Propane Leak

[Brother Les]

Originally Posted by bclemens

I really have no response because I know nothing about the Salem side of things

At least you are responding in the motorized division. Kudos to you for that. After months and months of trying to speak to someone from FR on the Salem side of things, I just gave up. Five times I went back to the Dealer (over a hundred miles from where I live one way) for multiple...multiple issues. Three trips for the same (grrr) (slide motors) problem. I was more or less relieved when the warranty was over as it was cheaper for me to pay out of my pocket to the local dealer to work on my unit. I would have bought the FR Salem Hemisphere from 'them' (local) but they were prohibited to sell the 'line' I wanted.

The local Dealer knows that they have my business for parts and repair from now on, just as they have for the last 20 years.

Thank-you for your time and putting up with my rant.

[bclemens]

No worries. I spread the word about this forum to whoever will listen. Unfortunately I don't see or talk to the towable guys as much as I do the motorized.

I don't have control over the Class A's, but at least I know them on and can pass on info. I know that the FR3 guys monitor this forum...the Georgetown guys may as well.

[RvBill3]

There have been posts in the Sunseeker forum about leaking/failed regulators, including mine. There is definitely a manufacturing problem. Mine failed a few months out of warranty and I just replaced it myself. FR may not be getting an accurate picture of how many of these have failed because they are being replaced by owners and/or are out of warranty (but still within what would be expected to be the usable lifetime). Almost all the failures described are the same--propane leaking out the vent hole. I don't know what you can do about it--but just know that it is happening even if FR isn't hearing much about it.


2012 Forest River Sunseeker 2300 Chevy

[Roger64]

Failed regulator from. Solera sled 24s. This occurred 1 week after we took possession.
I suspect a quality control issue.

[devilsquid]

Originally Posted by bclemens

I'm not sure, anywhere in my post that I sugar coated anything. I stated that there may be more that are not posting. I was simply saying that using the small sample of posters is not the most accurate gauge of failure rate (poster showing 57% failure).

Also, this is a Solera sub-forum, I only used our numbers (motorized, my division). I have zero input on the trailer side of things and have no idea what they are using. yes, it is all Forest River, but we run each division independently. I really have no response because I know nothing about the Salem side of things

First off I want to thank Mr. Clemens for listening and giving us great information/feedback and taking our thoughts, recommendations and yes gripes back to the FR powers that be...but no where did I say that 57% of regulators had failed. What I did say was that 57% of owner posters in this thread had failed regulators and yes that's a small number of failures compared to the total sold and yes those owners that have not had a problem don't make comment, but I'm old enough to remember the Ford Pinto (not very many exploding gas tanks when compared to the total sold, but for those few that experienced it...not good). Now, now everyone, I'm not saying that FR is anyway similar or as cold hearted as Ford was back then but it seems to me there is a problem that if not investigated may eventually lead to bad things happening to someone. I'm just saying that this is not a minor problem (propane is an explosive gas) and that this should not be looked at from a purely "numbers" perspective. Sometimes in the big scheme of things doing what is right for those who trust that the products they buy are safe should out weigh the economy of what the numbers say. Ok I'm off of my soapbox. Once again thank you BC for your interest and support and I do love my Solera.

[Still Kickin]

Just sitting here reading the various posts in this thread. It reminds me of a couple of things.

We have all driven enough miles to happen upon an intersection, that has a traffic control device, that seems out of place. Either because your in the middle of nowhere, and wonder why there is a blinking traffic light, or a super sized stop sign. Then, I read an article about one location. Seems several accidents involving serious injuries had been occuring at that particular intersection for years, and for no apparent reason (no blind grade, or steep hill, etc.) But then it all came into focus. Seems the "need" appeard only after numerous accidents including loss of life over a long period.

This type of 'after the fact' happens all over, recalls on safety issues on automobiles, childrens toy chocking hazard, etc. Some companies step to the plate and are proactive, see the problem and voluntarily correct their error, some comply with consumer product safety commission recalls, while others are wait and see types.

This failure involves explosive gasses, and if leaked into a confined area, like a storage facility, only bad things can happen. Wonder what the supplier of these regulators to FR will be, proactive, or wait and see. Just an observation.

[bclemens]

Again guys, we're not burying our head in the sand. We're actively monitoring the situation. I have talked to several different sources and most seem to think the return rate on regulators has been pretty much the same rate for years and years across various suppliers.

Outside my house right now I have a leaking regulator. I have lived here for about 10 years and almost every year I smell gas, call the gas company, they come out and replace the regulator. Their comment after year 4 was that there must be some debris in the line, which eventually causes the valve to not close all the way (don't know enough about it to argue). For the first 4 years I was panicked. Now when I call they seem pretty nonchalant about it, since it has happened so often. We test each and every regulator. I just wonder, with it being the vent...if we just need to pay closer attention to keeping debris (saw dust, dust, etc) out of the lines. We've used multiple regulators and the return rate seems to be no higher or lower with any of them.

Again, if we can get some of these back I can send them off to the supplier to analyze it themselves.

Sunseeker Plant (Attn B Clemens)
914 CR 1
Elkhart, IN 46507

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by devilsquid

You can add our 2013 S to the list of failed propane regulators. Went out to pre-flight our Solera prior to a long trip and found an empty tank that I just had filled (less than a week ago). I believe that's 4 out of 7 owner posters of this thread that have had this happen to them...I know a small sample but that's 57%...just saying.

You sort of did. even if you were just talking about this forum. All I did was comment on that percentage. (In my previous post I clearly stated "57% of posters")

[bclemens]

Again, I am not disagreeing that if we can find a better one we should. But just a quick google search, says this is not a problem unique to Forest River.

"It's not uncommon for a regulator to go bad. The only symptom I had was that it leaked out a whole tank of gas because I forgot to shut off the tank.

The odds of both tanks OPD valves and the pigtails feeding the regulator from the tank all going out at the same time is pretty small. I would suspect a bad regulator, and make sure you have gas in one of the tanks.

After all of this is done, buy a spare regulator for your parts box. They're cheap.

2011 Tundra 5.7L
2011 Keystone Outback 277RL "

[Sandiegodoug]

Nice truck
I have a 2008 trd limited 4x4 that I can't part with even though I camp in a solera


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[cousin01]

BC. Sorry you bore the brunt of comments from a non-solera owner looking to vent about something that is not relevant to this incredibly useful sub-forum.




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[mark0224]

On our last trip when I turned on the propane there was a strong odor of propane and I've never had this happen before. Put soapy water all over the hoses and couldn't find a leak yet could still smell propane. Shut the tank off and smell went away so left propane off for rest of trip. Since nothing on the tanks bubbled with the soapy water and I couldn't find a leak I had to guess I got a new regulator and installed it. When finished propane was turned on and no smell and soapy water on connections no bubbles. I did notice one thing before when I shut the propane off the gauge would turn red again now it stays clear till you turn on the stove or another appliance.