10 Times RVers Flooded Their Own RVs

One of the benefits of living in an RV full time is avoiding weather that traditional homeowners must face. You can’t always run from the worst weather, but you can try. As a result, many RVers can drive right away from floods.  

However, RVs are not immune to flooding issues. Whether they get caught in a flood or face issues from the inside, it’s a catastrophe. Unfortunately, sometimes these floods come from human error. Let’s dive in and look at 10 examples of this. 

Woman touching the rain from under her umbrella.

What Are the Most Likely Causes of RV Floods? 

There are many causes for RV floods. Improper storage, lack of maintenance, aging, malfunctioning equipment, and natural wear-and-tear can all lead to a flood. But the most likely causes of RV floods, and the most emotionally devastating, are the ones we cause from our own negligence, forgetfulness, or mistakes.

10 Time RVers Flooded Their Own RVs

Whatever the cause of your flooded RV, you can be sure you’re not alone. Here are 10 situations when average RVers flooded their own RVs.  

1. A Leak Repair Gone Wrong 

It’s great when we can handle small fixes and repairs ourselves. It can even save us some money. But if we don’t have enough experience, the situation can become costly. 

This RVer seemed to know a fair bit about repairing a leak, but when he purchased the wrong part for his water supply line, it all went wrong. 

After installing the wrong compression sleeve, the hose line blew apart and flooded the RV with water. Luckly, he was able to shut off the water and get the mess cleaned up without too much difficulty. 

2. Gray Water Tank Overflows 

These RVers sold their home and moved across the country to live in an RV with their family. In this situation, the RVer had a collapsible bathtub in the shower, so his daughter could take a bath. At this time, the drain hose on the gray tank was unhooked, so when the little girl drained the tub, it overflowed the gray water tank. 

After she drained the tub, water flooded into the bathroom and down into the storage compartment below the RV. After a lot of hard work and tons of water-logged towels, the RVers were able to clean up the mess, dry everything out, and put everything back away.

3. An Un-Winterized RV Takes on Water 

Winterizing an RV is essential. But there’s a difference between winterizing your RV for storage and winterizing to continue living in it

In this scenario, the RVers were surprised by a sudden snowstorm. They had a heater running next to their internal freshwater tank. But this heater died during the night, and the water in the tank froze. This meant that there was no fresh water in the RV. 

The real problem came when they turned on the sink faucet and no water came out. Because the tank was frozen, the RVers never turned the faucet back off. 

Later, when the water in the tank melted, the faucet started running. Water flooded everywhere! The family was watching a movie in the back, oblivious to the problem until it had flooded all the way down the hallway and into their back bedroom. There was no serious damage, but they had a lot to clean up.

Woman looking out at the flooded plains.

4. Overflowing Toilet Wreaks Havoc in RV 

This couple was stuck while doing repairs on their RV. They had just received news that the parts they needed for their repairs would be in soon and that they could make it home for the holidays. They were elated. 

But shortly after, the husband used the bathroom and didn’t notice that the toilet flap hadn’t shut properly. This meant that the toilet ran all night long and flooded their RV. Too bad their trip home was delayed even further.

5. Malfunctioning Flush Pedal Overflows Black Water Tank 

This couple had parked at Walmart to shop, but before going into the store, someone used the RV’s toilet. They then shopped for a lengthy period and returned to an RV floor covered with water. 

Unbeknownst to these RVers, the flush pedal in the toilet did not release properly, so the water continued to flow the whole time they were shopping. The water from the fresh water tank ran into the black tank until it overflowed. 

Situations like these are why experienced RVers suggest you disconnect your RV water supply before leaving for an extended period.

6. Valve Leak Causes Black Tank to Overflow 

Similar to your automobile, regular RV maintenance is essential. For example, the couple in this story had traveled in their RV for over 2,000 miles. 

Waking up at night to use the restroom, the husband discovered a pool of water on the floor. After investigating, they found their black tank was at 100% capacity. Because it had never reached full capacity before, they knew there was a serious problem. 

After turning off the water supply and draining the tank, the couple discovered that the screws on the toilet valve had come loose. This had caused a leak, which had then caused their black tank to overflow. They tightened the screws and were able to avoid a disaster. 

Needless to say, checking the screws on the toilet valve has now made their list of regular maintenance.

7. Overlooked Leak During Renovation Causes Water Damage 

When buying an RV, a pre-owned model may be tempting if only because of the price. However, the age or history of an RV may come with water damage or leaks. 

In this video, the RV owner had purchased an older rig and had done some renovations. In fact, there had been a leak previously, which the owner believed he had fixed. Four months later, he learned that there was still a leak, and he had to tear the RV apart again to fix it. 

After some hard work, he replaced the water-damaged wood, repaired the leak, and put the RV back together successfully.

8. Class A RV Takes a Swim 

Sometimes man’s best friend can cause problems–especially if left alone in a running vehicle. This man was trying to launch his boat from a dock and had left his RV to unhook his boat from the trailer. While he was outside, his loyal, furry companion managed to put the RV into reverse. 

Before the man had time to think, the RV had rolled into the water. Lucky for him, there were plenty of people around to help pull his RV out of the lake and recover his boat. 

But he’ll think twice before leaving his pooch unattended again.

9. RVer Hooks Freshwater Hose into Black Tank Flush 

In this scenario, the RVer made a simple mistake: he accidentally hooked up his freshwater hose to his black water tank. And then left. 

It wasn’t long before the black tank overflowed and flooded the RV. Fortunately, the camp hosts saw signs of flooding and shut the water off. But boy was there a mess when he got back! 

Woman watching the rain come down in a yellow rain coat.

10. Guest Overflows Travel Trailer Toilet 

Part of owning an RV is being able to enjoy it with your friends. But you need to make sure your friends understand some things about RVs as well, or you might have trouble. Just like this guy did. 

One RVer allowed his guest to use his RV bathroom. But the guest didn’t know that an RV toilet does not continuously run. It only runs while you’re activating a chord or pedal to flush it and it stops once released. However, if it gets stuck, the toilet will run continuously. 

In this scenario, the toilet ran until the black tank overflowed and flooded the RV with sewage. Yuck! 

Have You Ever Had a Serious Leak or Flood in Your RV? 

Although these situations may seem humorous to us, a flooded RV is no joke for those living the nightmare. However, given time, I’m sure most of these RVers could probably find the humor in it as well. But whether they consider it funny or not, it’s probably a comfort to know that they’re not the only ones with flooded RVs. 

Have you ever flooded your RV? If so, please share your stories with us to help you find the humor in your story, too.

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