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Old 07-21-2015, 12:49 PM   #1
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Thumbs down Surprise! Black tank lever defective upon delivery

Picked up our 2015 FR Wildwood Heritage Glen from Lazy Days a few weeks ago. Supposedly, everything was inspected during the PDI.

A few days after receiving the coach, we took the whole family camping....all 8 of us. I'm not upset about a few things that broke/went wrong....the fixture on the sliding bedroom door broke, the range hood light burned out, the awning motor died, the slide did not close completely flush. However, I was quite upset when the fresh water tank busted through the undercarriage of the coach. We ended up having to have someone come to the campsite to make a temporary repair so that we could bring the coach in for repair. Yes, this was pretty upsetting.

However, the most upsetting part of the trip came when we went to dump the black water tank (containing 4 days worth of stuff from 8 people). Surprise....the black water tank lever WASN'T working....it was stuck in the OPEN position. Yup, that means that all of the contents of the black tank came gushing out when my DH took the cover off of the drain. In his efforts to reduce the flow of the discharge, he got covered in "sh*t stew."

I called the dealer a few days later and he ASSURED me that the black water tank lever was inspected during the PDI....I can't help but believe that this is not true.

Has anyone else had a problem with the black water tank lever being broken upon delivery? Has anyone else had their fresh water tank bust through the undercarriage?
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Old 07-21-2015, 04:04 PM   #2
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No to both questions, but based on our new Wildcat experiences, I'm not surprised. And yes, the dealer lied.
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Old 07-21-2015, 04:08 PM   #3
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Did "you" guys do the pdi?

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Old 07-21-2015, 04:54 PM   #4
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Does not surprise me that it happened. Another dealer not doing there PDI. Cost cutting. Later RJD
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Old 07-21-2015, 04:54 PM   #5
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Turbs,
We had a "walkthrough" during which we "inspected" the unit. I thought a PDI was an inspection/procedure that the dealer performed in which they (dealer) tested all systems. Yes, we turned on lights, turned on A/C, heat, stove burners, faucets, etc. However, there really wasn't an opportunity to put water in the black tank and then drain it because there's no septic outlet in the parking lot where our walkthrough took place. In fact, we were just told how to put in the unit and told how to drain it...it was never demonstrated/done live. Perhaps it's my fault for not insisting that we tow the unit to a dump station before accepting it instead of relying on the dealers "PDI."
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Old 07-22-2015, 12:24 PM   #6
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black tank valve

I hope it's not as bad as the black tank valve on the cottage we had to take I four panels down to replace the valve to get enough slack to install the new valve in
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Old 07-22-2015, 12:38 PM   #7
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We bought an Salem in Jan 2015, it has been in the dealer over 280 days that we have owned it. Gray tank Black tank mislabeled. Black tank came loose. Trailer flood due water fitting on commode. Ruined counter in outside kitchen. Level sensors for black did not work,
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Old 07-22-2015, 02:10 PM   #8
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Friends of ours have a 2014 shasta Oasis TT. Their fresh water tank fell off the bottom of the TT after they filled it at home getting ready to leave for a weekend trip. Thankfully they were at home when it happened. The straps holding it up were really thin and flimsy and there were only two straps on the tank. I helped fix it and I guarantee it won't fall out again. would be a warranty issue for them but we just fixed it in about 2 1/2 hours and still went camping for the weekend.
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Old 07-22-2015, 02:28 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eresidae View Post
Turbs,
We had a "walkthrough" during which we "inspected" the unit. I thought a PDI was an inspection/procedure that the dealer performed in which they (dealer) tested all systems. Yes, we turned on lights, turned on A/C, heat, stove burners, faucets, etc. However, there really wasn't an opportunity to put water in the black tank and then drain it because there's no septic outlet in the parking lot where our walkthrough took place. In fact, we were just told how to put in the unit and told how to drain it...it was never demonstrated/done live. Perhaps it's my fault for not insisting that we tow the unit to a dump station before accepting it instead of relying on the dealers "PDI."
You live and learn - sorry this happened to you

A PDI is a complete checkout of every component in the RV with you and the RV tech going over every functioning item in the rig. While I agree that even on our exhaustive PDI (it took 6 hours) we did not dump the tanks, we did test the functioning of the 3 tank levers in our holding tanks.

Our RV dealer even went one better: they put us up for the night in their adjacent campground - which was very cool. There, we did get to test the functionalityu of the plumbing. A tech even came over the next morning to check on us and see if everything was working correctly. I tell you this because there is a sad ending: Last NOV this RV dealer was consumed by the Camping World Borg and I suspect this high level of customer care and service does not exist there any more
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Old 07-22-2015, 02:30 PM   #10
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Sorry to hear about all the bad experiences. I've had 3 trailers and each had their own fair share of challenges to say the least which the dealer and/or forest river fixed. Not sure I will buy another travel trailer once mine sells until the quality factor comes back.
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Old 07-22-2015, 09:32 PM   #11
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Our Silverback had that problem from the beginning. Former dealer (where we bought it) added a lever to block everything till you got the hose on. Not a fix just a patch. The whole thing finally broke inside and had to get it fixed right somewhere else.
Also told us the green stuff running down the roof from the A/C was normal. Now having to replace A/C because all the freon is gone,(the green stuff running down the roof).
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Old 07-22-2015, 10:20 PM   #12
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Eastlake Roo If you wait for factory quality to come back I suspect you won't own another RV.
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Old 07-23-2015, 08:14 AM   #13
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Surprise! Black tank lever defective upon delivery

Quote:
Originally Posted by wrt111 View Post
We bought an Salem in Jan 2015, it has been in the dealer over 280 days that we have owned it. Gray tank Black tank mislabeled. Black tank came loose. Trailer flood due water fitting on commode.

Something's wrong with these numbers - either the "Jan 2015" part or the '280 days'.
Re: commode leak -- I caused a similar problem by using high pressure campground water without a pressure regulator.


Sent (I think)
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Old 07-24-2015, 07:46 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EastlakeRoo View Post
Sorry to hear about all the bad experiences. I've had 3 trailers and each had their own fair share of challenges to say the least which the dealer and/or forest river fixed. Not sure I will buy another travel trailer once mine sells until the quality factor comes back.
Until the quality factor comes back ???
I am guessing you may never own another TT !!!
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Old 07-24-2015, 08:05 AM   #15
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OP yes there have been other units that have had the (Water Tank) fall OUT! In regards to the (Total PDI) we picked up our unit in the (COLD Winter) no Water just (Air Pressure) for Water system check! Come spring the F/W Tank had a (Body Grinder Burn in it) and the Pump didn't work! Total enclosed belly! So things Do Happen and Camp On! Youroo!!
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Old 07-24-2015, 08:30 AM   #16
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We had a grey water valve blocked open during a 5000 mi trip. Therefore we could not use sinks unless we we hooked up to sewer. Returned home and took in for warranty work. Report said "debris" blockage. A member of our camping group told me he had the same issue with a different manufacturer. He said when holes are drilled for fittings and the like, some remanents fall "into" the holding tank and "may" eventually cause an issue. So we are 2 and looks like you are number three (of many others)
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