Question Leaking Water Valve - No access - HELP!

[SANDV]

Hello All,
I have a 2002 Coachmen Pathfinder Sport which is new to me and I'm working on a water leak in the freshwater system. The leak occurs whenever I pressurize the system, and I've tracked it to the lower valve in the exterior water panel. The only interior access to this valve is through a small access panel in the sidewall of the bathtub, behind the toilet. Just enough access to reach around an touch it with one finger, but not to work on it.

When I found the leak I thought there must be a way to get to this valve by removing the panel from the exterior of the vehicle, but it doesn't appear to be the case. Reaching from below would require the removal of the black water tank - yikes!

I frankly can't believe that they built this without any means to service these very important valves. Surely there must be a repair option that I am overlooking.

Any suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated - thanks!

 

[MapNerd]

Pictures with doodles on top might help. I'm not familiar with your camper and certainly not familiar with where the water tank would be on it.

My knee jerk reaction however is to wonder whether you'd be willing to make a panel with a small circular saw or angle grinder set to a very small depth so that you just cut through the exterior shell of your camper to gain access to the valve.

When you've replaced the valve or fixed whatever is leaking and all is well with the world again, pick up an access panel from CampingWorld, Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon and install that over the hole you just made in your unit. Sounds like its a place where you need an access panel anyway.

 

[SANDV]

Thank you for your reply. I've added some photos with doodles to help illustrate. Photo 1 is from the outside, showing where the leaky valve is. Photo 2 is of the so-called access panel in the side of the tub, and photo 3 is looking through that panel. It looks to me like there might be shot at it if I remove the toilet and cut away that wooden bathtub support you see in photo 3. Then maybe there is enough room to work on the valves. I am pretty disgusted with this design.

 

[MapNerd]

yeah, that's pretty poorly thought out by the manufacturer - probably not thought out at all. I would certainly have to pull the toilet to get enough room to work with and I'm a small, wirey guy.

Is the rest of that interior facing tub side not easily removable? Seems the easiest way to access it would be to remove that if you can.

When your valve is fixed, you could probably get away with a 1/8" - 1/4" sheet of luan with redguard painted on both sides and the edges to prevent any moisture issues, then cut and glue some polywall to the interior facing side for aesthetics.

 

[SANDV]

Hmm. I hadn't thought about enlarging the access hole in the tub. I'll have to think about it.
Polywall is new to me. Is it available widely?
As I've thought about it, I'm wondering about cutting out the mounting panel from the outside using an oscillating saw to plunge cut my way around. Then, perhaps I could add some extra length to the pex to allow the panel to be removed from the outside for servicing the valves..
Much to think about here. Thanks very much for your replies. It helps to have someone to bounce ideas off of!

 

[MapNerd]

Is the valve leaking on the outside or inside? I assumed inside and that's why you were trying to get behind the tub, I'f its leaking from the outside, then I think that approach makes sense if you're careful. If it's leaking inside, then I'm not sure what removing the exterior panel will do for you, but I'm not standing in front of it so probably just not thinking about it correctly.

Polywall is just a thin 1/8" sheet of vinyl. It may not actually be vinyl, I honestly don't know what it is but its a waterproof plastic sheet. Lowes sells it in massive 4' x 8' sheets, luckily it rolls up just fine. It has no structure but makes a good veneer for anything that might see water splash, but not submersion. For areas that might get soaked, you want the reguard which was why I suggested it, assuming that the valve was leaking internally.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Just a thought, I am assuming that the panel outside is switches to work the solenoids.

If that is the case using a multi tool you can cut the panel out to get to your leaky valve. You can then build a frame to screw the panel back in place. Use silicone sealer around the edges and volla the job is done.

 

[SANDV]

The valve is leaking inside, but seems to be mounted to the panel, which consists of the white piece with the graphics (which can be seen from the outside) and a piece of OSB which is about 1/2" thick. My thought is to cut through both, including the water lines on both sides, then reconnect with new hose. It is a bit risky, and I'm mostly thinking out loud.
I have an appointment scheduled with the local RV place in a couple days. I was hoping to be able to fix it but I'm inclined to see what they propose. They have all the experience and I'm a total RV newbie. Many thanks again for your input.

 

[MapNerd]

Your approach sounds okay to me. What's gonna happen? You gonna make it leak? The tech is almost certainly going to pull the panel too.

I always say, doing a bad job of something is just the first step of learning to do a good one.

 

[SANDV]

Just a thought, I am assuming that the panel outside is switches to work the solenoids.

If that is the case using a multi tool you can cut the panel out to get to your leaky valve. You can then build a frame to screw the panel back in place. Use silicone sealer around the edges and volla the job is done.

The panel outside has the valve handles for opening and closing the valves. The handles don't show in the outside picture because I pulled them off.