Water, stairs and fire
From day one, it seems like the Incorrigible’s plumbing has been bound and determined to leak. First the water filter blew out, drenching the area under our cabinets. Once that was replaced, it took two trips back to the dealer before the unit stopped dripping. Almost as soon as we finished that repair, the water heater’s regulator valve went south on us. Designed to release excess pressure inside the hot water tank, this valve turns into a very poor faucet when it wears out, allowing water to first drip, then pour out the side of the tank whenever the water is turned on. When ours blew its top, we had a fountain of water spraying out the side of the Incorrigible. Thankfully, replacing it is a relatively easy do-it-yourself repair requiring a bit of elbow grease.
The day after the water heater was declared fit for duty, another joint under the sink began spraying water, resulting in another two days of soaked carpet. Something was clearly amiss in the watery guts of our motorhome.
We got the answer from a fellow RV traveler; we needed a water pressure regulator. Here’s something you won’t always find out by reading the RV traveling guides and that the dealer often won’t mention: water pressure varies wildly from campground to campground and city to city. It may look the same coming through the tap, but while most RV water systems are designed to accept a maximum pressure of 80PSI, city water can be flowing at well over 100PSI in some cases. Most RV manufacturers don’t recommend going over 50 to 55PSI. Especially on older RVs like the Incorrigible, overpressure is just asking for blown gaskets and leaks.
The solution is to install an external water pressure regulator. These simple, screw-on regulators attach between the city water hose and your water tank, and help to keep the water flowing at manageable levels. Some RVers make their own, but ready-made regulators are available from Camping World and other RV outfitters. Expect to pay between $15 and $30 for a serviceable one.
In unrelated news, we have stairs again! The power actuator which broke back in March has finally been replaced. Apparently it’s a common thing; on ours, the aluminum arm which extends and retracts the steps simply broke. After fifteen years of use and abuse, this is perhaps not a surprise. Kwik-ee, our stairs’ manufacturer, makes offers repair and replacement arms for the unit; removal and replacement is a process involving minimal effort and just a little bit of profanity to get the new actuator arm lined up. Just when we thought it wasn’t going to go back together at all, everything fell right into place. The temporary-replacement Rubbermaid folding plastic steps have been relegated to the understorage.
Also unrelated: readily-available firewood and a decent-sized fire pit with a grate mean that many of our dinners are cooked over an open flame. The lack of recycling facilities means that many of these fires are started with the credit card statements that Amex and Chase insist on sending to us even after we went paperless. Somehow, that’s weirdly satisfying.
September 26th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Another useful bit that you won’t often find out about until it’s too late is some kind of surge suppressor for the electrical system. They’re nowhere near as cheap as the water pressure regulator, but they do the same kind of job, just for electricity instead of water. The electrical supplies at many camps are as varied as the water and it’s not too hard to start blowing up various electrical appliances over time if you don’t have a decent suppressor helping out. We use a 30 amp hardwired Surge Guard on ours… http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/30-amp-hard-wired-surge-guard/18540
September 26th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Jonathan: Couldn’t agree more! We talked about our surge protector (an external 30amp, but the same brand as yours) a while back!
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:44 am
100psi!!! That’s a pretty well maintained city water system (or a new one)… The instructors in most of my Fire training classes say most city water pressures only hit about 80 at the best of times, but then again that’s coming out of a 2 foot diameter hydrant pipe and not the narrower house pipes which will up the pressure a bit with constriction. Of course I’m used to the mind blowing power of 150-175 psi of 4 diesel pumps when I absolutely need to make a mess of water. Woo!
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:08 am
Scott: Apparently some campgrounds do have very new water systems. I talked to an RVer who accidentally hooked up to a “special” standpipe that was for fighting forest fires and was running abnormally high PSI (but for some reason wasn’t marked). ‘Sploded every plumbing joint in his RV. THAT must’ve been an awesome mess.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:06 am
Yeah I bet… When he turned it on it must’ve kicked on a pump! Mucho expensivo!
I hate when things aren’t labled correctly. We had a pipe burst at my plant that carried hydrochloric acid that wasn’t placarded correctly. Somebody got their head chewed off for that one!
October 17th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
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October 20th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
See. I learned something else. Kwikee makes the steps. Another fact learned.