Travel Trailer Disaster Help

[jeremywatts2005]

My wife and I purchased a Primetime Avenger travel trailer at the end of Nov 13. We took the travel trailer out the first week of January. We were out 2 weeks and during the second week, we awoke to a trailer flooding. The city water connection outside had cracked according to the dealership and the pipes inside the kitchen had also cracked.

Water was flooded into the bathroom, down the floors into the bunk area and throughout the slide and kitchen area. When we pulled the camper off the site water came rushing out from the underside of the camper. We even had a video of it. It was really crazy to see literally buckets of water rushing out.

The dealership had the camper up until last week trying to repair it. We recieved the trailer back and it is no where close to the same camper. Multiple problems still exist and I am uncertain whether the trailer will ever be the same.

Since it was a new camper the insurance company did not total it out. Instead they wanted it repaired. The dealership seems to be incapable of fixing the issues correctly. So far the following has been done:

Mold remediation spray
All the insulation under the floor removed (Dealership left the underpinning mostly unattached and there is no insulation now)
The carpet in the slide replaced (Incorrectly however and not attached and the incorrect size)
The outdoor kitchen laminate and wood all replaced (Done but poorly and now the outdoor kitchen door is out of alignment)
The storage area under the city water connection all rebuilt
The bunk area wood all replaced
Some pieces of trim on the floor replaced (Now paneling is starting to bow out)
Shower stall surround is pulled out by dealership and needs to be taken down and redone.

My delimna is that I had the trailer 1.5 months and it has been in the dealership for almost 4 months. What else can I do besides taking it back to the dealership for more work? I am not confident that even if they fix everything over again the trailer will be right. There is just so much damage from the water that repairing this much on a trailer seems improbable. I would like to have at least the camper in the same state that I purchased it in since it was new.

[jeremywatts2005]

Well heard back from the dealership and they said that I needed 6K to trade in the junker. They said I then needed to call Primetime because Primetime is not going to help. So I called Primetime they said the dealership was wrong and they are investigating. I am travel trailer limbo. No one wants to take any responsibility for it. The dealership says yeah it is possible that there was a defect, Primetime says we will see. Nevermind that it is 5 months later and still no farther then when I brought the thing in. Suggestions on consumer advocacy groups is welcome at this point. This is slowly spiraling out of control.

[Nvr2loud]

tim and amy wrote:
Ok, Don't you find it odd that RV companies are using PEX, which is rated over 100PSI?
I see this quoted on here many times that you must use a regulator, blah blah blah, funny, if you talk to the RV companies they pressure test the lines with air at 100PSI.
They rate the pressure to be 30-50PSI for warranty purposes.
So what in a travel trailer would dictate that you couldn't use more than 30PSI of water pressure?
I really want to know. Outside a lack of a check valve at the 12vdc pump, what is it? What plumbing part in a travel trailer can not handle 60-75PSI of water. 99% of all culinary water systems in uses are not greater than 75PSI. Added to that, if you have a filter connected to your incoming city water connection, you most likely will not be able to use a pressure regulator.
Also, many RV parks have the regulator built onto the line already, most in Oregon do.
So until someone can point out the exact component that can not take more than 30PSI, I say it is bunk.

There is a lot more to plumbing then just the pipe / tube. I agree 30 PSI is a really low rating, but it could be the toilet valve, the plastic faucets, light weight elbows / fittings...

BTW, I have zero pex in my trailer, it is just unmarked semi-rigid plastic tubing, I can't find a single rating on it. Maybe your trailer is rated higher.

My last house had 110 PSI of water pressure at the inlet (city water)

My current house is capable of over 200 PSI from my well sending pump, but I have it at 90 PSI due to the PEX piping.

[Tequila]

My decision to only fill the tank & use the pump looks better all the time. I am also in the habit of turning the pump off overnight and when driving. A flood coudl ruin an RV pretty quickly. Water is awful stuff. Floods, leaks , it should be banned.

