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No Water!!

Have been noticing the last several days, a lowering of the water pressure in the shower/sinks - thought maybe this was something to do with the RV parks water supply, but...

Woke up this morning and no city water from the taps...  we do have fresh water in our tank which we can use but no city water from the hose.  Water pressure is fine at the spigot, nothing clogging the hose (which is on a reel). 

Would this be the results of a bad check valve and if so, where is that little sucker located (water/elec/sewer bay street side or curbside water service/pump bay)?  Is the check valve standard or is there a specific size for Foretravel...?

And finally, is this a pretty straight forward 1 or 2 beer job or are we talking 6-pack+?
Bill Jackson & Kim Sweeney
2013 27' Lazy Daze RK
2002 U320 PBDS 36' Build 5941 (Sold)
1999 U320 40' (Sold)
2005 Country Coach Intrigue 40' (Sold)

Re: No Water!!

Reply #1 –
Bill, we just went thru this same issue about three months ago while in Texas. Turned out to be the back flow preventor ($35 at RV dealer) and it is right where the water hose is connected.
I did disconnect the supply line at the shut off valve to the fresh water tank and "back flushed" with a hose to clear any obstacles that might have been obstructing flow. Nothing came out the fill end so I have to believe it is the back flow preventor.
Simple to replace: Remove the three screws. Pull the flange out far enough that you can access the plastic nut that screws onto the threaded pipe end. You will need a pliers to do this.
Make sure you have some pipe caulk to put behind the flange before you put the three screws back.

Just an after thought--remove hose & screen (if any). Look into the hole and see if you can see the spring, cross pin, and plunger assembly. If they aren't assembled you have found the problem. The plunger is blocking flow.
Another item that might be causing your problem is your pressure regulator. It manifests itself by slowly causing a decrease in flow rate.
Nitehawk,  Demolition Lady, & our NEW master, Zippy the speeding BB cat.
1989 Grand Villa 36' ORED
Oshkosh chassis, 8.2 DD V8
2006 Saturn Vue AWD

Re: No Water!!

Reply #2 –
Quote from: nitehawk –
Bill, we just went thru this same issue about three months ago while in Texas. Turned out to be the back flow preventor ($35 at RV dealer) and it is right where the water hose is connected.
I did disconnect the supply line at the shut off valve to the fresh water tank and "back flushed" with a hose to clear any obstacles that might have been obstructing flow. Nothing came out the fill end so I have to believe it is the back flow preventor.
Simple to replace: Remove the three screws. Pull the flange out far enough that you can access the plastic nut that screws onto the threaded pipe end. You will need a pliers to do this.
Make sure you have some pipe caulk to put behind the flange before you put the three screws back.

Just an after thought--remove hose & screen (if any). Look into the hole and see if you can see the spring, cross pin, and plunger assembly. If they aren't assembled you have found the problem. The plunger is blocking flow.
Another item that might be causing your problem is your pressure regulator. It manifests itself by slowly causing a decrease in flow rate. 

Thanks, Nighthawk.  I did notice that I was getting water out of the hose when the pump was on - water from the fresh water tank which indicates check valve/back flow preventer.  Just got to find out where it's at - behind panels or on the reel... 

Last month, we were at MOT and stayed onsite at MOT II...  When we got there we hooked up and when I went in to wash my hands after doing all the set-up, a large amount of high pressure air came from the faucet then high pressure water spray, before finally a good flow of water.  Thinking they had drained pipes for winter - in any event, I'm thinking that's what screwed up the water flow as it's been problematic since.
Bill Jackson & Kim Sweeney
2013 27' Lazy Daze RK
2002 U320 PBDS 36' Build 5941 (Sold)
1999 U320 40' (Sold)
2005 Country Coach Intrigue 40' (Sold)

Re: No Water!!

Reply #3 –
Spoke with Aubry at MOT about the problem...  looks like it is indeed the check valve which can easily be replaced if...  it was located in a place easily accessible.  Aubry's words "you're not going to like this..." as he checked photos and consulted with others.  The check valve is located to the right of the hose reel in the next compartment behind the water bay covering.  To remove the covering requires removal of the outdoor faucet, plugs & switches.  His suggestion was to cut an opening to get to the valve (down where the black tank flush is located), then fashion a patch - something we're unable to do at this time...  will be back in Natch on the 2nd so...  we'll have the mods done there and valve replaced then. 

This project moved on from a couple of beers to a bottle of some single malt.  Meanwhile, we've had to detach the fresh water overflow drain hose so that we could fill the fresh water tank.  We have water!

Seems this check valve could have been more easily accessible...

