Tools you need on the road: Craftsman 450-Piece Tool Set: amzn.to/4aCPhU2

Truest statement ever uttered by every single RV owner at one point or another...."This is gonna suck".

@confermotorsports9101

2 жыл бұрын

In the military when we had those thoughts we would say, "Just embrace the Suck!"

Normally you would get someone asking if you need help unless you're taking the underbelly down then it's like, just keep waking don't make eye contact.

Thank you so much for taking the time to film, comment, and post this very helpful video! I am so fortunate to have found this episode as I am going through the exact same ordeal right now. A couple of differences however: my OEM underbelly is made of steel. It is such a pain to work with that I am in the process of pulling the whole thing down, tossing it out, along with all the Fiberglass Pink insulation (which is mostly shot anyway because of all the water that has been absorbed over the years). As I am removing it, I am discovering multiple leaks, broken welds, and other issues that I want to address as well. I am replacing the steel underbelly with 4 x 8 sheets of Coroplast, and topping it with 1" foam board insulation and a layer or two of Reflectix. Removing the steel underbelly is impossible without using a portable grinder. Fortunately I have one and it makes pretty quick work of getting sections of steel off (although noisy as all get out, and pretty dangerous lying on my back with sparks flying all around me just 8" above my body). As you mentioned, age is a factor in this process. I am almost 74yrs old and I can tell you I wish I was about 40 years younger. Your video has been very encouraging for me, as I have asked myself the same questions as you, namely, "What have I gotten myself into?" I really appreciated that you could laugh about it. Thank you so much. I've SUBSCRIBED to your channel and will keep you posted with my progress.

Thank you for sharing the ups and downs of RV life.

THANK YOU guys for teaching us. You explain it all so clear and keeping it real. Please share more!

My second biggest fear! My first is the black tank valve breaking in the closed position and the tank is full.

Thank you Todd for sharing. Sometimes you just have to get in there and see what is going on. I’m not going to lie here, when you started taking out the underbelly covering and insulation I got a little nervous for you because sometimes things like this turn into a major ordeal. Lots of major sucking with this repair for sure. Happy you were able to get it all back together and hopefully after caulking it you won’t have anymore issues. Being 57 I know how you feel crawling around under your RV! It’s not as easy as it was at 37 when we had a spring in our step!

That’s an interesting tank set up. I have seen people change the soft insulation for the purple board thing in between the beams and use HVAC tape to hold it. And yes Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

Bless your heart Todd! It really was a dirty job. So glad that it didn’t seem to be anything more!

Something similar happened to us this February while staying in Florida. We found water leaking from bottom of camper. Hubby took all the underbelly water barrier and insulation down to see what going on. This winter he had put a netting in basement cubby to hold items on shelves. Well…the tip of two of the screws just barely poked through and when grey water tank filled it expands. Therefore we had two tiny puncture holes on the TOP of the grey tank. He very cleverly got access to the top of tank without dropping whole tank and sprayed layers of flex seal on holes. 🤞🏻 that does the trick. Luckily he is very good at coming up with unorthodox solutions. Hope all goes well for you going forward. Will pray for no more leaks.

@SwitchItUpLife

2 жыл бұрын

I swear to own an RV means becoming MacGyver!!

Looks like a huge job! Thanks for bringing us along!

Really enjoyed the honesty in this video!

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I am going to crawl under our trailer tomorrow to double check and make sure there aren't any gaps or holes in our underbelly.

Fortunetly no major damage!! Good job on you repair!!

Oh the joys of RV life and living Full-time on the road. Great Job Todd! Now praying that is the fix.

@SwitchItUpLife

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! Thank you!

RV tech time with Todd. Another awesome video. Thanks for sharing.

Great video! Thanks for the explanation on how the fresh water tanks are setup.

Great video! I just went through this myself and upgraded the insulation. I also double-insulated the underbelly. What a pain it was! I am now 100% sealed and insulated on the bottom.

Thank you very much for the video. We will be keeping an eye out.

Hope that takes care of your issues. Thank you for sharing.

Great DIY... So real. some things are just a pain to work on.

