Dave,
I thought you might pass my comments on to fellow RV folks. Since day one of the purchase of our motorhome in 2020, we have had a leak from the fresh water tank. After a week at the dealership, Alpin Haus RV couldn’t find the issue. The issue reappears each time I fill the tank for biannual cleansing, only to be immediately drained to avoid water damage. After 4 years of only using city water, I removed the tank for my inspection. All fittings had no evidence of leakage EXCEPT for the spin weld around the drain fitting to the tank.
Finally resolved. J-B water weld. It’s safe for potable water. It’s a crying shame that this dealership customer service was so poor. A “can’t duplicate your concern” response doesn’t stop the reoccurrence of a problem. —Richard, 2020 Thor Vegas 24.1
Richard,
Unfortunately, this happens more often than it should, especially in the last few years with the explosion in sales and the service issues, as well. Too often what happens is the dealership is given a flat time for warranty work and a leak such as yours is very difficult to find, as you know. I’m sure they did a quick “triage” of the water lines, fittings, and typical areas that have had leaks in the past and could not duplicate the leak. If they went further and pulled the water tank and there was not a leak, they would not get paid for it.
Challenge to locate some issues
I am by no means stating this is acceptable, but rather, it is a challenge for dealers and service centers when it comes to these hard-to-find issues. You would not be very happy if they spent 4 hours inspecting all the lines and fittings, and then pulled the tank and did not find anything, but charged you $200 per hour and said “sorry”.
I have dealt with Alpin Haus and have always been impressed with their dealership. It is unfortunate that you had to go through this. I would suggest contacting Thor Customer Service and see if there is any reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses you might have incurred, as it should be documented that they had attempted a repair in the past.
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I have trouble filling RV’s fresh water tank. What’s the solution?
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I regularly have trouble filling my RV’s fresh water tank. I have a 2018 Rockwood Windjammer TT. When filling the tank, the water starts to come back out the filler tube, and when I check the panel, it’s says 1/3 to 2/3. I have tried to turn on the pump, open a faucet, rock the trailer, fill slowly (as recommended by others on FB). …
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“You would not be very happy if they spent 4 hours inspecting all the lines and fittings, and then pulled the tank and did not find anything, but charged you $200 per hour and said “sorry”.”
But if under warranty, why would they present a bill?
I hear you, Dave, that manufacturers do not want to pay much to fix their shoddy products, but dealers know the scoop when they take on these products and sell them. Why is it that end-to-end this industry just thinks it’s OK to lay warranty issues on the customer because they don’t want to do what it takes to find and fix bad quality? A lot of people in the industry clearly don’t believe that their word of “honor” means anything.
Warranty pays for defects arising from factory assembly and/or materials.
In absence of a factory defect, the OEM surely owes nothing.
In absence of customer damage, the customer surely owes nothing.
So where does that leave the service repair center?
In your paperwork, does it say the shop is obligated to eat all costs that cannot be attributed to either the dealer or the end user? That they should eat any costs for failures they can’t replicate? No such language exists so what language are you expecting them to honor?
Folks – Know this upfront, discuss this up front. If you don’t have a plan before the trail goes cold, your day will get worse.
I had a somewhat similar leak. I bought my “experienced” Prowler travel trailer when it was 5 years old. After owning it for 5 years I had water on the floor at the front of the trailer. What I found was that the water tank was on the passenger’s side under a bench seat on the floor and the pump was also at floor level but on the driver’s side on the floor. The tank and pump were connected with clear plastic tubing. What happened was that when the rv builder put on the trim with staples, the staples went into the crossover tubing. After 10 years the staples rusted out and water was leaking through the little holes where the staples had been.
Thank you, Dave! 🙂 It is helpful to understand how manufacturers and dealers “work” (or don’t work) together with warranty claims. This reinforces our conclusion of many years ago that we will travel however far to the manufacturer’s service center with any warranty problems. Not only does it remove the lags between the dealer sending documentation of the problem and repair or replacement being approved, but most manufacturer service techs first worked on the assembly line. Also, the manufacturer service center may have greater urgency to get RVs fixed and gone. Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
I had the same issue. I discovered it in the first weeks of owning the rv. All I had to do is remove an access panel and I could see the tank drain leaking. It was not the drain installed to empty the tank, but the drain in the tank that was made when it was manufactured. 2020 Sunseeker 3050s.