Chasing a water leak on the road

[engnrsrule]

We were on a month plus cross country with our Roadtrek. One day we woke up and the carpet between the two benches in the back was soaked. From feeling around under the bench storage spaces the suspectedd origin was the city water connection or adjacent outdoor shower faucets, all inaccessible.

Bought a small wet vac and extracted the water and ran a fan thru next day or so until we got to next multi-day stop. Took bench apart to look for leak and it was the hose clamp on the city water fill. These are the stainless single use crimped clamps. Fortunately there was enough slack to cut back the hose a bit so new clamp would get better compression.

Even though I have a pressure regulator, I suspect that one of our recent stays with hookups may have had higher pressures and may have contributed to or exacerbated what might have been a long term minor leak. I always suspected there was a small leak somewhere because every once in a while when running on pump, the pump would run for a split second and stop with nothing on.

Glad it was just a clamp and not a fixture or more difficult component. Another lesson is to make sure you carry various screwdriver heads in your toolbox. Most of the coach woodwork fasteners in the Roadtrek are square drive, various sizes.

[GeorgeRa]

I think your problem could be due to a wrong size clamp. From picture it looks as it is fully compressed so more compression is not possible. I would suggest to see if a smaller clamp could be used. Too large clamp was a culprit of my leak - see the link. https://sprinter-source.com/forums/i...56#post-920475

Another cause could be due to the damaged right angle fitting, but it would leak from the get go.

[engnrsrule]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

I think your problem could be due to a wrong size clamp. From picture it looks as it is fully compressed so more compression is not possible. I would suggest to see if a smaller clamp could be used. Too large clamp was a culprit of my leak - see the link. https://sprinter-source.com/forums/i...56#post-920475

Another cause could be due to the damaged right angle fitting, but it would leak from the get go.

Thanks GeorgeRa. These OEM compression clamps are used on all the pex plumbing, but are not appropriate for PVC hose and barbed fittings. They are not adjustable once installed. Fortunately the elbow was not damaged. I used a heavy duty (wider) screw type stainless hose clamp and a fresh portion of the hose and it sealed fine.

[GeorgeRa]

I use OETEKER clamps for PVC hoses, they are not good for PEX tubing, not strong enough.
https://www.amazon.com/Oetiker-Stepl...e17e03685&th=1

Screw type is a good fix.

[Urlauber]

I have stopped using "City Water" and just fill the freshwater tank via the gravity fill. This prevents leaks due to over-pressurized water faucets (even though I too have a pressure regulator).

Of course, not a good option if there are a bunch of folks who need to shower in the van.

[engnrsrule]

Originally Posted by Urlauber

I have stopped using "City Water" and just fill the freshwater tank via the gravity fill. This prevents leaks due to over-pressurized water faucets (even though I too have a pressure regulator).

Of course, not a good option if there are a bunch of folks who need to shower in the van.

Higher pressure campsite hookup may have started or exacerbated the leak, but it continued to leak whenever the pump was on, since the line all the way back to the city connection is under pressure.

I may look for a better regulator.

[otr]

Just to add more info to the tuning conversation, our 2000 RT 190v has zurn pex with compression fittings.
One great thing is the it maintains it's full diameter as there are no barbs into the tuning, just compression on the outside so the 3/8 tubing maintains it's full capacity, 1/2 standard PEX is reduced to about 3/8 when it is connected to fittings.
Also, all you need for compression is a wrench to tighten the fitting