Berkshire 390BH Entrance Door

RnR · 08-29-2011, 09:00 PM

On my last trip during heavy rain my entrance door leaked at particular times. As I was driving the door seemed to break seal and water would pour in from the top of the door. I took it to the dealer, they adjusted the door but when I washed it I noticed the same problem. I'll be taking back to the dealer after our Labor Day trip.
Have any of you Berkshire or any other owner experienced this problem? If so what was the solution to fix it?

RoamingEngineer · 08-30-2011, 10:24 PM

I've not had a problem with leaks but my door has an annoying rattle that I can't seem to pinpoint.

06nighttrain · 08-31-2011, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoamingEngineer

I've not had a problem with leaks but my door has an annoying rattle that I can't seem to pinpoint.

I haven't experienced a leak either, but like Roaming Engineer, I have a rattle that will try your nerves.

RnR · 08-31-2011, 06:57 AM

So far I don't have a door rattle, but an inrush of water while you're driving will get your attention. Visual appearance all looks well. I think it happens when the coach sways and breaks the seal.

tmmar · 08-31-2011, 09:16 AM

I too have a rattle. I think that the problem may be the arm at the top of the door that prevents the door from opening past 90 degrees. I put a piece of velcro (the fuzzy side) on the top of the door where the joint of the 2 pieces of the arm is over the door top. It seems to help somewhat but you need to keep an eye on the velcro. It tends to bunch up and keep the hinge from closing all the way.

I think that another source of the rattle is the bottom cover on the awning arm. It is not very tight and may rattle when travelling.

RoamingEngineer · 09-01-2011, 06:41 PM

My rattle is somewhere near the top too. I spent one trip sticking paper towel in/on/under everything that moves or could rub. I still couldn't figure out where it's coming from or have any affect on the rattle.

Odd thing is that it completely 100% stopped one day for no apparent reason but returned a day later.

The rattle sounds exactly like someone is jiggling the door handle from the outside. However, the sound isn't coming from anywhere near the door handle and I taped down the door handle once just as a sanity check.

I too think it might be coming from the awning but it really sounds like it is coming from the door itself.

ruffis · 09-07-2011, 10:56 PM

First time responding so here goes! I've got an off-again on-again wind whistle from my 2011 390BH door at & above 60 mph. Water entry is also a problem but its the noise that makes life miserable. The dealer has replaced the seals (helped a bit), adjusted the hinges etc. and have informed the door manufacturer of the situation. they are "working on it"- with no follow up for the past two months. The dealership is going to give me an e-mail address for these folks and I will also contact Forest River. I'll keep you posted as I now realize I'm not alone here. Ruffis

RnR · 09-08-2011, 12:44 PM

I'll be taking the RV to the dealer Friday for another try of fixing the entrance door leak, hopefully they will get fixed this time. I also have a leveling jack hydraulic leak that they falied to fix on the last visit maybe this will get corrected also. I'll post the fix when they are finished.

langeraf · 09-08-2011, 04:19 PM

I have a 2010 390BH and also have the whistling noise...it is not too bad, but it does make a difference since it would be whisper quite in there without that whistle.

I also had a problem with the jacks. The Freighliner guys found a bad seal and rep,aced it under warranty...hopefully that takes care of the problem, not sure if it is related, but I have had a few times where the air bags didn't fully inflate and I had to drop and pick up the jacks to get them to fully inflate.

amy8194 · 09-09-2011, 01:11 PM

One thing to be sure of on the door issue, these doors have a double latch system...make sure you pull the door hard enough too get into the second latch..we learned this speaking with PTL the door mfg.

RnR · 09-10-2011, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by langeraf

I have a 2010 390BH and also have the whistling noise...it is not too bad, but it does make a difference since it would be whisper quite in there without that whistle.

I also had a problem with the jacks. The Freighliner guys found a bad seal and rep,aced it under warranty...hopefully that takes care of the problem, not sure if it is related, but I have had a few times where the air bags didn't fully inflate and I had to drop and pick up the jacks to get them to fully inflate.

I've had the same problem with the air bags not inflating, the Equalizer System has a deflate and inflate signal that controls the air bags. I believe if the jacks don't retrack properly the system doesn't produce the inflate signal and inhibits the air bags from infalting.

tmmar · 09-24-2011, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnR

I've had the same problem with the air bags not inflating, the Equalizer System has a deflate and inflate signal that controls the air bags. I believe if the jacks don't retrack properly the system doesn't produce the inflate signal and inhibits the air bags from infalting.

