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Old 10-21-2019, 09:46 AM   #1
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Fresh water tank overflow

2019 SABRE 31' 5TH WHEEL. I was filling my fresh water tank for our trip to Florida.
Under the unit below the fresh water tank are 2 blue hoses. One capped which I used to drain the F/W tank when I picked it up from the dealer. Adjacent to is another blue hose. After filling the F/W tank for some time I noticed water flowing from the second (uncapped) tube. Can I assume that this second hose is the the fresh water overflow? Thank you in advance for your assistance.
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Old 10-21-2019, 09:52 AM   #2
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Your walk through salesman should have told you what these tubes were for.
It does seem as the uncapped tube is the 'overflow/breather for your fresh water tank. The freshwater 'drain' and 'over flow' tubes that I have seen have always been WHITE tubes and not blue.

You need to find your 'low point' drain points for when you are draining the water system to winterize your unit.
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Old 10-21-2019, 10:02 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brother Les View Post
Your walk through salesman should have told you what these tubes were for.

Amen to that statement but does anyone here think we'll see salesmen ever give a complete introduction to the customer's new trailer in our lifetime(s).

First requirement would be for the salesman (or designated delivery person) to actually know all the items themselves.

I'd bet that half them don't even know what low point drains are as an example.

For old-timers that have had trailers for years it's not so bad. For someone brand new to RV's it's a whole different issue.

Some dealers do a better job than others. The dealer i bought my last trailer from had a "specialist" that performed the delivery walk-through. The dealer scheduled a delivery time and allowed two hours for the process. I've got to say this individual did a pretty good job of pointing out where everything an owner would NORMALLY encounter and how it was used.

The rest of the country? Horror stories abound

As for the tube that drains water when tank is full, it's safe to assume it's an overflow/vent. Would be nice to put a label on or near to point that out.
I wish my tank was vented in the same way instead of a small tube incorporated in the gravity fill inlet. Tube's too small and if tanks are filled too quickly they swell and possibly break support mounts. A 1/2" tube connected at the top of the tank does a lot better job.

In my opinion though these tubes should have a screen on the end to prevent possibility of bugs crawling in or road dirt/dust contaminating tank.
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Old 10-21-2019, 10:14 AM   #4
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Thank you Les

Just went and looked again... both blue one capped and one not. In retrospect the Walk Through was lacking. My last 5th wheel was a 1999. Difference of night and day with my new one. I will say and I have written the Factory that their QA personnel need come counseling/training. The final product that comes out of Final Finish is his ultimate responsibility. I have removed the Shower doors/track, replaced heater vents, reattached modling found the control box on top of the water heater circuit board up under a cold water line. Wires wrapped around a water line (Code Violation). Wheel loose on Bedroom door track, Broken window shade. As a former QA Manager for SKYLINE, and assistant QA Manager for SCHULT/OAKWOOD some people need counseling/termination.
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Old 10-21-2019, 10:42 AM   #5
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I've been on a couple factory tours at Forest River. Coming from a long career in aerospace defense (32 years at General Dynamics) I didn't really expect to see that level of QA on their production lines. What shocked me was that I didn't see ANY. When I repeatedly quizzed them about how they handled non conformance issues with the units they were producing that day, they didn't have an answer. Only that they addressed issues as they come up. They didn't do that....only rushed through producing that days quota as quickly as possible so they could all go home that day as early as possible.

I've said it over and over....you better approach a new rv purchase as a 'work in progress" or a "fixer-upper". I would always advise someone getting into the game as a first time buyer, to purchase a unit about 3-4 years old. By then, most issues have been fixed if it was owned by a camper with long time experience.
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Old 10-21-2019, 01:25 PM   #6
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I didn't know they had quality control departments. Surprise to me. Probably not a job you would confess to.
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Old 10-21-2019, 01:35 PM   #7
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I agree Sir...

Quote:
Originally Posted by SlowrideHD View Post
I've been on a couple factory tours at Forest River. Coming from a long career in aerospace defense (32 years at General Dynamics) I didn't really expect to see that level of QA on their production lines. What shocked me was that I didn't see ANY. When I repeatedly quizzed them about how they handled non conformance issues with the units they were producing that day, they didn't have an answer. Only that they addressed issues as they come up. They didn't do that....only rushed through producing that days quota as quickly as possible so they could all go home that day as early as possible.

I've said it over and over....you better approach a new rv purchase as a 'work in progress" or a "fixer-upper". I would always advise someone getting into the game as a first time buyer, to purchase a unit about 3-4 years old. By then, most issues have been fixed if it was owned by a camper with long time experience.

Having a Competent QA Manager with attention to detail, that knows the Codes and holds production personnel accountable is the key to profit and success. Forest River at the minimum could buy the QA Manager a role of red tape to assist him in his Job. Forest River does not seem to realize that a successful QA Program/Manager can save them $100,000's of Dollars in Warranty/Maintenance claims.
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Old 10-21-2019, 02:38 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanMike View Post
Amen to that statement but does anyone here think we'll see salesmen ever give a complete introduction to the customer's new trailer in our lifetime(s).

First requirement would be for the salesman (or designated delivery person) to actually know all the items themselves.

I'd bet that half them don't even know what low point drains are as an example.

For old-timers that have had trailers for years it's not so bad. For someone brand new to RV's it's a whole different issue.

Some dealers do a better job than others. The dealer i bought my last trailer from had a "specialist" that performed the delivery walk-through. The dealer scheduled a delivery time and allowed two hours for the process. I've got to say this individual did a pretty good job of pointing out where everything an owner would NORMALLY encounter and how it was used.

The rest of the country? Horror stories abound

As for the tube that drains water when tank is full, it's safe to assume it's an overflow/vent. Would be nice to put a label on or near to point that out.
I wish my tank was vented in the same way instead of a small tube incorporated in the gravity fill inlet. Tube's too small and if tanks are filled too quickly they swell and possibly break support mounts. A 1/2" tube connected at the top of the tank does a lot better job.

In my opinion though these tubes should have a screen on the end to prevent possibility of bugs crawling in or road dirt/dust contaminating tank.
Wouldn't it be nice if the manufacturer put out a pre delivery video so a person could peruse it their own leisure. oh! that would be too easy.
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Old 10-21-2019, 03:50 PM   #9
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That's solid advise vicmic83. We bought a 3 year old Lexington class C and it's been good. Weve driven it cross country with only minor issues, mostly related to valve stem/tpms issues. I enjoy doing work on it and have made lots of upgrades myself. If I were to sell it today the new owners would be very happy.
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Old 10-21-2019, 03:55 PM   #10
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I refer to that as "PRIDE IN OWNERSHIP".
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Old 10-21-2019, 04:51 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cariboo camper View Post
Wouldn't it be nice if the manufacturer put out a pre delivery video so a person could peruse it their own leisure. oh! that would be too easy.
That would be nice and I own some equipment that the manufacturer did exactly that, put all the instructions on a DVD.

With FR however can you imagine how many different videos they would have to make? One for every brand and each model within the brand.

How do you spell E X P E N S I V E? [emoji849]
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