Nerve-wracking shakedown

eresidae · 07-04-2015, 09:27 PM

Having quite a first trip with our new 35' Wildwood Heritage Glen 312QUB. Came to a local campground (Rambler's Rest, Venice, FL) and went about setting up. When we hooked up to city water, the connection at the coach was squirting all over. No problem, I thought, let's just fill the fresh water tank and use the water pump. This is where I must tell you that I have never used a FW tank before, and did not get any instructions on how to do it when we picked up the coach 4 days ago.

So, with pressure regulator inline, turned on the faucet pretty much full. About 2 minutes later, I went into the coach to check the water level on the instrument panel. Before I could do that, I heard a loud BAM and felt the floor shake! The next sound I heard was running water.

Ran out of the coach and looked underneath....yup, water was flowing like a river. I had seen the FW drain tube before, but that was closed and water was coming from another tube (I'm guessing the overflow). Then I saw that the undercarriage was bowed out about 2-3' around and was straining to break through the undercarriage material. Yikes!

A call to the dealer emergency number suggested we use the city water connection for the weekend and take the coach to the nearest FR warranty shop straight away. However, I am concerned that the FW tank will come ripping through undercarriage if we go over a bump or something. I am going to call the dealer again on Monday and ask them to send someone out to look at the coach and tell us if it's safe to drive.

So, at the moment, we are hooked up to city water (after a trip to the hardware store to pick up some washers) and trying to enjoy the weekend. Most everything else in the coach is working ok (most, not everything). Enjoying the campground, the friends and family that are with us and celebrating our great nation's birthday. Not going to think much about the water tank disaster until Monday.

I'm enjoying this forum. Have learned a lot! Thanks to all.

**bikendan** · 07-04-2015, 10:52 PM

This is why Camp Driveway is recommended before you take it camping.
Things like this can be discovered early on.

fonzie · 07-05-2015, 04:17 AM

In the meantime drain your fresh water tank on the ground........

Todouble · 07-05-2015, 06:21 AM

I agree. If you haven't already drain the water from the fresh water tank. This should help with the bowing. Look for either a cap or 1/4 turn valve to drain it. You may even need to poke a few holes or peel down your underbelly if it's holding water to drain.

Ken K. · 07-05-2015, 06:27 AM

Oh hopefully you used a pressure regulator when you hooked up your hose from city water. Unregulated pressure can do damage to you unit. Blow the lines apart. regulators are about 8 bucks at your local Walmart in the RV section. Most parks run high pressure in their lines to keep water flowing to all the campers. So sorry your dealer didn't walk you through the basics, believe it or not you tube is very helpful in covering the basics. You could even search for your specific model, chances are someone has made a video.

tenttotrailer · 07-05-2015, 09:16 AM

Please keep us posted on this, I would love to hear about what happened and the outcome. Is the camper new to you or new off the lot?

Kevin

eresidae · 07-05-2015, 09:58 AM

thanks for your comments, everyone. Unit is new off the lot at Lazy Days, Seffner, FL. Drove it home about 100 miles and parked it 3 days there. Spent 1 night in it at home, but didn't hook up or use water there. Using a pressure regulator at the campground. Have emptied the fw tank.

Not sure who I should call tomorrow regarding future action....Do I call Forest River directly and ask them to have someone come and look at the coach to make sure it is safe to drive? Any suggestions?

Evereddie · 07-05-2015, 10:28 AM

You should start with your dealer. Supposedly that is what they are there for. If you have Coachnet or other emergency service coverage that might be an option.

fonzie · 07-05-2015, 04:51 PM

Call your dealer first, see what they say, otherwise as long as your fresh water tank is empty then you can possibly drive in back to your dealer which is about 20 miles away from your campsite...good luck...let us know outcome.

