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I messed Up!!!!

USMC1833
Explorer
Explorer
Well I did not winterize my travel trailer due to the fact that I had planned to take it out next week and was hoping it would be fine. Well I went out to check on it today and I have an issue. The kitchen sink faucet broke, the inside shower head broke and the water filter near the water pump broke. All of these pieces were laying on the floor of the camper when I walked in the camper. How likely is it that there are busted piping? I am kicking myself right now!
13 REPLIES 13

dadmomh
Explorer
Explorer
Great news minus the heater! Consider this....the OEM faucet, etc is generally a POC, so you would be replacing it sooner or later....you just did it sooner. In our HTT I turned the water on one nice, warm, sunny day and the OEM faucet literally blew to pieces. Fortunately, DH and DF were standing near the water hook up and shut it off in an instant. We've never had trouble with the shower, but replaced it with the Oxygenics by choice. If you haven't checked your outside shower, you need to do that before you get too far along with other things. "Could have been worse".
Trailerless but still have the spirit

2013 Rockwood Ultra Lite 2604 - new family
2007 Rockwood ROO HTT - new family
2003 Ford F-150
4 doggies - We support Adopt/Rescue.
Sam, you were the best!
Cubbie, Foxy, Biscuit and Lily - all rescues!

USMC1833
Explorer
Explorer
Suburban furnace. Connected to shore power. Blower was running but not igniting. Ended up using a method I learned in the Marines called the hammer fix. I hit the igniter and it worked! Looks like I ended on a positive note today! Just hope it works will we are in it this week in Southern Ohio hunting.

JBarca
Nomad II
Nomad II
Great!!! on the pipes that is. Bummer on the heater. You mean the furnace? Which do you have, the Atwood Hydroflame or the Suburban? What does not work? Does the blower run but not fire? or no blower?

Are you plugged into shore power or running off of battery only?

Making a wild guess it might be battery only, if the battery is run down too far, the blower will be running but slow. It has to run fast enough to activate the sail switch which will allow the burner to have gas flow and light. It's a saftey feature. Common problem on run down battery. Easy fix though, charge the battery and or plug into shore power.
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.

USMC1833
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks to all that replied! I got the new faucet, shower head and water filter and everything works fine. No busted pipes, fittings or traps. Now to the next problem, heater wont work!

Merrykalia
Explorer
Explorer
The first year we had our TT, we were planning a late fall trip and did not winterize. We got to our destination and hooked up the water and POOF water went everywhere. Our water filter had busted and water was squirting everywhere.

Went to Lowe's and got a new one, put it on and then proceeded to test the water. It was all fine, but then the kitchen faucet blew apart. Another trip to Lowe's solved that. I was ready for more squirting, but all was good.

We now winterize, as soon as they call for freezing temps. It might only be for a few weeks if we have another trip planned, but $12 for a 3 gallons of anti-freeze is cheaper than a new water filter.
2017 Ford F350 Crew Cab 6.7L 4x4 DRW

Jaxom
Explorer
Explorer
Thank you for your service.

Good luck with the repairs.
Jerry
2015 Jayco Seneca 36FK
2011 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2 door
2011 R & R 20' Aluminum Enclosed Car Hauler
2007 Montrose 16' Aluminum Flatbed ATV Trailer

JBarca
Nomad II
Nomad II
I agree, the Pex may have well survived.

The drain traps, the hot water heater if it was full, the water pump, toilet valve, outside shower if you have one are all suspect and need to be proven out.

Don't beat yourself up too bad, it happens. Get her all fixed up, learn from this and move on.
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10 RA, 21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR, upgraded 2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver. Hitched with a 1,700# Reese HP WD, HP Dual Cam to a 2004 Sunline Solaris T310R travel trailer.

TucsonJim
Explorer
Explorer
I agree with Scott G. One of the selling points of PEX line is it's ability to handle expansion due to freezing. Normally, PEX can freeze hard one or two times with no damage. Yes, you had some fixture damage, but those are hard points with no ability to expand. So those were the first places that broke.

Make sure you have all water pressure off (pump/hose).
Heat the rig up with your furnace and portable heaters to thaw the lines.
If you can reach a line, a quick way to thaw it is to wrap it in cloth, and pour hot water on it.
You can also use a hair dryer on medium heat. However, be careful. PEX lines are potentially damaged if they are heated to more than 200 degrees farenheit.

Once the lines are thawed out, replace your fixtures, pressurize the system and check for leaks. I betting you'll not encounter any leaks in the PEX itself. If you do, replace the entire line if possible instead of just replacing the area of the leak. This is because the expansion that caused the break likely weakend the entire section of line. Replacement of the line is very straightforward, and there are plenty of youtube videos that show you how to do it.

As for the traps, once the rig comes up to temperature run water through them and inspect them for damage.
2016 Ford F350 Turbo Diesel SRW 4x4
2017 Grand Design Reflection 297RSTS
2013 Ford F350 Turbo Diesel SRW 4x4 (Destroyed by fire - 8/29/16)
2014 Grand Design Reflection 337RLS (Destroyed by fire - 8/29/16)

Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Explorer III
PEX........doubt if it has busted. PEX really is tough to burst and with the faucets/shower/water filter busted the PEX would not have been exposed to the pressure needed to burst it.

Might have some fittings cracked, outside shower, toilet water valve
Is it time for your medication or mine?


2007 DODGE 3500 QC SRW 5.9L CTD In-Bed 'quiet gen'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
US NAVY------USS Decatur DDG31

2oldman
Explorer II
Explorer II
I would say there is a good chance you have busTed pipes
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

USAFBILL
Explorer
Explorer
I would worry more about all of the traps.
2003 Cougar 285EFS
2000 Chev 2500 Ex Cab

VAfan
Explorer
Explorer
Don’t beat your self up…..not the first time this has happened.

I’ve had leaks though the years and fixing pex tubing is fairly straight forward – lots of fittings and info.

ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
You'll have to pressurize the lines to know for sure but Pex is able to stretch a fair amount so you may be OK. The most likely places to break are at the fittings, which wont stretch.

Good luck,
Scott