Water leak in a motorhome - can it get worse? When we photographed the wedding Last weekend we slept in the motorhome. When we woke up on the morning of the wedding day, it was to a less than pleasant sight - the floor in the bathroom and in the hallway was soaked. Yep, we had a water leak!
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ShareA broken coupling in the toilet seat
The water flowed out from under the toilet seat in the bathroom and continued onto the carpet in the corridor, so that it was total soaked. As soon as the water was switched on in the motorhome, it continued to flow, so we just turned off the water and dried.
When we got home after the wedding, Peter set about solving the problem. It turned out that there was a crack in a coupling under the toilet seat. We had to take everything apart, buy a new coupling and replace the old one. Now it no longer leaks! But honestly, this is not the only problem we've had with the motorhome lately...
Water leak in motorhome - and many other faults
Our motorhome is a few years old now and it was also used as a every day 2015. Maybe it's not so strange that things break or get worn out? Here's a list of what's been broken recently. What's in bold is what we've managed to fix.
- Luminous engine light
- Broken rear light sensor including rear view camera
- Parking light
- Broken footstep (after an idiot hit us)
- Broken window pane (after we backed into a lamppost. …)
- A broken stove top (there will be no flame without fire)
- Broken control on the fridge (only the highest level works)
- Water leak in the bathroom
- Clogged drain in the shower
Engine light off and reversing camera working - but still stuck in the shower
The engine light has been (on and off) ever since we set off on our European trip at the end of 2014! We went into workshops occasionally, but everyone thought "we could drive it for a while longer and fix it another time". Recently we decided that now it was "another time". We fixed both the engine light (by changing the throttle) and fixed the broken reverse light sensor.
Peter repaired the parking light himself and then tackled the blockage in the shower. He broke the floor to get to the pipes underneath, but it seems that the blockage is further down. This didn't work, but it still feels like we are well on our way now! The most important things work, which feels good because the Elmia fair is approaching.
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Sweet Juliet says:
it certainly sounds like an unlucky motorhome...
29 August 2016 - 6:10
Anita says:
How sad!!!
29 August 2016 - 7:01
Lennart says:
Things are happening with both old and new.
I have a few things to fix when I'm on the "table".
29 August 2016 - 7:15
åsa in åsele says:
Terribly difficult when cars malfunction and do not work as they should and when it is also a motorhome that you live in, it becomes extra difficult, some necessities should work as they should for it to be possible to live.
I hope you get most of it right and that you don't suffer any more unwelcome errors.
29 August 2016 - 7:28
Ramona says:
No so sad 🙁 You do not want such surprises. Hope you at least had a nice weekend and get a good start to the week ðŸ™'
29 August 2016 - 8:25
Goatfish says:
It was still a bit much wrong =( and not so strange with time and high usage factor.
Good thing you're living in a nice houseboat now.
Wishing you a good start to the new week! 😀
29 August 2016 - 8:33
nils-åke hansson says:
An advantage is that it is cleaned up in the corners where they are difficult to access! There's always something new to buy, even when it's new.
29 August 2016 - 8:33
Ditte says:
A lot to organise and you have made some progress. But there is a lot of work to be done and the space to do the work is clearly limited.
I wish you good luck but it takes time and effort to get everything organised.
29 August 2016 - 9:09
Åsa says:
Luckily, Peter is handy and can fix most things himself!
29 August 2016 - 9:19
Anette says:
Ugh, we also recently had a water leak, very sad.
You seem to be having some trouble with the car at the moment, I hope you get it sorted out. Guess it's awfully expensive to replace it with a newer model.
29 August 2016 - 9:24
Role o Carina says:
Water leaks are no fun at home or in the motorhome!
Plastic that gets old cracks easily!
Enjoy and cook at .....
29 August 2016 - 9:26
Nicki says:
I really hope that it's enough with errors now then... You usually get tired of things that just mess up but it looks nice in the picture and it's certainly cosy to drive around with or in it... I myself have had 3 different caravans over the years and it was great to drive around with them in different countries... have a nice day now....
29 August 2016 - 9:31
Maggan says:
Yes, this is the case with our slightly older cars.....we have also had a blockage in the drain, not from the shower but from the kitchen. Had to tear out everything under the bed, to access all the pipes, disconnected and got out a long fat "sausage" now it is free again. We also have a stove flame that does not work, and a table where we have a column as a leg, where the shell has broken and must be fixed. So we have a lot to fix on our car too 🙂 Luckily we have handy men 🙂.
