Mobile RV plumbing repair across Sydney metro. Taps, pumps, hot water units, fresh tanks, grey tanks, water lines, sanitising and flushing. All at your van, your driveway or your caravan park. Diagnostic visits from $180 with the first hour included.
RV plumbing covers the cold and hot water systems inside a caravan, motorhome or camper trailer. Most owners do not realise it until something fails, but every RV has a fairly complete plumbing layout in miniature: a fresh water tank, a 12V or mains-powered pump, water lines running through the walls and under the floor, taps and fixtures, a hot water unit (gas, electric or both), drainage to a grey tank, and increasingly often a toilet and shower with their own dedicated supply.
When any of this fails (and over enough years, all of it will), you need someone who knows the specific way RV plumbing is put together. It is not the same as house plumbing. The fittings are different, the pressures are lower, the materials are mostly plastic rather than copper, and the failure modes are predictable in a way that someone who does not specialise in caravans will not recognise.
Caravan taps wear out faster than house taps because they are designed to be lightweight and compact. The internal cartridge fails, the spout drips, the lever gets sloppy. Usually a $30-$60 replacement part and 30 minutes of labour. We carry replacement cartridges for the common brands (Whale, Comet, Reich, SHURflo).
The pump is the heart of the plumbing system in any caravan that is not connected to mains water. It pressurises the lines so water comes out of the taps. When pumps fail, they fail in several recognisable ways: continuous cycling (pressure switch worn), no priming (one-way valve worn), low flow (motor weak), constant running with no water coming out (line break somewhere). We diagnose which one it is, quote the fix, and either replace internals or swap the whole pump on the spot. Common pump brands we stock: SHURflo, Whale, Flojet, Reich Twin Flo.
The two common RV hot water systems are gas-only (older vans) or gas/240V combination units (newer vans, anything since roughly 2005). Common failures: ignition issues on gas, element burnout on 240V, anode rod rotting through, pressure relief valve weeping. We handle the diagnostic and the parts replacement, but the gas side of the work (gas line connections, gas valve replacement, anything involving the LPG supply) requires a licensed gasfitter under NSW law. We coordinate that on your behalf if needed, often booking the gasfitter for the same day so you have one disrupted morning instead of two.
Brands we work with: Suburban (the most common Australian unit), Truma, Atwood.
Tanks themselves rarely fail (they are durable polyethylene, designed to last decades), but the fittings on them do. Inlet fittings crack, breather valves get blocked, sender units fail (your water gauge reads wrong). And occasionally the tank itself develops biofilm or algae if water has been sitting stagnant for too long. Our Water Tank Flush service at $180 is the recurring maintenance version: drain, sanitise with food-grade sanitiser, flush, refill. Recommended annually for vans that get used regularly, twice as often for vans that sit between trips.
Less common to fail, but the connections and drain valves can. We handle valve replacement, tank inspection, and the rare case of tank repair or replacement.
The plastic flexible lines running through your van's walls. They fail in two ways: crimped fittings work loose over time (especially after a few rough trips), and the lines themselves crack if they freeze (yes, even in Sydney winters in vans stored at higher elevations). Repairs are straightforward when accessible. The complication is locating the failure point when the line runs through inaccessible parts of the wall cavity. Our $180 callout includes diagnostic time for exactly this.
Cassette toilet seal failures, shower mixer cartridges, drain blockages. The fixtures themselves are sealed units we replace as wholes rather than rebuild. Standard repair on a cassette toilet (Thetford C-series being the most common in AU caravans) is about an hour.
Gas plumbing. Anything involving the LPG supply, the gas regulator, the gas lines, the gas valves or gas appliance connections requires a licensed gasfitter under NSW law (Gas and Electricity Consumer Safety Act 2017). We are not licensed gasfitters and we do not do gas work, regardless of how simple it looks. The cost of doing gas work unlicensed includes insurance void, illegal status, and potentially carbon monoxide poisoning if done badly.
What we can do is coordinate with a licensed gasfitter on your behalf. If your hot water unit needs both a water-side repair and a gas-side repair, we will quote our portion, coordinate the gasfitter, and aim to get both done in one disrupted day rather than two.
You book the Plumbing Repair Visit ($180 callout, includes the first hour). We turn up at the agreed time with the service van fully stocked with common plumbing parts (pumps, taps, fittings, lines, sealants). The first hour usually identifies the fault and completes the fix on simple jobs. For more complex jobs we quote on the spot, you approve before we continue, additional time is billed at our published hourly rate, and parts are billed at cost.
The 20% deposit at booking secures the slot. If we cannot complete in one visit because parts need to be ordered, we charge for the work done, quote the rest, and book a return visit with no additional callout fee.
The published numbers:
For larger jobs that exceed one visit (full hot water system replacement, major water line repair), we quote the total job in advance after the diagnostic.
Yes, if you are within Sydney metro. We hold same-week availability for most plumbing work and next-day for active leaks where the van is unusable. Replacement pumps for the common brands are stocked on the van.
Almost always a worn pressure switch or a small leak somewhere downstream of the pump. The pressure switch is a $40-$80 part. The leak diagnosis is what the first-hour callout pays for. Common culprits: a slow drip behind a tap, a perished line connection, a hot water unit pressure relief valve weeping. All easy to find when you know where to look.
Three usual suspects, in order of likelihood. The thermocouple is dirty or worn, the gas valve has failed, or the ignition piezo has failed. We can diagnose the unit but the gas-side fixes need a licensed gasfitter. If the issue turns out to be water-side (anode rod, water inlet valve, pressure relief) we handle it ourselves.
Once a year for vans used regularly. Every 6 months for vans that sit between trips for long periods. Sooner if you notice any taste, smell or coloration in the water. The Water Tank Flush service at $180 covers the full drain, sanitise and refill.
Not always. Most general mobile caravan operators in Sydney do basic plumbing repairs as part of their broader service, but there are also specialists who only do plumbing. We do both, which means if your problem turns out to be a 12V fault that just looks like a plumbing issue (water pumps run on 12V, so an electrical fault can mimic a pump fault), we identify it without needing to send someone else out.
Yes. The plumbing systems are similar across all RV types. Motorhomes sometimes have more complex setups (engine-driven water heating, larger tanks), but the diagnostic process is the same.
No. Marine plumbing has its own quirks and we do not have the experience with them. Caravans, motorhomes, camper trailers and fifth wheelers only.