378 Georgetown Hot Water Tank Mount Warning

[SinkorSwim]

A suggestion for owners to check the mounting of your hot water tanks. There is a known potential issue with the standard mount whereby the hot water tank is not having its weight supported by a shelf, which puts excess strain on the two L brackets securing the bottom of the side panel to the coach which can cause all four screws to rip out of the metal allowing the bottom of the panel to fall away from the coach.

The factory fix is to use a wooden block to adjust the hieght of the hot water tank support shelf and to use one L bracket and one straight bracket from the frame to the bottom of the side panel.

I noticed at a gas stop that the bottom of one of my side panels was sticking out 3-4 inches further than all of the others. Laying on my back and looking up I discovered that all four screws on the two L brackets that hold the bottom of the side panel containing the hot water tank had ripped out off the side panel allowing the bottom of that panel to float out. The hot water tank is actully connected to that side panel. While my wife pushed the panel back in, I put my hand up through the hot water tank bypass access hole and could put my fingers between the bottom of the hot water tank and the support shelf, meaning the tank was not resting on the support shelf so all the weight of the full hot water tank was being transferred onto the L brackets connected to the relatively thin metel of the coach side panel. My temp fix was to replace the 3/4" #8 screws that ripped out with oversized #14 screws. Factory fix was as above. Just look at your L brackets to make sure the mounting screws are in good shape and have a feel that the bottom of your hot water tank is being supported vby the shelf. Factory said not an uncommon problem.

[lochsa]

I wonder if this the problem that I'm seeing. My WH compartment seems to drift out about 2" from road vibrations. I took a peak in the access hole, but couldn't tell what was suppose to be keeping it in place. Take a look my pic. Is this what you were experiencing?

[norwood12800]

I noticed that mine is sticking out exactly as your picture shows.

[F and E Damp]

Is this an issue just with the 378? I have an '02 325, and the water tank is higher up in the body than it appears to be in the 378, from the descriptions above.

[SinkorSwim]

Yep thats the look. If you lay down and look up that little gap you should be able to see two L brackets going from the frame to the inside of the side panel that is sticking out. I'll bet you will see the metal around those screws puckering out or the screws already pulling free. I'm guessing the amount the side panel sticks out is governed by how much the hot water tank has to drop before it gets support from the brace table under the tank. If you put your fingers in through the hot water tank bypass hole, and your tank is resting on the support brace, and your screws still look like they are biting metal, my guess is you are fine. My tank was obiviously way above the support brace so it dropped enough to rip all the screws out before it hit the brace. Shine a flash light up the back of that panel and into the bypass hole and my description should make sense.

Sorry can only speak to my model not sure about others.

[lochsa]

I'll take a look this weekend and take some pictures if I can (and bring some #14 screws with me).

I have a 2010 330ts.

[cfsoistman]

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...man-21579.html

Here's what I found on my 2007 Georgetown 370TS and how I fixed it. It's exactly what you're referring to and pretty bad that FR is still using scrap lumber as a support for a water heater that weighs 100 lbs when full.

[lochsa]

Thanks RAYNMKR. Seeing that plywood makes me a bit concerned about the what's in the rest of the coach. Question for you. What is the risk of leaving it be as is from what you found while fixing yours? Can you imagine the WH falling through the plastic bottom? I plan to fix it, but it may be some time before I have free weekend. Just trying to understand the urgency. Thanks!

[cfsoistman]

Originally Posted by lochsa

Thanks RAYNMKR. Seeing that plywood makes me a bit concerned about the what's in the rest of the coach. Question for you. What is the risk of leaving it be as is from what you found while fixing yours? Can you imagine the WH falling through the plastic bottom? I plan to fix it, but it may be some time before I have free weekend. Just trying to understand the urgency. Thanks!

It won't break through the plastic compartment but it will snap off the screws that hold the panel flush with the sides. My panel also shifted forward about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch to the point where it almost pinched against the propane compartment door. After I got mine back together and all the spacing was correct I tek screwed a small piece of angle so the panel couldn't shift forward again.