[tim_and_amy]

Ok, Don't you find it odd that RV companies are using PEX, which is rated over 100PSI?
I see this quoted on here many times that you must use a regulator, blah blah blah, funny, if you talk to the RV companies they pressure test the lines with air at 100PSI.
They rate the pressure to be 30-50PSI for warranty purposes.
So what in a travel trailer would dictate that you couldn't use more than 30PSI of water pressure?
I really want to know. Outside a lack of a check valve at the 12vdc pump, what is it? What plumbing part in a travel trailer can not handle 60-75PSI of water. 99% of all culinary water systems in uses are not greater than 75PSI. Added to that, if you have a filter connected to your incoming city water connection, you most likely will not be able to use a pressure regulator.
Also, many RV parks have the regulator built onto the line already, most in Oregon do.
So until someone can point out the exact component that can not take more than 30PSI, I say it is bunk.

[Nvr2loud]

beemerphile1 wrote:

jeremywatts2005 wrote:

...Water was squirting out of the outside kitchen sink,

water was flowing into the toilet causing it to overflow and

water was running into the storage area under the city water connection which in turn flooded the underside of the camper.

Wait a minute, this sounds like three separate water leaks. This is not a broken pipe.

Water overflowing a sink and the toilet?????
Was your hose connected to the fresh water or to a tank rinser?

That is what I keep pointing out... multiple leaks and they happened after the trailer was operating without leaks for several days. Happened suddenly, freeze damage not the cause.

[Nvr2loud]

JJBIRISH wrote:
Going on 50 years without the use of a pressure regulator and no failures… in all those years I could have used a booster pump on the public connection to get decent shower pressure, but never had a over pressure problem even once…


good luck with the replacement...

Sure, but that isn't always the case. Some trailers can handle higher water pressure then other trailers can. Mine states maximum 35 PSI, but I have had upwards of 60 PSI without an issue (that was not intentional but failure did not occur) The maximum rating is determined by the component with the lowest rating.

[Nvr2loud]

westend wrote:


About the water situation. From the OP's posts about multiple failure points and the fact that the inlet actually broke, leads me to believe the failures weren't from too high a pressure but from something else. I would bet that the cause was freezing water in the pipes.

I would agree except....

Freeze damaged pipes and fittings would immediately show leaks when pressure is applied to them (by pump or city water hookup)

The OP used the trailer for many days prior to the water ruptures, therefore it would seem like pressure exceeded the maximum that several pipes / fittings / valves could handle. For this to happen 'suddenly' there would need to be high pressure, that is why I suspect the pressure regulator is faulty. It could be stuck open allowing the pressure inside the trailer piping to build-up to the pressure supply.

[beemerphile1]

jeremywatts2005 wrote:

...Water was squirting out of the outside kitchen sink,

water was flowing into the toilet causing it to overflow and

water was running into the storage area under the city water connection which in turn flooded the underside of the camper.

Wait a minute, this sounds like three separate water leaks. This is not a broken pipe.

Water overflowing a sink and the toilet?????
Was your hose connected to the fresh water or to a tank rinser?

[trail-explorer]

prfssr wrote:
Why would you have your insurance company involved if this is indeed a warranty issue. A dealership should fix this correctly, then send the bill to the manufacturer.

In a warranty situation, the warranty only covers fixing the part the broke, or defective. I've yet to see A warranty that would cover "consequential damages"

[trail-explorer]

BBB is kind of useless.

[jimw606]

I bought a used class C a few years ago. Hooked up in Fl. Campground and found a small leak in a water line, seeping out and wetting the carpet. Bought all kinds of fittings and new hoses trying to stop it. Turned out a pressure regulator did the trick.
Need less to say, I always use a regulator and a water filter. Just my .02

[JJBIRISH]

Going on 50 years without the use of a pressure regulator and no failures… in all those years I could have used a booster pump on the public connection to get decent shower pressure, but never had a over pressure problem even once…


good luck with the replacement...

[westend]

jeremywatts2005 wrote:
Part of the deal in getting them to do a rebuy would be the purchase of a new Primetime. I can handle that if the deal is right.

Understood. I've read where folks are pretty happy with their Primetime rig so that may be a good deal for you.

About the water situation. From the OP's posts about multiple failure points and the fact that the inlet actually broke, leads me to believe the failures weren't from too high a pressure but from something else. I would bet that the cause was freezing water in the pipes.

If the mfg's would ever step up to an all PEX layout and install a whole house regulator as standard equipment, I don't think there would be near the same amount of problems. Also, filtration, wouldn't it be nice to have a filter as standard?

[JJBIRISH]

Going on 50 years without the use of a pressure regulator and no failures… in all those years I could have used a booster pump on the public connection to get decent shower pressure, but never had a over pressure problem even once…


good luck with the replacement...