J Steel Sofa problem

[cjf]

I have a 2014 Jayco jay feather ultra light 221 and am having difficulty figuring out how to get access to the water pump. It appears to be under the fold down (futon type) couch (that's where the pump sound seems to come from), but that couch doesn't seem to be fully removable. It's pretty much bolted down, and just slides into either futon mode or couch mode. I also looked under the sink as someone suggested, but in this model, there is a thin sheet of plywood under the sink that blocks access to whatever is behind there, and the plywood is stapled to the frame of the cabinet, so it doesn't seem like there was any intent that it be removed.

Does anyone else have the same model and can give me guidance on how I get access to the water pump? Thanks,

Charlie

[mcfarmall]

Most likely it will be directly above the fresh water holding tank. Jayco is not going to waste money on a long suction tube so if you locate the fresh water tank the pump will be somewhere directly above it...start opening cabinets, removing covers, etc. Owners need access to the pump to winterize so it's gotta be there somewhere.

[cjf]

Thanks I will check to see if i can locate the water tank

[mcfarmall]

You should be able to see it from underneath the trailer unless it has an enclosed underbelly. Should be an opaque white color tank located between the frame rails held up with some pipe strapping or the like.

[RVer-Bill]

It might be near where the outside water tank fill is. The one in my White Hawk is under one of the dinette seats, right inside where the water fill is. It was the same in my 2007 Eagle, but under the sink beside the hot water heater. It's a few feet away from the water heater in the White Hawk, but both were near the water tank fill.

By the way, the water tank will be right where the tank fill is.

[cjf]

Many thanks for the replies. The undercarriage is covered so you can't see the water tank, but I expect it's right above the fresh water drain, which is right below the fill. I looked inside the trailer and this all lines up with the area under the sink, but that's blocked by a piece of thin plywood stapled to the frame of the cabinet, looks like it blocks the back half of the area under the sink. Anyone else have this feature?

[Cosmik Debris]

In our Eagle fifth wheel the pump is in a section of the kitchen counter, tucked in behind some drawers. Darn near impossible to access and get hands on. My wife had the brilliant idea to make an access so we ordered another small cabinet door, about 8" tall by about 16" wide and cut into the side of the cabinet, put in some light 1X2 for framing, and attached the door. Once you locate yours you may want to do something similar. For something that needs occasional service they don't make it easy.

[cjf]

Interesting, odd they make it so difficult considering the winterization process, thanks

[Skaling]

Turn it on and listen for it? Mine is located behind my drawers in the 'kitchen'. I dont see jayco making the pump hard to access by concealing it somewhere else, after all you need to access it to winterize your TT.

[RVer-Bill]

I don't understand why Jayco is stapling these panels in place. The water pump in my 2007 Eagle was behind a panel, but the panel was screwed in place with 2 screws. The paned was needed to separate the plumbing from storage space, but easy to access whenever I needed to. I have stapled in panels in my new White Hawk that don't need access, but hide water connections. In the Eagle, all of these were accessible without ripping staples out. I'd like to remove the panels and replace the staples with screws, but I'm afraid I'll ruin the panels. For the ones under the sinks, I can just replace them with screwed in underlayment, but one is in the bedroom wall to access the shower water connections. I'd have to try to find matching walnut or whatever trim at Lowes to replace it.

[mcfarmall]

Originally Posted by RVer-Bill

I don't understand why Jayco is stapling these panels in place.

Because 2 staples cost less than 2 screws and the neanderthals that built your camper can put them in faster.

[RVer-Bill]

Originally Posted by mcfarmall

Because 2 staples cost less than 2 screws and the neanderthals that built your camper can put them in faster.

Well, I agree that the staples cost less. However, I doubt they save much time with the staples. They drive in the screws without pilot holes and it's probably an automatic feed driver. Three or four screws will hold as well as 6 staples. I just tore out the one under sink panel. Pulled out the 6 staples and used 4 screws to put it back in. Now to get up the courage to pop off the shower connection cover on the bedroom wall.

I can see the cost savings issue if no maintenance is expected, but to do it to cover the water pump is nuts.

When we were looking at White Hawks, we looked at the 24RBS, although we already knew that we wanted the 24RKS. To get access to the water pump and winterizing hose requires removing 4 kitchen drawers and even then it would not be easy. The 24RKS is much better with the pump under the dinette seat. It even has a hinged lift up latching cover. Very nice, even though a removable piece of plywood would do. They spent way more money on that fancy cover than they could ever save with staples. I like the cover though.

[cjf]

Yes, the stapling seems odd, but there are several places in the trailer that have stapled plywood blocking access to whatever is behind it. I'll turn the pump on and listen more closely; hopefully this will lead me to it.

[Jack in Alaska]

My Bungalow has the panel stapled in under the sink hiding the water drain valves.
A Sawzall too care of that barrier. Did not need the panel anyway.

[mcfarmall]

Removing and/or relocating those plywood panels can net you some considerable increases in storage space too!

[clubhouse]

From the seated position, start to lay it down but stop when it is in a "V" position. At that point the front bezel should freely lift to access the storage underneath.

It isn't a super convenient storage, but there is a lot of room. We always kept bulky items we wanted to have, but need to access frequently. Excess paper towels, TP, Napkins etc. we also we store extra cases of drinks there if we were on a long trip.

[cjf]

Thanks for the tip. Any idea if the bed can come off. It's really tight to get access to the water pump to winterize if I can only access by pulling up one of the bottom panels. Thanks

[Hitch Pin]

It's hard to get to the screws to take the bed off.

[cjf]

Unfortunate they placed the water pump under this sofa, not easy to access to winterize.

[clutch]

Our old Prowler tt had the same problem. I just learned to live with it. It was such a pain that I just poured the antifreeze into the holding tank to winterize it.