Another Camper Problem

[nomifyle]

There are two water "Lines" that are handing down from the camper. When we turn the water on water comes out of these two lines, it looks like something is missing. I get running water to the bathroom since, but not in the kitchen or the tub and probably not the commode.

I took pictures, hopefully I can get them attached. Well one picture came out, these are the two lines that are hanging down, DH lifted them up so I could take a picture of the ends. This is where the water comes out when I turn the water on, I guess instead of going to the kitchen sink and the bathtub. Anyone have any ideas?

TIA

Judy

 

[SurfaceTension]

Not much to work with, but I suspect someone disconnected the lines as part of winterization or draining the system. There should be two male ends to connect to underneath. Just be sure to get hot-to-hot and cold-to-cold.

Always remember the three rules of plumbing:
1. Hot is on the left
2. Poop flows downhill
3. Never, ever bite your fingernails

 

[Bud in Fla]

I'm guessing this camper isn't new off the showroom floor - Start tracing piping - those ends LOOK like they should connect to the H&C supply side.

Maybe someone removed some busted piping? Maybe someone pumped the system with antifreeze for the Winter and left the lines hanging. Don't panic - Pumping RV lines with non-toxic antifreeze is normal. Possibly the previous owner had a manifold with an outside water spigot that fit in there - look in ALL the storage areas for it.

Bad news is that usually the piping is under the cabinets or covered by the belly skin of the camper. Unless you guys are mechanically/carpentry/plumbing inclined it'd probably be better to get an RV shop look at it. If you bought it locally, a local shop may already be familiar with it and can answer the question without even looking at it. Can you ask the former owner?

If it's a new camper, the dealer had better make it right!

I lived in my camper for over 10 years doing construction work - there's no limit to the possibilities of what a former owner may have "customized" that made sense to them at the time!
Good luck -

 

[Bud in Fla]

I forgot to mention that you need to find the "Low Point Drain Valves", too - usually under a trap door under the sink. For Winterizing & draining the system.

Do a search on my name - I gave someone a bunch of camper info a few weeks ago -

Also, ST - there's a few more -

Hot on the Left
Cold on the right
Poop don't roll up hill
Payday is Friday
Boss is a sumb*tch

 

[Dennis Olson]

Looks like connections that have been opened for drainage. You'll need to crawl around under the trailer to find out where they connect. If BOTH run when the water is turned on, chances are that both are cold water lines (though I can't swear to that). Find the fittings and connect the hoses back up.


ETA: The one thing that I DISLIKE the most about owning an RV (and I'm certain that a trailer, 5th wheel, etc are exactly the same), is that I have had to learn EVERY SYSTEM. Cold water, hot water, how does the HW heater work, electrical (where is the breaker panel and the fuses), heating system, cooling system, toilet system, etc, etc, etc I really DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO LEARN ALL THAT, but had no choice. And you're in the same boat as me. You've got to screw around with everything until you understand all the systems. And you HAVE to understand them, even if you can't fix them. Total bummer IMO.

 

[nomifyle]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm pretty sure I need a drain valve for each one. Now to figure out what size and where to find them.

Judy

 

[Dennis Olson]

I don't know that I agree with you. Normally, drain valves wouldn't be pulled from a camper. There'd be no reason to do that. My belief is that the hoses were disconnected from some plubming under the unit. You NEED to learn the systems, and go for a crawl underneath. trust me on this....

 

[nomifyle]

I don't know that I agree with you. Normally, drain valves wouldn't be pulled from a camper. There'd be no reason to do that. My belief is that the hoses were disconnected from some plubming under the unit. You NEED to learn the systems, and go for a crawl underneath. trust me on this....

Where I have my camper parked is another camper parked there. I looked under it and it has the same two water lines hanging down and they have the drain valves on them.

Who know why they are missing on my camper, it is a FEMA camper and has been sitting up for maybe 3 or 4 years. The other camper is not a FEMA camper, so its not just mine.

By the my camper is parked behind my church in an area to park and hook up campers, the one next to mine is unoccupied, so I wasn't snooping in someone elses stuff. And I got on the ground to look.

Thanks,

Judy

 

[DrJerry]

From my experience with my parents' RV: Two good investments are a manual and a good creeper.

 

[SurfaceTension]

I don't know that I agree with you. Normally, drain valves wouldn't be pulled from a camper. There'd be no reason to do that. My belief is that the hoses were disconnected from some plubming under the unit. You NEED to learn the systems, and go for a crawl underneath. trust me on this....

I would tend to agree....Those connectors are typically connected to a fitting of some sort (faucet, manifold). Usually a drain valve would be crimped right to the line in an RV.

