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johntelling

Fresh Water Leak

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I have had my Fleetwood Excursion 39L for 10 years, and never bothered to find out where the fresh water tank is.
Now I have a leak - actually, a slow drip - which I assume is coming from the tank.It drips when the pump is on or off, and loses about a quart in 24 hours.
Does anyone know how I can get to the tank on this vehicle?
Thanks,

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The tanks should be nearly exactly where the dump valves are. In my coach the freshwater tank sits at floor level with the black and grey tanks on top. My coach is not your coach but it might be a good place to start looking. There should be some removable wall panels allowing VERY limited access but you might be able to find the leaking connection (hopefully) once you get access.

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On our coach the freshwater tank is located by the fuel tank, right under the driver's seat.  Needless to say, the waste tanks are located in the rear, just in front of the rear axle.  So that establishes that there is no rule of thumb where to find anything in a motor home.  If you have a water drip, it could be from any source, a low water drain, a leaking connection on the water heater or the water pump.  I would start by trying to follow the water.  Look above to see what is installed in that location.  How you get into those storage areas is always a challenge.  Sometimes removing a panel in the basement storage will help. 

I would suggest that you contact Fleetwood technical support.  Fleetwood is now under the management of the REV Group.  They have several service centers around the country.  The last link has phone numbers for the service centers.  You might try talking to someone in technical support for advice.  You will also find a listing of dealers, another possible source of help.

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I take it that your guessing about a quart, by a puddle or wet area on ground?  Do you have your AC's on?  I suspect you may have a loose connection at the pump. 

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Actually, I put a container underneath so I could catch and measure the amount leaking. No air on, no leak at the pump or any connection I can find.

It appears that the water tank is over the fuel tank (between the fuel tank and the floor), and since the water is coming down over the fuel tank, that is probably where the leak is. I probably should have mentioned that it is a Spartan chassis.

No way to get to the tank through the floor, so I am guessing that the fuel tank has to come out to get to it. Wonderful planning and design, don't you think?

JT

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I guess they were planning on the tank never leaking or needing any physical maintenance.  Words like always and never will make a liar out of anyone eventually...

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Do you by chance hear the pump come on then off every now and then when not hooked up to city water. I ask this because the leak comes from over the fuel tank might not mean the tank is above the fuel tank. Could be a water line or connection that is above the fuel tank. On my coach there are four fresh water tanks side by side across the middle of the coach that are connected to each other to stop sloshing of the 100 gal of water when going down the road, 4 25 gal tanks. above them is the black and grey tanks. This all helps with weight balance. I think if the pump cycles every now and then it's loosing water from a line and not from the tank. My fuel tank is 100 gal and is up front just behind the generator and front axle and no room for a tank above it. Just saying this is my layout and there all different .

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No, actually I have not heard the pump coming on, and it drips with the pump off. The black and gray water tanks are on the side next to the drain, and there is nothing under them.

There may be more than one fresh water tank, but, after crawling around underneath, the only logical place appears to be over the fuel tank.

Thanks for the idea, though!

JT

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John, Could you post the year the coach was built? I have some plumbing drawings that might be close to how your coach is plumbed.

Rich.

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JT like I said there seems to be no rime or reason as to how they design these things. But I had my coach for two years and knew the tanks were on the side as the dump and all shut off valves. Then one day I was looking under the coach and saw two rubber latches on the panel on the other side of the coach from the water bay door. When I opened it up that's when I realized that all my tanks went from one side to the other. That is where my water pump and tank drain is and the wiring for the tank heaters are located. Hope you figure it out and do not need to drop the fuel tank. Right now I would deal with the drip but as you know they don't get better. Good luck

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OK...so I guess we have eliminated all condensation from roof and now are concentrated on fresh water tank and plumbing. is that correct?

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How full is the tank showing? If not too full, how about setting the fill valve to fill position, and then carefully listen for the tank filling sound? If hearing is somewhat impaired, then you could ask someone with exceptional hearing to listen. Open all the bay doors during this action for best results. Also a quart a day = 1 gal every four days, calculate how many gallons your fwt is good for, divide 1 gallon into that to figure how many days to empty tank. If still dripping after that many days means that there is another problem. If it never stops dripping, suspect that there is a problem with the backfill valve on the pump and allowing the tank to overfill, and overflow.

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kaypsmith,

My hearing is good, but I may be a little slow. What am I listening for from the fill valve? It is an 86 gallon tank, so it would take about a year to empty from the drip, right? The tank is full, but I drained about 20 gallons out yesterday and the drip continued.

I fill it using the gravity fill by sticking a hose in the opening. Sorry I don't understand about the 'backfill valve'

JT

 

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When your hooked up to city water, there is a 2 way valve, that allows you to fill the tank...one way your filling another way your using.  Last coach I had, that did not have that feature, was back in 1983!

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Yes, I have the two-way valve, but I have only used it a couple of times, since I use gravity to fill the tank. I always fill the coach prior to leaving home since we can't count on getting a water hook up when we park, so we are almost never hooked up to city water.

JT

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JT,

I had a leak and couldn't see the trees from the forest. Had my Aqua Hot serviced and Lloyd said, "by the way I found your connection on your pump was dripping and I tightened it" No More Leak. May not be your issue at all.

By the way on many coaches the water tank has an overflow. Some folks just fill till it runs out the over flow and shut the water off. Problem is on many coaches the overflow tube is down in the tank and will siphon out the water till it get below the tube and you loose almost a third of your water. Just FYI.

Herman 

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