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howdy35's avatar
howdy35
Explorer II
Feb 17, 2021

Help/ Fresh Water Tank

Late afternoon yesterday at 5 degrees above zero I heard a loud bang and observed a great amount of water pouring out from under the RV. Despite having two 1500 watt heaters and two fans circulating heat in the basement, I'm afraid my fresh water tank has bit the dust. Too cold now to check but I need your help.

I am quite certain I will be trying to find a replacement but that may not be possible for a 1999 National Tradewinds 7370. Has anyone any ideas and what about a fiberglass repair? I'm not sure how I might get it out or what the heck I am going to do. This will be a fun project.

For those of you who might be interested, I will post solution.

Happy travels. Arnold

15 Replies

  • I wouldn't jump the gun. As you said it's too cold to check, but it could just be a pipe or fitting. Don't borrow trouble, check it out and find out exactly what the problem is first.
  • Is it actually a fiberglass tank?

    Most are rotomolded plastic and it's a pain to repair them. If you can get access, probably easier to just replace.
  • For the amount of work and uncertainty you will go through trying to repair an ageing possibly brittle tank, you would be better off finding a replacement. Measure your tank and do some google work. I did a quick search and came up with this site RV Fresh Water Tanks. For around $200 for most tanks I can't see it would be worth it to even try to repair an old tank.

    Then again it could just be a broken water line under there. You'll figure that out when you get into it.
  • I have done fiberglass repair on a holding tank 4 rigs ago. Its was a crack close to the exit fitting. For me it work very well however as I was working against gravity very messy.

    I first cleaned the area then drilled a small hole at each end of the crack. That will stop the crack from getting any larger. Than came the fiberglass cloth, hardener etc.

    It held very well for as long as I had the coach. There are other products out there now that may do as good if not better job. I am sure some folks will help out with that.

    Good Luck, safe travels
  • Most insurance companies will cover water breaks from freezing. If you have full coverage call them and start a claim.