Want To Change The Faucet...

[RJOL]

I have a 2006 HitchHiker fifth wheel and want to change out the kitchen faucet from the stock one to a single handle spout with a pull out spray nozzle. My question is this:



Can a stock faucet from a home supply center be used, or are the water supply line fittings on the RV faucet different.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Absolutely you can Rick. I changed out all of mine as soon as I got the new TT home. I even installed the kitchen style you speak of.

BTW, the fittings are all the same.



Scotty



EDIT: On second thought, I had to get a couple of short, premade type braided hoses from home depot to connect the trailer water line to the kitchen faucet (becasue it was the style you describe) but it was really easy.

Heck, I even changed out the plastic bath sink with a china piece from home depot.

 

[Dieselnerd]

Ditto on what Prairie Dog said. I've always replaced bad faucets and sink drains in my RV's with household ones from the hardware store or Home Depot.

 

[RJOL]

Thanks for the info... This will be my first project after de-winterizing the 5th wheel... .

 

[RustyJC]

Yep, my 5th wheel (see signature) has a Moen spray-head faucet in the kitchen sink, straight from Home Depot - paid for by Doubletree when the OEM faucet body started leaking. No problem with the installation at all.



Rusty

 

[BGlidewell]

Yep, my 5th wheel (see signature) has a Moen spray-head faucet in the kitchen sink, straight from Home Depot - paid for by Doubletree when the OEM faucet body started leaking. No problem with the installation at all.



Rusty

The one that was originally in your trailer probably had check-valves in the hot and cold supply connectors. Mine did and they do an excellent job of making the faucet completely inoperable if you don't winterize them. Ask me how I know and what I'm doing this weekend... :-laf

 

[RustyJC]

The one that was originally in your trailer probably had check-valves in the hot and cold supply connectors. Mine did and they do an excellent job of making the faucet completely inoperable if you don't winterize them. Ask me how I know and what I'm doing this weekend... :-laf

Well, my 5th wheel never saw freezing weather before I changed the faucet out - the leak appeared to be where the cold water line was soldered into the faucet body, and it was one of those things where I found water on the shelf under the sink several times before I finally gave up on tightening fittings and changed out the faucet.



Are you expecting a cold snap up your way??



Rusty

 

[BGlidewell]

Are you expecting a cold snap up your way??

Rusty

no, this is leftover repairs from last winter when we had a few consecutive days below 20F.



I have just moved the trailer from storage to my parking area I had built last month so its easier to work on. Plus we just kicked the last kid out of the nest again and are able to use it again :-laf



Back on topic: DoubleTree says they buy their faucets "off the shelf". I called them just now to confirm whatever was in mine came from Moen.

 

[RJOL]

Well I took a look at Lowes and found some faucets that I like. The only problem is that some of them say they have 1/2" NPT connections and some say 1/2" IPS connections. What is an IPS connection? My current sink faucet has female NPT connectors on the supply lines. They measure 1/2" NPT. Also, this HitchHiker uses smaller then normal (at least what I've seen in past trailers) plastic pipe. It's 1/4". I wish it was normal size, as I think it effects the volume of water coming out, especially in the shower. I have my water pressure set at 45PSI (special valve at the city supply inlet that is adjustable) but the shower always seems to lack water pressure.

 

[MChildress]

My Avion came with Delta fixtures and it sure makes it nice to be able to pick up parts at the hardware store. I picked up two Delta sink fixture cartridges from Lowes last year,one for a dripping sink and one for a spare. Lowes has the connection hoses with both NPT and IPS fittings. I saw they are carring Pex hose and fitings now which is compatable and better quality than most RV plumbing. The supply line on most RV showers is too small to get good volumn but enough to take a shower. The idea is not to exhaust your water supply or fill up the holding take to fast. I know its a pain when you have full hook ups.

 

[Dieselnerd]

RJOL, I've got an '06 HitchHiker and all my plumbing is 1/2 inch and just as big as my previous RV's. See my signature on previous post for my HH type. The only 1/4 inch line I have comes out of the undersink water filter for drinking water on a separate tap.



As for your shower, there is a restrictor in the shower head itself. I took mine apart and removed it and I now have nice pressure out of the shower. The restrictor is a rubber washer with a pretty small hole in it to slow the flow.

 

[RJOL]

RJOL, I've got an '06 HitchHiker and all my plumbing is 1/2 inch and just as big as my previous RV's. See my signature on previous post for my HH type. The only 1/4 inch line I have comes out of the undersink water filter for drinking water on a separate tap.

