Do you turn your water off every time you leave your rig? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Do you turn your water off every time you leave your rig?

Jeffmarl · RV-Dreams Community Member

We do shut our water off when we are leaving. I put a Y on so its just a matter of closing the ball valve. Yea its something else to do but after leaving a few years ago and coming home to water running out of the basement because the toilet continued to run. The bottom slide on the toilet closed like its supposed to but the water[Clean] kept running inthe bowl and overflowed. Glad we were only gone a short time and not much water in the basement. After that incident I just figured its really easy insurance to make sure no running water in rig while were gone.

2riker2go · RV-Dreams Family Member

We do also. Harry made some kind of adaptation in the docking center so he has a convenient shut off point in there. We just feel better knowing the water is off and we can't have any accidents while we're gone.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

I turn the water off when we will be gone all day or longer. Not for runs to the store or out to dinner, etc. But certainly if we are going to be gone overnight, etc.

Just remember, there are a lot of "RV grade" (that's the polite way of saying junk) plastic water fittings in a lot of RVs. While RV's may use fittings rated to 100 psi that doesn't mean they were installed properly. Same could be said of a house. But I often say an RV is not a house and the house doesn't experience a level 9 earthquake as an RV does on some roads - including interstate highways.

To each their own but I've come back, albeit well over 40 years ago, to a trailer with water coming out of the basement due to a failed fitting. I determined not to have that happen again. And remember, a quality water pressure regulator is not a luxury. Not one of those $9 wonders from camping world. That's extremely important as to protecting the rig's plumbing.

Second Chance · RV-Dreams Family Member

We do as Bill and Linda do - turn it off if we're going to be gone overnight or longer. For short runs like grocery shopping today, I don't bother. Same goes for the water pump if we're using the on-board tank (although it's easier to turn off the water pump than the outside water, so sometimes I turn it off for day trips, too).

Rob

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jeffmarl wrote:
We do shut our water off when we are leaving. I put a Y on so its just a matter of closing the ball valve. Yea its something else to do but after leaving a few years ago and coming home to water running out of the basement because the toilet continued to run. The bottom slide on the toilet closed like its supposed to but the water[Clean] kept running in the bowl and overflowed. Glad we were only gone a short time and not much water in the basement. After that incident I just figured its really easy insurance to make sure no running water in rig while were gone.

Jeff's post (I assume it was you Jeff) reminded me of something to share. It has been my experience that RV toilets are well known for leaking water into the bowl. This can be a real problem if you don't have the parts to fix the issue and are out in the middle of nowhere. (Ask me how I know this.) If you don't have a water supply shut off valve right at the toilet then I recommend installing one. While turning this on and off every time the toilet is used can be an annoyance, its a lot less trouble then having to turn water off the entire rig or at a manifold each time so the bowl doesn't overflow.

We had a valve fail in the toilet while we were up in the Canadian Northwest Territories. Funny, few RV supply stores in Inuvik, NWT. I got real proficient at removing the toilet to clean and rebuild the valve over about a month.

igotjam · RV-Dreams Family Member

We turn it off every time we leave. In 10 years the water valve on 3 different toilets has failed overflowing the bowl...Luckily all 3 times we were in our trailer. 1st time it failed was in our 2 month old Elite Suite so age of toilet doesn't matter.

CJSX2fromCT · RV-Dreams Family Member

"If you don't have a water supply shut off valve right at the toilet then I recommend installing one"

I put in a 12v valve, ran the wires up through to a switch, I don't turn the water off at the source. Someone awhile back on here posted the valve.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We turn off our water anytime we leave the property where the RV is located. On two different occasions, we have had a PEX fitting fail; once on the toilet feed line right at the toilet and once on the back side of the shower valve. The toilet one occurred with city water and a pressure regulator on the water line. The shower fitting failed while on 12V and the fresh water tank.

In both cases, I happened to be up and awake and heard the sound of running water, so we were lucky.

We've been full-time in our Mobile Suites now for over 5 1/2 years and haven't had the toilet overflow yet. However, we have had issues with the spring cartridge a couple of times and just recently, a small break on the foot pedal caused us to be unable to open the flush valve fully.

Terry

LarryW21 · RV-Dreams Family Member

You bet. Every time. Part of my "going to town" checklist.

TheNewhalls · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't turn the water off when we leave for the day, and as of yet have not had any problems. After reading about all the problems on this thread I think I'll have to reconsider and try to learn a new habit.

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

CJSX2fromCT wrote:
"If you don't have a water supply shut off valve right at the toilet then I recommend installing one"

I put in a 12v valve, ran the wires up through to a switch, I don't turn the water off at the source. Someone awhile back on here posted the valve.

That is a great idea!

CJSX2fromCT · RV-Dreams Family Member

"We've been full-time in our Mobile Suites now for over 5 1/2 years and haven't had the toilet overflow yet."

"I don't turn the water off when we leave for the day, and as of yet have not had any problems."

