David Pratt

If Your RV Water Pump is Pulsing? Fix It! Your RV water pump is a fantastic thing! It allows water to flow through your rig’s plumbing no matter where you are. This provides all the water-related creature comforts of home in your RV, even if you’re camped in the middle of the woods, the desert, or on the beach. But, if your RV water pump is pulsing, it can not only interfere with your enjoyment of a nice hot shower but can also mean that there’s a problem in your rig’s plumbing system. And that problem, with the water flow pulsing up and down with the cycling of the pump, can mean a very unpleasant experience… especially in the shower. That lull and surge can cause the temperature of the water to fluctuate… sometimes QUITE severely! And no one wants THAT! So, let’s take a look at what a pulsing RV water pump can indicate, and how to fix it! Why Does My RV Water Pump Pulse? Your RV’s water pump is designed to only run while the plumbing is in use. This means that you should only hear your water pump if you’re currently running the water somewhere in your RV…in a sink, an indoor or outdoor shower, the toilet, the ice maker, etc. When you’re not hooked up to a pressurized source of “city” water, your water pump is the only reason water reaches your faucets. But again, it only runs while it’s actually making that delivery. The moment you turn off all faucets, you should no longer hear your water pump running. This is important to remember because it can help you to detect and diagnose an issue with your plumbing system, should one occur, including a water leak. So, when you run the water somewhere in your RV, you’ll hear the water pump come on. It’s essentially compensating for the drop of pressure in the system. The faster you run water, the more rapidly the pump speed will increase to handle the demand. The pump will run constantly while the water is on, but at variable speeds depending on demand. As Tom Cherry explained in the prior post most of the RV Water Pumps, Aquajet, Shurflo etc are pulse diaphragm pumps and not centrifugal pumps, therefore they pulse when in operation. If you hear the pump come on when you’re not running water, it could indicate a leak in the system. Remember – you should only hear your water pump if you’re calling for water somewhere on the RV. It could also indicate a broken part inside the water pump itself. Another reason why your RV water pump may be cycling-(the water pump is trying to start and stop continuously), is a pressure switch that isn’t set properly. Your RV’s water pump uses a pressure switch to start and stop. If the switch isn’t set correctly, cycling can occur. You may be able to adjust the pressure setting. However, not all makes and models of water pumps are adjustable. Many are, though, so let’s jump into how to adjust your water pump’s pressure setting. How Do You Fix a Cycling/Pulsing RV Water Pump? Depending on what’s causing the rapid cycling/pulsing of your RV water pump, there are a few different ways to address the issue. Let’s start with adjusting a water pump’s pressure setting. Adjust Your RV Water Pump’s Pressure Setting To lower the cut-off pressure of the pump simply unscrew a little until you get the desired result. (You’ll turn clockwise to increase the cut-off pressure to stop the cycling, and you’ll turn counterclockwise to lower the cut-off pressure of the pump.) It’s important to note here that the screw doesn’t affect the flow rate. It simply adjusts the cut-off pressure. Each system usually has a sweet spot. Also, as the pump ages, sometimes the tension of the spring changes, and a small adjustment can make the difference between a rapid Cycling/Pulsing or non-pulsing water pump. The goal here is to adjust the screw until the pump delivers a steady flow, and then turn off the water and make sure that the pump turns off within about 5-10 seconds or so. When you’ve reached this goal, you’ve found your pump’s sweet spot. Locate the housing at the end of your water pump where the pipe is connected. The housing should have two red wires coming from it. There you should find an Allen screw (sometimes called a hex-key screw). Turn on your shower. Using an Allen wrench, turn the screw clockwise until the cycling stops. I recommends making ¼ turns at a time.) Turn off the shower to test. If you turn off the shower and the pump won’t turn off, you’ve turned the Allen screw too far. Back it off slightly by turning the screw counterclockwise until the pump stops. Accumulator Tank The purpose of an accumulator tank is to regulate the pressure in your RV’s plumbing system, allowing your water pump to run more smoothly. They were designed mostly for centrifugal constant speed water pumps. An accumulator tank is a plastic reservoir containing a pressurized bladder. The bladder allows the accumulator tank to absorb and regulate pressure highs and lows in the system when you want more or less demand.. As your water pump runs, the pressure within the bladder will fluctuate in an effort to maintain a constant pressure level in the system. This should help with highs and lows that can cause your RV’s water flow to pulse while the pump is running. An accumulator tank can also reduce the amount of cycling from your pump and absorb pressure drops from running the tap, meaning your pump doesn’t have to work so hard. This can increase the life of your water pump.. Are There Other Reasons For RV Water Pump Pulsing? The most common reason the flow of water from an RV water pump is pulsing is a mis-adjustment/failure of the pressure sensor built into the pump. As Tom Cherry suggested, It is also recommended that you can be reduced most of the pulsing by installing a looped flexible hose to the input and output ends of the pump. Look at the prior posts. Attached is a picture of the Aquajet 55 RV water pump, other water pumps are similar. Looking at the head, on the right side of the head is the cut off switch and on the top of the switch is the allen/hex screw to adjust the cut-off pressure. on the left lower side of the pump is the pressure regulator and the allen screw to adjust the pressure output of the pump. On the newer pumps the allen screws are covered over with silicon and on some the pressure adjust switch has been eliminated. 550 Series Aquajet Variable Speed 12VDC 5.0 GPM.pdf