 

[nomifyle]

From my experience with my parents' RV: Two good investments are a manual and a good creeper.

Good idea, wonder where I'd get a manual for a FEMA camper.

Judy

 

[Garryowen]

Those ends look to me like they will hook up to the sink lavatory, but it doesn't look like there would be enough line. Sorry I couldn't give better information. If it's a FEMA trailor, there's no telling how much it was pillaged before it was sold.

 

[etdeb]

These are drains, you have to have plugs in the end of them before the other plumbing will work, look in your water heater door, they usually store them there. If not they are either 1/2 or 3/4 NPT plugs.

 

[Kent]

The above poster is right. Open your water heater door and you should find three plugs, two of them will fit the two lines out front and the other one will fit the water heater. By the way, the switch above the sink with the red light turns on your water heater if you have gas and 12v power.

 

[Ta-wo-di]

My suggestion to you would be to get two standard PVC boiler valves with the wheel on them. You should be able to get the at Lowes or HD in the plumbing department. Typically as the other poster said they have white plugs. The plugs are a pain so I went with the boiler valves. Easier to drain the system. You also should see a drain line coming from your tank. These are all used to drain the system for winterization. Your hot water heater will probably also have a drain plug that needs to be removed in the winter to drain the tank. One last thing to get that will probably help you in in draining the system. Go to an RV store and ask for a air fitting that screws into the city water supply. To completely get the water out for winter, I pump air thru the system with an air compressor after the drain lines are open.

Hope this helps. This is a brass one where as I use plastic.

 

[etdeb]

Judy, it is a Gulfstream Cavalier Travel Trailer. Did you get 2005 0r 2006 model. I am trying to get manuals, but Gulfstream went belly up so it is hard.

 

[nomifyle]

Just went to check, the plugs are not there, but I did talk to the fellow I bought if from and he is going to come take a look.

Thanks all.

Judy

 

[night driver]

SEMI relevant question. Is it a PARK model or a TRAVEL trailer. Difference is holding tanks...

(Under the heading of understanding ALL of your systems)

 

[BoatGuy]

If you look around the bottom of the camper, are there two holes in the chassis, somewhere near these lines? Someone may have taken off the valves. I would suspect that they are the lines to drain down the camper for winter.

Another weak possibility is that they are supposed to be attached to each other.

Now, if you want to trace the lines, there is a way that involves two people. Open all the valves in the camper, and shoot SMALL (VERY SMALL) amounts of compressed air into the lines, while the other finds where the air is coming out.

This must be done in small bursts of air, and not with a tight seal where the air is entering the line. You don't want to burst a line, or a hot water heater. You just want to feel the air flow at the faucet or whatever.

Also, its hard to tell from the picture. But, the one on the left looks like it's got a screen on it? That would definitely be an inlet. No one would ever put a screen on an outlet hose, since it would tend to clog the inside of the hose, if the system got contaminated.

 

[nomifyle]

If you look around the bottom of the camper, are there two holes in the chassis, somewhere near these lines? Someone may have taken off the valves. I would suspect that they are the lines to drain down the camper for winter.

Another weak possibility is that they are supposed to be attached to each other.

Now, if you want to trace the lines, there is a way that involves two people. Open all the valves in the camper, and shoot SMALL (VERY SMALL) amounts of compressed air into the lines, while the other finds where the air is coming out.

This must be done in small bursts of air, and not with a tight seal where the air is entering the line. You don't want to burst a line, or a hot water heater. You just want to feel the air flow at the faucet or whatever.

Also, its hard to tell from the picture. But, the one on the left looks like it's got a screen on it? That would definitely be an inlet. No one would ever put a screen on an outlet hose, since it would tend to clog the inside of the hose, if the system got contaminated.

Its a park model, no holding tanks, but other than that its like a camper.

The plugs were supposed to be placed behind the panel for the water heater, but this panel was open to the elements when I first saw it and if they were ever there they are not now. I talked to the seller yesterday, he sells hundreds of them, so I think he is going to make it right.

Thanks a bunch,

Judy

 

[etdeb]

Please ask him if he has a way to get a repair manual or owners manual.

 

[nomifyle]

Judy, it is a Gulfstream Cavalier Travel Trailer. Did you get 2005 0r 2006 model. I am trying to get manuals, but Gulfstream went belly up so it is hard.

I got a 2006 Gulfstream Cavalier. Another member said there did not give out manuals, just information about the different "appliances". But I will ask.

Judy

 

[nomifyle]

I got the NPT 1/2" plugs and they work perfectly, and the plug for the hot water heater was still there. I talked to the seller again and he is going to switch out the non working fridge for one that works.

Thanks again for all the help.

