New to me 5.0 TA with suspected small(?) leak under kitchen sink.

trvlrn · 12-03-2018, 04:18 PM

Just picked up our used 2014 5.0 TA. Got it back to VA, parked it in the campground and began a more thorough shakedown. Found a wet spot mostly on the bottom of the small cabinet on the floor beneath the sink. Looks like antifreeze. Pulled off the small veneer panel on the inside left of the cabinet to inspect. Reached hand as far along hot and cold water pipe as I could not dripping or moisture. Ran hand down sink drain pipe, no moisture or dripping. Ran hand along foil insulation over wheel well and this was uniformly slightly damp. After heating the trailer up and running a dehumidier for a night it looks like the damp feeling on the foil was just condensation (the foil panels under the dinette felt the same and also dried out). Next step in my plan is to take the back veneer panel off of the cabinet. Will probably keep both panels off as I would like to have access to the pipes / hoses anyway. I'm a bit peeved since we paid to have the unit inspected prior to purchase and it appears this was missed.

The trailer was stored, closed up in South Carolina for approx 4 months. Any thoughts on what this could be? High on my list since there appears to be antifreeze in the stain is the drain pipe since there would be antifreeze in the bend under the sink (was winterized prior to inspection), or the interface between pipe and gray tank (not sure if gray tank is under the kitchen or what but thought maybe there was a pipe junction where the pipe terminates near the cabinet.

All thoughts appreciated. Also being a new RV'er not sure how concerned to be about this. Is this a big or small leak?

cpaharley2008 · 12-03-2018, 04:25 PM

Escapes have drain holes around the perimeter to allow condensation or leaks to drain out and keep damage to a minimum. If condensation then this wet spot could be normal. If the leak is in waste plumbing then you need to use the plumbing to try and recreate the leak. The antifreeze stain is a good indicator of that scenario. On the other hand, if the unit was winterized, then it could be a plumbing supply issue, with the antifreeze in the supply lines.

trvlrn · 12-03-2018, 04:27 PM

Decided to live in the trailer through the work week since we are getting some cold nights (lows in the 20s F). I figured its easiest to just keep it warm and lived in to get the residual SC moisture out and to keep everything warm until I can rewinterize this Thursday. Thinking about dumping gray tank before I travel back home in case this is backwash? Probably only a few gallons of gray water in tank related to the inspection.

trvlrn · 12-03-2018, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Escapes have drain holes around the perimeter to allow condensation or leaks to drain out and keep damage to a minimum. If condensation then this wet spot could be normal. If the leak is in waste plumbing then you need to use the plumbing to try and recreate the leak. The antifreeze stain is a good indicator of that scenario. On the other hand, if the unit was winterized, then it could be a plumbing supply issue, with the antifreeze in the supply lines.

Thank you! So basically hook up to city water and run it through until I can see something dripping? Im hoping it's a waste issue vs a supply issue. If waste then I could just seal around junction? If supply I imagine a length of tubing would need to be replaced?

Dave Walter · 12-03-2018, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trvlrn

...All thoughts appreciated. Also being a new RV'er not sure how concerned to be about this. Is this a big or small leak?

Is there any chance that the previous owner stored a jug of antifreeze in that cabinet and it may have leaked a bit, rather than the plumbing leaking? (I had a bottle of black tank deodorizer liquid in one of my cabinets that leaked a bit and left a similar type of stain.)

trvlrn · 12-03-2018, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Walter

Is there any chance that the previous owner stored a jug of antifreeze in that cabinet and it may have leaked a bit, rather than the plumbing leaking?

This was my first thought but my girlfriend was skeptical. He had various liquids stored in those bottom cabinets, apparently he had some desicant products stored in there, not in use just to refill the disposable dessicant holders he put out during storage. There could have been liquids in there as well.

We now have the Ecoseb dehumidifier running full time and when it's stored we will keep it running (parents have graciously offered to store it outside their house and we will be running a 10 amp line out to the RV and hooking it up with a 30 amp adapter and run the Ecoseb off of a receptacle inside the trailer). I thought this was best as it provides dehumidification as well as some heat.

trvlrn · 12-03-2018, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Walter

Is there any chance that the previous owner stored a jug of antifreeze in that cabinet and it may have leaked a bit, rather than the plumbing leaking? (I had a bottle of black tank deodorizer liquid in one of my cabinets that leaked a bit and left a similar type of stain.)