Finding out how cheap these trailers are made. Glad that I didn't buy brand new and found one that was practically new at half the price.I keep it covered all year. Now, I've had to replace my refrigerator and A/C so far. Now dealing with small water trickle leak. Im feeling like Tom Hanks in The money pit. Sum it up, I like how its advertised Made in USA on the outside.

Great information Todd! Our friends have a Grand Design Imagine and I will be sharing this with them. Again, great video and Harold was right, there is always a silver lining! Love ya my friend!

Legend of soggy bottom! Went through this six years ago. Like the caulking idea!

You did a good job on this video. Caulking here I come.

I have heard others have the same problem with water coming in from the wheels and filling the belly. It’s happened on a few of the GD Solitude 390RK so It’s quite possible that was the issue. I will be caulking ours before we head out. Thanks for the tip.

Great video on the water issue. Hope everything stayed dry. Great idea with the caulking around the edge. Might help to put some extra self taping screws along the trim pieces. Switch it Up!!

Well ya gotta do what ya gotta do to keep the journey going My Dad would said if it didn't kill ya it made you stronger ...in this case smarter. Im heading of to school to become a Teck in October....so I have great adventures to look forward to. Can't be worse than tearing apart farm equipment or tractors back on the farm. Or fixing and maintaining the big trucks we owned.....great Job Todd‼️

I have to do this to my 5 th wheel cougar but it not as bad as your job. So watching your video gave me some hope that it isn't as bad. You help me gave me ambition to fix my little leak.

Sorry you went through this during the T-Huddle, I was thinking of removing my low profile creeper as I have never used it in the past 2-years. As of now I going to keep it in my tool compartment. For another year. I hope you truly did find the problem. The Mysterys of the RV Life.

SO now I'm going to associate Christmas with crawling under the RV looking for leaks, LOL. Thanks Bruce Willis RV Guy.

@rvfamilylife

2 жыл бұрын

Harold with the dad jokes

Bless you and thank you for sharing.

YIKES - It’s a good thing you’re so handy Todd! cheers from KC. ~lisa b.

Thank you for the information

Hopefully that’s all it was 🙏🏽 this was definitely a good food for thought video for the future. 🤙🏽🌺

Thanks for the video. Let your wife know you’re talking to an Amsterdam girl now! Haha! My Toy Hauler leaks water. I cleaned my water heater and checked everything inside. So tomorrow I will be like you, but with a smile on my face after watching your video. But because I shut down the “City” water, I’m using the fresh water tank (and water pump). Because now there is no leak!!!

That looked painful. Way to gut through it! Harold was epic.

Wow, an incredibly valuable thought process. Thanks tons for sharing your experience! Question: did you smooth the bead down or just leave the bead of caulk as it came out? Very valuable content! 😘🖖🏻👍🏻🙏🏻

Getting Deja Vu from this video, just recently saw the Hanks going thru the same thing. They actually had a leak in one of their tanks though. Hopefully it was rain, and this fixes the problem!

Welcome to Grand Design RV ownership, we went thru the exact issue with our Momentum. Of course our underbelly was comprised from the first month of ownership, since Grand Design saw fit to glue our rear dump valve shut at the factory...yeah they really don't test at all at the factory. What good is insulation if it's soaked. We will never consider another Grand Design, going back to Keystone.

Nice job hope it works. I see your rig at the oasis where we are staying.

Great job! Any updates on whether successful or not?

Todd, just had the same thing happen on my Sabre. Hot water tank inlet broke and flooded the underbelly. I dropped the whole thing and bought new on Amazon. Got some good insulation at Home Depot and replaced that cheap thin stuff. Lotta work and hope I NEVER have to do it again! No

Man that sucks! Good info but what a pain to go through.

Hey Todd,just an FYI also check the check valve on your water heater GD uses plastic from the factory ours cracked it was on my list of to dos and waited to long. Try to find one in Quartzsite got lucky.

Great information.

Our first underbelly water leak thankfully was just a loose hose clamp on our grey water tank. Nothing worse than seeing water drip from your underbelly!!

Oh man, I’ve got a leak in the same spot on my Momentum 395M. Thanks for the sneak preview. I’ll be fixing mine this week. Great video!

