Long story short, got screwed over by not one, but two contractors. First one installed my living quarters. The second was hired to fix the first one's mistakes. They both checked out but didn't stop them from ripping me off and not completing the work, so now I'm left to fix things myself. I took many photos, but today I pulled the nailed down cover to the bench seat, exposing the plumbing and electrical. I found a leak and also saw the water turned off to the hot water heater. Both explain why I ran out of water last weekend while camping and also had no hot water for a shower! I can fix the leak. This is the culprit. It seems to be leaking from the red arrow but possibly the blue arrow as well. Hard to tell because they're so close together but it should be very easy to replace this. Is there a better way to do this than how it is now? Here are all the photos I took after pulling up the bench seating today. It looks like a sloppy mess to me. What I'm specifically looking for is to know if everything is connected correctly or if I should hire an electrician.

yep looks like a rv , try to tighten the hose clamp first.for the leak problem. use a paper towel and dry the pipe and area dry. tighten then turn water back on, wait a bit ten min or so then feel around the hose clamp see if your hand is wet. if its dry you might have fixed the leak. and never pay a contravtor till the jobs done.

What a wiring mess. Luckily its an easy cleanup. Go to harbor freight and buy a bunch of tiwraps and start bundling then in neat groupes. Once your done things will look much beter

Not an electrician, but a good RV or auto tech for that wiring. Those yellow and red screw-on connectors are fine in a static building, not so good in an RV - sooner or later they will work loose. All of those should be crimped or soldered butt connectors. The wiring should also be secured so it does not move around all the time while you are on the move.Bench cover should not be nailed in place as you need occasional access.As far as the plumbing goes, the fewer the connections the better, that one looks a bit Rube Goldberg.

Nothing looks terribly wrong. There is a lot of wiring going on in that confined place and, yes, it could always be neater. Neatness doesn't always mean best, though. If I was making everything look like an aircraft when done, you (or any subsequent observer) might have a difficult time tracing or repairing a circuit. As long as the electrical functions and nothing looks like it can be damaged, you're probably good to go. You could get down in there with some wire ties and labeling gear to make everything tidy and to your liking. The plumbing: IMO, there's no place in an RV for a screw clamp. It's an easy attachment for a soft tube that exists and that's probably why it's there. I pulled all of my plumbing and replaced it with PEX crimped at every connection. You may wish to look into different plumbing bits that are more substantial in the future. Easy fix: Tighten screw clamp or use two, on that black tubing barb and hose.

I already tightened the screw clamp and it still leaks. I already dried it with paper towel, started filling the tank and again it leaked so I'm thinking I need to replace what's there. I'm a pretty strong gal so I know the clamp is tight. I'm going to Google PEX to find out what that is. I only paid the first guy in full because he held my trailer for hostage if I didn't. I have to use my trailer to haul my horses to the farrier to get their hooves trimmed and shod (horseshoes) and he knew it. The 2nd guy I only paid a portion and we're in the process of negotiating a refund of my money.

I have a mess and need help please | Good Sam Community

MM49
Explorer
May 04, 2014
You have run across one of the RV industries dirty little secrets. The screw clamp will never work on a hose with that thin of wall. The hose is designed to work with a swedge fitting. Special tools and fitting are necessary. I have ordered special high pressure clamps that will work on that thin of hose wall. I have replaced all of the clamps in my rig with these:

Bel Mar
eb145
Explorer II
May 04, 2014
you can always cut the hose just to the left of red the arrow in your first picture and disconnect any fitting somewhere to the right.

Take the whole thing to a hardware store and tell them you need to replace what you have in your hand. Be prepared to spend 30 minutes finding the right fittings.

Ed
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
May 04, 2014
What is connected to the other end of the clear braided hose? Where's that water coming from?
As a side note, if you hear a lot of noise when your water pump is running it is likely due to it being plumbed directly to the PEX type lines. It is generally recommended that you isolate the connection with a flexible loop of tubing (like the clear braided hose) on the input and output side. Doing so will quite and isolate that noise.
Iowa_Cowgirl
Explorer
May 04, 2014
CaptPicky wrote:
It's hard to tell what type of fitting is that black fitting. I wonder if the hose coming from the left is to big of inside diameter for the black fitting. If there is to big of difference screwing down the clamp won't help. Take the metal clamp off, if the hose is really lose that might be a problem.

I did that and yes, it's loose. What should I do?
I'm also not sure why there is a shut off valve right there. That is the water source for the trailer, unless the shut off valve is to turn it off in the event there is a leak found down line. Is that the reason?
CaptPicky
Explorer
May 04, 2014
It's hard to tell what type of fitting is that black fitting. I wonder if the hose coming from the left is to big of inside diameter for the black fitting. If there is to big of difference screwing down the clamp won't help. Take the metal clamp off, if the hose is really lose that might be a problem.
Iowa_Cowgirl
Explorer
May 04, 2014
I already tightened the screw clamp and it still leaks. I already dried it with paper towel, started filling the tank and again it leaked so I'm thinking I need to replace what's there. I'm a pretty strong gal so I know the clamp is tight. I'm going to Google PEX to find out what that is.

I only paid the first guy in full because he held my trailer for hostage if I didn't. I have to use my trailer to haul my horses to the farrier to get their hooves trimmed and shod (horseshoes) and he knew it.

The 2nd guy I only paid a portion and we're in the process of negotiating a refund of my money.
westend
Explorer
May 04, 2014
Nothing looks terribly wrong. There is a lot of wiring going on in that confined place and, yes, it could always be neater. Neatness doesn't always mean best, though. If I was making everything look like an aircraft when done, you (or any subsequent observer) might have a difficult time tracing or repairing a circuit. As long as the electrical functions and nothing looks like it can be damaged, you're probably good to go. You could get down in there with some wire ties and labeling gear to make everything tidy and to your liking.

The plumbing: IMO, there's no place in an RV for a screw clamp. It's an easy attachment for a soft tube that exists and that's probably why it's there. I pulled all of my plumbing and replaced it with PEX crimped at every connection. You may wish to look into different plumbing bits that are more substantial in the future.
Easy fix: Tighten screw clamp or use two, on that black tubing barb and hose.
Dennis_M_M
Explorer
May 04, 2014
Not an electrician, but a good RV or auto tech for that wiring. Those yellow and red screw-on connectors are fine in a static building, not so good in an RV - sooner or later they will work loose. All of those should be crimped or soldered butt connectors.

The wiring should also be secured so it does not move around all the time while you are on the move.

Bench cover should not be nailed in place as you need occasional access.

As far as the plumbing goes, the fewer the connections the better, that one looks a bit Rube Goldberg.
donn0128
Explorer II
May 04, 2014
What a wiring mess. Luckily its an easy cleanup. Go to harbor freight and buy a bunch of tiwraps and start bundling then in neat groupes. Once your done things will look much beter
midnightsadie
Explorer II
May 04, 2014
yep looks like a rv , try to tighten the hose clamp first.for the leak problem. use a paper towel and dry the pipe and area dry. tighten then turn water back on, wait a bit ten min or so then feel around the hose clamp see if your hand is wet. if its dry you might have fixed the leak. and never pay a contravtor till the jobs done.

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