29 August 2016 - 9:36
Ann-Sofie says:
As I said, there are many similarities between motorhomes and sailboats. We've found that if we buy things that don't say "marine..." or "boat..." on them, they last longer.
Drainage is a monkey business. Be glad you're flushing the toilet with fresh water, because then you won't have any urine deposits in the toilet drain hose. It's better to dismantle shower drains than toilet drains, so to speak.
Are you able to close the shower drain hose near the grey water tank? If so, pour hydrochloric acid 12% down the drain, plastic will not be affected, leave for about 15 minutes and then rinse thoroughly with clean water. Be careful when you start with the water because it will splash and bubble and try not to inhale the vapours. The hoses will be clean and fine. You may have to repeat a few times.
The reason you should close the drain as close to the tank as possible is to allow the acid to remain in the hose for a while.
29 August 2016 - 9:50
Mr Steve says:
This is just so sad. Injuries as a result of frequent use of the car are of course to be expected, but being hit by a car or running into something yourself is just too bad. It's too good that Peter is a handy man who fixes most things himself.
29 August 2016 - 9:57
Elisabeth says:
What a shame. The motorhome should just work! Good thing Peter is handy!
29 August 2016 - 10:07
Aila says:
Yes, there are sad aspects of motorhome life too. But with a handy man it usually works out.
Take care...
Hugs Aila
29 August 2016 - 10:51
Henny says:
Oh well, I hope you can fix most things yourself and that the misery is over. This is something of a nightmare for me, who is neither handy nor has a husband at hand. I have to use my son and son-in-law if things go wrong, but they often have so much to do with their own.
29 August 2016 - 11:21
Emma, sun like sun? says:
Read through the comments a bit quickly, a bit too quickly apparently! I was reacting to what Steve wrote above: "I guess it's because Peter is a handy man who does most things himself." I read it as "I guess it's because Peter is a handy man..." and I thought that just because you are handy you don't have to back into things? Then I read it again and realised that in my head I had reversed the order of the words "too well". Fascinating! What a difference it makes!
It was a big parenthesis.
Presumably you have tried to run a drain cleaner down the shower drain? One of those wires. With it you can at least hopefully find where the blockage is. Hair tufts and shampoo are cosy things. And it was after that that I bought an extra tight sieve in the shower where most of the stuff collects. There are more fun things to do any day of the week!
29 August 2016 - 11:32
Anja says:
Oh dear! I feel for you... Our motorhome is approaching 25 years (although we haven't had it all these years). We have actually never used the shower :-). Good luck now!
29 August 2016 - 12:44
JoY says:
You're good at fixing things yourself, but it's no fun when things don't work.
Hugs
29 August 2016 - 13:19
BP says:
It is very fortunate that Peter is as handy and skilful as he is. Praise! Personally, I have my thumb in the middle of my hand and would have needed to call a plumbing man or woman;-)
I remember the lamppost, when you were going to move Freedom but forgot to close the "window". Luckily there is tape here;-)
29 August 2016 - 13:37
admin says:
Sweet Julia. the first 7 years it was almost flawless... but now everything came at once 😉 .
Lennart, nice to get things fixed!
Åsa in Åsele, not being able to use the water was darkness... At least it's fixed now! Otherwise, we must take one thing at a time ...
Ramona, thank you! No, surprises like that are boring, but at some point it comes...
Geddfish, it's like that with both gadgets and technology. It doesn't last forever...
Nils-Åke, haha yes it's true! The car is actually more tidy now than it has been for a while 😉.
Ditte, it takes time, but also costs money, which is another reason why we have to take things one step at a time.
Åsa, yes, it's really practical! But even though he is handy, some things are quite difficult to fix...
Anette, I'm sorry that you also had a water leak. No, we can't afford to replace the whole motorhome ...
Rolle and Carina, really not fun with water leaks. But now at least it is repaired, fortunately!
Nicki, of course you get tired when things go wrong, but we really love our motorhome. I think it is soooo cosy to live in it, so we have to make sure to repair it 😉.
Maggan, it is fortunate that we always have handy men! Hear that you also had some trouble, maybe it's part of the years...?
Ann-Sofie, many thanks for the tips! We can't close the hose, but on the other hand it's stopped... So maybe this is something to try!
Steve, it's a shame to be hit by a car and to be hit by a car! Peter is handy but some things are a bit tricky to fix anyway...
