Boom goes my fresh water tank....

[Halmfamily]

Leaving on Wednesday for a five day trip, filled fresh water tank half full per tank indicator so we can start preparing and boom the water tanks holding brackets bent and the tank fell out. Wow that was a loud noise, shook the fiver and my son heard it from inside the house.

Pulled back the coroplast and both the fore and aft L brackets were bent downwards. I drained the tank and put a ratchet strap under it to keep it in place. Forest River will get a call first thing in the morning to see what they can do, still under warranty. if push comes to shove I'll remove the aft bracket and remove tank so we can still take our trip.

I'm just glad this didn't happen while pulling it down the interstate. Sorry,, just had to vent. I'd post pictures but only have a tablet.

Happy Fourth everyone.

[tinner12002]

Probably just had tek screws holding brackets in place.

[Beaker]

Although I would commend the dealer and yourself for extra bracing, etc. I would also be slightly concerned with the affect of this bracing.

1) if that tank can shift around it may eventually wear through at any point of rubbing on those angle brackets or any little bumps/bolts on the brackets.. Looks like the dealer did a good job and used wide brackets but I sure wouldn't want to take responsibility for say a 1" angle iron "helping" the situation instead of making it worse.

2) Personally, I would never draw water from the bottom of any tank.. Too much sediment which will inevitably get into your pump and system and cause who-knows-what problems further down the line (pun intended).

To each their own but there could be some downside to these repairs.

Posted By: minnow on 07/15/15 03:55pm


Whenever I read the posts on this subject, most replies are the same;
why not more bracing under the tank.

When I saw the "L" brackets on my first 5er, my thoughts were the same. Talked to dealer and he said about the same thing



SabreCanuck wrote:

Although I would commend the dealer and yourself for extra bracing, etc. I would also be slightly concerned with the affect of this bracing.

1) if that tank can shift around it may eventually wear through at any point of rubbing on those angle brackets or any little bumps/bolts on the brackets.. Looks like the dealer did a good job and used wide brackets but I sure wouldn't want to take responsibility for say a 1" angle iron "helping" the situation instead of making it worse.

2) Personally, I would never draw water from the bottom of any tank.. Too much sediment which will inevitably get into your pump and system and cause who-knows-what problems further down the line (pun intended).

To each their own but there could be some downside to these repairs.


Thanks for the uplifting words of support to the OP. Geesh.

When I read replies on this subject, most are the same: Why not more support underneath the tanks. I thought the same when I looked under the bottom of my first trailer. Talked to dealer who told me about the same thing that SabreCanuck wrote.

I carry enough water to use the facilities when on the road. If I ever need to carry the 70 gals I will.

Perhaps someone could show a picture of a factory setup with braces underneath. Most that I have seen use the "L" brackets on the lips of the tank.

And maybe we should thank SabreCanuck for giving a reply that may help we a different view of the situation.

[minnow]

SabreCanuck wrote:
Although I would commend the dealer and yourself for extra bracing, etc. I would also be slightly concerned with the affect of this bracing.

1) if that tank can shift around it may eventually wear through at any point of rubbing on those angle brackets or any little bumps/bolts on the brackets.. Looks like the dealer did a good job and used wide brackets but I sure wouldn't want to take responsibility for say a 1" angle iron "helping" the situation instead of making it worse.

2) Personally, I would never draw water from the bottom of any tank.. Too much sediment which will inevitably get into your pump and system and cause who-knows-what problems further down the line (pun intended).

To each their own but there could be some downside to these repairs.

Thanks for the uplifting words of support to the OP. Geesh.

[allen8106]

SoundGuy wrote:

Bmach wrote:
I have never traveled with anything in my tanks, except a couple of gallons of water in the black tank.

That's unfortunate as that then means you're not able to take advantage of one of the great advantages offered by owning a trailer you can get into by simply opening the door - using the facilities, anywhere, anytime. It also means that when you do want to use the system you first have to re-pressurize it ... can't imagine going through that when I can simply do it once at the beginning of the season. :h

Sure you can...You just carry a couple gallons of water in the truck and use it if needed.

[SabreCanuck]

Although I would commend the dealer and yourself for extra bracing, etc. I would also be slightly concerned with the affect of this bracing.

1) if that tank can shift around it may eventually wear through at any point of rubbing on those angle brackets or any little bumps/bolts on the brackets.. Looks like the dealer did a good job and used wide brackets but I sure wouldn't want to take responsibility for say a 1" angle iron "helping" the situation instead of making it worse.

2) Personally, I would never draw water from the bottom of any tank.. Too much sediment which will inevitably get into your pump and system and cause who-knows-what problems further down the line (pun intended).

To each their own but there could be some downside to these repairs.

[24fb_freedom]

heres what mine came with from the factory, lol
Each 100 gal tank had only three 1 1/2" angle iron supporting the sag of the tank.

[DutchmenSport]

SoundGuy wrote:
... Our current Coachmen Freedom Express has an open underbelly so the first time I filled the FW tank and looked underneath the trailer this is what I saw ...

I had my dealer install steel supports under the tank and once that was done I installed a T on the drain port ...

That is REALLY a nice modification!

[goducks10]

SoundGuy wrote:

3oaks wrote:
There are advantages of a sealed underbelly, However there is one major disadvantage of a sealed underbelly, you can not inspect things under there and are unaware of potential problems before they self destruct. That is a concern of mine with the new TT that I have on order. 😞

A legitimate concern IMO. Our TrailCruiser hybrid had an enclosed underbelly which I had to open when I discovered it sagging badly because the pump hose connection to the tank hadn't been adequately tightened during assembly and was leaking so badly water eventually sagged the underbelly. Our KZ Spree TT also had an enclosed underbelly which I also had to open up for maintenance purposes. Our current Coachmen Freedom Express has an open underbelly so the first time I filled the FW tank and looked underneath the trailer this is what I saw - a tank that sagged so badly the pump was unable to draw most of the water out of the tank. It didn't seem like it was about to fall off but this installation sure wasn't reassuring -



I had my dealer install steel supports under the tank and once that was done I installed a T on the drain port and moved the pump draw line from the sidewall of the tank down to that lower port so I can now draw ALL the water out of the tank. I also now have full confidence of being able to travel with a full tank if I wish with no concerns it will ever fall off the trailer. :B



We camp from late March / early April through to late Oct / early Nov and not having an enclosed underbelly hasn't made a bit of difference in terms of being able to keep the trailer warm inside so given what I know now I have to say I much prefer a trailer with an open underbelly.

That's an exc remedy. Nice work. My Northwood came with just one angle running side to side under the tank, plus the normal supports. 1/2 the time we camp I run with my 54 gal tank full.

[austinjenna]

Consider yourself lucky. I had the tank drop out for me too except it was the black tank. I would have rather laid in a puddle of fresh water fixing it than a puddle of poo.

[mikeb9550]

My tank was sagging very bad on my Jayco. I worried the same thing was going to happen so a few years back I added some reinforcement to the brackets. This is the reason I had enclosed underbellies. We don't camp in the winter so I could care less about keeping the tanks warm. I would rather see what is going on down there.

[SoundGuy]

Heap64 wrote:
I hope this was a fluke but it sounds like very poor design.

I suspect this is much more common than we realize. My Freedom Express 192RBS is a 2014, just yesterday I took a look at a brand new 2016, same model, and noticed the fresh water tank on it is mounted exactly the same as it originally was with mine. Never having had any water in it the tank bottom is relatively flat but once it's filled for the first time it'll sag just like mine did. My bet is Coachmen, a Forest River company, hasn't done anything at all to address this issue and continues to build dozens if not hundreds of units every day with tanks mounted in the exact same manner.

[saddleup]

I have been traveling with a full or nearly full fresh water tank on all our trips for almost two decades and never gave it a second thought. That's the way it should be too. Very unfortunate thing that happened to the OP, but at least it happened at home. I just flushed my lines and filled my fresh water tank to the brim today in preparation for our next trip on Tuesday. The tank on our Cougar 28SGS is in the rear of the rig, so no concerns on extra pin weight either.

[SoundGuy]

Bmach wrote:
I have never traveled with anything in my tanks, except a couple of gallons of water in the black tank.

That's unfortunate as that then means you're not able to take advantage of one of the great advantages offered by owning a trailer you can get into by simply opening the door - using the facilities, anywhere, anytime. It also means that when you do want to use the system you first have to re-pressurize it ... can't imagine going through that when I can simply do it once at the beginning of the season. :h

As for the grey and black tanks I usually do travel with an empty GW tank but the BW tank could have any amount in it because I never waste my time at campground dump stations as I'm set up to service my tanks at home using my FloJet Waste Macerator Pump. I only do this of course because I've carefully inspected the grey and black tanks (easy to do with an open underbelly) and have no concerns at all that either would ever fall off the trailer, empty or full.

[Bmach]

I have never traveled with anything in my tanks, except a couple of gallons of water in the black tank. If the campground I was staying at did not have water because of a problem, bottled water is not that expensive. When driving fridge is stocked as is the cooler in the truck. I see no need to drive with full tanks. I would not be happy if my tank fell out while not moving and parked.

[CGXterra]

Hi everyone.

Sorry to hear about your tank. I am sensitive to every creak and groan this thing makes thinking it's about to implode at any second. 😄

I have learned my FR Cedar Creek 36' 5th wheel pretty well in the past few months. I had a leaking black tank valve that was repaired and started leaking again. On the first attempt to fix the tank the repairman just pulled the chloroplast away enough to get his hands on the valve, pulled it out, fixed it and put it back. Another drip developed and eventually filled the belly of the camper with black water :E and caused the chloroplast to sag to the point I had to stick a knife through it in order to drain the black water in a controlled fashion. At that point, I decided to take matters into my own hands and took both panels of chloroplast from the wheels forward (2 6X8 panels), pulled all the damaged insulation out and inspected EVERYTHING under there. What does this have to do with the original post you ask?

It's not that hard to pull that chloroplast off, roll the insulation back and get a look at what's going on under your camper. You have to get past the DW standing there with her hand on her hip giving you that "Don't mess up our camper" kind of look first. Your warranty is going to run out and you're going to need to know what's going on under there unless you have the kind of disposable income to get it to a mechanic every time.

I really inspected the three tanks I have forward of my wheels, the black tank and the two gray tanks. I made sure all the fittings were tight and put a little silicone on everything that could leak water...you can just peel that stuff off if you need to get to the fitting later.
I also used it as an opportunity to pull copious amounts of wire ends, plastic cuttings, small wood pieces and other******that takes away from my tow weight.

I'm going to pull the two panels behind the wheels and get a look at the fresh water tank one of these days and replace the junk insulation with some good stuff.

Lastly, I can't say enough about FR's warranty department. They covered the repair of the black tank and told me to send them a receipt for the cost of replacing the insulation and they would cover it. I haven't gotten around to that yet, but I will put some good stuff in there.

Something you have to brace yourself for, there are some engineering shortcuts going on under your camper that will make your head spin. It's clear that the mechanics and the engineers don't communicate well. For example, one of the screws for one of my gray tank valves is backed up to a "L" fitting, which is glued in, meaning you can't get a screw driver onto the screw. You just have to stick your finger in there and remove the nut on the other side with a wrench and hope you can put enough pressure on it to keep it from moving.

Get in there and take things apart if you can...I sleep so much better knowing where things are. Putting the Chloroplast back on is a two person job for sure, but get yourself some better screws, the ones with the washer built onto them when you're putting it back in.

If any of you 36CKTS owners have any questions about what something looks like down there, I"d be happy to TRY and take some pics for you. It's not a very accommodating place for photography.

Ed