The "key" word to those 2 statements is..... YET...Why wait for it to happen when you can eliminate it form happening?

Jeffmarl · RV-Dreams Community Member

Yes, we replaced the Thetford toilet shortly after the water incident.We had problems with it before and I was never satisfied the way it worked. We replaced with a Dometic and like the way it works much better,also installed a shutoff at the toilet

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

In the good to know about all this department concerning toilets leaking and other potential plumbing leak issues including hot water heaters, etc.:

Some leaks in certain types, according to the toilet manufacture, are caused by hard water. (Ask me how we confirmed this.) We went to a portable water softener and many, many of these types of issues vanished. Actually they all did.

We've found that most of the US and Canada has hard water according the to hard water tester strips. So we test the water each move and use the water softener most all the time. Remember, water filters alone don't really deal with "hard water" and the minerals that cause the issues.

There is a good thread on this hard water subject someplace in this forum for those interested along with comments from our resident chemist as I recall.

Bill

TheNewhalls · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill and Linda wrote:
I turn the water off when we will be gone all day or longer. Not for runs to the store or out to dinner, etc. But certainly if we are going to be gone overnight, etc.

If you're concerned about a failure why wouldn't you turn it off every time you leave? If the wrong part failed you could suffer substantial damage in a couple of ours.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

TheNewhalls wrote:
Bill and Linda wrote:
I turn the water off when we will be gone all day or longer. Not for runs to the store or out to dinner, etc. But certainly if we are going to be gone overnight, etc.
If you're concerned about a failure why wouldn't you turn it off every time you leave? If the wrong part failed you could suffer substantial damage in a couple of ours.

Fair question and point: Because I'm not overly concerned about a complete failure of a fitting inside the rig that could create a open pipe spilling water. The odds of this happening with a quality water pressure regulator are pretty small. Especially once I had experience with a specific rig and more or less verified the pressure integrity of the rig's plumbing. I do that regularly, BTW, noting my comment about how much shaking force an RV takes over the road. I'm much more concerned about a relatively small leak, like from the toilet, that over time could make a real mess. I base all this on some 40+ years of RVing experience but that's just my opinion based on that experience.

That said, there is certainly no reason one can't turn off the water anytime the rig is left. I just don't find that necessary.

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

I liked the idea of installing an Electric shut off valve. I did a search and couldn't find the old post that gave a part number or manufacturer. I replaced my RV hot water heater with a Truma AquaGo. As a result of this, I have the "Hot Water Electric" switch available and connected to the same 120V wires (that were terminated when the AquaGo was installed) all right there. So I could repurpose that to be an "away" water shut off valve. All I need is an appropriate valve. Anyone have any suggestions?

Cummins12V98 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Im built over 100 Dental clinics in my Career. I almost insisted in adding an Asco 110V water solenoid on the main line coming into the Clinic. Many horror stories of lines breaking and flooding their space or others below or next to them. I may look into something like this. Or I can just turn the ball valve outside at my lot.

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Rob_Fla · RV-Dreams Family Member

I probably should turn the water off every time I leave but I do not if I am just going out for a short time like to dinner or to the store.

I do turn off the water if I leave the rig overnight or longer.

Guess I have been fortunate, been fulltime for over 5 years and RVing for over 40 years and never had a water line rupture or toilet overflow.
(I have seen it happen to others though)

Camper Chronicles · RV-Dreams Family Member

We don't turn off the water but we should. Once Lee was away from the rig and I was on a work trip and I got a call from the campground that water was pouring out of our rig. The toilet was stuck and had overflowed and we had water everywhere. It took forever to dry the carpets out. Now we definitely turn it off when we are gone for long periods, but truly should do it every time.

Trace

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill and Linda wrote:
TheNewhalls wrote:
Bill and Linda wrote:
I turn the water off when we will be gone all day or longer. Not for runs to the store or out to dinner, etc. But certainly if we are going to be gone overnight, etc.
If you're concerned about a failure why wouldn't you turn it off every time you leave? If the wrong part failed you could suffer substantial damage in a couple of ours.
Fair question and point: Because I'm not overly concerned about a complete failure of a fitting inside the rig that could create a open pipe spilling water. The odds of this happening with a quality water pressure regulator are pretty small. Especially once I had experience with a specific rig and more or less verified the pressure integrity of the rig's plumbing. I do that regularly, BTW, noting my comment about how much shaking force an RV takes over the road. I'm much more concerned about a relatively small leak, like from the toilet, that over time could make a real mess. I base all this on some 40+ years of RVing experience but that's just my opinion based on that experience.
That said, there is certainly no reason one can't turn off the water anytime the rig is left. I just don't find that necessary.

Bill,

With regards to the above in bold and underlined, one of our "blown" fittings occurred with a Watts 263A installed and set for under 60 psi. Granted, it may be pretty rare, but we averted a disaster by being at home and hearing the sound of the gushing water.

