Forum Discussion

Kober's avatar
Kober
Explorer
May 20, 2018

Dumba$$

In prepping for a long trip I crawled under the RV and saw some screw that had popped through the thermal cover down there, causing the cover to sag in places. The small washers originally installed at the factory had ripped though and I replaced them with bigger ones.

Toward the rear of the RV was the lowest, biggest sag and I saw only one hole where I surmised the washer had also worked its way through but when I felt with my finger there was only a hole in the crossmember, no screw. I slipped a fender washer through a screw and installed it. No more sag but - water!

Water rushing out in a few places of the thermal cover. I cut a 5 inch square hole through the cover where I had placed the new screw only to discover with a flashlight that I had screwed through the crossmember and into the fresh water tank.

Any idea how to fix this? Is there some sort of plug that will keep my 136 gallons of freshwater in?

Draining the tank now ...
  • If you can support the tank and remove a supporting angle you could then move the tank enough to allow the flex seal tape to be wrapped around the bottom corner of the tank for a temporary fix.

    All three tanks on my trailer have 2 angles supporting them running from the left I beam to the right I beam.

    One angle is bolted in place the other is welded in place.
  • Looks like you have a temporary fix for your trip. When you are ready to do a permanent repair, a number of solutions have been offered here, but I didn't see this one. You'll need access to the damaged area, which may or may not mean dropping to tank, but once you do, this product may be a good alternative, although I do like that JB Waterproof repair product.
    Tank repair
  • While this can't help you, you have helped me. I am preparing to screw some stuff to the floor of my RV in one of the closets. The water heater is in that closet and the water lines come up out of the floor. I have bought this Phone/Computer Endoscope so I can look under the floor before drilling to locate the water lines.

  • Bobbo wrote:
    While this can't help you, you have helped me. I am preparing to screw some stuff to the floor of my RV in one of the closets. The water heater is in that closet and the water lines come up out of the floor. I have bought this Phone/Computer Endoscope so I can look under the floor before drilling to locate the water lines.



    You might give a review of it when you use it. I'm looking at something similar, but I haven't purchased it yet.

    I bought a Ryobi TEK4 inspection camera about 3 years ago since I already had a Ryobi TEK4 screw/drill driver that used the same battery. The camera works okay for what I've used it for so far but but it's a bit awkward and the cable is a bit short. You have to twist on the camera as you flex it to keep the camera orientation on the screen. It looks like later versions have a skinnier camera and thinner flexible cable.
  • mobeewan wrote:
    Bobbo wrote:
    While this can't help you, you have helped me. I am preparing to screw some stuff to the floor of my RV in one of the closets. The water heater is in that closet and the water lines come up out of the floor. I have bought this Phone/Computer Endoscope so I can look under the floor before drilling to locate the water lines.



    You might give a review of it when you use it. I'm looking at something similar, but I haven't purchased it yet.

    I bought a Ryobi TEK4 inspection camera about 3 years ago since I already had a Ryobi TEK4 screw/drill driver that used the same battery. The camera works okay for what I've used it for so far but but it's a bit awkward and the cable is a bit short. You have to twist on the camera as you flex it to keep the camera orientation on the screen. It looks like later versions have a skinnier camera and thinner flexible cable.


    A brief review of the new USB Endoscope camera for my Android phone/laptop computer is HERE.
  • Bill S. wrote:
    Looks like you have a temporary fix for your trip. When you are ready to do a permanent repair, a number of solutions have been offered here, but I didn't see this one. You'll need access to the damaged area, which may or may not mean dropping to tank, but once you do, this product may be a good alternative, although I do like that JB Waterproof repair product.
    Tank repair


    Says it won't work for Polyethylene which is what most water tanks are made of. If black, probably ABS. I have seen some new products on shelves that say they will repair Polyethylene but have not used them.

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