Community Forums

jrugarber · 10-30-2019, 06:21 PM

We just found out today while at NIRVC in Lawrenceville, that our fresh water tank has a crack ~ half way up along the side of the tank. I had inquired back on the 8.25.2019 in the posting of "Water Leak 1st curbside basement Compartment" looking for possible reasons for a wet compartment floor.... Steve, thanx for the response (below) but sadly that wasn't the cause,

Quote:

John, if you only get the wet carpet at 100%, I would check one or both of the over flow lines. Could have a leak at the fitting on top of the tank, or the tube doesn't properly exit completely through the floor.
FYI, at least on my DEQ be careful in that area above the fresh water tank. I have a lot of flex drain and whole house vac. lines in that area that have some brutally sharp hose clamps on them. They're mostly above your sight line and they are unforgiving.

I guess they never expected us to go in behind that panel.

Steve
__________________
Steve & Tracy
2017 Entegra Aspire DEQ

Predicated on the fact that it is ~ 2-3 week wait for a tank to arrive we decided that we would continue to Florida, leaving tomorrow, and on our return to Ohio in May have the tank replaced as we will be on city water for the duration of our visit down south.
As an aside, I am quite disappointed that something as important as a fresh water tank , although, I imagine a leaking "black" tank could be problematic in it's own right,

would crack and leak in only 3 years of use. My understanding is, another Owner is here with a similar cracked tank, but will wait for the repair. to be completed. When we finally settle, I will be speaking with Entegra to express my dissatisfaction surrounding this item in addition to the fact that our front A/C Unit that had also stopped working early last year, and to which, numerous Owners have written about previously, will not be replaced due to a miscommunication, or lack thereof, when scheduling our appointment here. On the bright side..... our A/H and Generator should make it thru another season as they had been serviced while here, but overall I wished it had been a more satisfying experience.

My apologies in advance for venting...

Matt D · 10-30-2019, 07:05 PM

John, I’m very sorry to hear about that. Our FW tank had a hole nearly all the way through due to an overly long fastener. I discovered it at our very first stop in late 2016 on our shakedown cruise.

We recently wrote a big check for some other stuff that should never have happened, and am awaiting word if we will get any meaningful help on that.

You might try something like FlexSeal, or a similar product to get by. I once had a hole punched in the drain pan of my 283 and cleaned and patched it with one of those silly Epoxy based products you never think will work. It held drip free for several years.

I hope that helps,

-Matt

grindstone01 · 10-30-2019, 07:14 PM

I would research plastic welding repair and try to fix the tank, either yourself or hire a handy man.

photraveller · 10-30-2019, 08:03 PM

John, sorry it wasn't an easy fix.

I agree with other posters. Try something to seal the crack if it is accessible. At this point you don't have much to lose.

On our previous coach the tank cracked around the bottom drain fitting. Sealed it up with some rubberized or silicone based sealant (sorry can't remember exactly) but it never got hard kind of like silicon caulk feeling once it dried.

It lasted the last 6 years that we owned it, and I'm pretty sure it hasn't failed yet. I know the current owner and help him with issues that he has with our old coach.

So it's lasted pretty much 9 years on a crack at the bottom of a fresh water tank.

Steve

MoHoGo · 10-31-2019, 08:38 AM

X2 on trying Flexseal tape or liquid if it is not a warranty item.

Gary.Jones · 10-31-2019, 09:04 AM

Within a few months of me taking possession of my 2015 Anthem, we discovered a cracked fresh-water tank. The crack was not near a hose fitting but was located on the forward wall of the tank. It was very difficult to find because there was little room to get into that location (between the forward compartment wall and the tank) to see the leak. However, NIRVC techs found it by putting a cameran into that slot and taking a close up picture.

This, of course, was reported to Middlebury, and they immediately "manned-up" and said it was a manufacturing fault and they would send a new tank and pay for the installation. They sent the wrong tank, and it had to be sent back and then they sent the right tank (they first asked me if I might be satisfied with a tank that was 50-60 gallons smaller, to which I said.... "Ah, NO, I dont think so...." So I got the right tank and a local RV operation replaced the bad tank. We made no attempt to repair, we just kept the water level below the crack and then it did not leak. Actually, that is the way we survived for many months as this played out.... just dont fill above the crack). Actually, that was part of the reason that it was so hard to diagnose..... I would have a water leak somewhere for a while and then no water leak for a period of weeks or months.... after we realized it was a crack about mid-way up the vertical wall of the tank.... all that was easy to understand.

Get it all documented along with pix and you should be made right. No problems with that after the new tank was operational...

Gary

jrugarber · 10-31-2019, 10:21 AM

Thanx all for the response's,

I have a call into Entegra as I sit here and will attempt to look for, hopefully, an equitable solution to be found. NIRVC has asked that I pay for the tank today, not the labor, as it is "made to order"...hmmmmm. I didn't realize I had the only 45B Model...

and the install, when completed, is approximately 7 hours @ $150.00 = $1050.00-$1,100.00, cost of the tank ~ $450.00
Well, I'll see how the story unfolds and I'll keep everyone posted.

Gary.Jones · 10-31-2019, 10:32 AM

John

My tank was shipped directly from Middlebury and was made by the original manufacturer that supplies them to the factory. It was replaced on warranty. I am guessing that NIRVC is going to have the tank made "locally" and so is interested in getting a chunk of that up front (seems reasonable) but if it is covered under warranty, then I see no reason that you should not get it from Indiana.... Now, the cost might be more or less..... I dont know.... mine was covered by warranty.

