Rotted Floor, Water Tank Compartment

[bdaball]

We are looking at a 2008 Alegro Bus that is quite nice except for one thing. The water tank storage area has rotted to the point that the tanks are sagging. The dealer has the bolt on side panel removed and it is clearly visible that the floor the tanks set on was plywood. By the look, I doubt pressure treated because it is seriously rotted.

1) WHAT WAS THE CAUSE?

2) WHAT IS THE CURE?

3) THE DEALER CLAIMS HE IS CAPABLE OF REMOVING THE TANKS, REPLACING THE FLOOR AND BE BACK IN BUSINESS.(?)

Seems to me that at the very least, pressure treated plywood should go back in if not a water proof material of some sort. Then again, where did the water coming from?

[rocketpod]

Tiffin will replace the wet bay floor at their own cost. It's a known issue with older models. Give them a call. Post this topic at TiffinRVnetwork.com forums for more input.

[Lault]

Take it to Red Bay and Tiffin will replace the tank floor no questions asked.

[southland]

Other posters are correct, Tiffin will repair it at Red Bay. They have added a fiberglass pan so the water tank sits on that. Not sure of the quality of plywood they are using. The dealer might repair but they are doing them every day at the factory. As for the cause, I have heard that a loose shower drain is one of the causes. Also heard that over filling the supply tank would do it but it is a sealed system and if all the connections are tight don't think that would be it. There is a "slobber" tube that drains excess water when the tank is full. May be other reasons but those are the two main that I have heard.
Good luck

[Teacher's Pet]

When we had ours repaired last summer it took the 2 workers about 2.5 days to replace the floor. When we were at the service facility last month I was told, that now 2 men can do the job in about 5 hours.

[NITEHAWK]

Moisture condensing on the exterior of the tank caused by filling with cold water can then run down the tank and collect under the tank on the wood. With little or no air circulation under the tank rot will be inevitable.

[historyljc]

In my case, I had a couple of connections going into the gray water tank that had broken. It was fixed at no charge (other than the cost of the trip to Red Bay) at the factory service center. If this is a coach that is for sale they would have to fix before I'd buy it.

[paz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by historyljc ...If this is a coach that is for sale they would have to fix before I'd buy it.

I agree. And I wouldn't let them just pull the tanks out and replace the floor with the same material that's already there. Make sure the dealer gets the correct procedure and materials from Tiffin (like the fiberglass pan someone mentioned) to do the job right.

[realbob]

I just had the work done a couple of days ago in the Seattle area. I called Don Boyd at tiffin and told him we were getting a musty smell whenever we ran the rear funace. He put me in touch with the regional service manager in this area and he in turn made arrangements to have the work done at the local dealer. Turned out he was holding a training class at the dealership for this repair. In my case it was the fitting at the top of the black or gray tank that was broken. They removed all of the tanks, put in a new floor which was received from Tiffin and then put it all back together and pressure tested. A lot better than driving to Red Bay!

[PCMike]

I have read that the fresh water overflow pipe is attached to the fresh water tank with plummer's putty which, of course, does not seal it. You will need to remove the putty and use an adhesive such as 3M 5200 when you replace the wet bay floor.

[jojolou]

Does this problem extend across the entire Tiffin line of coaches? I'm thinking that it just might be something all of us have to be concerned about.

[danf7]

I have only heard it on the larger rigs. I haven't heard of anyone with an Open Road or a Bay complain about it on the Tiffin RvNetwork. I have a 2008 32 BA Fred and haven't seen any signs so far after three years.
Dan

[CoastieSCPO]

My 04 Allegro Open Road is going on 8 years old now and is bone dry around all tanks and all seams for that matter. I just read a thread on the Class A motorhome forum concerning sagging floors in a newer Allegro Bus. Its the "2011 Serrano" thread, item # 7. Very interesting comments on this and other threads regarding Tiffin's build quality. I certainly hope that, because the company is building so many rigs that their overall build quality is suffering. I hope not. I've been a Tiffin owner since 1993.

[bdaball]

Update to post #1
LaMesa completed the job to what I would call just as good as anyone else could have done. It looks original and new. TM supplied the fibergalss coated panal. As a matter of practice I am going to make sure the outside faucet that occasionally drips if shut off at the head rather than the faucets is layed in the water well along with the sewer hose. The overflow vent is also well sealed as it should have been day 1.
We took delivery and everything is bone dry down there.