We have bought a new Penine Pathfinder after trading in our caravan (or tin tent as I have heard them called. We used to have a Penine Fiesta but decided to go to a caravan. We found storing it a problem and just weren't getting the use out of it. So pack to a folding camper we have come, and prefer it) Now the problem is that on our first trip away to Wales, when using the sink we found that if you weren't very carefull about what went down the sink the second plug hole that it drains into gets blocked and floods the area under the sink. The first time this happened I noticed water dripping down the front of the cooker and a small pond in the drop down cupboard under the sink. We are now paranoid about what goes down the sink. We were wondering whether anyone else has had the same problem and if there is a solution or will the paranoia continue. Happy camping and I hope your canavas stays dry.
All the folding campers I have experienced (one of the original Conway Cruisers, Conway Challenger, Conway Cardinal and 2 Dandies) have been supplied with quite a long waste water pipe (the black 'elephant trunk' that fits into the outlet socket outside the trailer). I have found that the sink can back up if this pipe is used at this full length - this is most obvous when you empty a quantity of water in one go, like after washing up. The drainage is most efficient if the pipe is long enough to fit into the waste container (obviously!), but not long enough to reach the bottom of it. Try trimming your waste pipe so that it is just long enough (I cut mine off centre so that I had 2 pipes - the short one for level pitches and the longer one if a sloping field means that the waste water carrier is lower down).
Hope this helps, and that I have not stated the obvious to a seasoned camper.
we have a Sterling with no problem you mention but we were speaking to another Pathfinder owner at the Verwood site who told us his friend had bought a new Pathfinder with same problem you mention i.e. the plug hole in the bottom unit is smaller or the same size as the to unit he has taken his back where he bought it a couple of times.
The plug holes in ours are different sizes the bottom one being the bigger one
We have a pennine stirling had the same problem, decided after a couple of over spills to change the system, bought a new length of pipeing fitted it to the outlet under the unit, theaded thru to the cupboard and removed the drain unit from the base, cut pipe to length with a bit of allowance, so when we fit the sink unit on to the base andI can push the pipe on to the sink waste unit, this now has stopped any fresh air between the 2 units, only sealed pipes and no leaks.
I Have kept the old units, so when I trade the unit in I will fit the old system back to save any comments from a dealer, will take no longer than 5 mins to change, so go ahead give it a try and if the unit needs to go back for any reason just put the old fittings back on.
We had it happen it was because the waste container was too far under the base and the angle was wrong. I have been careful to pour the water out not just empty the whole bowl but it hasn't happened again.
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
I had the same problem a few days ago with the drain hole becoming blocked which led to the area under the sink becoming flooded. The water then runs under the seating area and proceeds to soak everythig inside.What is annoying is that you do not always realize the problem until you notice the carpet wet.There seems also to be a problem if you have a very full sink and pull the plug as the drain hole cannot handle such a large volume of water all at once, now we just let it out gradually.
We have a 2003 Pathfinder and have just got back from a 2 week holiday. The first few days we had several 'floods' from the secondary plug hole overfilling and I eventually done the same as Peterjohn34 and fitted a complete new waste pipe from sink to outside connector.....problem solved.
we have a sterling 510 and have found if you empty the sink quickly it can back up and over flow or if the waste hog is full it then backs up and has no where to go but over the floor or cupboards ,we have since fitted a sink drainer to slow down the water flow and to also catch any unwanted debris from following the water........hasn't happened since.....touch wood.