City water hookup makes interior leaks.

[Astrodokk]

So I’m in Vancouver, BC, and I’m at Capilano River RV Park with full hookups for four days.
I have sewer connected, electrical (nothing blew up!), and city water. When I turned the city water on, I went inside to check everything. I noticed that the bathroom faucet is dripping and it will not shut off. I know they make repair parts to fix the leaking faucet valves, and I’ll look into that.
Later, I noticed water on the bathroom floor. Not sure where it is coming from, or if it’s passive or from when I flushed. I will turn on city again after drying the floor, and see if it leaks like that, or if only after I flush.
It seems the galley sink faucet is in good shape.
So I’m a little disappointed that I can’t leave the .org water turned on while I’m in the rig due to leaking, but oh well.
At least it was nice and comfy last night with the furnace and electric heater I have!
Any ideas about the toilet leak?

[Blue~Go]

Geez, you didn't even get to leave it on and come home to a leak

Since you have more than one thing leaking: Do you have a pressure regulator at the city water tap? I think there is one built into the city water door, but even if there is (?) you can use a separate one at the city water pedestal. If you have too much pressure things can start to leak at the seams, so to speak. Can anyone who uses city water confirm this?

Or to ask another way, do these things leak when you have your onboard pump on but aren't using the water (i.e. the pressure has built up)? That could be a clue.

On the toilet, I can think of a few things that might leak. The supply pipe that feeds the toilet comes in through the shower wall on the left/lower side as you face the toilet. You could check that connection to the toilet. The line runs out behind the shower so that could be freeze vulnerable, but then if it was way back in there it would be leaking into the area behind the shower, so probably not that.

Another thing you could check is that the "stem" (if the toilet were a mushroom) is just a plastic cover piece. The rear side has a joint, and the forward side is a hinge. If you kind of press the inboard and outboard sides together on the sink side of the toilet, that plastic piece will unlatch. Once you have that off you can see if the toilet might be leaking by the floor.

Do you have the flush wand? If so you can check that connection.

I also think there is a small white vacuum breaker hose behind the toilet - you could look at that.

[SMan]

When hooking to city water I always use an inline pressure regulator. (Common at an RV store) Not sure what toilet you have but the toilet in my 2004 Premier had a failure of the valve (on the back) last year and flooded the bathroom but hey it just went down the drain into the holding tank. It was an easy replacement. Hope you can get it sorted out.

[caconcourse]

When hooking to city water I always use an inline pressure regulator. (Common at an RV store) Not sure what toilet you have but the toilet in my 2004 Premier had a failure of the valve (on the back) last year and flooded the bathroom but hey it just went down the drain into the holding tank. It was an easy replacement. Hope you can get it sorted out.

Just a warning about the inline pressure regulator. I used one I had until one day I found out the city water pressure was so low, that the pump didn't "know" it was connected and ran my tank dry after showering. I was really wondering where all our tank water went while we were supposed to be on "city water"! Water pressure at hookups varies widely, I am told, so maybe that was just a low pressure hookup. Anyway, I stopped using it. The plumbing should withstand regular house pressures, so I don't mind stress testing a little (living on the edge!). My hose has a cutoff connector at the output. If you really come across a high pressure outlet, you can close the shutoff partially to reduce the pressure.

This is the hose I bought at Walmart, and I just love it; one of my best purchases. It is collapsible, so it is incredibly small and easy to store, even at 100 feet long. I bought it because we stayed at a couple of sites where the water connection was very far from the parking spot, for some reason.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Flexable-Hos ... /180051089
The picture doesn't show it, but the output end had (has?) a built-in valve to shut if off, which is very valuable when filling the tank, because you can shut it off when the tank spills without having to run back to the spigot. You can buy these separately also for very cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Plastic-Gar ... r-20&psc=1

Finally, at least your leaks are in the bathroom which makes them pretty harmless with the drains there. If you don't have one already, you should buy one of these bamboo shower "mats" from World Market. It fits as though custom made for the Concourse bathroom and will keep your feet off the grime and slippery wet floor:
https://www.worldmarket.com/product/bam ... y=ourPicks

Anyway, good luck with the leak, Hope it is a simple fix, check the washer spray hose connections as well. May need new O-rings or just tightening. Also check for more serious leaks "behind the scenes". I remember your unit had serious water damage in the spare tire area, I would inspect that while the city water is hooked up.

[Astrodokk]

All great advise. I’m having such a good time here that I haven’t spent any time in the rig. But I will make time to turn the water back on and check areas again.
Also, I think I’ll partially fill my water tank on Vancouver’s dime and see how the pump performs. Might as well.
Any orhecsugestions while I’m hooked up?
I’m plugged into shore power and have my sewer hose I. The sewer drain hole but won’t open the valves until ready to leave.
I was nice and toasty with my furnace and plug in ceramic heater. Also have my Buddy just in case.
Use the propane burner this morning for coffee and will make tea later tonight with my whistling teakettle I bought specifically for the Chinook. Life is good!

[Blue~Go]

You may have a few things to bring up to snuff (normal), but it sounds like you are all homey in there. Sweet!

I still vote for just filling your own water tank and running off that (then re-filling when the "well" runs dry), but the pressure, varying pressure, etc. gives me the creeps.

I guess if you don't regularly have things plugged in and hooked up, I'd just try it all. And take notes.

Good point above about whether some of your interior water damage might have been caused by internal plumbing leaks. Hmmm.

Anyway, home sweet home (wherever you are camped)

[chin_k]

Paul mentioned in the other thread that he had problem with water pressure at Fishing Bridge. I was there back in 2017, and they did not have the issue. Must be related to some of the constructions they had over there. I always thought that the inline regulator will take care of high pressure issue, prevent the rest of the plumbing from damage. I am surprised that the camp site ask people to get an external one as if the inline one is not going to help. If any of you have any story about the original regulator, please let the rest of us know, since some of us may want to get a better quality one if it is not doing it job.

Anyway, keep in mind that pressure typically is considered in two different situations. One is static pressure, when the water is not moving. The other is "dynamic" pressure when the water is moving thru the pipe. If there is restriction in the water pipe, such as corrosion of cast iron plumbing (as in some houses), or from scale/calcium/magnesium buildup, or a partially closed valve (as in Clay's example), you may experience lost of pressure because the water is not flow fast enough to build up the pressure after the restriction due to the water is being use on the output/shower, etc. But if you shut the shower off, and measure the static pressure, it can be quite high. Now, you may think that it is alright if water is leaked into the shower, but if you are using the city water, and closed the gray tank, the amount of water can fill up the gray tank and flood the rig. When I have city sewage, I usually keep the gray tank valve open, and close the black tank with some water on the bottom.

On my first trip with my Chinook, the water pump leaked, and it was not fun to have to soak up the water every few hours when I could have enjoy the scenery. You may want to check all the connection from city inlet to the water pump to all the appliance to make sure the pipe are in good shape. The clamping point where the poly pipe is connected to the brass adapter is a weak spot. The plastic pipe also can be punctured or cracked, but they tends to be OK away from sun, and protected from freezing. If the problem is minor and manageable, I would enjoy the time on the trip, and do the plumbing diagnostic after getting home. I would keep the pressure up (maybe more than 60-80 psi, whatever the inline regulator is set at), shut off the water, and fix every visible leak. If there is no leak, it should be able to hold the pressure for a long time. If you fixed all the visible leak, and it still not holding pressure, then I will go and inspect the entire pipe system, until you think you got everything fixed, and there is no sign of leak anywhere.

[Blue~Go]

One note is that if you hear your water pump cycling (even just a "brrp" every now and then when you are not using water) that can indicate a leak after the pump. If no leaks, should be no "brrps" unless you are using water (on the pump system).

Also, just know that if you have never done plumbing - or not for many years - that working with Pex plumbing can be quite easy. You can buy the crimper tool and use the rings like Chinook did, but you can also buy quick connect fittings that need no tools (save for an inexpensive cutter). Those fittings cost a bit more, but we only need so many (especially for repairs). They go together pretty much like Tinker Toys. I keep a few on hand for emergency repairs. The DWV (drain/waste/vent) plumbing is ABS (the black pipe). That's also easy to work with. Just cut and glue. This stuff can be bought at Home Depot or etc.

[Astrodokk]

I had some time to check things a little more.
I turned on the city water all the way. Funny noises inside the rig, probably due to the bath faucet dripping having air in the line and not holding pressure, almost like a brrrrp. But the faucet flows nice and strong. I will repair the faucet valve soon.
Next, there is a leak beneath the toilet flusher pedal. Leaks quite a bit even when not flushing. But, the toilet flushes very strong and the flush hose works very well too.
The shower head flow is not so strong though, and the kitchen faucet is the same as is the outside shower head, no real pressure.
At home, I will fill my water tank with a few gallons and check the system that way too. Not sure if I want water in the water heater just yet though.

[SMan]

FWIW When my toilet valve let go it was an easy repair. Removing the toilet and replacing took about 10 minutes.