I normally need to hit the 'retract' button 2 or 3 times to get the air bags to fill. It's been this way since day one and Forest River said that I needed to start the coach before retracting. That didn't help so I just hit the retract button more than once. Not sure why this happens.

I have a question regarding the coach door. Has anyone had a problem with the arm at the that holds the door open? Something happens to that arm and the rivet in the middle hits the top edge of the door. I have put some velcro (fuzzy part) on the edge of the door which seems to help but would like a better, more permanent fix.

RnR · 10-08-2011, 08:31 AM

After the dealer made repairs the door doesn't seem to leak although I haven't been in any hard rains, it rained on my homeward bound trip but nothing more than a light rain. But I have the rig back to the dealer for the hydraulic leak from the right front leveling gear. This is their third attempt to correct the problem. This is warrenty repairs and it seems to take about a week for FR to authorize repair, I don't really understand that, but so far authorization is granted. So far the leveling gear has not stopped working, but it gives me an uneasy feeling when I see a puddle of oil when there shouldn't be. Picture attached I think.

Superchief · 10-10-2011, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnR

After the dealer made repairs the door doesn't seem to leak although I haven't been in any hard rains, it rained on my homeward bound trip but nothing more than a light rain. But I have the rig back to the dealer for the hydraulic leak from the right front leveling gear. This is their third attempt to correct the problem. This is warrenty repairs and it seems to take about a week for FR to authorize repair, I don't really understand that, but so far authorization is granted. So far the leveling gear has not stopped working, but it gives me an uneasy feeling when I see a puddle of oil when there shouldn't be. Picture attached I think.

I don't know if this will help or not, but I noticed the other day that my right front leveling gear was leaking. I found it leaking at a set screw near the bottom of the housing, which was loose. Took an allen wrench and tightened it down. Seemed to work for now.

RnR · 10-10-2011, 05:15 AM

Superchief, thanks for the info, it's at the dealer for correction, but when I get it back I will check it in case they miss it.

RoamingEngineer · 10-11-2011, 10:16 PM

I had a rear jack leak from the same port. I used a hex wrench to tighten it up and it hasn't leaked since.

Superchief · 10-12-2011, 07:13 PM

Same here. Checked the screw that I tightened and no leak since. I think these screws are where they "bleed" the air from the system.

RnR · 10-24-2011, 09:09 PM

Updates: I made two trips since the door has been adjusted both trips I encountered rain and had no leaks. I also had it washed at a truck wash I use some times the exit will rack the coach a little, befored the adjustment water would poor in at the top of the door, after the adjustment no leak, I think we have a winner. The dealer replaced the right front leveling jack, they said it had a busted seal. I was there during replacement and I ask the tech to check the set screw, he said it was tight. I will monitor it and see how it does.

Last weeks trip I lost the bottom bunk flip down monitor, it will most likely be a week before the dealer will get approval from Forest River to replace it.

Question: Is a week for Forest River to approve warranty repairs common for Berkshire owners? This seems a little long to me. What is the approval time for others?

LiteEmUp · 11-18-2011, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnR

Question: Is a week for Forest River to approve warranty repairs common for Berkshire owners? This seems a little long to me. What is the approval time for others?

Just had our rig in for a list of about 20 warranty repairs (the leaking jack mentioned above was one of my problems as well). Appointment was on a Friday and the following Tuesday morning I received a status update phone call from the dealership that most of the items were fixed, they were waiting on a couple parts from Forest River, and they scheduled an appointment with Freightliner that week to fix a couple of the chassis issues. In and out with no problems. A lot quicker than I had expected. I've never had the 'waiting on approval from Forest River' line. But this is just my experience.

RnR · 11-18-2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiteEmUp

Just had our rig in for a list of about 20 warranty repairs (the leaking jack mentioned above was one of my problems as well). Appointment was on a Friday and the following Tuesday morning I received a status update phone call from the dealership that most of the items were fixed, they were waiting on a couple parts from Forest River, and they scheduled an appointment with Freightliner that week to fix a couple of the chassis issues. In and out with no problems. A lot quicker than I had expected. I've never had the 'waiting on approval from Forest River' line. But this is just my experience.

Thank you for the input, it makes me think what I have suspected for some time, that the delays may be more at my dealer than Forest River. I want to keep a good relationship with my dealer as long as I can to prevent even longer delays, but I will press a little harder as necessary.

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