Silencing a Loud Water Pump in an RV

Silencing a LOUD RV water pump in one day.

Steps to Silencing a Loud Water Pump

The month after we moved into the trailer the water system that fed our trailer developed a leak. As a result, we would have to fill our fresh water tank at night. Then we would use what we needed throughout the day from the filled tank. What does that mean? We were forced to start using our water pump. What we didn’t expect was a water pump that sounded like a machine gun going off every morning for showers.

That is how this “how to” on silencing a loud RV water pump was birthed. Necessity.

More Reasons for Silencing a Loud RV Pump

“What’s the noise mommy” was a phase I heard almost every morning at 6 o’clock in the morning for a month. Knowing that someday we would be on the road and the pump would be a constant issue. I told Dave I didn’t care how much it cost, I just wanted it quiet. So… what was the solution?

Dave is much more the mechanic of the family. I might be able to crank out a thing or two in Photoshop, and I can navigate Instagram like a champ, but when it comes to things that make our little home go, I am at a loss. Google search is always your best friend, and of course a good YouTube video will help as well. We wanted to know as many techniques and as much information as possible to really perfect the process. 

Stay with me now, because here we are 7 months later and this pump is still nice and quiet. Dave did make a YouTube video that you can click HERE to check it out now.

Supplies needed to Silence Your Pump

It’s always important to decide if you want to replace your pump during this process.

As a matter of fact, we did replace ours. It’s important to note our fifth wheel is also from 2001/2002 and was still running with the original pump. Dave figured if we are going to get under the trailer might as well upgrade and have one project. After some research, we purchased the Shurflo 2088-554-144. It has treated us well, and if it would work in your rig, we highly recommend it.

Make a choice on what you are going to do with your current pump. From there, you will also need the following:

• SHURFLO 94-591-01 Pump Silencing Kit
• SHURflo 182-200 Pre-Pressurized Accumulator Tank
• M-D Building Products 50164 1-Inch by 6-Feet Self-Sealing Tube Pipe Insulation
• A board that will fit your pump & silencer
• Bowls to catch water (as needed)

Steps to Silencing a Loud Water Pump

I recommend watching our YouTube video to get a full visual of the process.
A full step by step of Dave’s process is below.

PS – we recommend all pipes inside the RV to be covered with self sealing foam pipe insulation as well.

1. Turn off water pump and turn off potable/city water going into the RV. (No water flow when RV water faucet is turned on)
2. Make sure all faucets are off inside the RV
3. Turn 12 volt battery power off to the RV. From there, cut the wires powering the water pump about 12 inches from the water pump
4. Unscrew the water pump and remove the water pump from the factory water pipe system.
5. Place a small bowl or towel under the pipe/hose coming from the RV faucet side to catch any drips
6. Use a piece of wood (~16″ x 6″ x 3/4″) big enough to mount the water pump on one end and the accumulator on the other end. Leave room for connections between the pump and the accumulator (one hose looped to reduce vibration).
7. Wrap the piece of wood in Non Slip – Shelf Liner. I used a piece of heavy duty duct tape to tape the seam and mounted the pump and accumulator on the seam side.
8. Mount the pump on one side of the piece of wood wrapped in non slip – shelf liner, seam side, with screws long enough to go through the rubber boots and mounting holes of both the pump and accumulator and long enough to go almost completely through the board (~1.5″ wood screws).
9. Mount the Accumulator on the other side of the board with the hose connections on the same side as the water pump hose connections.
10. Wrap the threaded ends of the water inputs and outputs of both the water pump and accumulator with thread seal tape/teflon tape.
11. Connect the 1 extra faucet hose (24 – 36″) to the water pump output to the accumulator input looping the hose.
12. Crimp quick connect connectors to the stripped 12v positive and negative wire ends of the water pump and the wire ends for the pump in the RV for an easy install and future removal if needed.
13. Install one end of one of the 36 inch hoses that came with the RV water pump vibration dampening kit to the threaded and teflon taped water pump input and one end of the other 36 inch hose to the threaded and teflon taped accumulator output.
14. Wrap both ends of the two 1/2″ male threaded connectors that came with the vibration dampening kit with teflon tape.
15. Screw one 1/2″ connector to each free end of each 36″ hose coming from the water pump and accumulator.
16. Place the pump and accumulator as close to where the pump was mounted originally.
17. Screw the end of the hose connected to the water pump input to the RV’s water connection coming from the potable water/city water input.
18. Screw the end of the hose connected to the accumulator output to the RV’s water connection leading to the RV’s faucets
19. With the pump and accumulator board sitting where you want it to stay, shoot 3-4 wood or drywall screws long enough to go through the board wrapped in non slip – shelf liner and the floor of the RV (1/4″ longer than the mounting board + the non slip – shelf liner) making sure the underside is clear of wires, pipes and anything else that could be hit by the mounting screws.
20. Connect the positive and negative wires from the RV to the water pump power wires with the connectors you installed before the install.
21. With the install complete, turn the city water connected to the RV on and turn RV faucets on to fill the RV water lines.
22. Turn the water pump on.
23. Turn the RV’s water system to the RV’s fresh water tank to let the pump work to pump water from the tank, through the pump and the accumulator, and to the RV’s open faucets.
24. Use a bike pump to connect to the accumulator air valve and pump pressure into the accumulator to 30 lbs or the pressure at which your water system is when the water pump kicks on when a faucet is opened.
25. Put the cover back on the valve stem and you should be good to go to enjoy quiet water pump use.

A New Life. A Silent New Life

The immediate change in our ability to sleep in was felt by all! Amazing how happy a simple change can make everyone in the household. Here’s the interesting part… I didn’t even realize how loud it was in the actual shower. What a different experience post update.

If there is one upgrade to your trailer I recommend to everyone, it is this one. Relatively inexpensive and the effects are immediate!

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