Bent fresh water support

[dmdomokos]

Originally Posted by captaindomon

So on my new 2017 2504s, I realized today that one of the freshwater tank supports is bent. I know this has happened to many people. I didn't overfill. Still under warranty. Any advice? Will it hold? Should I take it in under warranty and have it reinforced?

I used a strap across the bottom to hold mine until I could get it reinforced. FR payed for the material to beef it up, but not the labor. I now can tow with a full tank when required.

[captaindomon]

Many thanks to everyone so far. I've sent pictures to the service rep at the dealer. I'll let you know what ends up happening.

[captaindomon]

Ok, so the dealer told me what they would do is order the same part and replace it, but not reinforce anything. And that it would take at least a month for them to get me in, and no estimate on how long to perform the fix, or parts availability, etc. So following everyone's advice on here, I just did a fix myself. Hopefully it will solve the problem, if not, I will make it stronger. I didn't want to drop the tank or cut out the existing welded supports, so I just built a cage around the whole thing with plated steel and stainless bolts. I'm a little concerned about the long horizontals, I might need to do something thicker (right now it's rolled 12 guage, might not be enough).

[captaindomon]

Image didn't show up.

[scotty1121]

I sent a picture to my dealer and was told that FR has agreed to replace the supports. Suppose to be sending the dealer a new schematic of how to replace the supports so that it does not happen again...That was about a month ago and I have not heard anything since. My support was bent prior to me purchasing the new camper. I had never had any water in it at all. It was winterized when I brought it home. I did fix it myself and reinforced the front support bracket, but if I ever hear from the dealer I will let them do their "fix" just to see what they do to it.

[captaindomon]

Let us know what they say. Here is the picture of my fix.

[scotty1121]

I will let you know if/when they fix it. I just bolted an old piece of bed frame rail to it! Works fine and have traveled with a full tank of water a few times with no problem.

[Jay2504]

I too did the "bed frame special" Jay

[scotty1121]

Ha! Nothing beats repurposing junk!

[ktscrapin]

Originally Posted by scotty1121

I will let you know if/when they fix it. I just bolted an old piece of bed frame rail to it! Works fine and have traveled with a full tank of water a few times with no problem.
Attachment 140726

Did you bolt it directly to the frame and have to create new holes?

Also, is the underbelly cover hard to remove? My new 2509s has a covered underbelly. We just picked it up Saturday and found the bottom is already sagging. The dealer had filled it full for pickup and we didn't know about this concern until driving a few hundred miles home.

[HangDiver]

I would first go to the dealer and see what they can do as suggested by KyDan. If you're even the slightest bit handy and want to tackle it yourself I wrote up a description of what I did on this thread starting with post #64 and ending with post #69. http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...-129346-7.html

[dmdomokos]

The problem with a warranty repair is that they will only replace the support with the exact same support, so you still have the problem. I had FR pay for the labor of a standard repair and then I had it reinforced and paid the difference.

[007matman]

Originally Posted by ktscrapin

Did you bolt it directly to the frame and have to create new holes?

Also, is the underbelly cover hard to remove? My new 2509s has a covered underbelly. We just picked it up Saturday and found the bottom is already sagging. The dealer had filled it full for pickup and we didn't know about this concern until driving a few hundred miles home.

It's not bad removing the panel. It's a pain putting it back into place though. If you could leave part of it attached I would recommend that. It'll make it a lot easier.

I had to remove the larger panel on mine because I was working on everything (tank had slipped through, needed to replace ductwork and seal things up). I had to have my wife and 17 yr old it there to hold everything in place while a few words that normally wouldn't fly out of my mouth did. it's not fun but not impossible either in case you need to.

The dealer (as well as others on this forum) will likely tell you it's ok to cut into it but I'm not a fan for introducing another potential point of failure or critter infiltration hole.

To re-secure some of the larger pieces I'd get self-tapping screws.

If it was built like mine you'll have the coroplast stapled to wood strips that run along the bottom of the frame. Those strips will be screwed into the frame with self-tappers. I added a few extra self-tapping screws because mine had actually failed along one side and was riding on the top of the front axle. Figured it was good insurance.

[scotty1121]

Originally Posted by ktscrapin

Did you bolt it directly to the frame and have to create new holes?

Also, is the underbelly cover hard to remove? My new 2509s has a covered underbelly. We just picked it up Saturday and found the bottom is already sagging. The dealer had filled it full for pickup and we didn't know about this concern until driving a few hundred miles home.

Yes, bolted directly to frame after drilling holes. There are other threads and photos of different ways to strengthen it. As far as the underbelly, I don't know, mine is open. Keep in mind that the tank itself will sag down some when full even if the support brackets are strong and not bent.

2017 Mini Lite 2306

[ktscrapin]

Thanks for the responses everyone!

I wonder how I can tell if the frame is actually bent (as apposed to just sagging when full) without removing the cover. Is there something I can "feel" for? We emptied the tank last night, but there is a still a slight sag... which may be expected, not sure.

[007matman]

You probably need to lay eyes on it. Mine had slipped between the rails and was partially hanging below. The rails were fine so I put some wood shims in there to limit the amount of movement that was permitted. So far so good. Hasn't slipped through yet.

[CedarCreekWoody]

The belly of the tank may bulge a bit, but the metal crossmembers should remain straight.

[martinak]

Check out ours.[emoji36] 2017 FR Wildwind, 7 days used (not even consecutives). Brand new. Not our first trailer (had a Layton for years). Never had FR before. Too bad we didn't know before buying. Stupid design with not cross support. Ruined our summer travel plans. Don't even know when will get it back.😡

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by martinak

Check out ours.[emoji36] 2017 FR Wildwind, 7 days used (not even consecutives). Brand new. Not our first trailer (had a Layton for years). Never had FR before. Too bad we didn't know before buying. Stupid design with not cross support. Ruined our summer travel plans. Don't even know when will get it back.��

Sorry to see that. Sadly, we have seen it before but usually not to that extent. Rumor is after all these years with the problem FR is going to beef up the supports on at least some 2018 models but still suggesting not traveling with a full FW tank.
It really is not that difficult of a fix and to fix correctly. May have a good reason for FR to cover a mobile tech! The dealer may simply put it back as it was.

[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by CaptnJohn

It really is not that difficult of a fix and to fix correctly. May have a good reason for FR to cover a mobile tech! The dealer may simply put it back as it was.

Agree with Captn.... You may be able to get it fixed more quickly with a mobil RV tech and still salvage your summer plans.