Just reread this and in the cabinet next to this one we found a bottle of deodorizer!

cpaharley2008 · 12-03-2018, 05:09 PM

The more I look at it, the more it appears to be a stain. If those 2 hot/cold vertical supply lines to the sink had a leak, it would spray all over the walls, not drip down. There is no waste drain over that spot so it has to be residue from something stored there.

**Donna D.** · 12-03-2018, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trvlrn

Just reread this and in the cabinet next to this one we found a bottle of deodorizer!

When I winterized Ten Forward, I took out all the aerosol cans, disposable batteries... but forgot the new 8-pack of black water tank treatment! We're getting ready to go into a week of below freezing weather... gonna go get it tomorrow....

cpaharley2008 · 12-03-2018, 07:24 PM

Noelia left a can of Deet mosquito pump aerosol spray in the o/h over the winter. When it leaked it melted some plastic, what a mess to clean, liquid plastic is like grease, but sticky.

padlin · 12-03-2018, 07:43 PM

If the inspection didn't cover it, it might be worth looking over the caulking up on the roof. My 2014 needed to be redone this past summer.

trvlrn · 12-03-2018, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by padlin

If the inspection didn't cover it, it might be worth looking over the caulking up on the roof. My 2014 needed to be redone this past summer.

The inspector paid a lot of attention to the roof. All told the inspection took 7 hrs. On top of that we have had nothing but rain up here since we bought it and no other signs of water or leakage.

Since posting this I think I may have discovered what happened. There was one of the small dessicant pods that collects water in the bottom stored in that cabinet. My theory is that they forgot it was in there when they rolled it over to the campground it was inspected at (had been in an RV storage place without hookups) and it fell over and dumped the water that had collected in the bottom into the cabinet. Then by the time we picked it up it had all soaked in and looked like a leak.

padlin · 12-03-2018, 08:26 PM

7 hrs, that's a heck of an inspection.

trvlrn · 12-03-2018, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by padlin

7 hrs, that's a heck of an inspection.

She was talkative and the owners were there the whole time lol. We actually weren'ttthere because we wanted the inspection before we went to the trouble of driving down

D&R_SC · 12-04-2018, 03:52 AM

Hey Jay,

Just came upon this post in a nostalgic trip to the forum. During our final cleaning of the 5.0, we found a plastic single-use envelop/packet of black-water tank treatment had burst. I don't believe there are any leaks in the plumbing or elsewhere.
There is about a gallon of antifreeze plus a couple cups of water, that the inspector ran when testing the faucet, in the grey tank.
She probably didn't note the stain in her report because under sink stains are fairly common. You could try a few applications of cat litter to absorb more of the oiliness.

Hope you got the truck wiring straightened out okay,

David

wetzk · 12-04-2018, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

The more I look at it, the more it appears to be a stain. If those 2 hot/cold vertical supply lines to the sink had a leak, it would spray all over the walls, not drip down. There is no waste drain over that spot so it has to be residue from something stored there.

If the lines are not tight they can drip. Mine was doing that from the cold water line to the sink faucet. I noticed some water in a small bin we had under the sink. It was traveling down the cold water line and dripping off where it bent slightly.A slight twist of the the nut and so far no more leak. The water pump has also had issues with leaks. Those I solved by adding a small rubber o-ring that fit flush against the top of the part. It too has not leaked since. And we also had a leak to the toilet water supply that same trip. Remember leakfest?

Considering how much vibration and bumping happens as our trailers roll down our not so smooth highways its a wonder more does not loosen. I've added a quick look at those areas to my after arrival checklist.

thiggins · 12-04-2018, 08:23 AM

I don't know if anyone else has giving you this tidbit, but if you ( not hooked to city water ) have water in the fresh water holding tank, and turn on the pump with all the valves closed ( i.e. sinks, outdoor shower...) you should NOT hear the pump run after it initially builds pressure and shuts off. If you wait, and hear it periodically running, you might suspect a leak, or a faulty valve in the pump itself. That's an easy way to diagnose a plumbing leak.

We find our pump does cycle a bit when we use hot water, which I suppose it due to the hot water lines expanding and contracting as they heat and cool. In a static situation where no water SHOULD be running, the pump should NOT cycle.

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