Elisabeth, he is handy, but we still don't know how to solve some of the problems...
Aila, we try to take one thing at a time!
Henny, it's difficult when you can't fix things yourself. We probably can't fix everything ourselves either. But we have to tackle one thing at a time...
Emma, haha, it really becomes completely different things when you turn the words around 😉 Yes, we've tried with one of those wires... but we didn't succeed, seems like it sits further down somehow... Thanks anyway for the tips!
Anja, we don't use the shower very often either, but I like being able to do it sometimes... even if it's just to wash off...
JoY, we try, but it's not always easy...
BP, haha, yes, but it's good that there's tape? 😉
29 August 2016 - 16:03
Åke Jarlén says:
A cooker hood that doesn't work is easily fixed. It is the potato water etc. that clogs the small holes. Unscrew the tray, small screws torx 5 or 6. Take apart and clean with a sewing needle or similar. Clean with some lime solvent.
29 August 2016 - 16:19
Shamrock says:
Cars and computers should work without any manual intervention whatsoever (well, maybe I can imagine refuelling...).
I hope that things are turning around now and that the trouble is over for you because I agree - it sounds like you've had your fair share and then some at the moment!
29 August 2016 - 18:13
Jeanette says:
Good thing it was so easy to fix anyway!
29 August 2016 - 18:36
Matts Torebring says:
Now I actually feel sorry for you. The whole thing was almost a nightmare failure. But Peter will fix this, I'm sure of it.
29 August 2016 - 20:00
Linnea says:
We had exactly the same water leak at the beginning of this season. It was on the premiere trip that we discovered it after a night in Ullared when we parked in the Gekås car park. Water running both inside the car and outside under it. After some screwing and drying, we found the leak. Exactly the same coupling that cracked for you had also cracked for us. We are guessing that there was water in it during the winter and that it froze.
Our engine light is also on and off all the time. Very annoying!!!
Hope you get everything organised for Elmia. We leave the motorhome at home and just go to Elmia for the day ?
29 August 2016 - 20:34
Frankie & Co says:
Clearly difficult! I hope you do what you usually do - solve the problems and move on! Maybe an imaginary kick in the butt will be a little energy boost to cope? Lots of good luck??⌚
29 August 2016 - 21:08
Elin Nylund says:
Now it may not have been so funny with a water leak in the motorhome, but I still get jealous that you actually have a motorhome! It seems so incredibly cosy to go out with it and be able to stop wherever you want along the way. Would you recommend a motorhome over a caravan if you had to choose? 🙂
29 August 2016 - 21:46
Anki says:
Really sad with a lot of errors - luckily Peter is so handy and can fix most of it himself 🙂.
30 August 2016 - 10:47
Ama de casa says:
What do they say? An accident seldom comes alone... If things start to go wrong, they tend to get worse, unfortunately.
But of course there is wear and tear on the equipment when it is used so much. I think you are good at fixing so much yourself.
30 August 2016 - 16:34
Lena - good for the soul says:
Damn it, how useless it is with broken stuff. So frustrating! Nice when you can fix it yourself anyway.
Hug Lena
30 August 2016 - 19:08
admin says:
Åke Jarlen, thank you very much for the tips! We will try that! 🙂
Shamrock, yes it would be good if it paused a bit now 😉 .
Jeanette, well at least one thing that was reasonably easy to fix!
Matts, we have to take one thing at a time, but at least we've got the most important things sorted out now!
Linnea, interesting that you had the same water leak! Do you know why the engine light is on? Could it be the throttle for you too?
Frankie & Co, yes it's been a bit heavy... But you just have to bite the bullet 😉.
Elin, a motorhome is super cosy! I recommend a motorhome if you want to move often (you don't have to drive at 80 km/h like the caravans and you pack up quickly) but maybe a caravan if you want to stay a long time at the same campsite (then it matters less that you have to drive slowly and you can use the car for errands). For us, the choice is obvious!
Ama de casa, the errors seem to come in clusters...
Lena, we can't cook everything ourselves, but at least some things!
30 August 2016 - 19:45
Beppan says:
Luckily, you can fix most things yourself! Of course, what is used gets worn out. "What goes around comes around" as they say. But sad in any case.
01 September 2016 - 17:25
Mr Ivan says:
The good thing is that you get to know your motorhome and are not helpless if something happens!
23 March 2020 - 10:52