Anyone ever drop their tanks?

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mylo

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Oct 1, 2012
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Phoenix, AZ
Well, in spite of my efforts this weekend of eliminating all plumbing leaks - I still have one. The remaining one is from the toilet supply. Unfortunately there is no access to this spot, unless I either drop the black tank - or pull up the carpet. I have the plumbing plans (from Fleetwood) for my rig. I verified the route when I pulled out my converter. I saw the hot and cold supply pipes under the vanity. The hot one went straight to the vanity, and the cold t-ed off and fed both the vanity and the toilet.

So, my question is - has anybody ever dropped either of their holding tanks? Obviously the toilet would have to be unbolted from the top, metal support beams removed from below, and the knife valve joint severed with the grey tank - but what about the vent pipe? I don't think there is even a threaded fitting to be undone on the top (assuming I could get a hand up in there - which seems impossible). I guess I would have to cut it somewhere on it's trip up to the roof...

Or, am I better off pulling up the carpet and plywood on the toilet "step", and attacking the problem from the top? The added benefit, I suppose, would be that I could replace the carpet with vinyl tile. I never liked carpet in the bathroom anyway. After typing this all out, it does seem like "option B" is the best route...

What do you all think?


Mylo
 
If you have had the leak for awhile you probably have damaged the wood under the toilet so you will be able to check that as well under option B.
 
I'm in agreement w/ Jeff...
Dropping the tank would be my last try as to re-install it would be a real chore ..
Good luck.

George
 
Maybe you are over thinking this a bit. The toilet in my rig is held down by two bolts through a slotted plastic ring underneath it. This ring/flange is screwed to the wooden floor and is glued to the 3" pipe going into the tank. It stays put when the toilet is unbolted and lifted off.  Then there is the water supply that has to be disconnected and the connection is usually located behind the toilet after coming up through the floor.

This attachment is very like a modern home toilet install.

If yours works out to be a similar installation, then you are likely better off starting from the top... and removing the toilet to see what is going on. The likelihood of being able to drop the tank with a glued flange/pipe is not good.

When I replaced the toilet several weeks ago I had to modify the ring as the new toilet did not have its mounting bolts in the same position and it was impossible to remove and replace the ring because it was glued in place in the pipe.
 
Alfa38User said:
Maybe you are over thinking this a bit. The toilet in my rig is held down by two bolts through a slotted plastic ring underneath it. This ring/flange is screwed to the wooden floor and is glued to the 3" pipe going into the tank. It stays put when the toilet is unbolted and lifted off.  Then there is the water supply that has to be disconnected and the connection is usually located behind the toilet after coming up through the floor.

This attachment is very like a modern home toilet install.

If yours works out to be a similar installation, then you are likely better off starting from the top... and removing the toilet to see what is going on. The likelihood of being able to drop the tank with a glued flange/pipe is not good.

When I replaced the toilet several weeks ago I had to modify the ring as the new toilet did not have its mounting bolts in the same position and it was impossible to remove and replace the ring because it was glued in place in the pipe.

On closer inspection, I noticed the flange on the diagram, like you mentioned. Could make it interesting to even remove the plywood of the step...  I guess I won't know until I get into it. Still sounds like from the top is the way to go. Thanks, guys.


Mylo
 
In general you would only want to remove the tank as a last resort.  In most installations you would have to cut the vent pipe with a saw and reassemble it with either a rubber repair coupling or a cemented one.  Access to the vent pipe is frequently poor and often requires cutting an access hole in the wall somewhere that then must be patched.

If you know where the T is located you may be able to cut an access hole in the floor to replace it.  If you're careful you can cut 3 sides of a square and peel back part of the carpet and put it back when you're done.

Otherwise, your best bet may be to abandon the existing pipework in place and fish new cold water lines to the toilet and vanity with the T in a more accessible location.
 
Dropping the tank is sort of like, pulling the engine to change the lower radiator hose and water pump on your chassis. If you have a leak, there may be damage, but that is not saying there has to be damage. I would start with removing the toilet, and see if you can replace the whole run of the pipe, or tighten a fitting.
 
unclerich said:
Dropping the tank is sort of like, pulling the engine to change the lower radiator hose and water pump on your chassis. If you have a leak, there may be damage, but that is not saying there has to be damage. I would start with removing the toilet, and see if you can replace the whole run of the pipe, or tighten a fitting.

Yeah, that's what I am going to try. Since the leak developed while the RV was sitting for 5 years, and only presents itself when the plumbing is pressurized, I suspect (and hope) that there isn't any rotting.

I pulled the toilet and pulled up the carpet on the step last night. As I suspected, the closet flange is glued to the riser, and screwed down to the platform. I'm going to surgically cut open a hole next to the flange, and see if I can access the 90 degree fitting that I suspect is leaking.


Mylo
 
Well, I managed to cut a small access hole in the toilet step to fix the leaky pipe. That was a lot easier then I imagine dropping the tanks would be. Thanks everyone for your advice!

The last of the leaks is now FIXED! WOO-HOO! I'm going to head to Home Depot to check out vinyl tile offerings, which I will use to recover the step and bathroom floor. A water pressure regulator is definitely on the short wish list...


Mylo
 
SubVet said:
I'd love to see pics.

Here are a few, still in progress.

 

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Here's the remaining pictures, showing the final result. I spent most of the day, today, finishing it up. Low and behold, there was ANOTHER leak at a 90* connection BEFORE the joint I fixed. I discovered this after I completely finished the new vinyl tile  :'(

The wind was completely taken out of my sails. I went to ace and got a new section of PEX, some barb connections and some hose clamps. Fortunately, the self adhesive vinyl tiles come up as easy as you lay them...

I found the best way to fix these leaks in older rigs is to use a heat gun to soften the pex real good and clamp the cheap out of them. I managed to delete an extraneous 90* connection and (finally) work out the last freshwater leak in this rig. It's been a LONG time coming. There was much "installation fluid" consumed.

I think it turned out pretty good. The rest of the carpet is short for this world. When I can catch my breath, I am going to rip it all out and put some woodgrain vinyl in there.


Mylo

 

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I can't picture an RV mfg using rigid PVC pipe for plumbing in an RV. Too rigid and easy to crack. Leave it to Fleetwood to do it. Use pex tubing only for RV plumbing.

George
 
cvrvr said:
I can't picture an RV mfg using rigid PVC pipe for plumbing in an RV. Too rigid and easy to crack. Leave it to Fleetwood to do it. Use pex tubing only for RV plumbing.

George

I never said I was messing around with any PVC. It's all PEX. But the crappy clamps they used on their connections have proven to be a real issue.


Mylo
 
Hi Ho:  Good job.  Just getting the carpet out of there should get you a lot of attaboys, to say nothing of fixing the leak.  I just don't understand why they would put carpet in the toilet area, but I have seen it from a number of RV manufacturers.
 

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