Attached are a couple of pictures of the water pump installation in our Foretravel ih-45. I also attached a drawing of the Foam Isolator Mounting Block I made for mounting the Water Pump to keep it very quiet.

Tom-Ron I attached a couple of wiring diagrams in case you may not have them. HWH Hydraulic System Trouble Shooting.pdf HWH Hydraulic System.pdf

There are two solenoids available from HWH. RAP39015 is a large diameter solenoid is no longer available from HWH and was replaced by RAP0642. The RAP0642 solenoid is the large diameter solenoid-2.25" diameter and Solenoid RAP90729 is the small diameter one 1.5" diameter. Solenoid RAP90729 has been replaced by Solenoid RAP42632. RAP90729 has a nut to release hydraulic pressure and RAP42632 has a white lever. They are interchangeable. The correct solenoid for your coach is RAP42632, the small diameter solenoid and it will have a white pressure release lever instead of a nut to release the hydraulic pressure. The older solenoids all had the nuts to release the hydraulic pressure and HWH superseded them to the new solenoids with the levers. All the solenoids are interchangeable. The RAP90729 Solenoid is still available thru the Internet. Just Google HWH and the part number on either solenoid and you will find many new solenoids for sale

RV Door Hinge/Door Check Locking Swing-Arm The Entry Door Scissor Arm or Door Check issue has been a common topic on this Forum and Other Forums for years. Some folks have opted to replace the Scissor Arm with a Gas Shock. Others have R&R the Scissors and replaced the rivet or squelched the rivet on the arm. The scissor arm was a great idea. The arm is still used on most all Class A Motor-coaches. It hides out of sight when the door is closed and has worked OK, but it had one major design flaw; The way the scissor was engineered is that when you open the door all the way at the end of the arm half there is a raised bump that mate with a recessed detente in the outer half of the arm to hold the door open. The problem with this design is over time it will stretch the rivet and the arm becomes loose and sloppy and needs to be repaired or replaced. Look at the first picture and you will see what I am describing. There has been a better Mouse Trap out there that the permanently does away with the loose/sloppy scissor issue and it is a Re-Engineered Scissor. The Scissor was used exclusively on the FORETRAVEL Motor Coaches for over 10 years. Newmar has adopted the new scissor arm from ForeTravel and has been installing it on their Class A coaches for the past couple of years. The Scissor Arm does not use a Bump and Detente to hold the door open. Instead it is designed with a locking pin at the end of the outer arm that locks into a machined grove on the inner arm when the door is fully opened. The arms are riveted together just like the Monaco arm but stay parallel when opened and closed and do not put any pressure on the rivet so the arm will not become loose or sloppy with use over time The mounting pads are larger than the other scissor arm and can be modified to fit the entry door by just duplicating the mounting pads on your old arm. I noticed the difference about the scissor arm when comparing it to the one installed on Chris Throgmartin's coach and the arm on my Foretravel ih-45. Chris wanted the arm on my coach to replace his worn out scissor arm The arm was purchased from Foretravel back in 2021 and displayed it at the Gathering last year. The new arm is the Second Picture and you can see the changes to the arm I am discussing. The cost of both arms are a little pricey, but the price of the new arm is about the same as the old arm, around $225.00 retail. The part number for the Foretravel Arm is 001523 and last price listed was $189.00 and the part number for the Newmar arm is 08420452 and is listed for $228.00 and is the same arm. Current Old Entry Door Scissor Arm.pdf Door Hinge Swing-Arm Scissor Locking.pdf

