Needless-to-say...our camping trip to Hickory Run, Pa. was cut short today...3 hrs. on Rt. 33. Down the road we're going...the fresh water tank(filled) decides to literally fall from underneath our 5th. Luckily, the arriving tech strapped it back up via the side-to-side straps onto the frame. It's a 2005 model...I'm hoping that Jayco will compensate for some if not all of the damage. We feel this incident, while beyond warranty, is more serious than a warranty issue. Just imagine, had the tank totally broken away from the unit....likely, we would still be there, consoling those families whose relatives may have been killed in the incident. I will be hearing from Jayco reps on Monday...any thoughts?? Or advice on this happening?
Thanks,
JB
Yeah, Gale...this is our 4th RV...and we never thoughts about the tanks...other than to keep them as clean as possible. It was clearly a surprise...yes, it's only one weekend...no big deal...and no one got hurt...but, we'll see what Jayco has to say...'cause it could be a structural issue...the unit is an RKS323....and we just love the floor plan...but...let's see what happens...DeWalt's in Easton states that they'll have it ready by next Wednesday...we're hoping!
Happy Trails,
JB
Actually it not that uncommon of a problem. I noticed that on our Wildcat, the tank would sag a lot when it was full and with just two side edges holding it into place, it didn't give me that 'warm all over' feeling.
I had a metal strap/brace bolted under it across the center end to end. There is a piece of rubber 'bushing' between the strap and the tank to keep it from fretting. You need to be careful since these tanks are not very thick and can easily have a hole fret through them.
My local rv repair shop has actually fixed quite a number of 'falling' tanks over the years on a number of different brands of trailers.
Eric
2004 Wildcat 27RL, Honda EU-2000i.
2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi, 3.73, Reese 16K, Prodigy,long box, Line-X,
Good Sam's - FQCC/Camping Quebec My Photos
I was a little luckier. I was filling the fresh water tank in my driveway before heading out this past March. I was eating supper and my wife came in to tell me the water tank just fell on the ground. After eating, I crawled under the rear of my fiver to take a look. The brackets that are attached to the frame had spread apart. Jayco used three pieces of half inch thick plywood with small angle iron on each side which had one screw on each end to hold 75 gallons of water in (roughly 600 pounds). When the brackets spread, the screws broke, and down it came. I used 3/16 inch thick, 2 x 2 angle iron under the tank and bolted it to the hanging brackets after being able to bring them together a bit. Upset - yep - but I felt glad that the tank fell out at home. Ironic part - I was at the Columbus, Ohio RV show about 3 weeks before his happened. The dealer I bought from was there and I told him how pleased I was with the fiver. Just a note, this is my seoond fiver with a tank issue. I had a Dutchment fiver that had the tank come loose which ruined the tank.
We are sorry for the troubles that you had. I can't ever say it enought times to RV'ers of any kind of RV. Do a "Complete" Bumper To Bumper Proventive Maintence Program every year with-out fail. When I say a complete, I mean everything on, or in, or underneath an RV, and also the roof. Just becasue your RV is only a couple of years old, doesn't mean that the Factory did a good job of everything. RV's take quit a beating going down the Highways of America. Anything that rattles and shakes as much as RV's do, needs Maintenace every single year. We are real nut case about Proventive Maintence, and not just on our 5er, but our TV also. So far in the 40+ years as RV'ers, we have never broken down, never had a flate tire, or a blow out, or so much as a single drop of water due to a leak. Part of it might just be that we have been real lucky, and I'm sure part of it is that we have always done a Complete Proventive Maintence Program every year. Most RV'ers never bother to check their Main Breaker Panel, You will be very surprized at what can come lose over the coarse of a year of towing. We will continue to do what we have been doing every year. And hopefully we will never find ourselfs in a position of breaking down. But if it should ever happen, we carry enought tools to handle most any kind of an emergency. A good Proventine Maintence Program really does pay off in the end. Good Luck. Happy Camping. Dan & Jill
1997 Ford F-250, H.D. Extended-Cab, Short Bed, 7.3 PSD, K&N Air Filter, 5000 lbs air bags w/on board compressor w/guage, SuperChips Tuner/Programer. 1996 Nash 24fter 5er, 15K "Lil" Rocker Hitch w/BedSaver, Twin EU2000i Gen's W/Kit. Nam-Vet, 33 Months.
I'd agree with you ryanallie1; but those with a fully concealed underbelly like some have (myself included) will find it a bit of a project pulling it down to see if it's ready to fall apart. Personally I think it stinks that we hear of this kind of thing happening on products that people pay their hard earned money for. I've no doubt it was just a matter of time and mine would have dropped as well! I'll not say the industry across the board does a shoddy job of securing the tanks because I know for a fact NUWA does an excellent job of it....but some of the others should take heed as to what a quality manufacturer really does to earn the right to keep ownership of that title. I'm sure their are some others that do as well.
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