The Water System In Our RV Was Damaged By Cold Temperatures, We Have Leaks Everywhere, What Can We Do?

by Nancy
(Newport, Arkansas)

My water pump that is connected to the water tank froze and burst, now that I am trying to connect to city water, it floods my Midas. Is there not a way to bypass the water tank all together and Water pump to provide water to the Midas?

ANSWER Greetings Nancy thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

I am sorry you are going through this. What you need to do if you have not done so already is go to the compartment in your RV where you have hooked up your city water connection and see if there is a valve marked Tank Fill and City Water, make sure that the valve is in the city water position.

If you still have leaks after switching the water valve to city water, then I am afraid that you have other water pipes that have been damaged by freezing temperatures. The only thing I can suggest is taking your RV to an RV repair shop and have them repair the damage.

Once your RV plumbing is repaired you are going to have to make sure that you winterize your RV every winter to prevent similar damage. Winterizing is not as complicated as it sounds, but when properly done it can prevent hundreds of dollars of damage to your RV's water system. It basically involves

using RV Antifreeze to keep the water in your RV from freezing and bursting pipes. It is also recommended that you install a Water Heater Bypass Kit that allows you to drain and bypass your water heater and keep it from freezing and bursting.

We have a great article on our website called Winterizing Your Motorhome that verbally walks you through the winterizing process. One thing you need to realize is that winterizing your RV involves a lot more than the water system. If you are more a visual person (like I am), I would suggest that you purchase and instantly download Winterizing and Storing your RV by RV expert Mark Polk.

Winterizing and Storing your RV:  Winterizing the RV protects the RVs water system, but what about the tires, batteries, generator, chassis storage, coach storage and other components that can be damaged if they are not properly prepared for short or long term storage? You will see detailed step by step instructions on how to properly winterize and store your RV.

We also have a lot more instant download videos by RV Expert Mark Polk on our RV Education Videos Page.

Hopefully all of the information above will be helpful in preventing you from having to go through this problem again. I hope that the repairs do not end up costing you a lot.

Happy RVing

RVing Al