RV PLUMBING 101

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is! This is the song that has been playing in my head today, I think because we can now use the toilets in our trailer again, without having to chase the little doodies down with bottled water. I know that the jingle from an old Alka Seltzer commercial really has nothing to do with using the toilet, but, come on, we all have a bit of early adolescence left in us, right? I'm serious... I'm not the only one!

Yesterday the kids and I had to tackle fixing a leaky overflow valve for our water heater. Why would this affect the toilets you ask? Because everything is linked in this tiny place, and if one valve is leaking, the rest of the trailer cannot have water. We could only turn the water on when we absolutely had to have it, and then we were sopping up water from our kitchen floor until all water pressure was gone. Jeff tried a temporary fix before he left using Mighty Putty (you've seen the commercials, right?) but that stuff does NOT fix leaky valves. We have tons of it (Mighty Putty), so I guess if we break all the handles off our coffee mugs, we're covered! Anywho... in case you all find yourselves living in an rv, miles and miles from home, in a strange state, surrounded by strangers, I thought this little tutorial would come in handy...

STEP ONE:
Take a photo of leaky valve to email to brother-in-law who happens to be the parts manager at your local rv supply shop.


STEP TWO:
Drive on over to rv supply shop to pick up parts and get instructions on how to fix the problem.

STEP THREE:
Now head over to the closest Home Depot to get these to cut the tubes that need fixing. Yes, you probably already have two of these same tools sitting at home in your garage, but that's not going to help you here, is it?!


STEP THREE:
Return to trailer ready to work!


STEP FOUR:
Make your first incision.




STEP FIVE:
Second incision and removal of leaky valve.



You can see the Mighty Putty on it (hee hee).

STEP SIX:
Take a moment to pause for a silly self-portrait.


STEP SEVEN:
Use your hair dryer to heat up the tubing so that you can fit the parts together. Hey, you have to be able to improvise!


REALLY GET YOUR HANDS IN THERE:


MAYBE AN INJURY OR TWO:


AND THEN YOU'RE DONE!




It was really no big thang. Fun even. So if you're ever stuck living in a 5th wheel trailer with a leaky water heater valve, call me, cuz I'm your authority on that.