aceinspp · 07-05-2015, 06:13 PM

Being that it is new take it to your dealer for the warranty work. I would see no reason not to drive back if the water has stopped leaking from the underbelly. If it looks like it still has water in it I'd drill a hole and let the water run out. Later RJD

eresidae · 07-07-2015, 04:30 PM

Update: Dealer instructed us to call Coach Net. Coach Net arranged to have a local RV guy come to site this morning to make temporary repair so that coach was safe to drive. Coach net paid for the service call ($60) but we had to pay for work done ($90). Tech said the brackets that held the tank were not installed correctly and he believed the tank would have come loose with even a small amount of water in the tank.
We hooked up and took the coach to the nearest FR warranty service center (original dealer is 100 miles away). Had a laundry list of things to be looked at/repaired....fresh water tank, elec awning doesn't work at all, bathroom door sticks/uneven, hardware on bedroom door ripped out, AND, the biggest, nastiest surprise of all.....apparently the black water lever does not close. Found that out as we went to dump the tanks this morning. Quite a surprise when DH twisted off the cap. When does the fun start? I thought RV stood for "relaxing vacation."

KMP44 · 07-07-2015, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eresidae

Had a laundry list of things to be looked at/repaired....fresh water tank, elec awning doesn't work at all, bathroom door sticks/uneven, hardware on bedroom door ripped out, AND, the biggest, nastiest surprise of all.....apparently the black water lever does not close. Found that out as we went to dump the tanks this morning. Quite a surprise when DH twisted off the cap. When does the fun start? I thought RV stood for "relaxing vacation."

This is all stuff the dealer should have found and fixed before you ever showed up to pick it up. And then, if they didn't find these things, they should have been caught when you did your PDI or walk-through.

Did they demonstrate the power awning to you? Seems like that would be obvious if they had pushed the button. The water system should have been tested ahead of time, then demonstrated / operated while you were there to pick it up. If they had put any water in the tank, seems like they would have found that issue as well.

We learned some of these things the hard way the first time around, and now found a dealer that does things right. When we picked up our trailer 2 years ago, everything had been tested before we arrived and then was demonstrated to us. Over the first 3 months a few minor items popped up, but nothing that was missed initially. And the dealer handled that warranty work with no problems. Such a wild range of customer service among dealers (and apparently a wide range of initial quality from the factory as well, but that's a whole 'nother topic). And its hard to tell before you buy how a dealer will be after you buy.

TURBS · 07-07-2015, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMP44

This is all stuff the dealer should have found and fixed before you ever showed up to pick it up. And then, if they didn't find these things, they should have been caught when you did your PDI or walk-through.

Did they demonstrate the power awning to you? Seems like that would be obvious if they had pushed the button. The water system should have been tested ahead of time, then demonstrated / operated while you were there to pick it up. If they had put any water in the tank, seems like they would have found that issue as well.

We learned some of these things the hard way the first time around, and now found a dealer that does things right. When we picked up our trailer 2 years ago, everything had been tested before we arrived and then was demonstrated to us. Over the first 3 months a few minor items popped up, but nothing that was missed initially. And the dealer handled that warranty work with no problems. Such a wild range of customer service among dealers (and apparently a wide range of initial quality from the factory as well, but that's a whole 'nother topic). And its hard to tell before you buy how a dealer will be after you buy.

I agree !
Most if not all of these issues should have been caught during the pdi the op and the dealer went through.
Was there one?

TURBS
08 duramax tuned n modded
2011 32bhok Sabre
2015 camping "11 nights"

eresidae · 07-07-2015, 07:39 PM

There was a PDI, but the rep basically pointed and said, "here's your fresh water and city water hook-ups....next". Didn't tell us to fill the tank slowly, check how full it was using the instrument panel, etc. The awning was working when we picked it up, albeit slowly. Then, when we got it home, it would extend, but not retract. We retracted manually. Next time, it wouldn't extend or retract. Bathroom door sticking and bedroom door hardware coming loose happened since PDI. As far as the black tank lever not closing, I guess there really wasn't any way to check that on a PDI, right?
I am disappointed in the quality of the FR product so far, but I guess this is something you only learn with experience. I'm hoping my local dealer/service center will be quick and efficient.

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