@buckakin8021

7 ай бұрын

I just drove through a rain storm and had the same thing happen. I pulled the underbelly and found evidence of the water spray from tire getting in over the top of the frame, not the bottom where the chloroplast is screwed on. I can easily push the black underpayment up about a 1/4” off of the frame rail. I will be caulking the top and hopefully that will help. Just FYI. Thanks and safe travels.

thanks good luck

We are getting ready to drop our underbelly. We have a 397TH & having problems filling water tanks. Hubby bought a gauge to tell how many gallons we are filling & get about 70 in then water comes out the overflow. Wait 1/2 hr & can put in about 30 more, wait some more then add a little more. Never have been able to put in the 157 gallons we are supposed to have. Wish us luck!

We just went through a rain storm for about 6 hrs. and had the same thing happen. When I dropped the under belly I found evidence of water coming in from ABOVE THE FRAME RAILS. I can push the underpayment up easily with my hand to create a 1/4” gap. I will be caulking the top of the frame rails and see if that solves the problem. Thanks for the video. I wish I would have found it when you posted it. Lol

This is why I made a converted cargo trailer, I know what I have and how it works. Trailers are made to break down even right off the sales lot.

It's a mystery, hope your caulking solves it but was quite informative video.

Going through our second incident with our Solitude 380FLR. Second time we have traveled home in the rain in two years owning our rig and both times experiencing water in the underbelly. Supposedly fixed by the dealership the first time and here we are again. Poor workmanship by Grand Design.

Grand Design seems to have some serious quality problems. This is probably the 5th or 6th video I have seen on GD water leaks in the underbelly. Good luck on total resolution.

A lot of work to find nothing but you still needed to changeout the wet insulation! Fortunate you were on a concrete pad too!

That was interesting thanks for the video,lot of RV'rs wouldn't attempt the repair....sheila owes you now,that's a $350 service call you saved harley rvbroke

Yep it can be a dirty nasty job, you just never know what’s above that membrane lol. Currently troubleshooting a leak on a rig that is completely spray foamed underneath. Fun times

Super helpful video. Did that fix the issue once you sealed everything up?

@SwitchItUpLife

6 ай бұрын

Yes - have not had the issue again….thankfully!

Those units seem to have the same problem , 1, they get bought , just kidding , but the shower mixer valves abd the " over pressure " vacume " breaker piece behind the panel in the cabinet. Good luck . I should watch the whole vid before commenting because its already fixed . Safe travels

Oh boy.. My last 5th wheel had a leak and I just couldn't take the underbelly off easily so I ended up cutting it in large sections and added metal strips across - actually I think it made the underbelly much much stiffer and if I needed to get access again, it was a smaller panel to remove. I felt you pain. not fun at all. Good job putting it all back together!

@SwitchItUpLife

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you

Todd, need a couple of 15year olds for crawling around under their. Us old guys tend to hurt for three days after doing a job like that. Also Todd since you are already there I would wrap your pex pipes, check all fitting for loose claps, and use foam board insulation and batt fill. You can probly get the rating up to R40+. Also by the axles and tire you can get what is call fender whiskers, if you look on semi trucks and trailers where the tires are by the wheel wells trucking companies put those there and it helps control the road spray so the rain runs straight down towards the ground. Something to think about. By placing them on the inside of the wheel well it might help control that water. I just moved two yards of compost and now I need a day off with massage therapy to fix the back. Hope this fixed everything and you dont have to crawl again. Safe travels and roads Brian and Cindy, "xtreambydesign with passion"

Just watched your video. I am currently out in my trailer as I wrote this and have water in my undercarriage in my 2021 395ms-r. Not looking good for me.

Bummer! It seems like a major undertaking and you conquered!!! Keep on keeping on

I don’t know if anyone else had this before. My Travel Trailer Apex RBS265 was parked for 4 month. No water in any of the tanks. Pulled it to the front yard to get ready for a weekend trip. Notice water running out at different spots from the Underbelly. I can only think that somehow rain water pooled down there. Inside the trailer was/is no sign of leakage at all. Not sure how it would all pool on the Underbelly. Any ideas??? Thanks for the great video, had to smile a few times, however felt bad fir you.

