Kevin Means
Site Team
Our trip to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was fun, but it turned out to be one of those trips with multiple RV problems. The high voltage control board in our residential fridge died (had to give away all my chocolate ice cream) the check valve in the water inlet stuck, so the hose was dripping non-stop and the water pump developed an internal leak, causing it to cycle on and off every 5 minutes or so. We were boondocking, so I decided to wait until we got home to make repairs.
While replacing the water pump, I noticed that the area around (and including) the forward gear and motor assembly for the right side living room slide, and the jack's hydraulic pump had a lot more surface rust, corrosion and "gunk" than any other place in the RV. After a considerable amount of time, I was able to clean it up, but I couldn't understand why that area was so affected.
I started crawling around and found the cause. In their infinite wisdom, Winnebago had installed two overflow tubes for the freshwater tank, so that they drained directly onto the slide's electric motor and gearbox assembly. The water would then splash onto the hydraulic pump's electric motor and eventually run down onto the ground. It wasn't an accident that they were installed like that, because the insect screens were stuffed into the ends of both tubes. I fixed it by simply installing longer drain tubes that now drain directly onto the ground behind the mud flap.
I love our coach, and most of the time I'm pretty impressed with Winnebago's ingenuity. More often than not, I find myself saying, "That's pretty clever" but every once in awhile, I come across something that makes me say, "You've got to be kidding."
Kev
While replacing the water pump, I noticed that the area around (and including) the forward gear and motor assembly for the right side living room slide, and the jack's hydraulic pump had a lot more surface rust, corrosion and "gunk" than any other place in the RV. After a considerable amount of time, I was able to clean it up, but I couldn't understand why that area was so affected.
I started crawling around and found the cause. In their infinite wisdom, Winnebago had installed two overflow tubes for the freshwater tank, so that they drained directly onto the slide's electric motor and gearbox assembly. The water would then splash onto the hydraulic pump's electric motor and eventually run down onto the ground. It wasn't an accident that they were installed like that, because the insect screens were stuffed into the ends of both tubes. I fixed it by simply installing longer drain tubes that now drain directly onto the ground behind the mud flap.
I love our coach, and most of the time I'm pretty impressed with Winnebago's ingenuity. More often than not, I find myself saying, "That's pretty clever" but every once in awhile, I come across something that makes me say, "You've got to be kidding."
Kev
I would sue Winnebago. ;D
