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May/June 2015

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ESCAPEES

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55

Do You Have a Question for Mark?

Send your questions via e-mail to

techquestions@escapees.com ,

or mail your questions to

“Mark, My Words” Column

100 Rainbow Drive

Livingston, TX 77351-9300

Please, no consumer advocacy or commercial advertising issues.

Remember, material will be edited. Because of the large volume

of material and correspondence submitted, individual replies

may not be possible, nor can we acknowledge receipt of your

material. Some questions and answers that are of the highest

general interest may be repeated from time to time.

out of alignment. I am one of those folks who

really prefers to do it myself whenever

possible, but I am not sure I would

tackle a slide-out myself. However,

it is possible for you to adjust your

slide mechanism, and I’m sure other RV

owners have done it successfully. Slide-

outs are tricky, so be aware of the weights

and forces involved, and be careful if you

choose to work on yours. The first

thing you need to do is identify the

manufacturer of your slide mecha-

nism, and get the appropriate manual

to guide you. A lot of RVs utilize Lippert

slide mechanisms, and they have a wide range of

manuals available in the customer service area of

their Website

www.lci1.com . O

ther manufacturers

include HWH and AccuSlide by Norco. Once you have

the correct manual in hand, you will be able to determine

whether it is a job you can do or something you’d rather

take to a service facility.

Water Leak in Vintage Trailer

Q. We have a 1964 Silver Streak Sabre 22 trav-

el trailer. We use one of those standard inline

pressure regulators without a gauge when

connecting to a campsite water source. Most of

the time, we’re okay with no leaks. Then, at other

times, our plumbing leaks. I have a suspicion the

pressure regulator only steps the pressure down

by a specific amount and not to a specific pres-

sure. For example, if the hose bib pressure is 120,

the pressure regulator steps it down by, say, 40

pounds, leaving 80 pounds of pressure. It would

be great if the pressure regulator would take

whatever input pressure and step it down to, say,

45 pounds. Is there such a device? Or should I

insert two in line to reduce the pressure further?

On the trailer side, is this a sign that I should be

considering a complete replumbing of our trailer?

It does leak when the pressure is too high, and

this is a bit unnerving. We really want to

enjoy our trailer far into the future.

Rick

A.

Congrats on your neat vintage Silver Streak.

Those are exceptional units, and I always

love to see one that is still in use. Most RV

water pressure regulators are supposed to

maintain a set output pressure regardless

of how high the incoming water pressure.

However, they can fail and allow higher

pressure than it is designed for in the water

system. If you are using a simple brass non-adjustable

regulator, and you’ve had it for a while, I would be sus-

picious of its accuracy and functionality. I suggest you

either use a simple pressure gauge, like this one

www. escapees.com/url/026 , to

determine whether or

not your existing regulator is doing its job properly, or

purchase a new regulator that has a pressure gauge on

it. Most higher-quality regulators not only come with

a gauge, but are also adjustable. Check out

www. rvwaterfilterstore.com/PressureRegulators.htm

for some examples of these higher-quality regulators.

Even if a new regulator appears to stop the leak, I sug-

gest that you take the time to identify what part of the

plumbing is leaking and make the necessary repairs.

Long-standing plumbing leaks can do significant dam-

age to the structure of the RV, and chances are that

the weak spot in the plumbing system will start to leak

again down the road, even with a properly functioning

pressure regulator.

Watts New Lead Free

Adjustable 263A-LF Regulator.

Photo courtesy of

www.rvwaterfilterstore.com .

Staff