Oh that smell

[Dennis Belfils]

We have been fighting a gray tank smell in our rig since shortly after purchasing from the original owner nearly 3 years ago. The stink was most noticed in the morning & sometimes while driving down the road. We tried everything, upgraded vents under cabinets made sure the washer/dryer trap was full, insuring a window was open while using the Fantastic Vents etc. The only thing that helped was to pour a small amount of bleach down all the drains on a weekly basis.

Then someone noticed that there was water leaking outside in the wet bay, which just happened to be open that day. Turned out to be dripping while using the shower, which in our case was directly above the wet bay.
Removed a stainless steel panel on the front of the shower tub that was covering a 6" hole for access the shower drain /water lines. Found the metal down pipe/tub connection attached to the ABS P Trap was rusted out & broken.
It gets better. For clearance of the P Trap, the top portion of subflooring was cut away, and since there is another flooring beneath the aluminum joists, it formed a cavity in which insulation was stuffed into. This cavity was water tight forming a pool just below the pipe/trap that had been leaking for a very long time. The overstuffed insulation formed a wick which brought some of the pool water out where it would eventually leak out behind the wet bay between the holding tanks where it would never be noticed.
So after removing the very bad smelling insulation & vacuuming out nearly 2 gallons of the most foul, rancid water you could imagine, the down pipe was replaced.
We were concerned as to why the pipe had rusted out so badly. They usually last much longer, unless subjected to harsh conditions such as high humidity/wetness. Come to find out, one of the abs drain fittings was never glued at time of assembly. This fitting leaked & we think it set up the conditions for the piping to corrode prematurely.

The problem now is that the abs fitting cannot be properly accessed without major surgery from underneath or removing refrigerator & creating a new access. Was able to apply some Flex Tape to the bottom of the pipe & stop the leak until a more permanent repair can be made.
Since the removal, repair & drying out, no more smell...………..

Sorry for being so long-winded about this, but wanted to detail the episode & encourage others, especially those with our vintage/model Beaver, to inspect under the shower, as, where water flows, leaks can occur.

I hope this is an isolated assembly miss.

[Jerry Carr]

Dennis we did own a 06 Thunder and also had issues with the ABS pipe fittings falling apart, The 06 year came from the Coburg, OR plant  at the facility they produced for both American and Canada but regulations in Canada prevented them from using the blue cement that we use here in the USA. The yellow glue was really bad stuff I was told by Ken at BCS & Service that Monaco had lots of problems trying to make Canada happy at the detriment to US customers.
 

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dennis,
Unglued ABS fittings apparently are fairly common. A couple of years ago I found one on the shower drain of a brand new Allegro Bus that was parked next to me (and dripping). Luckily I was able to access it.
A photo would help to better understand your problem with accessing the ftting.
Steve

[Dennis Belfils]

Steve, here are a couple of photos. The connection in question is downstream of the P Trap & after a 90 then into a Y that vents up & goes down to the tank. It is just at the end of grasp. I also suspect it was done that way as gluing it after installing the shower may not have been possible. Also, the 4" pipe glued in place to support the shower floor is right up next to the drain pipe. Right now it looks like the only way to properly access the fitting & check the others, is to remove the refrigerator & cut an opening near the hot/cold supply lines.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Dennis,
If you remove the panel that the pipe goes through, will that give you enough access? If the pipe going into the Y is not glued, with the panel removed, you might have enough clearance to remove the complete section from just after the P trap. Then add glue and reinstall with a sleeve at the p trap end. Replace the  panel with 2 sections around the pipe. Another option would be to join the pipes at the P trap with a flexible splice and hose clamps. If you choose this option you will want to add a support strap to the pipe going to the drain.
Just some ideas...
Steve

[Dennis Belfils]

These  pictures are abit miss-leading. None of the pipes go thru any panel. From the trap, the drain goes approx. 8", then 90's to the y branch, then 90's again back, then down to the gray tank. The only way to access from below would be to disassemble the wet bay & water manifold to cut the lower plywood then the subflooring. But we are still open to any ideas. Thanx

[Fred Brooks]

    Dennis, Remove the floor support if it is with in arms reach. Remove the cover under the p-trap. Remove the p-trap and then you should have room to get your hand in there. Use a  vibrating cutting tool to cut the abs or a sazall to cut the abs piping to get to the wye that needs glue or replacement. Use "no hub" connectors to reassemble. I am sorry it is a serious challange, but try to soldier on and you will enjoy the results. Hope this helps, Fred

[Dennis Belfils]

Thanks Fred. I appreciate all the input here. Unfortunately the panel under the trap is part of the flooring accessible only by disassembling the wet bay panel & water distribution manifold. Then we are not quite sure just how reachable the fitting would be after cutting the flooring due to water lines & angle. Still haven't given up on any ideas presented here, but thinking it will be easiest to remove refer & cut some new accesses. have been able to stop the leaking for now, but it is slow to dry out. Thanks again

[Joel Ashley]

I see what Dennis is getting at.  His floor plan must be similar to the one for the 2005 Montclaire, as per the brochure pg. 19 in our Coach Assist section.  Access is difficult for sure;  there’s probably little more via the pantry (to remove or cut out that shower-side interior panel) than via the shower stall port. 

On our ‘06 Ventura, the trap goes to ABS that leads through the wall to behind the adjoining slide-out pantry, under the stove, where there is a riser to an odor-block valve (keeps tank emptying operations from sucking traps dry). An adjoining cabinet to the shower is the only place there is height enough for such a valve.  That was the only such valve in my coach that I couldn’t find until relatively recently when I inadvertently spotted it in the back of the pantry cabinetry.

Unless the pantry mechanism (I assume it’s a slideout like ours) can be removed and provide enough access, taking the fridge out may be the only option.  His commentary doesn’t mention a pantry, so the floor design may be different than the ‘05 brochure, or a larger fridge installed. Coming at it via the water bay may entail more work overall.

Joel

[Fred Cook]

After buying our coach a couple years ago, I noticed water on the back tires after taking a shower. Yep... cracked p-trap. The shower butts up on the reverse side of the bedroom wall. So... I had to take down the bedroom wall to access the trap. Even then, I was only able to get one arm in there to take it out and put the new one in. It was a real bear and time consuming. I replaced the wall panel, made a small cutout in the panel, and covered it with a vent cover for easy access in the future without having to take down the wall again.