Honey, There’s A Leak In The RV!
Mari
The other day, I was adjusting one of the floor mats on board the RV and felt a smidgeon of dampness… only to lift up the mat and see a big patch of moisture seeping around the carpet and kitchen units! Ugh.
It took us several minutes of searching with the flashlight around and under the sink area to trace the leak. Turns out it’s the hot water tank. Bummer.
We think the leak may have sprung in early December when we left the coach in Port Angeles and went to Vancouver Island for a week. Likely there was an overnight freeze, causing a burst and slow leak. Grrr 
Thing is, in late November, we’d left the coach in Spokane for about five days to go visit my mum in the Kootenays. But, we did heed the advice of the helpful manager at the Alderwood RV Resort to leave our hot water heater on. He convinced us it only used a minimal amount of LPG (propane).
However, at Elwah Dam RV Park, we decided instead to leave a small electrical heater running. Turns out a fuse blew or something and the heater didn’t stay on. Bummer.
$940 big bucks later, and we have a brand spanking new hot water tank installed, thanks to Dean at All Seasons Mobile RV Repair!
Yikes, we haven’t yet replaced the $1200 awning we lost on the Hood Canal Bridge.
"Is RVing expensive?" we ask ourselves. (People often ask us about the high cost of gas). Well, as I reminded Ty, these kinds of maintenance challenges would happen in a bricks ‘n’ sticks house too. Besides, we own our home on wheels free and clear so have no mortgage or rent.
Oh, speaking of dampness, another challenge we’ve had to deal with lately is condensation in back of the RV where our bed is located. We’re puzzled as to why this one part of our motorhome collects so much moisture - most likely it’s the cooler air outside and it collects during the night. I open the back window during the day, but we also found this great moisture absorbing product, DampRid.
If you have any other suggestions for keeping condensation to a minimum, let me know!
[Photos: Top L: overlooking Mission Bay - current view (if we crane our necks!) from our motorhome. Gorgeous sunny day yesterday. Top R: Mission Bay RV Park, taken over the holidays; there are fewer RVs now!
L: Ty and I met with his brother and wife, Andy and Kathleen, for breakfast the other day. A rare treat to visit with family!]
Meantime, this looks like it’ll be our last night at Mission Bay. We’re finally gearing up to move the coach in the morning… though we may leave her parked up somewhere safe for one more week while Ty attends more seminars and I hang out at a friend’s pad. I’ll keep you posted as always! Never a dull moment. 
Posted on: Friday, February 1, 2008 at 4:32 pm 
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Hi Mari -
Bummer about the water heater. I have a good comeback for you for the folks that ask about the high cost of gas. Remind them that you aren’t consuming any energy sources that are associated with a “bricks and sticks” house - your gas (and propane) are your only energy costs - therefore quite reasonable in comparison to conventional homes. You are actually leaving a smaller environmental footprint than people who own a home and 2 gas-guzzling cars!
Happy Super Bowl Sunday!
February 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 amHey Carol,
Thanks for stopping by. Yay, I know what you mean about the smaller environmental footprint. We’ve definitely simplified life and own less stuff now. And with just 270sqft to heat/cool, not 2600sqft!
February 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 pmDon and I used two products to reduce condensation, and so far so good: Rainex (outside) and anti-fog (inside). Also, check for leaks/broken seals in your window. I think you can get the above at Lowe’s, Kragen’s, etc.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:39 pm@Linda - thanks so much for the tips!! Hm, we were opening that back window, which is really the emergency exit, during the summer months last year… maybe we loosened the seal. Ooops.
February 9th, 2008 at 12:25 am