You are correct, It is Definitely a Girard Awning, HMMM! on the 12VDC

Trevor, the Girard G1500 and G2000 Awnings are both 120VAC powered awnings. No where in the owners manual does it show a 12VDC powered awning. What you been describing appears to be more like a Carefree Marquee Over the door awning. It is a 12VDC awning. To manually extend or retract that awning when there is no power, you must remove the right side end cap-(three Screws) and use an allen wrench to retract/extend the awning. with the cap off you will see the allen socket in the end of the tube to insert the allen wrench into. I have attached the owners manual for the Carefree OTD awning. Marquee-over the door Service-Manual.pdf

Trevor and Laura, Sorry I am a bit late to this discussion, but here is some information to help with any future problems you might have with your Girard Awnings. The door awning should have a manual crank port above the in and out limit on the motor end of the awning. I attached a picture showing its location. I have attached a couple of wiring diagrams and the manual for the Girard 1500/2000 Awnings. 1-Awnings 2.pdf 1-Awnings 3.pdf 1-Awnings 4.pdf 1-Awnings.pdf

Dennis, At our last gathering in Tampa 2023, the Cummins Rep explained the changes and recommendations for coolant in the Cummins engines. Take a moment and go to; https://shop.sclubricants.com/pub/media/pds/shell/Shell-Rotella-ELC-Nitrite-Free-Pre-Diluted-50_50-datasheet.pdf and read the Technical Data Sheet on the Rotella ELC coolant and it should answer any questions you might have. It states that it is compatible with most coolants and all types of engines.

Cummins recommends the Shell Roetella ELC in its engine and generators. Foretravel installs it in all thier Coaches and is in my ISX and Generator. I have attached the information below. Shell Rotella ELC Nitrite Free Pre-Diluted 50/50 Premium, Nitrite Free, Extended Life Antifreeze/Coolant for Commercial and Mixed Fleet Use Shell Rotella® ELC Nitrite Free (NF) Pre-Diluted 50/50 antifreeze/coolant is based on proven Shell Rotella® ELC OAT technology for extended life operation up to 600,000 miles/12,000 hours in medium and heavy duty diesel, gasoline, and natural gas vehicles and up to 150,000 miles in passenger cars and light duty trucks. Nitrite free formulation provides improved protection of aluminum components in modem engines including brazed aluminium heat exchangers and meets many of the newest OEM specifications. Shell Rotella ELC NF Pre-Diluted 50/50 is pre-diluted and ready to use. It requires no further dilution. • All Climate Use Shell Rotella® ELC NF Pre-Diluted 50/50 provides protection against freezing at low temperatures and boil-over protection at high temperatures during summer months and/or severe operating conditions at proper dilutions. As sold, Shell Rotella® ELC NF Pre-Diluted 50/50 provides freeze protection down to -34°F / -36°C and boilover protection up to +265°F I +129°C (with the use of a 103.4 kPa pressure cap). No further dilution is recommended. • Extended Life Capability Shell Rotella® ELC NF Pre-Diluted 50/50 typically provides up to 600,000 miles (1 million km) or 12,000 hours in commercial applications under normal operating conditions without the use of Extender or SCAs, or up to 150,00miles (240,000 km) service intervals in passenger car service provided the coolant is frequently checked and kept in good condition. Shell Rotella® ELC NF Pre-Diluted 50/50 helps provide much longer water pump seal life than conventional coolants due to the absence of abrasive dissolved solids. The product also provides cavitation protection to help prevent erosion corrosion wear. • No SCA Use Required No supplemental coolant additive (SCA) use is needed during the life of the coolant. • Excellent Cavitation (Pitting) Protection Formulation delivers a high level of protection against cylinder liner pitting due to cavitation. • Excellent Corrosion Protection • No SCA Use Required No supplemental coolant additive (SCA) use is needed during the life of the coolant. • Excellent Cavitation (Pitting) Protection Formulation delivers a high level of protection against cylinder liner pitting due to cavitation. • Excellent Corrosion Protection Heavy duty, mixed application antifreeze I coolant Shell Rotella® ELC NF is designed for commercial and passenger car engines operating on diesel, gasoline, natural gas, propane, LPG or methane based waste gas.

