Aluminum Camper Forum

I've been thinking about a better option for drinkable water in the camper. We currently don't use water from the tank/city hookup for drinking - don't trust it. I initially went down the road of the 5gal bottom-loading water dispenser, but these aren't practical because they require 120v and take up a bit of room.

These are my 2 options:

• Buy a quality, multi-stage water filter and install in-line on a dedicated drinking water faucet
• Rig a 2nd dedicated 12v water pump (like the shurflo pumps our campers have) to a 5gal water container and plumb directly to a water faucet

Trade-offs are obvious - cost & lugging around 5gal containers (~$1/gal) vs. cost for water filter setup & filters ($400+$70 for filter set every 1-2k gallons). Do quality filter units work as good as bottled water? Do you folks have any filters that you recommend?

The other part of my question: what do you guys know about drilling holes thru the fridge wall? What I'd like to do is run a water coil in/out of the rv fridge to cool the drinking water line. For those who aren't aware: this is what is done in residential refrigerators to cool the water prior to heading to the dispenser. I've searched all over and haven't seen anyone do something like this. I imagine that as long as I use good fitting grommets and air-seal the 2 holes: it should be fine...maybe. 

I'm already going to dig into this, but figured I'd try to get some opinions.

My water system is dispensing aerated water (air in the water; spits and farts) when on the water pump. The water pump also will not shut off when faucets are closed. I assume its because it can't reach pressure due to the air in the lines on the pressure side of the pump. This will not happen when hooked up to city water. I've read that this is due to the input line from the fresh water tank being loose. I've checked this and the pump's filter canister prior to the pump and they seem snug, no leaks.

The system was fine until I had to remove my freshwater tank when doing my axles. When re-connecting it: I took some care to tidy up all the lines (fill, vent, supply) because they were wrapped around each other. Mentioning in case a dip or "trap" is necessary in the supply line? The system isn't leaking anywhere.

During our first trip on city water: I noticed that the city water was filling the fresh water tank. Obviously a check-valve issue. I turned the pump on and gave it some percussive maintenance and it seemed to fix itself. Mentioning in case a bad check valve could cause this air problem (I doubt it) as well as potentially damaging the pressure switch with said maintenance...

Seeing as there's no water leaking: I don't see how air can get INTO the system. My only thoughts are to run a temp line directly to the pump to test and also just pull the pump apart to see if I can find anything suspect. Any other thoughts?

I did a frame inspection while I had the frame up on stands for a new set of tires. I was disappointed to find some pretty serious cracks in 3 of the 4 axle mounts. All 3 are cracked in a similar manner and 50% compromised. A bit concerning but glad I found it now instead of losing an axle while rolling on the interstate.

The axle mounts look to be bent up from flat stock instead of starting out from angle aluminum. It looks like the cracks originated at the bend which may have been initially fatigued due to the bend. I'd imagine its the lateral load (turning dual axles) which stressed these mounts?

My plan is to cut all of the axle mounts off and fabricate new ones out of thicker, structural angle aluminum.

I'm going to consult with some weldors, but anyone see an issue with this plan? Would you design them differently?

Minor mod but figured I'd share because it might give folks ideas on how to mount stuff to existing cabinets.

The TV in the 24 foot TH is located on the middle of the long side wall which made it not easily visible from one of the couches. I moved the TV to the end wall to fix this problem. To mount it I made a backing board out of plywood to fasten in between the cabinet's aluminum framing using pocket screw method. Once I did the TV, i decided to add a couple more supports between 2 other cabinets so I could install a clothing rail for racing suits.

I included a pic of the size of self-taping sheet metal screws I used for the pocket holes; they worked perfect. A normal wood pocket screw is also in the pic for comparison. I did also add another main (larger) screw thru cabinet frame into wall stud just to beef it up a bit more

Opening up the trailer after winter hibernation and I was greeted to a very tiny bit of water hanging from 2 spots on the rear cross member (the aluminum 2"x? tube over the rear ramp door opening). I noticed it was coming out some small holes about 3" up on the tube (meaning: not coming from behind/above the ceiling panel)...realized that the tube was probably full of water. Drilled 2 drain holes on the bottom of the cross member and at least a gallon of water came out. Haha.

Took a quick look at the roof. The factory seam seal generally looks fine, but will seal a couple spots and loading lights / license plate light / etc...as they look a bit poorly done Just curious if any of you have heard of this type of issue and had a specific item to look at.

Water could have been collecting since 2 winters ago for all I know (bought in April 2016, so this is my second winter). I did have it parked a bit nose-high this year.