Sink Faucet and Drain in 2006 Trillium & etc

[Nichole Adams]

Hi, I'm new here... just bought a used 2006 Trillium the other day... our first travel trailer ever (we have only camped in tents up until now) and went on a quick overnight camping trip with it. We (my husband and I) like it, but we encountered a few problems that maybe you guys can help us with?

1. The sink hand pump faucet is unreliable. Sometimes it pumps water and sometimes it does not... I ended up having to tote dirty dishes home. How to fix? Should we just replace it? Maybe someone here knows a good, reliable replacement faucet that is not too expensive but will last a long time. Is investing in an electric pump a good option? It's only a 12 gallon tank I think?

2. The sink doesn't drain properly to the outside. We originally thought it was plugged, but it's not. It's the drain line that isn't positioned properly... my husband reached under through the dining storage area and shook it and it came pouring out, but later I guess it "sagged" back into the place where it won't drain again. It comes out when we pressured it with water from the garden hose, so we know it's not a plug. It's not leaking either. The line is really hard to get to because there is sharp fiberglass where the sink area meets the storage area underneath the bench.... hard to explain. Anyhow, how do we fix this so we can get reliable drainage? It's a black plastic flexible type hose running from the sink drain to the outside.

3. The other problem we have, is apparently the person before us stored their dirty laundry - it's that stinky, rotten sock smell - in the storage area opposite the sink under the dining bench.... it REALLY stinks. It's like they didn't wash their laundry for weeks!! I don't want to store my stuff in there unless the smell is gone. I sprayed a bunch of "odor neutralizer" air freshener but that didn't work. It's bare fiberglass down there, so what can I do to get rid of that disgusting smell?

4. We seemed to get a LOT of condensation underneath the cushion in the dining area between the cushion and the fiberglass bench. Is this a common problem? We don't think there is a leak, we have checked everything on the outside and our shell seems very sealed on every place where there is any thing mounted on the fiberglass, but there was a substantial amount of moisture. We did run the furnace as it was chilly last night. I don't want it to get gross and moldy under the the cushions, so what can I do to keep condensation from collecting?



~Nichole

[Harry Young]

Nichole, Welcome;

You can rebuild the pumps...I would however replace it...the new ones are cheap, also add a cheap 12v water pump in line to prime it, I push a button and the pump works with no cranking...I use the crank when the battery is dead only, also a plastic in line check valve placed just outside the water tank keeps the pump from losing its prime if the internal check valve leaks inside the pump. I use all three.

On the oder issue...Go to a janitorial supply, get a enzymatic odor eliminator, these products are living odor removal compounds that eat odor causing offenders digesting them to nothing making them inert. They are popular in commercial restrooms and hospitals.

On the bench seat sweating...Line the interior of the seat with the foil insulated bubble stuff, adhere it to the inside of the seats with silicone, or goop, I prefer aquarium grade silicone, spread the silicone evenly with a 1/4 trowel which you can make out of a plastic putty knife, place silver bubble insulation also against the outside wall of the trailer under the bench seats...they will not sweat...As one more precaution get the rubber mat stuff that bars use to keep cups on or the rubber like mat one throws on the floor underneath a troublesome carpet that makes it not slide on a floor, cut to size and place under the cushions.

Happy Camping, Safe Trails.

Harry

[Alf S.]

Hi: Nicole Adams... On the condensation issue you can install round vents in the fiberglass bench walls. Our former Boler had them in every cubby wall. They are avail at building supply stores and are used to vent eaves of houses. A round hole saw on the end of a drill in a matching dia. is all you need.
Air circulation is the culprit here. Trapped cold air, with a thin sheet of fiberglass between, hot moist interior air.
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie p.s. the dots near the floor are the 1" eave vents.

[Joy A]

With the fresh water I'd do 2 things.

1. I'd check and possibly change the entire water line. There could simply be something pressing on it.

2. I'd be enclined to change the pump. For a simple hand pump the Rocket pump is nice. It throws a lot of water with a little movement.

