Catastrophic Failure in our brand new Heartland, check yours to be safe

[TedS]

I have to chime in. Workmanship is putting stuff together correctly and consciensiously. That includes noting that the wrong size material was supplied to the line. Noting a difference in materials from that which has usually been used. Somebody also ought to be checking the material that is received in the back door. Workmanship does not mean jamming together whatever you are given and not reporting it.
Check it in, check it assembled, check it finished before sending the finished product out. It's still all Heartland's job. Claim to be the best you have to be the best, not just as good as the others.

 

[rebootsemi]

Very well said Ted, You are right on with the parts issue. I took a close look at the two pic's of the supposed bad tubing, the one on the right is a hose installed on a barbed plastic fitting, the one on the left is pex, they actually look correct, these two fittings did not come apart so what failed and caused all of the water to dump in your trailer???

 

[aquiring signal]

Very well said Ted, You are right on with the parts issue. I took a close look at the two pic's of the supposed bad tubing, the one on the right is a hose installed on a barbed plastic fitting, the one on the left is pex, they actually look correct, these two fittings did not come apart so what failed and caused all of the water to dump in your trailer???

The picture shows two of the several fittings that the dealer replaced after additional leaks were found. These were smaller leaks discovered after the major leak was repaired. I took the picture because I thought it looked like two different diameter hoses. You can spin the hose on one of the fittings pictured as well as a few others, too.

The leak that soaked & damaged the wood occurred when the supply line to the water heater popped off that fitting as I understand. After that was fixed and these other smaller leaks were detected & repaired, another line popped off a different fitting the following night.

 

[rebootsemi]

The picture shows two of the several fittings that the dealer replaced after additional leaks were found. These were smaller leaks discovered after the major leak was repaired. I took the picture because I thought it looked like two different diameter hoses. You can spin the hose on one of the fittings pictured as well as a few others, too.

The leak that soaked & damaged the wood occurred when the supply line to the water heater popped off that fitting as I understand. After that was fixed and these other smaller leaks were detected & repaired, another line popped off a different fitting the following night.

The fittings in the pic do not look like they are crimped all the way. I think I would have them check every fitting in the whole trailer and then pressure test the whole fresh water system up to about a125 psi, they can test it using shop air pressure so it something else blows off all you will get is air. I would not drag it out of their shop until I actually saw them test it, period end of story......

 

[Jimmyt5]

I had the ice maker water line spring a leak while we were gone. The neighbor saw the water running out of the refer side vent. He closed it off and saved us a lot of grief.
This was the second water leak, the first one was behind the bay wall by the water heater.
We are now believers in turning the water off when we leave.....

 

[tmcran]

Any time we leave the RV for and extended time I turn off the water.

 

[rebootsemi]

Ok now you have sold me, I'm going to add a full flow ball valve on the end of my water hose, just have to remember to close and open it when needed.

 

[Birchwood]

We had water running from our fifth wheel when the washer drain at the trap wasn't tight.It was running
around the pin box.The rv was new and Heartland fixed the leak and said no harm was done as its all
aluminum,styrfoam and marine grade plywood.

 

[traveler44]

I started shutting off the water when we leave but then started getting lazy or in too much of a hurry. Thanks for the reminder as to how important it is to do this -- sorry to hear of all these loose water lines. Tom M.

 

[aquiring signal]

thanks, everyone

 

[Pulltab]

I started shutting off the water when we leave but then started getting lazy or in too much of a hurry. Thanks for the reminder as to how important it is to do this -- sorry to hear of all these loose water lines. Tom M.

We bought a wireless remote control water shut off valve. Now every time we leave we just push the button. Its purely habit after 2 years of doing so. Seems like we paid a little over a $150 for it.

http://www.plumbingsupply.com/remote-controlled-water-shutoff-system.html here is a link. It has certainly gone up since we bought ours it appears to be closer to $200 now.

 

[InsuranceguyTEXAS]

We bought a wireless remote control water shut off valve. Now every time we leave we just push the button. Its purely habit after 2 years of doing so. Seems like we paid a little over a $150 for it.http://www.plumbingsupply.com/remote-controlled-water-shutoff-system.html here is a link. It has certainly gone up since we bought ours it appears to be closer to $200 now.

thanks for this information.

 

[jcarnevale]

For what it's worth, here is a picture taken of our rig on the assembly line at the Sundance factory 5/11/2010 9:20AM. It shows the water system being tested to 90psi. I don't know if this is the standard test pressure or how long they left it there.

 

[teddybears]

I have a 2009 3055 Bighorn. I have had problems on almost evry trip I have made. Ijust had axles,springs,shocks and tires replaced. Now my front landing gear is screwed up. I only have 6000 miles on my rig. I have been RVing for over 20 years,and this is my 4th. rig. I can't believe the problems I have had.No more Heartlands for me.

 

[Wharton]

We put in our basement a water alarm, have always done this. Just make sure it has a long enough wire to go up the pipe to under the lavatory. We didn't want to be bothered with a remote and the need for batteries in the sensor. Just seems like a precaution that is well worth the 12 bucks or so.

 

[JohnDar]

For what it's worth, here is a picture taken of our rig on the assembly line at the Sundance factory 5/11/2010 9:20AM. It shows the water system being tested to 90psi. I don't know if this is the standard test pressure or how long they left it there.

View attachment 13792

I'll have to check my brochures. I thought they were tested to 100 psi.

 

[Bighurt]

All this trouble because some bozo at the plant did not take the time or have any pride in their workmanship to do their little job the correct way.. I would just love to buy a brand new unit and go to the factory to pick it up and then call all of the bosses from the from office down to inspect the unit after I have taken all of the panels off so you can see the crap they call workmanship. As long as it looks good on the outside it passes. In our industrial gas installations we had to pressure test the systems to 11/2 times the working pressure and hold it for 24 hours. You pay all this money for one of these and end up in a motel, just great.

Welcome to America...all the crap from overseas means US manufacturing has to cut expenses. That goes from materials all the way to unskilled labor. A licensed plumber has a trade and a skill and charges far more than say a high-school grad paying for collage.

Remember building, HVAC, Electrical and plumbing codes don't pertain to RV's.