The new Remco-Aquajet 55RV water pump can still be adjusted. When you are looking at the head of the pump-(refer to pictures in prior post), The flat cover on the lower left of the head is the pressure switch and the Switch cover with the wires connected to it on the right of the head is the cut off switch. They both have an Allen screw for adjustment. The left one is 3/32" hex and the right one is 1/16". The older pumps had the electronics mounted on the head of the pump. in the later pumps they moved the electronics under the pump and sealed it with a gasket and cover plate. On the new Aquatec pumps the electronics are still mounted under the motor, but are sealed in Epoxy. There is no electronics in the head, the switch that has the wires connected to it is just a micro-switch to turn on and shut off the motor. Below are the instructions to adjust the pump to stop it from pulsing and is the same with the new pumps. Remco seals the Allen adjusting screws with RTV. Just pick the RTV out to adjust. I have replaced at least four Water Pumps with the Aquajet 55RV and have had to adjust everyone after installation. Steps to Adjust the Pressure Setting of a Aquajet Water Pump Locate the housing at the end of your water pump where the pipe is connected. The housing should have two red wires coming from it. There you should find an Allen screw (sometimes called a hex-key screw). Turn on your shower. Turn the pressure adjustment screw clockwise to stop the cycling. Turn off the shower to test. If the pump doesn’t shut off, turn the screw slightly counterclockwise until the pump stops.

I have never heard of or seen this devise on a Motorhome or an OTR tractor. IMHO I would remove it before I started dumping money into trying yo get the pull corrected and see if that corrects the issue. I would not re-install it either. There are better alternatives out there such as the Watts Link and Crossbars to correct the Road Master Chassis wandering/handling issues.

The magnetic discs on the HWH Genny Slide out Frame are for the warning light on the dash to remind the driver the slide out is still extended and may be part of the "no start" circuit if the MH is set up that way. They do not control any of the HWH slide out functions.

The proper procedure from HWH and is in the Operators Manual is to fully extend and retract the slide outs until the slide out stops and hold the button in until you hear a change in pitch of the hydraulic pump.

When you have the issue of "Slide Creep" in or out in most cases it will be a dirty solenoid valve seat and extending and retracting the slide several times and holding the switch on for several seconds after the slide comes to a stop will usually clear up the issue. If the problem persists after you exercise the slide you will need to remove the offending solenoid valve and manually clean it and replace the o-rings and re-install the valve assembly. I have discovered that the HWH o-rings fit to loose on the valve and sometimes will not seat correctly and can also be a cause for slide out creep. The best replacement o-rings I have found are the green O-rings used in automotive AC systems and are available at any auto parts store. They fit the valves tight and do not fail. When trouble shooting, remember that if the slide is creeping out that it will be the Retract Solenoid that is at fault and if the slide is creeping in it will be the Extend Solenoid that is at fault. A leaking internal shaft seal will not cause the slide to creep in either direction.