Into the belly of the beast...

**JCR GD** · 06-11-2022, 01:26 PM

Today I decided to dive into the belly of the beast. I've had a couple minor hydraulic leaks over the years and the fluid is still seeping out of the front belly cover so time to clean it up and see what else there is to see.

Sure enough a puddle of hydraulic fluid on top of the insulation where the hoses have allowed fluid migration from the leaking connectors. Will replace with new insulation.

I also found the Black tank wash hose was pinched in two places. A bit of rerouting and all is well.

A while back someone was asking about the valve sizes on the various tanks and I thought they were all 3" except Fresh water which it 2". Then someone said they were 3" Black and 2" Gray. Cool, good to know, but I was confused cuz the last time (6 yrs ago) I had the belly open a bit and I thought I saw 3" on both Black & Gray, but not sure. Well as it turns out, mine does have 3" on both Black and bathroom Gray. The Galley valve is 2". Not sure why but that's what they did, so now we can be more confused about consistency across builds and models. The tanks are also oriented different than I thought. The Bathroom Gray and Black are side by side with the Black on the street side and the Galley Grey is crosswise aft of the other two.

As many have reported the belly rivals the basement behind-wall rats nest mess. I will be fixing that as I go too.

And while I'm in there I'm going to replace the Black tank sensors with better ones since cleaning efforts have not worked for me. The OEM ones are not removable so I will be installing new ones next to them. Hopefully they will work a bit better.

So let the cleaning, organizing and replacing begin. (Early mornings only, 100+ at noon

)

**Soundsailor** · 06-11-2022, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by JCR GD

Early mornings only, 100+ at noon

Wow, I'd heard it was hot out your way but that is HOT! Good luck with your projects, pictures would help to visualize what your describing.

**pwalton** · 06-13-2022, 09:18 AM

I looked under mine this past weekend to see how to install something I've been thinking about. My trailer is a 'new-to-me' 2019. Evidently I didn't NOT look at the underbelly prior to purchase. There's bowing between all of the supports, drilled holes in a few places and ratchet straps helping hold it all up. Evidently there was a pretty good water leak. There are no smells or staining or continued water leak, so presumably it's all be 'fixed to the extent of their abilities'. I will be scheduling time with my local dealership this winter to drop the underbelly, replace the galley gray tank valve (it's sticky), inspect everything else for proper operation (tank heaters, etc) and put up new insulation and underbelly. I have the desire to do it myself, but I don't have a good workspace, tools or knowhow to get it done efficiently (or most probably correctly).

Take many breaks and stay hydrated!

**offtohavasu** · 06-13-2022, 09:47 AM

Well one thing is for sure, you picked the BEST time of year to do this in B-Town! LOL. Just know, it's much cooler down here when I need your help to do mine. LOL

**JCR GD** · 06-14-2022, 08:55 AM

Got a lot of "clean up" done in the mornings and between heat waves. Today only around 90 so will install new sensors (came in yesterday) and finish organizing. Yesterday I decided to spray glue the "bubble wrap" insulation to the coroplast and the batt insulation to that. With all the guts now organized and supported, it should be fairly easy to get the belly back in place.

I would definitely recommend every one that is interested in how things work and like to confirm that things are as they should be to drop the belly and give it a good look see!

Any time Curtis!

**JCR GD** · 06-14-2022, 02:26 PM

A couple of observations as I installed new sensors. (Disclaimer these are on my 2015 Momentum, no telling what yours has

)

Apparently the logic board on the sensor lights makes all lights bellow the highest sensor with continuity (fluid between sensors) to the "common" light up. So, with an empty tank, if you jumper from the Full sensor to the "common" all the lights will light regardless of continuity to the others. I kinda wish they would only light if they each have continuity, that way you would know if you have a rogue sensor. Oh well!

The install of the sensors was fairly easy. I replaced 3 on the front Black tank, 3 on the Bathroom Grey and 2 on the Galley Grey. (I had 8) The only difficulty was keeping the ones for the Black tank oriented properly. They have a "hood" that must be on top. Other than that, and working in tight spaces, it was a piece of cake.

I think the chances of these new sensors giving false readings is pretty slim so hopefully no more guessing/estimating.

The OEM wiring is a mess and there was strain on some of the connections so I corrected all that.

I always though the tanks were basically rectangular "box" but they actually slope to the drain end. So the tank is deeper at the low end. (Top is flat) And the tank heater pads are at the low end. There is also a large frame member under the two side by side tanks. They won't be falling out.

I lubed all valve push rods and cables and they work noticeably better.

I will post a few pics in a bit. Tomorrow the belly cover goes back on.

**JCR GD** · 06-14-2022, 02:49 PM

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The new sensors

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Sensors installed

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Brace and tank heater

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Belly cover ready to go

**JCR GD** · 06-15-2022, 07:44 AM

A couple more bits of info...

As I was filling the Black tank with water to test my "don't over tighten" tightening of the new sensors, I kept track of the amount of water going into the tank (inline meter) as each light came on.

56 Gallon tank per GD info. (2 tanks - 112 Gal.) Nothing I could find on the tank to confirm.
(approx)
1/3 = 6 Gal.
2/3 = 38 Gal.
F = 49 Gal.

It looks like the Bathroom Grey tank is setup the same way. Tank appears to be the same.

Black tank flush works a lot better without 2 kinks

I also sprayed all rusty spots above belly cover with Rust Reformer, so should be go to go for Belly cover. (Did all exterior spots about 6+ years ago and it all still looks great)

Better get to it ... gunna get hot!

**JCR GD** · 06-15-2022, 10:37 AM

Belly cover back on! Definitely a job for two men and a small boy but I was able to git-er-done by myself with the help of some props and the belly sag bars I had made years ago.

Some day I will take on the back half!

**Stealth13777** · 06-15-2022, 11:01 AM

Looks great - thanks for sharing!

Would you mind sharing in more detail what all you had to do to clean up the wiring? I keep having debates about whether it’ll just be routing and adding looms and brackets, or if it’ll end up being a lot of cutting and splicing to make it right. How deep did you have to go??