Today was dumb mistake day in our FT. I began filling our fresh water tank, but then was distracted by preparing for a business phone call I had scheduled. An hour later — yes <sigh>, a full hour — I realized the tank was still "filling."
The thread at the link below is great! Answered a LOT of questions, like why things were wet on the chassis under the air bag, just forward of the curbside drive wheels. BIG thanks to all who contributed info and photos:
http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=10840.msg52255#msg52255
So, the questions:
- Other than just waving to my neighbors with a sheepish grin about the stream of water flowing from our under our coach to a nearby culvert, is there anything I need to do or look for now? No water was in the driver's side utility bay or in the curbside bay where the water pump and manifold block are located.
- I assume I should now join other owners in the thread who were concerned about bulkhead rust/deterioration (if, in fact, we're not already in that situation as a result of overflows by previous owners).
- We're going through Nacogdoches on our way to Phoenix later this month. Should I try to schedule a look by FT under the belly skin, and what's the likelihood of being able to get such an appointment?
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One last question/observation: clearly must we have the overflow drain others discussed and photographed. So,
what is the piece of pex that goes through our FT's belly skin and extends about 4" below the coach, located about 24" in toward the center of the coach, behind the water manifold block? I always assumed — wrongly, apparently! — that THAT was our overflow. Anyone have one of these, or does it sound like a previous owner's modification, maybe to drain any water that somehow ended up in the bay(s)? We'll see the PO in March, if no one has one of these. We'll be able to ask.
With thanks!
Well it is water out the drain hose now. It is a good idea to have someone inspect the overflow drain area. It may or may not be an issue but better to know. Best practice is as Barry suggests, extent the overflow to a point below the frame. Overfills happen, this adds a lot of protection. Later coaches have a fill sensor in the fresh tank the signals the fill valve to close when the tank reaches the sensor level. Probably not very hard to add. It is on my list.
The PEX line coming down through the floor near the water manifold bay was the refrigerator drain line on my coach, likely the same on yours. I am pretty sure it was blue.
You aren't the first to have an overflow and you won't be the last. Don't fret too much, just check it out. We have a water meter that shows how much water we have put in. We also have a water metering device that lets you set how much water goes through before it automatically shuts off. It is designed for much more water than our tanks hold but you can set it for 75 gallons or so. When it shuts off you can fine tune the fill if you want. It is an easy way to generally prevent overfills.
LOL trust me, been there done that and enough times that I rerouted the overflow so that it doesn't run down the bulkhead.
Roger, I think your last comment is the key - just check it out. Go from there, based on what is found.
We have noticed on multiple occasions that there are folks who use the overflow as the indicator for when the tank is full and to shut the fill off. Have observed this on several stays at CampFT; water pouring out under the coach. I would guess it's because people don't know about the risk to the bulkheads and/or because they get distracted when filling. Anyone who isn't the original owner of their coach should inspect the bulkheads at least initially since you never know how the previous owner(s) handled it.
It may not be the perfect solution, but I siliconed the whole area under the overflow all the way to the center of the coach. maybe later I will do the re-routing as I don't have the automatic shutoff and want to have the tank full when we leave for a trip.
Last I checked, the overflow on most FT blows out in the same area the tire flings water when in the rain. Just a thought to ease some of the worries.
Another place to look for leaks: where my overflow pipe attaches to the fresh water tank has small drip. I think it's where the bung-fitting attaches to the tank. It continues to leak until the water level is below that area in the tank. I fixed it by not filling so full, and placing a small towel under it to catch the drips when I do fill full--I'd have to pull waterheater to re-seal it.
Michelle, does your coach have the water level shut off switch? Is it mounted in/on the tank? I have not seen one. It is always easy for me to imagine up a way to do this. Usually not the simple way. Our SeeLevel sensors are mounted about an inch and a half from the top of the tank somthat when they read 100% it is not quite full. The water meter works too as does the water shut off meter. These help but only if you are paying attention.
Craneman, I never travel with a full tank of water unless there is no chance of getting water where we are going or near the destination. It is up to 800 lbs of extra weight. If you fill the fresh tank you will almost certainly get water to overflow due to water sloshing around in the tank as you drive. Maybe not much but getting the back bulkhead wet frequently has to be worse than occasionally. You will probably never see this overflow and not be aware of the potential damage.
I have the auto shutoff, but elect to leave the tank about 3/4 full befor a trip so hopefully no water will slosh out when driving.
I know this may sound like a dumb question.. If we are concerned about bulkhead rust issues resulting from fresh water run off when we over fill the fresh water tank, why are we not also concerned with drive tire water spray when driving in the rain? ..... I would think the correct fix would be waterproofing the bulkhead area. Just some thoughts.....
Cheers
Ted
Exactly, Or, is driving in the rain an equally bad practice.
While water sprayed up by the tires is not "good" for the bulkheads, it is no where near as bad for them as water spilled in the wet bay.
Water on the floor of the wet bay really has only one way to get out-- down into the bulkhead area/box beams and foam insulation.
Totally agree that waterproofing the bulkheads to protect from road spray is an excellent and inexpensive thing to do-- as I recommended 7 years ago: Bulkhead Repair-- A Comprehensive Look (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=8645.0) A single can of car undercoating does the job for both front and rear bulkheads.
I do exactly that, every year or two. Clean the bulkead areas as best I can, inspect, add some 3M undercoating spray as need for a nice uniform coat. Another owner in MN suggested spraying the transmission heat exchanger as well. Sees like a good idea but failues that cause transmission damage seem to be mostly internal ones.