Terry

pkhalin · RV-Dreams Family Member

For the most part, we shut ours off when we leave the rig. It's the rare occasion when we don't. It's just not that much of an effort to do it.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry and Jo wrote:
Bill and Linda wrote:
TheNewhalls wrote:
Bill and Linda wrote:
I turn the water off when we will be gone all day or longer. Not for runs to the store or out to dinner, etc. But certainly if we are going to be gone overnight, etc.
If you're concerned about a failure why wouldn't you turn it off every time you leave? If the wrong part failed you could suffer substantial damage in a couple of ours.
Fair question and point: Because I'm not overly concerned about a complete failure of a fitting inside the rig that could create a open pipe spilling water. The odds of this happening with a quality water pressure regulator are pretty small. Especially once I had experience with a specific rig and more or less verified the pressure integrity of the rig's plumbing. I do that regularly, BTW, noting my comment about how much shaking force an RV takes over the road. I'm much more concerned about a relatively small leak, like from the toilet, that over time could make a real mess. I base all this on some 40+ years of RVing experience but that's just my opinion based on that experience.
That said, there is certainly no reason one can't turn off the water anytime the rig is left. I just don't find that necessary.

Bill,
With regards to the above in bold and underlined, one of our "blown" fittings occurred with a Watts 263A installed and set for under 60 psi. Granted, it may be pretty rare, but we averted a disaster by being at home and hearing the sound of the gushing water.
Terry

Terry, true enough point. It can happen. So the very best way is to always turn it off at the bib or the suggested 12 volt controlled water valve. A choice we all make, either actively or passively, but a choice nonetheless. As we both have learned, these are not houses.

Bill and Jodee · RV-Dreams Family Member

We're in the "don't anymore, but should". Since we got the good pressure regulator we've stopped the practice even though the damage from a leak while we're gone all day would be much worse than just walking back to turn off and on. Might have to add this to the list of resolutions

Jodee

Lynn and Ed · RV-Dreams Family Member

We turn off the water at the bib (and make sure the water heater is turned off), when we are away from the campground. A couple of simple steps that will avoid possible issues.

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Lots of great responses, so thanks to everyone for the input. This has also got me thinking ... if the water is turned off at the bib, and your pressure regulator is reading 50 psi ... when you return home, if the pressure regulator is still reading 50 psi this is a great indication of "no leaks" ... if the pressure reading has dropped, that suggests a leak somewhere. Small drop in pressure, small leak ... if the pressure has gone to zero, then a bigger leak is indicated. I had never thought of the value of this "test" until I began to think about shutting off the water every time we leave. I guess this just points out that everyday is a learning experience.

Howard · Host

It's certainly not a bad idea. Practically, we don't turn our water off every time we leave the rig, but do if we are going to be gone overnight or for multiple days. The odds of a failure don't change, but the potential damage can be quite different. Whenever we do turn it off, we drain the lines so there is no pressure on any fitting while we are gone.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the existence of cats in an RV. We know that sometimes they will jump up on a counter and accidentally turn on a faucet. So, if I had cats, I'd be more likely to turn off the water (and even the water pump if not hooked up) when leaving. :)

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

RonC wrote:
Lots of great responses, so thanks to everyone for the input. This has also got me thinking ... if the water is turned off at the bib, and your pressure regulator is reading 50 psi ... when you return home, if the pressure regulator is still reading 50 psi this is a great indication of "no leaks" ... if the pressure reading has dropped, that suggests a leak somewhere. Small drop in pressure, small leak ... if the pressure has gone to zero, then a bigger leak is indicated. I had never thought of the value of this "test" until I began to think about shutting off the water every time we leave. I guess this just points out that everyday is a learning experience.

Ron: A minor "It depends." The water pressure in the rig can vary a bit depending on the temperature of the hot water. When the water heater water temperature goes down a bit that will actually reduce the pressure in the water lines. (It's that big hot water tank with the air bubble that causes this.) Pressure can actually go up when the temperature in the tank rises if a faucet was opened and then closed when the water temperature was low. What I am saying is be a bit careful about any pressure variations when the water at the bib is off. Not saying the pressure gauge can't give you some data, just that the data might be skewed.

IMO, the easiest way to check the integrity of the water system - basic quick type check - is to turn off the bib supply and turn on your water pump using water from the on-board fresh water tank. Once pressure reaches cut off for the pump ~45 psi - maybe a bit more - if the pump doesn't run again for a bit of time it is a good indication there are no leaks.

Arguably this is not fail-safe but it has served me pretty well over many years for a basic check of the water system. An easy trick which might be of help sometime. Especially right after de-winterization. FWIW

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill ... good point on the hot water tank. In my case, I have a Truma AquaGo, so no tank for me. I was aware of running the rig off the on board freshwater tank and pump. If it cycles, there is a leak somewhere. Just thinking about all this makes me a more aware RVer.

SamK · RV-Dreams Community Member

It also helps to prevent wastage. You can imagine leaving your taps running for a whole week. That's too much water going to waste. I always turn my water off whenever I'm going out.