I think there was little question about how it happened as where it cracked was virtually impossible to believe it was caused by anything that I did.... I think that everyone quickly agreed it was cracked somehow before it was installed and it just took us a while to figure it out.

Gary

nummers · 10-31-2019, 05:01 PM

Well the other coach would be me. I too am very frustrated as to why there wouldn’t be a few somewhere for this reason. I’ve been here since Oct 6th getting what I thought done were a few minor issues addressed as were new to the Entegra or class A in general. We’re coming from a 2018 mobile suites so big learning curve. My main frustrations lay with NIRVC and there lack of communication, I may be younger than some but far from dumb. I guess I just assumed when we purchased this unit back in July that all service would’ve been performed. Needless to say most of not all the filters a marked in sharpy 2-4-17. Thinking that’s not good at all hence telling me they didn’t change oil or any services were performed other than cleaning it and sending me on my way. 99% sure the 2015 air filter is probably the factory one. I get I bought used and previous owner couldn’t keep up with service but had hoped NIRVC would’ve stepped up and made coach right and given me a starting point for my service Schedule rather than spending all this money to three months into it finding out this way. Oh well so here I sit waiting til the 8th for the fresh water tank to hopefully send me on my way finally

Lault · 10-31-2019, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt D

John, I’m very sorry to hear about that. Our FW tank had a hole nearly all the way through due to an overly long fastener. I discovered it at our very first stop in late 2016 on our shakedown cruise.

We recently wrote a big check for some other stuff that should never have happened, and am awaiting word if we will get any meaningful help on that.

You might try something like FlexSeal, or a similar product to get by. I once had a hole punched in the drain pan of my 283 and cleaned and patched it with one of those silly Epoxy based products you never think will work. It held drip free for several years.

I hope that helps,

-Matt

Matt as you know every day is a new surprise, DAsh air out twice now, but in N Georgia and dang cold

jrugarber · 10-31-2019, 06:41 PM

As I stated earlier, I would post some follow-up information....

I did contact Entegra C/S soon after posting this afternoon with the impetus of Gary's response prompting me to attempt a dialog. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by the response of C/S, they ("Owen") asked for some verification of a crack i.e. pictures, visual, etc. that could be sent by NIRVC to him via E-mail so that a "ticket" could be started to document the issue and he could then address it with his Manager, I subsequently approached NIRVC with this information and they, without hesitation, offered to assist in the process! Regarding the A/C issue, NIRVC again stepped up to the plate with a possible solution, the caveat being, neither item will be addressed before next May of 2020 when returning to Cleveland Ohio by way of Lawrenceville Ga.

As an aside, within hours of my posting, an NIRVC representative reached out to me to offer their assistance, if needed, in the future.
In todays world of big business I fault neither Company for being cognizant of their costs associated with doing business. Will "every" issue be solved to the Owner's expectation, and/or satisfaction, probably not, but, time and time again as shown in the Forum itself, and no doubt many instances that are not discussed publicly, Entegra and NIRVC are two of the top organizations in the RV Industry as can be evidenced by their continued success and successful business models.

I will revive this story, and it's ending, in the future... for now we have to point "Bubbles" south and start the engine, I heard there is a cold wind beginning to blow nearby!!!

Gary.Jones · 10-31-2019, 08:04 PM

Nummers

Sorry to read that you are having troubles. That does happen but it is never nice to hear.

One suggestion that I will make that would really help all of us would be for you to always include in your post, the year and model and floor plan of your coach and any other central equipment to your problem. This should always be included in your original post.

The easiest way to do that is to "create a signature section". You will notice that at the bottom of this post is an area which includes all the central information dealing with my coach and my central equipment. You can do that easily by clicking on the box labeled "User CP". Clicking on that, then on the left of the new window you will find "Edit Signature" section (or something similar) and if you click that, it will take you to the area where you can create your signature. Put all the important information in there and you never have to remember to do it in your post.

Now, on your post.... what year coach, what model, what floor plan, what dealer, what location, etc. etc.

Gary

brobox · 11-01-2019, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nummers

Well the other coach would be me. I too am very frustrated as to why there wouldn’t be a few somewhere for this reason. I’ve been here since Oct 6th getting what I thought done were a few minor issues addressed as were new to the Entegra or class A in general. We’re coming from a 2018 mobile suites so big learning curve. My main frustrations lay with NIRVC and there lack of communication, I may be younger than some but far from dumb. I guess I just assumed when we purchased this unit back in July that all service would’ve been performed. Needless to say most of not all the filters a marked in sharpy 2-4-17. Thinking that’s not good at all hence telling me they didn’t change oil or any services were performed other than cleaning it and sending me on my way. 99% sure the 2015 air filter is probably the factory one. I get I bought used and previous owner couldn’t keep up with service but had hoped NIRVC would’ve stepped up and made coach right and given me a starting point for my service Schedule rather than spending all this money to three months into it finding out this way. Oh well so here I sit waiting til the 8th for the fresh water tank to hopefully send me on my way finally

Sorry there was a lack of communication. It has been posted on forums for years to always ask for service records when purchasing a used MH. Unless a dealer advertises "Just Serviced", they sell most coaches cleaned and "as is". They also sell extended warranties for repair items that they may know nothing about.