The joys of sorting a new trailer!

Azjeff

Azjeff

Well-known member
We took the new trailer for a quick trip to a State Park an hour away after a cleaning & check-out thrash. The temps got into the mid 20s so I had to put some water onboard and unhook the hose so it wouldn't freeze the pipe. I noticed the pump took a long time to build pressure and stop and wondered what was up. Back home and winterizing for the first time I found this. The tubing from the fresh water tank to the pump has a 90 degree kinked bend where it comes through the floor. You'd think the guy who sprayed the foam in the hole would have seen this. A 90 elbow will fix this before we go out again. Also discovered the black water gate valve doesn't work correctly, I suspect it isn't opening fully. I was reminded that camping/RVing is 2 hobbies.... camping and maintaining the RV.

IMG_2027.webp
 
Oh yes, the joys of getting the kinks worked out.

I wonder if they hose was supposed to be directed and held toward the pump when the sealer was applied? Else, every trailer that went out would have the same problem. Hey, the good part is that you'll now have much better water pressure!
 
The flow was pretty bad and the pump was really noisy. When I fed the antifreeze in with the suction line the pump was 4X quieter.

I also spent some time crawling under the entire length looking for holes in the underbelly and found a number of places where I squirted more foam around pipes to seal it up better. The previous owner told me one of the grey valves had to be replaced and they did a poor job of sealing the coroplast back up. Any hints on a good tape to use? It looks like the recommended Flex Mend tape was used and it was partly hanging loose.

Wayne, how is your Airstream sealed up underneath?
 
Azjeff said:
they did a poor job of sealing the coroplast back up
Click to expand...
Can you take a picture, I'm having a hard time visualizing.

Azjeff said:
Wayne, how is your Airstream sealed up underneath?
Click to expand...
Very well. I've inspected the entire underbelly a couple times. First, to see how they sealed it and if there were any holes mice could get in. Second, I use a creeper every winter to inspect the entire underbelly to see if road debris could have cause any damage. Knock on wood, there is no damage after 30,000 miles of being towed. We do watch ahead and have avoided several tire carcasses, firewood chunks, lumber, ladders, blocks of wood, a couch, coolers, etc. Keep knocking on wood.

The entire underbelly is enclosed with aluminum sheets run between the chassis frame. Nowhere can you see any of the trailer floor, plumbing, wiring, etc. I'm pretty impressed how Airstream designed the underside. Anywhere there is a hose, pipe, or wire that goes through the underbelly, it has a rubber grommet and/or is sealed with black sealant that is hard as a rock.

I've never found a single place a rodent could get in and intend to keep it that way.
 
Wayne said:
Can you take a picture, I'm having a hard time visualizing.
Click to expand...
Coroplast is just plastic cardboard sheets that they screw to the frame rails instead of your aluminum sheets. Where the RV place replaced the grey valve they cut a flap in the coroplast for access then taped it back up. It was near where the 2 grey lines come through the coroplast and all they do is squirt expanding foam around the pipes. It was just a poor job by someone who didn't give a hoot. The tape was partly hanging loose. Got to research the best tape to hold this stuff together. It looks like the brand Flex Mend tape was used but it didn't hold. Maybe they didn't clean the surface of the sheet or something.
 
I was lucky when I got my Passport. Never had to mess with it much until recently. That is why I am reluctant to get a new trailer.
 
Got the black water valve working properly today. All the tanks have a cable to operate the valve, never had that before, and the metal shaft that the handle attaches to at the very beginning was bent slightly and the mounting plate was bent inwards. From the looks of all three handles they never got any lube. I found the bend with a short straight edge and was able to get it straight and with some silicone and dry lube got the valve to go full travel. Picked up the 90 elbow to fix the kink in the fresh water pump tubing. Noticed a few pieces of interior trim loose so that's on the list. Beginning to think the previous owner wasn't very handy. Overall much less to do than previous older units we've owned.

And I picked up some of that Gorilla tape to try, thanks for the heads up.
 
Last edited:
Azjeff said:
Got the black water valve working properly today. All the tanks have a cable to operate the valve, never had that before, and the metal shaft that the handle attaches to at the very beginning was bent slightly and the mounting plate was bent inwards. From the looks of all three handles they never got any lube. I found the bend with a short straight edge and was able to get it straight and with some silicone and dry lube got the valve to go full travel. Picked up the 90 elbow to fix the kink in the fresh water pump tubing. Noticed a few pieces of interior trim loose so that's on the list. Beginning to think the previous owner wasn't very handy. Overall much less to do than previous older units we've owned.
Click to expand...
Jeff, I have found it has been handy...well to be handy when you own an RV. Lol. It saves a bunch of money.
 
I had a few leaks in my new travel trailer. The water heater hoses were finger tight. Tight enough for the first few trips to not leak, but not when we went to a campground with higher pressure.
 
spasm3 said:
I had a few leaks in my new travel trailer.
Click to expand...
The compression fitting between the toilet and shutoff in our new Airstream was barely finger tight. It leaked the first time I turned the pump on. I tightened it the rest of the way and it hasn't leaked since. I do wonder how they could miss that at the factory?
 
Found something else to fix. The slide has 2 windows, a big one and one on one of the sides. I noticed the valance that holds the accordion shade was loose and discovered one of the top screws holding it poorly into the interior siding was gone and the other top one was loose. The PO tried to fix it with some white foam double stick tape, unsuccessfully. Got some of those plastic inserts to go through the paneling and give the screws something to grab to. Going to preemptively do the big window shade as well. If they don't hold I'll get serious and get some Rivnuts and be done with it. So far everything has been minor, hope it stays that way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top