hot water tank has to heat the whole tank from cold it creates pressure. The ONLY place the pressure can be absorbed is with the air space that should be present in the top of the tank. BUT, if people use the relief valve to let air escape when filling tank they remove it, or if the tank if used to empty and has to refill often the space can be compromised. That being said, with air space either minimal or non existent, the pressure then develops through the hot water outlet check valve and into the lines. THEN it leaks, until the pressure is released.
So the prefect storm is when you have the hot water tank heating from cold, and you do NOT use the hot water while this is happening, and the air space in the tank has been reduced due to a number of things.
Create this event and water for a leak. THAT will create the pressure that overcomes the lovely ts-25 soft hose. Why do i know? Had it last year. Found it by creating this scenario.
Cheers

[kengeers]

I'm gonna make a short story long...Last year before our second trip I put about 20 gal. in the fresh tank. Checked in the basement & had a few drops of water by the pump. Cleaned it up & had no further issues that trip (about 6 days). Two trips later, camped a few days w/ no issues, went to the dump station and a leak alarm goin off. More water by the pump (not much but more). Arrived at the next stop checked everything no hose leaks or leaks at the pump. Camped for a week with no more issues. Had a few more trips with no water drama.
Last week camped for a couple of days...no problem. Moved to the next camp, set up & went to bed. Woke up to the water alarm again...fooey. Removed the walls in the basement & had about a pint of water around the pump and in the recess on top of the holding tanks. Found no obvious hose, drain pipe or pump leaks. Cleaned it up and had no problem for the next few days (didn't use pump rest of trip).
Got home & gonna find that leak! Hooked up shore water, turned on every faucet one at a time, left it pressured this way for an hour or so... no leaks. Switched to dry camping, turned on pump, did the faucet thing, left the pump on for another hour or so. Once pressured up it didn't cycle once. Well fooey I CAN'T GET IT TO LEAK
Dropped a corner of the coroplast & the insulation was dry there (it rained on the move day before the water event).
Well crapski, I can't fix it if it aint broke!

I'm out of ideas, anybody have something similar happen to them?

I had some issues with mine lot long after I had it. I was getting the black tank spell in the trailer.
I dumped it and after a day it came back again. I did some searching under in the storage and removed the panned to obtain access to the back side of the water connection area. I found some water was dripping and traced the hose to a check valve for the black tank flush line. I flush the black tank every time I dump. That valve required me to access it behind a panel inside on the back wall of a cabinet.
No parts were needed I just had to tighten up most of the PEX hose connections, on the check valve as well as the backside of the water connection panel. I have not had the smell ever return, unless the I'm in the restroom, of course. I have also had to clean up and redo many of the cable connections for the TV. Owning a trailer is like a house. Some maintenance will be required but the hose connections being loose concerned me. glad I found it sooner than later.

[Roll With The Changes]

I have a 2017 300GK and I'm chasing a similar problem. One thing that I'm looking at but haven't confirmed it yet is the furnace installation.

On mine, the furnace is sitting on the basement deck with the water heater on a stand directly above. My wet spot is on the deck and no traces of water on the water heater stand. My suspicion is that rain water running down the outside wall goes behind the furnace cover plate which is not sealed. It then (only sometimes) runs inside at the bottom of the frame that cover is attached to.

On mine that frame is not installed just right, but I couldn't get it to leak when I sprayed the wall with the hose. Now I think about it, the level condition of the rig will definitely affect which way the water goes at that point.

[emessmer1]

I have a 2017 300GK and I'm chasing a similar problem. One thing that I'm looking at but haven't confirmed it yet is the furnace installation.

On mine, the furnace is sitting on the basement deck with the water heater on a stand directly above. My wet spot is on the deck and no traces of water on the water heater stand. My suspicion is that rain water running down the outside wall goes behind the furnace cover plate which is not sealed. It then (only sometimes) runs inside at the bottom of the frame that cover is attached to.

On mine that frame is not installed just right, but I couldn't get it to leak when I sprayed the wall with the hose. Now I think about it, the level condition of the rig will definitely affect which way the water goes at that point.

Silicone the crap out of it! I've found that you cannot trust those foam compression gaskets they're using. I also have to caulk around my furnace.... But for a different reason. Dealer hit my skirt while on the lot and had to replace the long piece of sheet metal. They broke the seal around the furnace and didn't bother to fix it worth 2 cents. I'm going to re-seal it tomorrow to make sure I'm water tight there. Regular silicone is good to 400deg F so that should be sufficient even in a moderately high heat area like the outside rim of the furnace cover.