Cracked drain pipe question...

When we were at the trailer dealer looking to buy a trailer, Arctic Fox 22G, we noticed the system was winterized which made sense since it was just sitting on the lot over the winter. We did have a record snowfall, and record cold temps, so it was good it was winterized. Ok, one thing we didn't check at the dealer during walkthrough was operation of the gray and black drain systems. On our first shakedown trip we dumped at the campground's dump station and found the gray drain line where it connects to the main line was leaking like crazy. One thing I noticed was the main drain line was bone dry when I removed the cap to attach the drain hose.
Turns out the leak was the smaller drain pipe from the gray water tank had cracked near where it connects to the main drain pipe. Dealer replaced it under warranty, so that was good.
Does this seem like something that winterizing in that area may have prevented? Not sure how to winterize since pink stuff would likely leak out of the cap at the end of the pipe. I suppose it could be a design flaw in that the area isn't supported well enough? I'll try and get some pics and post those up later. Looking to prevent the cracking from happening again (hopefully).

I wouldnt think it was cracked due to not being winterized, I think it was either cracked at the factory when installed or was hit by something in route to the dealer or at the dealer (snow plow guys truck) etc.

With the pipe being empty, It would have to be full or almost full and for the most part sealed tight for water to not have room to expand when frozen to crack it. Also, to crack that pipe takes some pretty good force.

Winterizing should include some antifreeze in the waste tanks so that the remaining water that rests against the dump valves (gray & black) does not easily freeze solid. There should be no water at the end cap when the valves are closed.  Dealers typically blow out the fresh water lines instead of using antifreeze, and they may not have bothered to add some antifreeze to the tanks. Usually the tanks are dry on a new trailer, at least until it is prepped for delivery.

On some trailers the waste pipes hang quite low and are susceptible to damage whenever the trailer is moved, e.g. driving over some obstruction. That can happen moving lot around the RV lot as well as any other place. Or even during delivery of the trailer to the dealer - it might not be noticed until some water is in the tanks.

Triple Slide Jayco said:

I wouldnt think it was cracked due to not being winterized, I think it was either cracked at the factory when installed or was hit by something in route to the dealer or at the dealer etc.

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Hadn't considered road debris. Good thought. Yeah, could be an installation error for sure. We had to laugh because the left rear stab stopped working electrically and it was also fixed under warranty. Motor died. Anyway, both items are left rear items. Maybe the person working that part of the trailer had a bad day that day.

Gary RVer Emeritus said:

Winterizing should include some antifreeze in the waste tanks so that the remaining water that rests against the dump valves (gray & black) does not easily freeze solid. There should be no water at the end cap when the valves are closed.  Dealers typically blow out the fresh water lines instead of using antifreeze, and they may not have bothered to add some antifreeze to the tanks. Usually the tanks are dry on a new trailer, at least until it is prepped for delivery.

On some trailers the waste pipes hang quite low and are susceptible to damage whenever the trailer is moved, e.g. driving over some obstruction. That can happen moving lot around the RV lot as well as any other place. Or even during delivery of the trailer to the dealer - it might not be noticed until some water is in the tanks.

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Thanks Gary. Yeah, these tanks were winterized but probably not a lot of pink stuff. Just enough for the valve seals I'm sure. The entire trailer was well winterized so we were glad to see that.

Everything in life breaks, even Cadillacs, look at the service department as you drive by a dealership.

Triple Slide Jayco said:

Everything in life breaks...

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Of course.

There is a product called GOOP.. comes in a bunch of different "Flavors"  Smear it on the crack and let it dry overnight,, I'm guessing that will fix it.

John From Detroit said:

There is a product called GOOP.. comes in a bunch of different "Flavors"  Smear it on the crack and let it dry overnight,, I'm guessing that will fix it.

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Thanks John. Evidently it was a pretty substantial crack. Dealer replaced a good section of the drain line/connections under warranty. Good to know about the Goop, though.

Dealer replaced under warranty is the BEST kind of repair.. Can't do better than that

Gary RVer Emeritus said:

Winterizing should include some antifreeze in the waste tanks so that the remaining water that rests against the dump valves (gray & black) does not easily freeze solid.

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This has me wondering if the way I've been doing it has a drawback I don't know about.  I usually flush the tanks until they are clean and empty, park it at home, and open grey and black water valves for the winter (with a bucket underneath to catch any final accumulations).  Does this let the seals dry out or have other disadvantages?

Old Blevins said:

This has me wondering if the way I've been doing it has a drawback I don't know about.  I usually flush the tanks until they are clean and empty, park it at home, and open grey and black water valves for the winter (with a bucket underneath to catch any final accumulations).  Does this let the seals dry out or have other disadvantages?

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I've been doing it like that for years and never had any issues.  Just make sure you cap the end of the pipe so no varmints get up in there.  You'd have to put quite a few gallons of what ever to coat the seals and that wouldn't work if you used water and antifreeze would cost quite a bit.  And besides, owners manual say nothing about the seals drying out. Now if it was going to sit for several years, then that could be a problem. 

Thanks, Rene. Good tip about the cap and varmints, too. I hadn't considered that.