Expensive option

OldTanker

Active Member
We bought our 2014 Big Horn in early 2014 and were excited to have a residential fridge rather than an RV fridge. I was looking forward to not having to defrost every 3 to 4 weeks and having more food storage. The icemaker / water spigot was an added bonus. Then the troubles started. Heartland did not install the fridge with anything to keep it in place. There were a couple wood screws about 2" long that had been run through a hole in a bent piece of sheet metal from the fridge and into the floor to hold the unit. The screws actually had less than 1/4 inch penetration into the wood as the sheet metal would not reach the floor. After a few moves the fridge broke loose and started to walk out of it's mounting location since it's on wheels. This caused the water line for the icemaker to move as well and it started to leak. The leak didn't show right away as the line was routed behind a closed cabinet wall. The water finally migrated out and I shut off the line at the shut off valve under the sink.

The final result is that the entire slide room floor is trashed and will have to be replaced. The slide will have to be removed and the floor replaced with remounting all of the cabinetry and appliances in the 14 foot slide. Because Heartland did not secure the appliance it will cost about $7800 depending on if there is no further damage to the main flooring of the rig. So far insurance is covering the majority of the repairs but they will not pay to mount the fridge properly. I will have to pay for fabricating some means of keeping it in place. Until everything is completed I won't know for sure but I have been told that I am looking at just under $1000 out of pocket for the deductible and fabricated fridge mount. The mounting setup is almost equal to the deductible and is not covered by insurance. That also doesn't include the fact that we will be out of our home for up to 2 weeks.

If you have an icemaker, keep in mind that lines are rather fragile. The good sam extended warranty excludes ANY damage to wood in an RV. Other extended service contracts may do the same. Your only other recourse is your regular RV policy, at least if you buy full timer coverage.

I would sincerely recommend that if you have a residential fridge installed, look to see what is holding it in place. They come on wheels so that folks can move them for service / cleaning and they will move in a RV during travel if not secured properly. I found out the hard way and since the rig is well out of warranty I don't figure that there is any recourse through the factory for their lack of engineering acumen.

If you have an icemaker installed I suggest you shut off the water supply and use a stand alone counter top icemaker so you do not encounter the issues that more than a few of have had with water leaks. I still like the frost free aspect of the fridge but it will remain a dry fridge since the leak.
 

OldTanker

Active Member
As stated in Paragraph 2, there is coverage for the repairs to the floor, but only from my RV policy, not the service contract.
 

TravelTiger

Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
As stated in Paragraph 2, there is coverage for the repairs to the floor, but only from my RV policy, not the service contract.

I think they meant check your insurance policy for loss of use or emergency coverage. Our Progressive policy will cover emergency expenses due to a covered event. We had an electrical surge that caused our rig to be unlivable for a few days (due to 100 degree heat) while we researched the damage and located the cause. Progressive paid for the 3 nights in a hotel, without a doubt.


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carl.swoyer

Well-known member
That's exactly what I was talking about. Progressive undoubtedly the best.

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sengli

Well-known member
Wow, I have read so many posts here about issue's with those ice maker water lines, its scary to see just how much damage it has caused your rig.
 

OldTanker

Active Member
Travel tiger and Carl, yup I have progressive and they do have up to $750 for out of house stay. My mistake for not making it clear in the original post and second one. sorry. Fortunately we have a friend who has allowed us to stay at their place for the time as the insured amount would likely be a bit short given the hotel / motel rates this time of year at this location. It is the height of "tourist" season here and there is a HUGE gem show coming in at the end of Jan, beginning of Feb that typically cleans out just about every available room. The estimated time of repair is 10 days to 2 weeks, not insignificant and a real burden, over something that should not have happened had the fridge been secured at the factory.

Again I strongly urge anyone with an icemaker, be it a RV fridge or not, to suspend the use of it and use a stand alone unit that you fill as needed. You do not want to deal with this kind of issue.
 

busted2341

Well-known member
I have had 3 fridge ice maker water leaks and I have had mone only since May 15. On the lst one, it was the line that was crimped behind the fridge. What the RV repair guy did was use a residentail water line though the floor so that won't happen again. Your right on the little "mini" line they use. The line is to stiff but has to flex to close the slide. You would think that Heartland would have just used residental line and add the $1.98 to the total price of the rig instead of paying thousands in warranty water leak and damage repair.
 
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