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Old 10-01-2022, 02:27 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Chateau 24F
State: Ohio
Posts: 4,048
THOR #16721
Fresh water tank leaking

We're sitting at a campsite not far from home, and my fresh water tank leak has reappeared.

A few months back, I noticed dripping from the PVC tank drain. I figured it must be the Valterra valve not seating. My "easy" fix was glue on a screw-on PVC cap on the end of the drain pipe. That seemed to fix it... until now.

The fresh tank is sitting in a metal box under the kitchen sink area, supported by two metal bands/straps. The bottom of the tank is completely enclosed.

I've noticed a very slow drip from the corner of the box. The PVC drain pipe protrudes from that box. The Valterra valve is up above that box. I can't see or reach the valve from above or below.

So... the question is has anyone had a situation like this trying to replace the valve? What about a leaking/cracked tank? How in the world does one pull that tank? Hidden bolts somewhere?

Any suggestions welcome!!

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Old 10-03-2022, 03:42 PM   #2
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Four Winds 23U
State: Nevada
Posts: 250
THOR #27334
Pictures might help.

Have you tried accessing from under the sink?
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Old 10-04-2022, 04:44 AM   #3
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THOR #16721
Quote:
Originally Posted by widdershins View Post
Pictures might help.

Have you tried accessing from under the sink?
I'll try to get pics in the next day or so. In the meantime, here's the best I can describe...

I estimate the 40 gallon tank to be about 18" square and about 3' tall.

A hole the size of the tank (about 18" square) was cut in the floor under the kitchen sink. About half of 3' height is below the floor - 18" or so. The tank sits in a metal support box with reinforced straps.

I have yet to determine how the support box is mounted.
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Old 10-04-2022, 05:08 AM   #4
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Model: Sunstar 29VE Winnebago
State: Texas
Posts: 5,565
THOR #13058
Hopefully it is the drain and not the tank. If it helps; contrary to conventional wisdom, you don't need a fresh water tank drain.

When my coach was new I had a round or two with Service Manager of my dealership because I could not find the FW drain per the manual and their instructions. Given that both sides were thinking the other side was incompetent I get the WBGO who eventually would tell me my coach and new design with no FW drain They sent me new manual. To drain I open both sets of low drain and turn on the FW pumps. It pumps it all out in like 5 minutes (70 gallons)

My guess is tank is not cracked as issue would have been noticed back in Spring. A slow leak like that is likely a seal. You may start to make observations of how low the tank can go (if it an go low) and stop leaking? Then based on you pictures you may be able to rationalize where the leak line is for a clue for fix.
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Old 10-04-2022, 04:41 PM   #5
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Fourwinds 24F
State: North Carolina
Posts: 764
THOR #9511
Fresh water tank leaking

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chateau_Nomad View Post
We're sitting at a campsite not far from home, and my fresh water tank leak has reappeared.

A few months back, I noticed dripping from the PVC tank drain. I figured it must be the Valterra valve not seating. My "easy" fix was glue on a screw-on PVC cap on the end of the drain pipe. That seemed to fix it... until now.

The fresh tank is sitting in a metal box under the kitchen sink area, supported by two metal bands/straps. The bottom of the tank is completely enclosed.

I've noticed a very slow drip from the corner of the box. The PVC drain pipe protrudes from that box. The Valterra valve is up above that box. I can't see or reach the valve from above or below.

So... the question is has anyone had a situation like this trying to replace the valve? What about a leaking/cracked tank? How in the world does one pull that tank? Hidden bolts somewhere?

Any suggestions welcome!!

I did the factory tour in 2019 and they were assembling 24F products like yours and mine. The FW tank is installed before the side wall gets attached and from what I could tell it is installed front the top and not the bottom of the coach. I did not see a single jack or lift that would suggest any large component gets installed from the bottom other than the genset station.

Given that, I looked at my coach this morning and there is no way the FW tank would come out from the bottom due to its height - no clearance to get it from under the coach without a lift.

Last year I had a water leak that I thought was coming from the FW tank. I had drips under the tank but no water in the pan at the bottom of the tank - odd. It turned out that the connections to the water pump had loosened and water was dripping on the floor and making it to the outside by way of a cable loom by the pump. It was more noticeable when using the water pump. Loom was just to the left of the tank, looking from the outside, and it fooled me into thinking it was the tank leaking.

As an aside, I didn’t like the fact that the pan held water when I cleaned the strainer. I drilled a 3/16 weep hole in the pan so any water could make it to the ground and not rust the pan out.
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Old 10-04-2022, 07:47 PM   #6
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State: Ohio
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THOR #16721
Got some pics today. The tank looks like it's suspended by the pan below it, and supported by the wide black metal band/strap - which is held by bolts on either side of the tank... I'm assuming those bolts go through the floor. In addition, the pan looks to be fastened to the underside of the motorhome floor with black hex screws.

Various pics show how inaccessible the valve is. It's buried down in there beside the tank.

But thanks JimOIB... Good suggestions! I'm going to look a little closer around the pump fittings, etc. and check for leaks. You may be spot on! And drilling some "weep holes" in the pan sounds like a great idea. How did you lift/push the tank up to avoid drilling the actual plastic tank?

dk... thanks as usual I just drained/flushed everything, but when I fill the tank again in the next few days I'll keep an eye on a slow leak from a possible crack.
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