As far as the sink draining, it could be a trap under the sink or the drain line. I'd change the drain and take out the trap also change the drain line. If you are going to the outside it's not that long or big of a deal to change the line.

Odor, use some Fabreese.

[Weinel, Alan]

And, just to confirm, you are NOT dumping any water to the ground, right?

[Nichole Adams]

And, just to confirm, you are NOT dumping any water to the ground, right?

Only if there's no place to dump it. We catch it in a pail, although, since it's not draining I guess it's not going anywhere right now. When we camp we dump it where the campground asks (the last place we tented just said dump it at least 50m from any campsite). I don't see that I am going to have to do anything different than when I was tenting, the water will be the same, only in a sink instead of a jug and pail on a bench... We camp in bear country so we're careful about food and oils in our water anywhere near our campsite.

But I suspect with an RV, we'll have dump places more than not, since with tenting you can go backcountry, with an RV, not so much.

[Ruth C.]

Isn't a 2006 awfully new to be needing pump/drain/water line replacement? Maybe you could call Trillium and ask if the problem sounds familiar.

[Frederick L. Simson]

2. The sink doesn't drain properly to the outside.

We originally thought it was plugged, but it's not.

... my husband reached under through the dining storage area and shook it and it came pouring out, but later I guess it "sagged" back into the place where it won't drain again.

It's a black plastic[b] flexible type hose running from the sink drain to the outside.

If it were me, I'd replace the drain plumbing with Rigid plastic pipe. More difficult to install than the flex stuff, but works every time.

[Nichole Adams]

Isn't a 2006 awfully new to be needing pump/drain/water line replacement? Maybe you could call Trillium and ask if the problem sounds familiar.

I thought so too, but we are the third owners (as far as we know. We could be 4th or 5th. We're aware of at least 2 before us.) and we don't know what type of care it received before us. We don't know if it was winterized properly, and winters here can get to -50 C, and regularly go to -40C. So it's possible stuff was damaged if it wasn't looked after and had water sitting in it. And this faucet seems like a cheap piece of plastic junk....



We also are having problems with the top bunk coming loose (due to the previous owner removing it and stripping the screw holes), we called trillium and they said it's a lot of work to fix that... the block underneath the right hinge it is coming loose from the fiberglass wall so needs to be taken off and put adhesive that can bond wood to fiberglass. Anyone else have this problem? It's under the wall carpet, at least... so it's going to require some type of major surgery to get this fixed.

And today it was raining and.... the roof around the fantastic fan is leaking. Another easy fix though, my hubby can seal that (there's a small hole in the seal we found on the roof). The solar panel mount is also not sealed (but will be sealed shortly.) Anyways, we've just been discovering several things that need fixed. Most of them extremely minor that we already have the materials for (as we have just done a ton of reno on our house so we have a lot of screws and caulking and everything else around!).... it just seems like they ignored the little stuff that is so easily fixable... I mean who ignores a leaking ceiling that you can fix in 5 minutes flat?

I'm just glad we are relatively handy over here...

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice... we are researching insulation and vent options for the bench now.... Thinking of insulating the bottom of the storage area AND putting a vent near the top... and pricing rocket hand pumps, they seem very affordable. I am definitely going to try that enzyme odor remover stuff if I can find some... you guys are a huge help!!

[Weinel, Alan]

Just be careful - it is generally illegal to dump "gray water" on the ground. ALTHOUGH, when we tented, we all ALWAYS tossed the soapy dish water and wash basin water out in the bushes. BUT if it is a TRAILER doing it, it becomes illegal. Go figger. It is the SAME THING.

Only if there's no place to dump it. We catch it in a pail, although, since it's not draining I guess it's not going anywhere right now. When we camp we dump it where the campground asks (the last place we tented just said dump it at least 50m from any campsite). I don't see that I am going to have to do anything different than when I was tenting, the water will be the same, only in a sink instead of a jug and pail on a bench... We camp in bear country so we're careful about food and oils in our water anywhere near our campsite.

But I suspect with an RV, we'll have dump places more than not, since with tenting you can go backcountry, with an RV, not so much.