Water and Tanks
RV plumbing is simple in principle: a tank, a demand pump, PEX lines, a water heater, and three holding tanks. It fails in a handful of repeatable ways: a pump that pulses or never shuts off, a toilet that will not hold water, tank sensors that read full forever, and an air conditioner that drips on the bed and gets blamed on the roof.
These guides are written in the order a technician would check things, with the pressures, part numbers, and seal kits named so you can buy the right thing once.
Guides
- Why Your RV Air Conditioner Drips Inside (and How to Fix It Before the Ceiling Stains)
Most rooftop RV air conditioners that drip inside have clogged drain holes in the base pan or a gasket that lost compression. Here is how to tell them from a rain leak.
- RV Black Tank Sensors Always Read Full: What Actually Works and What Doesn't
Black tank sensors read full because paper and scale bridge the probes. Flushing with a rinser or wand and a softener soak clears most; external sensors fix it for good.
- RV Toilet Not Holding Water in the Bowl: Seal Cleaning, Replacement, and Why It Still Leaks After a New Seal
Most RV toilets that won't hold water have scale or grit under the flush ball or blade seal. Clean the groove first; most seals don't need replacing.
- RV Water Heater Drain and Anode Replacement, Step by Step (Suburban and Atwood)
Drain a Suburban or Atwood RV water heater cold and depressurized, flush it, replace the anode at about 75% consumed, and refill fully before power goes on.
- RV Water Pump Pulsing or Cycling: Check Valve, Accumulator, and the Fixture Test
An RV water pump that cycles with every faucet closed is losing pressure to a leak or a failed check valve. Here is the test order and the pressure specs.
- RV Water Pump Won't Shut Off: Empty Tank, Open Fixture, Leak Hunt, and the Pressure Switch
An RV water pump that runs nonstop is usually pumping from an empty tank or into an open valve or leak. Check the tank, then the fixtures, then the switch.