Water under bed Escape 19

Mary LG · 05-08-2018, 01:32 PM

Hi,

After a very fun trip (my third one!) at the King City, Ca fiberglass rally this weekend, I pulled out a small storage box from under the permanent bed in my 2016 19 and noticed it was wet. A small amount of water on the right side of the floor. It was only wet just in front of the door, not wet between the wood frame and the fiberglass shell. I have to admit, this was the first time I really took a look at what was under the bed. I am slowly learning what is where in my trailer. I was hooked to city water at the campground and did not use the water pump.

While my questions might fall under "What a stupid question. ", I bought used and I did not found answers to the questions in the owners manual, searching on the forums or the orientation video. Thank you for your kind answers.

1. Can you tell me about the clear tubing which is only connected on one end-what is it for? It was dry, so maybe not the source of the water?
2. Any idea where the water could have come from?
3. And, what is the switch for?

**rbryan4** · 05-08-2018, 01:38 PM

Your trailer is equipped with a winterizing T valve. That clear tube is what sucks the anti freeze into the lines when winterizing. That likely has nothing to do with the water you found, provided the t-valve is shut. Check your pex lines (red and blue) paying particular attention to all places where they are crimped. You probably have a leak at one of them.

cpaharley2008 · 05-08-2018, 01:44 PM

The switch is for your heat pads on your fresh and grey tanks, they are 12v pads and should only be used while hooked up. Once switched on, they have a thermostat on at 30 and off at 40 degrees. The plastic tube is your E=Z Winertizing set up and the water may have come out of the end. There is a 3 way valve where it attaches to the plumbing and you want the valve painted the same way the plumbing runs. When winterizing your turn the valve towards the plastic tube, inset the tube in a bottle of rv antifreeze, turn on your pump and then go to each faucet and open until antifreeze comes out(toilet also). When not in use I strap it vertical too one of the supports under the bed and insert a dowel in the end. That is most likely your water leak.

**rbryan4** · 05-08-2018, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

When not in use I strap it vertical too one of the supports under the bed and insert a dowel in the end. That is most likely your water leak.

I thought at first it might be a source for a leak Jim, but the OP mentioned the tube was dry. When you've had the issue, could you see any water drops in the tube?

cpaharley2008 · 05-08-2018, 02:02 PM

It is possible, with the valve open that water may escape, while hooked up to city water, I have found some drips until I realized where it came from and I turned the valve close, strapped it vertical and put dowel in it.

wetzk · 05-08-2018, 02:54 PM

We had an air leak on the side of the water pump that the filter is on. The tube would fill with air and take a long time to start pumping as a result. We tightened the shurflo connector and it seemed to fix it. But a few trips later it was leaking again. So I went through my o-ring collection and found one that was the same diameter as the pump pipe and placed it between the pump pipe and the connector. It's going on six months now and it still is holding.
If the one on the other side is loose it will leak water. You could see if it is loose. Do not force it as its just plastic. I think the o-ring trick would work there too if there is a leak and it does not stop.

Here is a similar shurflo connector.

Ron in BC · 05-08-2018, 03:52 PM

Yah, I wasn't thrilled with those connectors either and had leaks.

One way to pinpoint the source is get everything dry and wrap strips of paper towel on all connections. A slow leak is easier to find that way.

Ron

wetzk · 05-08-2018, 06:04 PM

I put one of these in the lower space under the pump and one under the sink.
They start making a lot of noise if even a tiny leak happens.
One came in real handy when the RO unit under the kitchen sink in the house sprung a leak one night. Not sure where to find them now, they are called leak frogs.
There are lots of other small devices that do the same thing.

Mary LG · 05-08-2018, 06:11 PM

Great ideas!

Thank you for all the replies and good information.

Time to start at the pump to follow and learn the system.

The winterizing T-valve is something I don't think I will need. I plan on camping mostly Sept-May. The weather here isn't usually all that cold for any length of time. Nothing long term - might get up to 5-6 hours of below freezing, but not much more than that. But, who knows, better to have it than not.

Curious about the heat pads. How cold does it need to get and for how long before it is a good idea to turn them on?

Patandlinda · 05-08-2018, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetzk

I put one of these in the lower space under the pump and one under the sink.
They start making a lot of noise if even a tiny leak happens.
One came in real handy when the RO unit under the kitchen sink in the house sprung a leak one night. Not sure where to find them now, they are called leak frogs.
There are lots of other small devices that do the same thing.

Those are cute ! Pat

JPSpins · 05-08-2018, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetzk

I put one of these in the lower space under the pump and one under the sink.
They start making a lot of noise if even a tiny leak happens.
One came in real handy when the RO unit under the kitchen sink in the house sprung a leak one night. Not sure where to find them now, they are called leak frogs.
There are lots of other small devices that do the same thing.

Leak Frogs are available on Amazon.ca...$654 Cdn PLUS $6.48 shipping...no kidding.

**rbryan4** · 05-08-2018, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPSpins

Leak Frogs are available on Amazon.ca...$654 Cdn PLUS $6.48 shipping...no kidding.

My guess is they are no longer in business and so Amazon's algorithm jacks up the price due to low stock. They're sky high on the US site as well at $99 each. Amazon does sell an alternative however called a "Leak Bug" instead of frog, for $14.95.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OUD0QZC..._.7J8AbQYRV9SA

gbaglo · 05-08-2018, 07:31 PM

Maybe they are no longer in business because the product sucked.
Saw one review that the frog was happily sitting silent in a puddle of water.

wetzk · 05-08-2018, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Maybe they are no longer in business because the product sucked.
Saw one review that the frog was happily sitting silent in a puddle of water.

Like any device they can fail , believe it or not even parts of Escapes can and have failed. I know sacrilege right?

Here's a person on another site that was not happy with their Escape.
RV.Net Open Roads Forum: How is the quality of the Escape Trailer?

Sure it's only one review but so was yours.

gbaglo · 05-08-2018, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetzk

Sure it's only one review but so was yours.

Did you miss the part in the previous post about them being out of business?

wetzk · 05-08-2018, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Did you miss the part in the previous post about them being out of business?

OK, so you want me to look up a review on the Boler instead?
I'm sure I could quickly find one.
There has to be at least one person out there that did not like them.

**Donna D.** · 05-08-2018, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wetzk

Here's a person on another site that was not happy with their Escape.
RV.Net Open Roads Forum: How is the quality of the Escape Trailer?

I read the thread at RV.net, sounds like they got a lemon from vendor supplied stuff "There were some installed items that caused us grief and I think it is worth mentioning these (for the most part they are Escape supplier problems)."

gbaglo · 05-08-2018, 08:32 PM

OK. I went back through the thread and now I understand why you are so defensive about this frog.
No idea what it has to do with Boler though.

wetzk · 05-08-2018, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donna D.

I read the thread at RV.net, sounds like they got a lemon from vendor supplied stuff "There were some installed items that caused us grief and I think it is worth mentioning these (for the most part they are Escape supplier problems)."

Which is why I said parts failed. Other than the complaint about a window not being level the rest were universal problems with RV's.
The myriad parts and multiple manufactures of the parts increase the odds of problems. But Escape does follow through so we have not had any real problems with ours.

wetzk · 05-08-2018, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gbaglo

OK. I went back through the thread and now I understand why you are so defensive about this frog.
No idea what it has to do with Boler though.

Well you said the company was out of business so I figured you expected me to only link to complaints about companies that were out of business.

I do not really care about the frog. Ours work and as I said their are a lot of other choices. I imagine even ones that send a text to your phone by now exist. I figured if I needled I'd get a response and did.

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