Bill Jackson & Kim Sweeney
2013 27' Lazy Daze RK
2002 U320 PBDS 36' Build 5941 (Sold)
1999 U320 40' (Sold)
2005 Country Coach Intrigue 40' (Sold)

Re: No Water!!

Reply #4 –
I had a leak on the black tank rinse so I had to take that area apart and then again for the Seelevel system.. pain but doable.. Getting the top piece out is the biggest headache and then getting the screws back in was the second most irritating

Re: No Water!!

Reply #5 –
Quote from: DavidS –
I had a leak on the black tank rinse so I had to take that area apart and then again for the Seelevel system.. pain but doable.. Getting the top piece out is the biggest headache and then getting the screws back in was the second most irritating 

Yep...  got a slight leak there, too, David.  Behind that wall of fiberglass lies all sorts of wet opportunities.  It really should be more easily accessible...
Bill Jackson & Kim Sweeney
2013 27' Lazy Daze RK
2002 U320 PBDS 36' Build 5941 (Sold)
1999 U320 40' (Sold)
2005 Country Coach Intrigue 40' (Sold)

Re: No Water!!

Reply #6 –
I've had this problem a couple of times... both times it was from hard water destroying things.

1st time it was the water pressure regulator that we hooked up at the spigot. after a few months of hard water... it went from being a pressure regulator to a  water stopper.

2nd time it was the water inlet valve on the side of the coach. The hard water locked up that one way valve and something broke in it... it became a two way valve. That's pretty funny when you turn on the water pump and the side of your coach starts spewing water. Lol.

Anyways... we replaced both items and bought a soft-water filter that attaches at the spigot. Haven't had any issue like that since. Plus washing with soft water is really nice.
Husband & Wife Team. 3 Kids. 8 yo boy, 4 yo girl, 19 mth girl. Mostly Finished Renovating 1986 Grand Villa 3300 GVF SBI for a multi year trip around the country with the kids.

Re: No Water!!

Reply #7 –
Quote from: AKATheAlchemist –
2nd time it was the water inlet valve on the side of the coach. The hard water locked up that one way valve and something broke in it... it became a two way valve. That's pretty funny when you turn on the water pump and the side of your coach starts spewing water. Lol.


Yep...  ours did the same thing.  Didn't think that was possible.  Seems instead of taking water from the spigot, it was taking in from the fresh water tank. 

I think...  the way our valve bit it was at MOT II at the end February...  we hooked up in the back 40 and when I went in and turned on the water at the sink, we had a lot of high pressure air come out (don't ask about Kim flushing the toilet...).  My mistake was opening the line up full and not shutting it down and going back to the supply.  Ain't never been the same since and finally, shut down yesterday.

Note to self:  always check the water supply before hooking up the hose...
Bill Jackson & Kim Sweeney
2013 27' Lazy Daze RK
2002 U320 PBDS 36' Build 5941 (Sold)
1999 U320 40' (Sold)
2005 Country Coach Intrigue 40' (Sold)

Re: No Water!!

Reply #8 –
I could not keep a check valve operational on the fresh water input on our coach. I went so far as installing a sharkbite check valve behind the fiber glass panel. That failed. My solution was to install a ball valve on the outside of the panel. As we never run off park water we always use the water in our fresh water tank this worked well for us.

Roland
1993 U280 4341
2010 Jeep Liberty
The Pied Pipers

Re: No Water!!

Reply #9 –
Hey Alchemist, what model or part number did you get for the "soft-water filter that attaches at the spigot"?
1997 U270 34FT Build 5140 Cummins 8.3 Allison 3060R
Solar 1920Watts, 14KWH lithium. Orion BMS.

Re: No Water!!

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Tim –
Hey Alchemist, what model or part number did you get for the "soft-water filter that attaches at the spigot"?

Is an On The Go software kit: On The Go Portable Water Softeners | On The Go Portable Water Softeners

I got the best price from Camping World. Got it for $200.
Husband & Wife Team. 3 Kids. 8 yo boy, 4 yo girl, 19 mth girl. Mostly Finished Renovating 1986 Grand Villa 3300 GVF SBI for a multi year trip around the country with the kids.

Re: No Water!!

Reply #11 –
Quote from: AKATheAlchemist –
Is an On The Go software kit: On The Go Portable Water Softeners | On The Go Portable Water Softeners

Very nice, I was just going to start a thread asking about "the best" water softener. Thanks!  ^.^d
1993 U-240 "La Villa Grande"..CAT 3116 w/ Pacbrake PRXB...Allison 3060 6-speed..
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