Forum Discussion

bzgenius's avatar
bzgenius
Explorer
Jun 10, 2017

water pumps

I am just about to put the camper back together but wanted to check for water line leaks and low and behold the dang pump wont work. It sounds good and when I took it apart nothing looks worn out or out of place so I guess its just to old and been sitting to long. It is a shurflo 2088-403-144 and I did find replacements online but some questions for you all first.

1# Is there a reason to put something better in or just replace with original?

2# Should I replace it all or just the plastic pump part since the motor works fine?

Positive note is the hot water heater fired right up, the fridge works and the holding tank doesn't leak. I will be glad when this project is done and usable.
  • Mine has a 10" hose from the tank to the pump and then a 10" hose T'd in to the cold water line out of the pump, nothing fancy so the pump part has to be bad. I am on board with replacing it all but still don't have an answer on whether to buy a different pump or just go with oem.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    My water pump on my 2008 Starcraft 14 R/T POPUP trailer has a valve with a short hose between the pump and the fresh water tank. This short hose is used to stick down inside a bottle of the pink stuff when winterizing the lines.

    If your setup is like this you may have the valve in the wrong position and your pump is pulling against the closed off short hose.. My short hose has a cap on its end..

    This setup on mine is also a great way to test my water pump as I can stick this short hose down into a bucket of water and the pump then will pick that up just fine showing the pump is working...

    my setup looks like this google photo...



    My POPUP Trailer water flow is similar to this water flow diagram... My unit only has a Fresh water tank...


    google image

    Roy ken
  • The new pump part on the front of the motor is $20 and all new is $70. I just don't want to pay for the same if there is a better pump to buy. Also nothing in this camper was used that much and some things not at all so the dc motor may be just as good as new but I have no idea. May just buy all new and save the motor as a spare.

    The accumulator sounds good like d3500ram talked about but I would just have a small drip at a faucet and waste water with my luck.
  • What does a new pump cost? $100? Is the time and effort you have already put in worth it? If the pump is old, do you think something else might also be worn out? The death of a pump could end a trip or a major inconvenience.

    When my old pump started to leak, I just got a new one, spent 10 minutes and put it in service. No leaks, no problems.
  • stickdog wrote:
    Take a bucket of water and try pumping from it with a short hose. You may just have a hard time primeing it.


    The pump sits right beside the tank and on the floor so it has about 6" of water above it with the half a tank I put in. I disconneted the hose from the output side and water flows freely with it running but not if you put your finger over the hole or hook it back up to the line, no pressure at all. Yes I have both valves open on the kitchen sink.
  • My first thought is the priming as well.. Do you have an open faucet while you are running the pump and enough water in the tank to pull from?
  • Take a bucket of water and try pumping from it with a short hose. You may just have a hard time primeing it.
  • My opinion is that given the opportunity to replace new parts is to do it.

    You use the words "just about to put the camper back together" which leads me to believe that there is a certain amount of demo for other repairs?? If that is the case (and if budget allows) then go new since it is open to do the work(<--???) Perhaps also consider installing an accumulator as well? I wanted to install one on mine, but when looking closer it would have been more work than I wanted to take on.

    In my opinion when opportunity arises (and access) to install new then do it.