That large diameter ribbed line on the top of the tanks is the vent line for the tanks. It is not meant to supply water. You can tell by the type of connector and fitting used. If you fill too fast you can force water in it.The tanks fill and equalize through the blue pex lines. The trick to filling the dual tanks on the Momentums is too fill very slowly so both tanks equalize through the little line on the bottom. If you fill too fast the main tank will fill way before the 2nd.

Todd you should have put on the adventure hat you may have had more fun. that is a terrible chore been there.

After watching this, I’m not only gonna caulk my Grand Design Imagine underbelly, I’m also going to add some additional screws between the factory screws.

What is the average cost of getting it fixed by the "pro'" ?

Do you think this would have happened in Sheila's new Spacecraft? And had it happened would that nice aluminium sheeting and rigid foam been easier to deal with? PS...did Todd get his Class 1 driver's license yet?

What song is that in the beginning?!! I love it!

@SwitchItUpLife

3 ай бұрын

That’s our own intro song- it’s pretty catchy!

Hi from the EMAHIZERs!!!

Disappointed you didn't find something definitive. On a side note .. with this and the solar episodes bet Chad would be proud of ya! 🤞 the issue is resolved.

A man that laughs at his own jokes! ❤😂

I see lot problems with grand design rv

I bought a used older tt and had same issue, no leaks from plumbing, leak from road rain soaking the insulation in underbelly, so took out insulation, don't need it in my situation

Did you consider Zip tape?

Changing lanes

Oh boy, now hoping that water is just tunnelled water🤞🏼. So very weird not heard anybody else get that issue, so maybe theirs was caulked to begin with and yours got missed on assembly.(?) Well a minor issue that just happens to be back breaking work, tedious n awkward, but it’s a good thing nothing serious 👍🏼. Time for some snacks and a hike 😂. 🍻

Predictions: 1. It is probably not rain water. 2. you will be back under there again. Suggestion: check the shower drains

Your "extra curricular activities" don't look like much fun 😳... so sorry you have to deal with this but, thankful you are posting video so to help others some day! 👍🏻

The Hanks had a leak like this and it was the water tank had cracked. Check their video out. It may be helpful

@SpykersB

2 жыл бұрын

They watch the Hanks, in fact they met them.

you had concrete! i had sand and stickers!

! year update please, did the "leak" return or did you fix it?

@SwitchItUpLife

8 ай бұрын

All fixed!!

The undercarriage will be better after you put it back together. We had a leak and insurance covered it.

Where can I get a mat like you are laying on? I think I could get under there if I had one of those.😅😅😅

@SwitchItUpLife

2 ай бұрын

Hi Dawn! That is actually the bed pad that came with the bunk in our Momentum 😄 it has served many purposes just never used it for the kids to sleep on! RV life =multipurpose things 😉 thanks for watching!

Mine is just a constant drip under my toilet 😬I’m almost 60 and can’t get under there. But I’m scared 😱 and I can’t afford an rv tech. I did that a couple times went broke 😡

Die Hard IS a Christmas Movie!

You would think that manufacturers would use closed cell insulation that would not soak up all that water ‽

Die Hard is a Christmas movie, wikipedia never lies do they?

Yea I am learning something what not to do 😇just messing with you.

Thanks for making this video, as I revisited it after a water leak issue on my Grand Design Transcend. For me the water tank ended up falling out due to bad straps when at the campground. I do wish that RV manufacturers would adopt a hard plastic panel design so you can easily service your rig when needed, and not drop and entire underbelly to get to one thing.

Ouch

Why does Todd have a blow up mattress to go under the rig?

@SwitchItUpLife

2 жыл бұрын

Lol it's the "bear pad" that was in the loft for the kids to sleep on - he just repurposed it for his work space :-)

I think Chad did a video with the same problem

Die Hard is 100% a Christmas movie!

@TonyBenton0728

2 жыл бұрын

🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🤷🏼‍♀️🤔🫤😳

Well the million dollar question did the problem come back.

@SwitchItUpLife

2 ай бұрын

Nope. Crazy to go through all that to figure out the issue. We recently sold it and it never had an issue. I did continue to make sure the caulking was always good to prevent the issue in the future.

10:23 will be me tomorrow morning 😭😭😭

I think for me the worst part about dropping the underbelly is trying to get it lined up and screwed back up by myself.