Water in underbelly for 4th time 31FQSL

[Po Po Pork]

So I bought a new 31FQSL in the spring of 2016 from Jeff Couch RV. Since new, I have had water in the underbelly, and I'm talking a lot, like 10 or more gallons at a time. Its been to 2 different dealerships and nobody can find a problem to fix. I have been in contact with the XLR factory in Indiana and now they are saying they want to take a look at it there. The plant manager thinks it water being kicked up from the road and into the underbelly, and I strongly disagree! Has anybody else had this problem? Ideas on what I should do next??? I think I'll send it to Indiana to have them look at it.

[DC23]

I have had water in the underbelly or control panel compartment twice. Both were due to fittings that were not completely crimped. The underbelly I had to have the dealer take care of the one in the control panel compartment I took care of at the campground just required me to empty the compartment and clean up the water before I finished the job. Seems like their guys doing the plumbing work do not focus on what they are working on before moving on to other sections of the unit. Guess I am glad they were both areas that could be fixed without having to gut anything like the bathroom.

At one point my wife wanted to pursue the lemon law on ours, but I told her since technically it was not the same issue on the same part we would not have a lot of success eventually she agreed.

[clr]

I am sure that you will find that Lemon laws do not cover RV's. But if you would feel better just do all the research and get back to us with the results.
If I were you I would take them up on their offer to look at the problem at the factory.
Since your warranty is over I would not discuss with Forest River any possible legal or lemon law action, if you do, you will cut all communications between Forest River the dealer and yourself.

[MOODMAN]

I've had plenty of water in my "underbelly" Gas too!

[HangDiver]

Originally Posted by clr

If I were you I would take them up on their offer to look at the problem at the factory.

X2 ^^^

[Flybob]

A quick search of the forum will show that the majority of the people who have taken units to the factory for repair have been very happy with the outcome.

[nieforth]

for some reason if my holding tank for shower water isn't dumped often enough it will leak into the under belly,drilling holes in the corrugated material has to be done(one day i'll check into it closer).

[Jim in Halifax]

had same problem with my Jayco TT.....Water in underbelly after traveling on hwy in rainy weather.....Never happened when in a CG for a week or so...Drilled holes in under belly to drain out H2O

[AlanZ]

mine would get water driving or in driveway- found edges of underbelly had slight gap and as rain ran down - it would enter the underside- trimmed back edges and taped gap no more water- still drilled 2 small holes just in case

[R3Jones]

Are you utilizing the black tank flush? I had a similar problem and found it corresponded with the tank flush.

[dstrauss2]

Our 27HFS has had 4 underbellies puf on since we got it in October 2015. The frame has so many screw holes in it it looks like swiss cheese. We don't have any plumbing leaks, water gets in every time we drive in the rain. The factory has worked on it over and over again and we still have a camper that we can only drive in fair weather. Good thing we're retired and can usually take our time getting to where we're going... we are just resolved to the fact that, as long as we own this trailer, it will ALWAYS get water in the underbelly if we are on wet roads... 😕

[mwdilday]

I am sure you have tested the freshwater system for leaks by closing all faucet valves and turning the pump on. If the pump cycles on and off you have a leak.

[polishdon]

Originally Posted by R3Jones

Are you utilizing the black tank flush? I had a similar problem and found it corresponded with the tank flush.

Same here, on my Wolf Pack the black tank flush line was leaking inside the pump compartment and then down the pipe and out the under belly.

[chrissybird]

We have a 2016 29HFS and had water running out of the underbelly the first time we used it with full hookup. We had dumped the black tank and were using the blank tank flush, and it was running out in a steady stream from the underbelly. Super long story short, turned out our black tank was installed improperly. It was partially sitting on a frame rail, and the holes for the toilet and black tank were not lined up completely and not properly sealed. If you opened the toilet ball with no water flowing, you could actually see about a half-inch or so of black crescent of the top of the black tank where it wasn't lined up properly.

We bought our RV from Couch's as well, but live 9 hours away. We were lucky enough to have established a good relationship with Campers Inn in Mocksville, NC that did the warranty work for us. They stayed on top of it, kept us informed, and it didn't take ages (most was waiting on authorization from Forest River). In addition to fixing and re-seating the black tank, they had to rip out the entire underbelly and replace it with new insulation and coroplast.

[chrissybird]

Forgot to add this - to be safe, I don't use the black tank flush anymore. I find it easier, faster and more effective to run a hose through the garage and directly into the toilet bowl. I do this after dumping and closing the black tank valve, usually twice (or as necessary). When the water runs clear, I know I'm good.

[BigH]

Originally Posted by Po Po Pork

So I bought a new 31FQSL in the spring of 2016 from Jeff Couch RV. Since new, I have had water in the underbelly, and I'm talking a lot, like 10 or more gallons at a time. Its been to 2 different dealerships and nobody can find a problem to fix. I have been in contact with the XLR factory in Indiana and now they are saying they want to take a look at it there. The plant manager thinks it water being kicked up from the road and into the underbelly, and I strongly disagree! Has anybody else had this problem? Ideas on what I should do next??? I think I'll send it to Indiana to have them look at it.

Unfortunately I became very knowledgeable with the lemon law in my state...it was for a truck but my state's law includes RV's.

Every state is different. If the first sign of the defect occurred while under warranty and was not corrected the manufacturer is still responsible to correct the defect even if the warranty has expired. In my state if your unit had four failed attempts to correct the defect or x amount of days without you being able to use the unit it qualifies. Not being able to use it includes time spent at the dealer for repair and time sitting in your driveway with a defect keeping you from using it.

Once those conditions are met the manufacturer can be forced to buy the unit back for price paid plus tax, title, license and possibly any improvements you made...minus a usage fee. Less than 500 bucks usage fee for a year and half in my case. The manufacturer is responsible for the consumers lawyer and does not affect the consumers payout...they pay your lawyer's fee on top of what was described above.

I've purchased many new vehicles over the years and several have had warranty work...sht happens and its no big deal most of the time. In my case I gave the manufacturer the benefit of the doubt for way too long hoping they would fix the issue and they used me like toilet paper until I got a lawyer and stuffed the vehicle in their colon.

My advice:

Read your state's law and understand it.
Keep all receipts.
Take notes. Dates. Times. Names.
Do not make the dealership your enemy even if they are dipsticks...be sympathetic towards their effort to fix your unit.
Hold the manufacturer to the law.
If your state has the manufacturer cover the lawyer...get one. I've only used a lawyer one time before my issue in an amicable divorce where the ex and I shared a lawyer. I exhausted all my resources before finally getting a lawyer. If your case is lost in my state the consumer's lawyer does not get paid (zero out of pocket for the consumer)...so the lawyer will only take your case if they can win. I say again...If your state has the manufacturer cover the lawyer...get one.