[nemo45]

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...man-21579.html

Here's what I found on my 2007 Georgetown 370TS and how I fixed it. It's exactly what you're referring to and pretty bad that FR is still using scrap lumber as a support for a water heater that weighs 100 lbs when full.

The support they are putting under them now is much better than what is shown in your pictures. It is much like the one you made. But, the screws still pulled out of the panel. I replaced the #8's with #12's. I think the problem is they use 2X2 blocks under the support vertically and the weight of the tank is bowing the bottom of the plastic compartment. If they used them horizontally the weight would be spread out over a larger surface area. Actually, the straight brackets are a good idea, because the pressure would be pulling on the side of the screws and not against the threads.

[senforex]

I have the same problem with my G378, 2012!

[jojo bamboo]

Mine looks ok (2008 373)
I lay under the motorhome
by/under the hot water heater.
Unscew the inspection cap
stick my hand in, feel around
and pull out a electronic box
about 5 inch by 3 inch
with wires coming off it,
all still connected to something.
I was wondering what that is for.
Thanks for any help.
jojo bamboo

[cfsoistman]

Originally Posted by senforex

I have the same problem with my G378, 2012!

That's exactly what mine looked like. The first time I noticed mine the screw on the left side was missing. I just figured it got loose and fell out. I replaced it and about 3 months later I could see the screw had sheared off. I guess that Loc-tite held the threads in place but it lost it's head. I noticed as I pushed in on the bottom how much it pushed back so I unscrewed the cap and looked inside and that's when I saw the small support.

[armye7]

Help, took our 2012 378 out for the first time turned on hot water tank water warmed up then went off cant get to come back on? Also when I turn on the furnace they do come on but so does the air condition any clue what the fix might be???

[SinkorSwim]

I "think" I might know the answer to your furnace question as I had the same thing happen to me. I beleive your AC is not coming on when you turn the furnace on, just the AC unit fans are coing on. The controllers manage 3 settings, those for the AC, the FURNACE and the AC FAN. If the AC FAN is set to anything other than "auto" then they will come on when you turn the furnace on. Try setting the FANS to auto then turning the furnace on and see if this fixes your problem.

On the hot water tank side are you running on shorepower or propane?

[armye7]

I have the shore line pluged in but was running hot water tank with propane

[SinkorSwim]

Hmm,

If you are on shore power then unless you physically turned off the AC power switch located behind the outside hot water tank access panel you would be attempting to use both AC and propane to heat the water. I don't make a habit of doing this but you can if you are really in a rush for hot water.

If you are using both shore power and propane and not getting hot water something funky is up. Did you check for water in the hot water tank by slightly lifting the pressure releif valve on the hot water tank? When you turned the gas on for the water heater at the inside control panel did the reset light go out and did you hear the burner by the hot water tank ignite? If you have water in the tank, the gas burner is lite and there is hot water coming out of the pressure relief valve then check that the in/out valves to the tank are fully open and the bypass valve is fully closed. If you are connected to shore power and the water coming out of the releif valve is still cold did you press the electric and gas thermostat reset buttons behind the outside access pane(big black rubber looking buttons - make sure water in tank before resetting)l?

Next level of troubleshooting is going to require tools and a multimeter.....

[armye7]

I figured out what the problem was I thought I turned the by pass valve but after I looked there was three that needed turned, you were correct about the fan has to be on auto. Thanks for all your help.

[pmsherman]

After our second trip in our 2011 327DS Georgetown, I noticed that the bottom of the outside cover plate for the water heater had started pulling away from the sidewall. The dealer checked it and explained that the tank is wrapped with foam for insulation then was supported using two blocks of wood positioned so that the edges of the blocks were pressed up against the foam. Time and normal inertial forces caused by driving on today's potholed roads caused the edge of the block to dig into the foam allowing the tank to pivot at the top of the cover plate. The cure was to add a full (tank) sized wood support for the foam wrapped tank to rest on. The original supports now prevent the tank from shifting forwards and backwards, a much better use for them.

Phil

[lochsa]

So I also noticed the plastic flooring under the WH is bulging down from the weight of the WH. I unscrewed the access port and took the pic below. You can see the scaffolding they built resting on top o the plastic flooring to support the WH. That's crazy/lazy engineering...