Judy

 

[etdeb]

You have found a nice guy to work with, those units are sold as is, so he really stepped up to the plate to help you. I did download a manual from Gulfstream and talked with them to make sure there was not a manual just for the Cavalier's. They produced one manual that covers every TT they manufacture. It covers general info. It does talk about how important it is to vent well to remove moisture from cooking, showers and just added moisture from multiple occupants.

 

[nomifyle]

You have found a nice guy to work with, those units are sold as is, so he really stepped up to the plate to help you. I did download a manual from Gulfstream and talked with them to make sure there was not a manual just for the Cavalier's. They produced one manual that covers every TT they manufacture. It covers general info. It does talk about how important it is to vent well to remove moisture from cooking, showers and just added moisture from multiple occupants.

He is a nice guy, but when he sold it to me he did say everything would be checked out and be in working order. But its a blessing he is sticking to what he said, and he also knows I'm gonna live in it.

Could you give me the link for the manual, I'm very interested in it. How do you vent other than how it comes from the manufacturer? There is a vent over the shower that opens up although the fan does not work. Just wiping the walls down with a damp cloth almost takes the wall surface off a bit. LOL Our other campers were not quite so "delicate".

Judy

 

[etdeb]

The lady at Gulfstream is sending me 15 manuals, give me an address and I will mail you one when I get the. The venting I think just make sure the vent in open and exhausting when the shower is being used. IF there is a vent over the cooktop, use while cooking. One thing I noticed is propane puts more moisture in the air than NG, I just make sure to put covers on pots when cooking. They rate them as having 4 people when in use, so being by your self you are ahead on the moisture problem.

 

[nomifyle]

The lady at Gulfstream is sending me 15 manuals, give me an address and I will mail you one when I get the. The venting I think just make sure the vent in open and exhausting when the shower is being used. IF there is a vent over the cooktop, use while cooking. One thing I noticed is propane puts more moisture in the air than NG, I just make sure to put covers on pots when cooking. They rate them as having 4 people when in use, so being by your self you are ahead on the moisture problem.

Thanks, I'll email you my address.

As I'm going over the camper I'm seeing just how flimsy it is, but then again, it just about has all I need and if I treat it well then it might hold up for awhile. That's one reason I told DH to get his own or if I can I'll get him something else to sleep and go to the bathroom in. He lived in the new camper we bought right after katrina for eight months by himself and pretty much trashed it. Needless to say he is not tidy.

I'm getting to where I use lids more when I'm cooking, so I'll be more vigilant about that and there is a fan over the stove although the light doesn't work, looks like the fan is more important.

Am hoping to get a roof over sooner rather than later after I get moved, that is if my money holds up. Egads, I might even have to get a job, but parish the thought. LOL

Judy

 

[etdeb]

deleted

 

[Publius]

This should be an easy fix and what you told us and showing, it's for draining the water for winterization. Now there should be some coupling thats go's in-between them or they need to be pulled back inside and reconnected to something inside. :Look:

 

[nomifyle]

This should be an easy fix and what you told us and showing, it's for draining the water for winterization. Now there should be some coupling thats go's in-between them or they need to be pulled back inside and reconnected to something inside. :Look:

Yes, it was an easy fix once I figured out what I needed (this happened from some of the above posts), what I needed was 1/2" threaded plugs and it worked perfectly. The plugs were taken out of the lines to winterize the water lines, the plug for the water heater drain was in there just loosened. So, thanks to all the help here, I am good to go.

Judy

 

[Beth]

Agree with Dennis; learning all the systems is annoying. We decided to simplify and disconnected the propane tank so it now only goes to the fridge. (I don't like cooking with propane and have a single smooth-top electric element I use instead, and we also have a microwave, which is all we need.)

With the plumbing, we disconnected the hoses to the shower/bath, and bathroom and bedroom sinks. It's only an RV, for crying out loud, and it has double sinks in the kitchen, which will do us fine. We'll mostly be in RV parks anyway (we work on the road - a month at a time in each city), so we use the bathtub for storage, and we need it. We shower at the campgrounds; it's easier and less expensive than heating up water when it's not necessary.

Hope you find out what fits into what and can set it up the way you like it.

 

[tnhillbilly]

If they are hanging pretty much straight down, then this is low point water line drains and it looks like you are missing the caps that screw on them to seal them. I've had then on all three campers I've owned. tnhillbilly

 

[Hfcomms]

Ummm...this thread is from 2010. I suspect the problem has been solved.

 

[nomifyle]

Yes, thank God, it was solved, but until I had the correct information I was in a tither. LOL Goodness, could that have been two years ago, time sure does fly.

Judy