Holy sagging water tanks, Batman!

mosseater wrote:

JJBIRISH wrote:

MM49 wrote:

mosseater wrote:

I always travel with full water. No problems with weight. I have a 10,000GVW trailer. Yes, my water tank did try to fall out. The reason for the failure was Winnebago cheeped out and didn’t install the FW tank support bracket. The laid a piece of scrap OSB boards inside the tank support rails. The OSB shifted because the sobs didn't even screw it down. With FW tank halves supported the OSB board fractured. This problem is all Winnebago's. Anybody that has had this problem should call Winnebago's quality manager and ask for support for the repairs.
The Winnebago quality managers name is;
Michael Vanderpool
Mike Vanderpool
Warranty Manager
Winnebago Towables
574 825 5250
mvanderpool@winnebagoind.com

It appears to still be being built the same (inadequate) way 10 to 15 years later, since long before Winnebago ever thought about purchasing them, and when 3 people just happen on to a single thread it would not exactly seem to be an isolated incident…

What was the support that Winnebago offered to solve your problem???


It seems that at some point someone at the MFG would say let’s fix this…

While I agree it's inadequate, and the fix can be very easy and cheap, I also have to wonder how many mfger's are producing the same or less quality in this area. I'm sticking to my initial assertion: all trailers are varying degrees of junk. If I was the type to upgrade my trailer every five years or so, I would never have seen this problem. And, anyone who buys it and runs into it later as a used unit is going to expect to do some repairs. But, getting back to the point of the above response, calling them and letting them know it's pi$$ poor construction is like telling fish that water is wet. They already know it.

Being out of warranty, it isn't likely they're going to set a new standard of quality and fix my trailer, and all those built after. They do what they do, and they know it's semi-serviceable at best, and they don't care. It gets units out the door and beyond warranty. That's the bottom line. They don't care. They're selling trailers, and if you don't like theirs, you'll surely buy someone elses, and it'll be junk too. So, try to buy a higher level of junk if you can. Near as I can see, it's amost impossible in the current market. Changing this is going to take a massive effort and I don't see the customer bringing about the needed change. Some mfger is eventually going to come out with a better trailer at a reasonable price and clean up. Seeing the markup and the likely profit margin on most units, it's difficult to see how a better trailer couldn't be built at the same cost. In most cases, it's simply more attention to detail which translates into fewer units per day. They really wouldn't have to go with a whole bunch of high priced parts to bring up the value. In fact, high priced parts, which are also poorly installed tend to disappoint even more!

That's the only way to begin a paradigm shift which causes everyone else to get on board. All the rest of this is simply sound and fury signifying nothing. We're all preaching to the choir.

This was not an easy or cheap fix. It was a decision by Winnebago to not add a water tank support platform to the build list of the trailer. The holes to mount the platform were in the frame. Winnebago decided to use scrap OSB. The decision to use a different material allowed the tank to sag and create the conditions for a health issue. The water in the tank will not drain and have the chance to grow bacteria. Bad decisions have consequences. I am hoping that many will read this and possibly band together and move it to the legal arena.
MM49



The fix