Well let me clarify this a little more. My HitchHiker has 1/2" pex type water lines that probable run around the inside of the trailer. In fact, you can see them if you look at where you have the dump valves for draining the lines (in the cargo compartment). The water pump has what looks to be 1/2" lines coming from the tank and then out to the trailer. But... all the lines coming up to the kitchen sink, and the bath sink are 1/4" pex. I'd assumed that that's what went up the the shower but I took another look and it looks like the ones to the shower are 1/2". Hard to tell, as you can barely see them by trying to stick your head under the bath sink to see the access panel on the shower control valve. See next comment for more about that...

As for your shower, there is a restrictor in the shower head itself. I took mine apart and removed it and I now have nice pressure out of the shower. The restrictor is a rubber washer with a pretty small hole in it to slow the flow.

I'm not sure what part of the shower head you took apart, and you may have an upgraded (residential type) shower head in yours. Mine is the cheap type (like I've seen on most trailers). See photos below...



I've taken the hoses off at each end and there is a washer there but it acts as a seal so I can't just take them out. If there is a way to get inside the shower head itself, I haven't found it. I'd like to replace this setup with a regular shower control, but that's for later...

 

[Dieselnerd]

Your shower head is quite different than the one I have. Mine has a stainless hose and the head is not the same at all.



My '98 HitchHiker had a shower that resembled yours. As I recall, in my '98, I took the washer and drilled out the hole to make it bigger. That shower head had two modes, massage and regular shower. My current one is just a shower with an on/off button.

 

[RJOL]

Your shower head is quite different than the one I have. Mine has a stainless hose and the head is not the same at all...

I figured as much. You buy a 5th wheel with a 57K+ sticker price and they still figure out how to put cheap junk in it. Even if I tried to modify the washers I don't think it would help much. If you take a close look at the picture of the control valve you can see where the hose attaches to it, there is a very small plastic pipe extension just before the threads where the hose attaches to. I think the only way to fix this is to put a new valve in, and that might be lots of fun, as the access for this area is through the top shelf of the sink cabinet next to the shower, through another cut out in the wall to the shower. You can't even get your head into that area. If you've ever been to a manufacturer's assemble line you will see that they build from the outside in. They put all the cabinets, fixtures, and plumbing in by working from the outside in, then they put the external walls on followed by the roof. Easy for them... Impossible for us to fix...

 

[RJOL]

... The supply line on most RV showers is too small to get good volumn but enough to take a shower. The idea is not to exhaust your water supply or fill up the holding take to fast. I know its a pain when you have full hook ups.

I would suggest that most of us that buy these types of fifth wheels don't do a lot of "dry camping. " When we had our kids with us, we taught them how to take a "navy" shower (get wet, turn off water, soap up, rise off). That saved lots of water. Now we mostly go to sites with hookups and I'd just like to have a shower that sprays water, rather than dripping water on you...

 

[BGlidewell]

Well I took a look at Lowes and found some faucets that I like. The only problem is that some of them say they have 1/2" NPT connections and some say 1/2" IPS connections. What is an IPS connection? My current sink faucet has female NPT connectors on the supply lines. They measure 1/2" NPT. Also, this HitchHiker uses smaller then normal (at least what I've seen in past trailers) plastic pipe. It's 1/4". I wish it was normal size, as I think it effects the volume of water coming out, especially in the shower. I have my water pressure set at 45PSI (special valve at the city supply inlet that is adjustable) but the shower always seems to lack water pressure.

Take your old hardware up to Lowes or wherever, select the faucet you want and then get the adapters you need to hook it up to your supply lines.



Dont think you're all alone in the show pressure area, you're not. Such is the state of physics and economics in the travel trailer world...

 

[RJOL]

Project complete. Hardest part was removing the old faucet. Took about 1 hour to change out. 1/2" fittings worked like a charm. Already had installed a water filter (on right), last year. Installed the faucet and soap dispenser (on left). Very worthwhile project...

 

[RustyJC]

Looks like it came from the factory that way. Good work!!



Rusty

 

[RJOL]

... The supply line on most RV showers is too small to get good volumn but enough to take a shower. The idea is not to exhaust your water supply or fill up the holding take to fast. I know its a pain when you have full hook ups.

Maybe someone could make a valve control with two settings... One for "dry camping," and one for "full hookups. " Then we could have the best of both worlds...

 

[BGlidewell]

Maybe someone could make a valve control with two settings... One for "dry camping," and one for "full hookups. " Then we could have the best of both worlds...

There's a certain practice to manage waste while connected to "full hook-ups" I've heard a few people utilize. They say that you should use your holding tanks, then dump them to keep the sewage lines in the RV clean. A lot of volume could make this a daily job.