Plumbing woes

[MichiganMarty]

We became owners of a 2014 337RLS Saturday. Yesterday we took it out for our first camp-out.

There is little to no water coming out of the faucets, but accompanied by a lot of spitting air. Yes the tank is full and the pump is on.

The water pump never stops running, we finally shut it off after 15 minutes.

What little water there was coming out of the kitchen faucet, it was hot water out of the cold side.
It was plumbed correctly under the sink.

Getting inside the basement and taking off the access panel, feel around the lines at the water heater, and the water line going to the bottom of the water heater is hot and the one on top is cold. This would indicate the system is plumbed all backwards. Could the water panel be at fault? There are no leaks that I can find any where.

While in the basement I noticed the round flexible furnace duct that feeds a duct in the floor was merely taped in place, and has fallen off the duct, so I guess we don't have any heat to the upper floor.

Yesterday, I don't think the temperature reached 80 degrees outside, but the A/C could not cool the trailer off. We ended up opening all the windows and it was cool in a matter of minutes. This A/C is pathetic at best. I will investigate this further after I get the water working.

I am not happy. This unit is beautiful and we could not wait to get settled in for the evening, only to end up working away the last few hours of my day. I couldn't even sleep.

Anyone who can give me some insight would be welcome to jump in.

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Marty,

The plumbing problems sound like the "Kantleak" selector valve. This has been a common problem for many owners. Sometimes just replacing the cartridge will fix this . . . sometimes the whole panel has to be replaced. If you search this forum on "Kantleak", you will find the whole story.

I assume you have the Atwood AC. First thing to check is the interior air filter. Only about 1/3 of the washable filter is actually in the air flow and plugs up quickly. The second possibility is that there is a baffle plate that could be out of place and/or connections to the ductwork may not be fully open. Searching this forum on key words should find more info on this as well.

Being in SE Michigan, you are only a few hours from the Grand Design assembly plant and service centre in Middlebury Indiana. I don't know what would be warranty and what would be customer pay for your situation, but these guys know all the problems and all the fixes and want to make things right. You might want to consider contacting them. I would start with Jerry McCarthy at 574-825-8000.

Rob

[mbaker]

Hi Marty. Welcome to the world of GD camping!

You're definitely in for trip back to your dealer Also, you're not too far from the GD factory and they can do the repairs (probably quicker).
It sounds like you've got a leak on the intake water side (or you haven't put enough water in the freshwater tank). Check all hand tightened fittings (I found ours very loose). Turn the water heater off till you've got water flowing through it, you don't want to burn out the element.
As for the A/C, there's info on this site about a baffle that may come loose in there between the intake and exhaust side, search for A/C baffle.
Before going out for our 'shakedown cruise' I checked all systems thoroughly in our driveway and found a few things, after the first trip I had a few more.
In the end when everything is working, you'll be happy again. They are nice units.
Beware of an issue with the brakes not working from leaking bearing grease, lots of info on this site about that. I had to replace all my brakes.

Milton

[TucsonJim]

Marty, the "baffle" problem is very common, and quite simple to fix. To put it in a nutshell, there is a partition between the return air and the cold air that was not properly secured in these units. The sensor for the AC is in the return side, so when this partition has moved, the sensor immediately picks up the cold air flow and shuts off the compressor while the fan continues to blow. To repair the problem, follow these steps:

1. Remove the grill underneath the AC.
2. Locate the foam and aluminum partition between the cold air/return air side. See picture 1 below.
3. If the partition has moved, physically move it back into proper position. See picture 2 below.
4. Use aluminum duct tape and seal/secure completely around the partition. See picture 2 below.
5. Replace the grill and clean the filter if appropriate.

Once you do this, the Atwood A/C should work very well on an 80 degree day.

[MichiganMarty]

Water Problem:
OMG! We have resolution! I called GD Wednesday morning about the water and they suspected it was either sucking air behind the pump somewhere, the pump was bad, or the Kantleak valve was bad.
On my lunch hour, I went out to the campgrounds and changed the water pump to eliminate that as an issue.
The pump was fine so I called our dealer, General RV in White Lake, and the service man there sent his "top of the line" man out to the camp ground to look at it! The man, Karl, went about his business of diagnosing it scientifically through the process of elimination. What he found was a 0-ring missing from the hose connection at the suction side of the pump, and another o-ring damaged in the same circuit at the Kantleak valve. Problem solved - we have water.

Now we have another issue, water line rattle while the pump is on. I will fix that issue like I did in every other camper we have owned, foam tubing for insulating water lines!

Air Conditioning:
Thanks TusconJim! That was exactly the issue! I had the same problem in our last camper, a Raptor Toyhauler, only it was a lot worse. I fixed this one by merely straightening it to a vertical position and all is well.

I have to give praise when praise is due...
1. General RV went above and beyond to solve this issue for us. I am shocked that they actually sent a man to a campground. Fortunately the campground is only about 3 miles from their store, but they did not have to do that. They could have just asked me to haul it in for a regular service appointment.
2. This forum is awesome. Unlike other RV / Trailer forums, this one is small enough all posts get attention right away. Those that respond are courteous and kind, and knowledgeable.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond and offer support!

[MichiganMarty]

Okay, one last issue:

Karl told me I had to install a plug at the city water connection or the pump would not suck water from the tank. I installed the plug and the pump worked fine. He removed the plug to show me the pump would merely draw air past the valve in the city water connection.

Is this the way the system is designed? The diagram showing all the different modes of operation say nothing about a plug.

[Cate&Rob]

Okay, one last issue:

Karl told me I had to install a plug at the city water connection or the pump would not suck water from the tank. I installed the plug and the pump worked fine. He removed the plug to show me the pump would merely draw air past the valve in the city water connection.

Is this the way the system is designed? The diagram showing all the different modes of operation say nothing about a plug.

Hi Marty,

Interesting information ! I don't think the Kantleak valve is supposed to need a cap on the water hose connection . . . but, as we have learned, this valve has many failure modes. My hose connection did have a tethered cap, which I don't use because I leave a quick connect hose fitting attached there. So my hose connection remains open and my pump does not draw air when the Kantleak valve is switched to draw water from the tank.

But, I will add a cap for this connection to my bin of spare parts and remember this advice if/when my pump begins to draw air.

Thanks for this tip !
Rob

[gr8daggett]

I use a 45 degree hose adapter with a shut off valve and then the quick disconnect.
It is pretty handy to have the 45 plus the shut off.
Now no cap needed

[TucsonJim]

Okay, one last issue:

Karl told me I had to install a plug at the city water connection or the pump would not suck water from the tank. I installed the plug and the pump worked fine. He removed the plug to show me the pump would merely draw air past the valve in the city water connection.

Is this the way the system is designed? The diagram showing all the different modes of operation say nothing about a plug.

Marty - See, even the "new" guy can contribute here. I never knew that, but if I have an issue, I'll make sure the city water connection is plugged. I've never encountered it because I normally leave the cap on the inlet when we're not hooked to city water. I'll have to experiment and see what happens if I remove the cap.


Jim

[Cate&Rob]

I use a 45 degree hose adapter with a shut off valve and then the quick disconnect.
It is pretty handy to have the 45 plus the shut off.
Now no cap needed

Hi Mike,

That's an even better idea . . . I'm going to do the same thing .

Rob