Fresh water tank fell out???

[jpauley4]

I don't think any of the problems I've found with my Wildwood would of added any weight to it. They didn't tighten the hose clamp on the connection to the fill fitting. They didn't tighten the hose clamp to the top of the fresh water tank and they position the rear mount so the tank wouldn't sit on the axle. I wish I could get the Hispanic work group that install my roof to build me a trailer. I'm sure I have a much better product.

[d2mrp0]

Originally Posted by Still Kickin

Looks good. How about replacing with 5/4 1x6 treated bullnose, just incase you develope a rotting issue.

NICE JOB! I used 2x 3 foot 5/8" threaded bolt with nyloc nuts and spring / split washers - and cinched the two pieces of angle line together. One at each end. See pics. I don't plan to use it very much so not concerned about it falling out.

[BvN]

The tank is very obviously not properly supported. I hope the manufacturer is made aware of this. Poor design.

[d2mrp0]

Originally Posted by BvN

The tank is very obviously not properly supported. I hope the manufacturer is made aware of this. Poor design.

Absolutely. The problem with these plastic tanks is they deform and bulge too easily which changes their shape drastically so that the factory supports no longer work.

The dealer was very good - they were willing to add additional supports as part of warranty - but it's a 4 hour round trip for me, so leaving for a few days and coming back is an 8 hour investment. I'd rather try to fix it myself for 2 hours of work. As we likely won't be going primitive, it's really just to hold it in place. However I did fill it with 30 gallons and it was holding steady. If we were going to fully use the tank I'd put supporting strips under it as others have done.

[SKnight]

Originally Posted by d2mrp0

Absolutely. The problem with these plastic tanks is they deform and bulge too easily which changes their shape drastically so that the factory supports no longer work.

The dealer was very good - they were willing to add additional supports as part of warranty - but it's a 4 hour round trip for me, so leaving for a few days and coming back is an 8 hour investment. I'd rather try to fix it myself for 2 hours of work. As we likely won't be going primitive, it's really just to hold it in place. However I did fill it with 30 gallons and it was holding steady. If we were going to fully use the tank I'd put supporting strips under it as others have done.

It took me an afternoon and about $40 worth of materials to vastly improve mine, I'd have spent more than that in diesel fuel there and back to get the same basic stuff it had before.

[bareftn]

Originally Posted by SKnight

It took me an afternoon and about $40 worth of materials to vastly improve mine, I'd have spent more than that in diesel fuel there and back to get the same basic stuff it had before.

Do you have pics to show us ? I will take pics of mine today and post asap and Please others who fixed it your self please post pics and show us
Thanks Paul

[szabla]

Well my son picked up a used 2008 toy hauler of a different brand and even though his has angle iron support on his tanks, his tanks are bulging down also. They bent the iron.
This seems to be a problem that has been going on for years.

[Flybob]

Moderators Note:

This thread contains some good information and some creative solutions to a problem which is the goal of this forum. Please don't jeopardize the discussion by hijacking it into a legal or political discussion which will result in the thread being shut down for violating forum rules.

[SKnight]

Originally Posted by bareftn

Do you have pics to show us ? I will take pics of mine today and post asap and Please others who fixed it your self please post pics and show us
Thanks Paul

I do, let me see if I can dredge them up.

Basically, I straightened the factory frame out, then reinforced the rails with 1X.125 angle iron welded to it, I drilled the cross bars out so they could be bolted in place instead of just sitting there, I laid a 1/8" piece of wood down to support the flimsy tank bottom and I changed the angle some so that water would run towards the fitting for the water pump.

[szabla]

This thread contains some good information and some creative solutions to a problem which is the goal of this forum. Please don't jeopardize the discussion by hijacking it into a legal or political discussion which will result in the thread being shut down for violating forum rules.

Flybob, does the Manufacturer's ever read these types of problems on this site, or are we just blowing smoke and we will never see any remedy to the problem, other than our own innovations?
It seems the only solution from the manufacturer is to "not" use the product for which it was made.

[Dexxter43]

The fresh water tank on our FR trailer fell out yesterday on I-90 freeway. It didn't fall all the way out, just most of it so it was dragged on the pavement until it was totally destroyed. We were unaware of it until we stopped for gas. Incredible! Most of the underbelly cover was also destroyed along with the hoses and some wiring. We have a 2017 Forest River Salem Cruise Lite that we bought new so it is of course now out of warranty. It is too late to do any beefing up. We are looking at total replacement of the tank plus hoses and wiring and underbelly cover. It is my opinion that something like this should never happen! It never occurred to me to remove the underbelly cover and inspect the tanks to see if they were properly supported. I have owned 6 or 7 travel trailers previously and I had never heard of the water tank falling out. I think Forest River should be responsible for this sort of thing even though I am a year out of warranty.

[rockfordroo]

Many threads here on water tanks falling out.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wate...iverforums.com

FR says "Don't travel with water in the tank."

So good luck on any warranty.