RV Repair: water line leak, mesh tape, line leak


Question
QUESTION: First of all thank you for taking the time to answer my question.  I have 2005 Cherokee Lite travel trailer by Forest River.  I hooked up the water hose to it today, with a regulator, and noticed water dripping from underneath the front drivers side of the trailer.  The only plumbing in that area is the water heater and the lines running to and from because that is under the bedroom.  I looked and felt around the heater and it was dry, which leads me to believe that I have a busted pipe or leaky fitting.  Here is where the question comes in.  The lines run under the floor, but underneath the trailer is a fabric-like material that I don't know how to remove without tearing up, is it possible to remove this to work on the lines, and be able to put it back in a way to keep the bottom of the trailer dry when traveling in rainy conditions.  I am pretty mechanically inclined so I feel I can fix the leak if I could just get in there to work because there is no access from above.  Any help would be great!  Thanks again!

ANSWER: well normally water lines are internal but in some cases they do run them under the floor. My first though is the fresh water holding tank is it anywhere near that area. or may be a low point drain that has a loose cap and is running down the underbelly. May be even the ac draining down the coach. But if thats not the case you will have to cut into the underbelly. This is not always fun you may find where you  cut it that the leak may be far away from that point it  will hold water sometimes. when you cut into the underbelly try to make straight cuts. They do make and under bell tape some of it is like duct tape but even stronger. There is also some mesh tape to repair underbellys. You will have to call royal supply they are on the net try the Wichita KS branch first and they can find some place close to you that may have some. If you get it open please let me know what you find this may be a new problem that we will see in the future.

I hope this was help full but if not shout back at me and Ill try to beak it down to help when you get ready to repair it

Thanks and good luck its a lot to throw at you but I think you can find it. Its  just not fun having to cut into the bottom of the new trailer


Hang in there and let me know




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks again.  You where very helpful, the only problem was me, and a little something i over looked.  Just behind the exterior door to the water heater (suburban) where the exterior plate and interior plate on the heater itself over lap there is some type of sealant or caulk around the bottom to keep water from running back into the camper, or in this case between the camper and underbelly.  Just before i noticed the leak i had filled up the water heater and drained it, to shed any debris. Well there was a crack in the sealant so about a gallon or two ran under the camper. the rest is history, i guess thats what i get for tell you i was pretty mechanically inclined.  But that does lead me to another question, should i worry about the water that got in between the camper and underbelly, there is insulation under there, and if so what is the best way to go about drying it? Thanks again, you were very helpful the first time, but i am glad i didn't have to butcher up the belly of my fairly new trailer.

Answer
Well the good thing is you found the leak.Thats the hard part. For the underbelly you can make stright cuts and pull out the wet insulation and then find some belly tape from and rv center replace the insulation with new and then tape it up. The only problem with the old insulation is that it will mold and loose it r value.



Thanks Never Though About The Water Heater

good luck and let me know how it goes