Don't put up with a leaking RV bathroom faucet!

A couple weeks ago Mrs. Professor told me she thought the bathroom faucet was leaking. Fortunately it was dripping into a dishpan where we keep cleaning supplies. As it turns out, one of the valves was leaking.

Replacement valves are available for almost all faucets and it's an easy job to pop out the valve and insert an new one, but we opted to install a new faucet that matched the other accents in the bathroom. I shopped around for a suitable replacement at an RV liquidation store, Camping World and another RV dealership all to no avail.

Most modern RV's use standard faucet fixtures, so I decided to look at a local plumbing store and found exactly what I wanted. The only problem was the price... $150.00! I don't mind paying for quality merchandise, but my "inner shopper" was urging me to check Ebay before purchasing it at the plumbing store. A few clicks of the mouse and I was able to buy the same faucet made by Price Pfister for $45.00 including UPS ground shipment.

The remainder of this story is a pictorial "how to" for installing a bathroom sink faucet. You may want to bookmark this page for future reference.

The new faucet shipped complete with all the parts I needed for the project.
First turn off the water to the RV including the water pump and place a dishpan under the sink to catch any excess water runoff.Reach under the sink, loosen and remove the water supply nuts and the retaining nuts holding the old faucet in place.Remove and discard the old faucet (if it's metal you may recycle it).

Thoroughly clean the surface under the old faucet.
Place a scoop of Plummer's Putty (available at your local hardware store) into the palm of your hand.Roll your hands together making a rope of the putty.
Fill the plastic putty plate with the putty rope and attach it to the faucet face plate.
Insert the faucet head through the opening of the face plate.
Place the assembled faucet into the existing holes on the sink.
This is a single control lavatory faucet replacing a dual control four inch faucet. The existing holes are covered by the putty plate and face plate assembly for a nice finished look.

The single control faucet has a long bolt that extends down the back of the sink. Secure the faucet using the supplied crescent shaped washer and long nut.Connect the water lines using the supplied adapters. Be sure to put a thread compound or Teflon Tape on both ends of the adapter threads.If you are particular which side you want the hot control (usually turning the handle to your left) you will need to look at the faucet water lines and match them accordingly with your hot and cold water lines.Remove any excess Plumber's Putty from around the edge of the faucet base and you're finished with the faucet installation.

The next part of this job is the drain.

Begin by removing the "P" trap from the old drain pipe. Most of the time you can loosen the nuts by hand, but sometimes a strap wrench is required to break the grip of a stubborn nut. Set the "P" trap assembly aside until you are ready to reassemble it.Remove the spring clip to free the ball rod (this is the small diameter bar sticking out behind the drain pipe used to raise and lower the stopper). Unscrew the threaded lock nut using channel lock pliers. Loosen the drain pipe by turning it counter clockwise using the old ball rod as leverage.I used a long phillips screwdriver to hold the old drain flange while I unscrewed the drain pipe.
Clean the drain hole thoroughly and place a bead of Plumber's Putty around the hole.
Do the same for the new drain flange.
Place the drain flange into the drain hole and screw the new drain pipe into the flange (be sure to end up with the hole for the ball rod facing towards the back of the sink).Tighten the new drain pipe lock nut forcing the rubber gasket to seat into the bottom of the sink drain hole. Remove the excess Plumber's Putty from around the drain flange and insert the stopper with the ball rod catch facing towards the rear of the sink. Insert the ball rod into the threaded opening on the rear of the drain pipe and secure it with the locking nut. Do not over tighten this nut, it must have enough play to allow the plastic ball to rotate in the socket. Insert the pull rod through the small hole in the back of the faucet and attach the adjustable strap with the retaining bolt. Adjust the ball rod assembly to the appropriate height and secure it with the spring clip.
Reattach the "P" trap and test your faucet and drain for leaks.
Enjoy your new faucet. Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing