How common is common.

[diazr2]

I have been reading a thread about holding tanks falling out of a rig while traveling down the road.. I have been RVing for over 50 years and had never seen this happen. Or heard about this happening I kept reading the thread and lots of folks said this is a common occurrence ... So how common is this. I live in a tourist town lots and lots of RVs pass by every day. Many more in the summer months but not a day goes by that at least a couple of hundred are in town. I have never seen a tank laying on the ground. Never seen anyone trying to fix a tank laying on the ground. I have seen them fixing bearings on the side of the road passed by many air conditioner cowlings that have flown off. Seen rigs lots of rigs with their hoods up, trying to change serpentine belts and water hoses. Seen tow chains laying on the ground seen all sorts of problems but not a single tank on the ground. So how common? I think it would be great to hear just how many people this has happen to. I am already amazed that in this one thread there are at least four people that said yes indeed it has happen to them. So how many more? Please share your experience with tanks falling out of your rigs. If enough folks tell me it has happen to them I am going to climb under the rig and place some braces up there for sure. It will be fun to see just how common this is and where the heck have I been for the last 50 years???? I would like to keep this contained to people who have seen it happen or has happen to. Because with that latest thread I just read there are now hundreds more people that have heard about it. So only first hand experience.

[Huntindog]

diazr2 wrote:

ScottG wrote:
"Common" is an opinion base quantive.
Does it happen? Yes, I have read about it on this forum all too often.

For my purpose I meant Common as in the Websters dictionary.
a. Occurring frequently or habitually; usual: It is common for movies to last 90 minutes or more. Not "Does it happen" everything in life eventually happens to someone or some place but is it Common? Like the one person that posted if it happens to you then yes it is common.

looking at how many of these are built, it has to be common. Many here have posted pics of particle or chip board being the primary support that the factory installed... I find it ironic that many of the home brewed fixes posted here involve replacing the chip board with plywood.... IMO, wood should not be involved in supporting the tanks.
I will note that I have never seen a report of an automobiles gas tank just falling out... They are not supported by wood... Just sayin.

[diazr2]

ScottG wrote:
"Common" is an opinion base quantive.
Does it happen? Yes, I have read about it on this forum all too often.

For my purpose I meant Common as in the Websters dictionary.
a. Occurring frequently or habitually; usual: It is common for movies to last 90 minutes or more. Not "Does it happen" everything in life eventually happens to someone or some place but is it Common? Like the one person that posted if it happens to you then yes it is common.

[diazr2]

K Charles wrote:
I removed the bottom of our trailer to install an electric gate valve. Ran the trailer for 3 years and across country twice. While part of the bottom was down I was looking around and could one of the straps that held in the gray tank was unhooked, not broken just unhooked. I fixed it, it never fell out but, does that count or not?

Na that don't count but if you had left it alone for a little longer it would have ha ha hah a

[K_Charles]

I removed the bottom of our trailer to install an electric gate valve. Ran the trailer for 3 years and across country twice. While part of the bottom was down I was looking around and could one of the straps that held in the gray tank was unhooked, not broken just unhooked. I fixed it, it never fell out but, does that count or not?

[ScottG]

"Common" is an opinion base quantive.
Does it happen? Yes, I have read about it on this forum all too often.

[Sandia_Man]

I would hope it's extremely rare. Poor engineering and/or use of sub-standard materials is the real culprit. Our underbelly is exposed and was easy to examine tank integrity, unless something catastrophic were to occur I could see no reason for tanks to separate.

I can understand wanting to know if this is indeed a common issue, having this occur during transit would be a nightmare. Take a look at your rig's set-up, it would be worth the peace of mind even if you had to remove some of the underbelly's cover to do so.

I, for one use my freshwater tank as intended, serving it's purpose of transporting water wherever our RV travels take us. If I had any reservations about my rig's ability to do so, I would certainly get rid of it in return for one that could perform such a routine task.

[toedtoes]

DutchmenSport wrote:
Well, I'm not concerned about statistics. All I know is, I'm a chicken! Why take chances? I run with all my tanks as empty as possible. And you what? I've never had one fall out either! Of course, we camp where we can get water, we don't boom dock.

I always leave home with a full fresh water tank and 1/2 or less in the other tanks (only empty them when 3/4 full) and i've never had one fall out.

I'd say, if you're concerned, look at the way it's strapped/held in and add supports if you doubt its integrity - it's a cheap solution for piece of mind.

[Campfire_Time]

dewey02 wrote:


It may not be common, but if it happens to you, it will be all too common.

Ha! Reminds of another one. A recession is when my neighbor is out of work. A depression is when I'm out of work. 😉

[DutchmenSport]

Well, I'm not concerned about statistics. All I know is, I'm a chicken! Why take chances? I run with all my tanks as empty as possible. And you what? I've never had one fall out either! Of course, we camp where we can get water, we don't boom dock.

[beemerphile1]

A more descriptive thread title might produce better results.

Maybe something like, "Has your tank fallen out?"

[SoundGuy]

My fresh water tank didn't fall off because with an open underbelly I noticed how much it sagged the first time I filled it at home. Crawling under the trailer I then noticed the pump intake was connected halfway up the tank, which explained why I could only draw 1/3rd the capacity of the tank before having to refill it. The first couple of trips we took until I could get the sagging tank issue addressed we did with just a minimal amount of water in the tank ... had it been full during travel I have little doubt I would have left it lying on the highway. :M My dealer did an effective job of supporting the tank but I've since added a 4'x 2' piece of plywood to further enhance support and can now travel with a full tank when need be.



In conversing with my dealer's service manager he did acknowledge they've had several completely drop off. :E For my own part I did ask that pics of my own tank be sent to Coachmen in hopes they might address this issue but I notice new 2017 models are exactly the same.

The black and grey tanks are securely mounted and even when full have shown no signs of failure in 3 yrs of towing.

[toedtoes]

My clipper is 40 years old (41 in October) and has never had the water tank fall out (knock on wood) and it has not needed new supports in all that time.

[dewey02]

And here is a diagram of how "common" common really is...when it comes to common sense:

[dewey02]

Of course it isn't common.
How many times does something have to go wrong with a certain car because of a design flaw before they recall it?

It may not be common, but if it happens to you, it will be all too common.

[Campfire_Time]

I don't believe it's common, but certainly probable. Ever look at what's holding those tanks up? Not much. What is common is people traveling with full tanks of water. I don't have a need to travel with water, but knowing that those tanks are held up by almost nothing, I would not.