Check the Wires Behind Your Pegboard - Disappointing Find

[Fiesta48]

I've found at least 30 underbody cables, wires and hoses in chaffing points. Even positive battery cables rubbing on ground points.
Do we see now why there is so many rv fires?

[Carl Avila]

I found the Dometic toilet control box hanging by wires behind the peg board

[robertlipp]

That is not enough rise to avoid losing water. My hose came straight out like your first picture. I had a hell of a time convincing Newmar that this was a design defect on my new Kountry Star.



There are some very long slow twisting roads through the coastal ranges here in Northern California. After an hour of driving maybe 100 or more of these 15 to 35MPH curves I was losing as much as 50% of my fresh water. I religiously followed recommended speed recommendation signs. It turns out if you look up the specs on road design, a 25MPH turn at recommended speed is the equivalent of lifting one side of the RV up by 20 inches. So every time I took a left handed turn my water was pouring out. The tank is quite shallow, much less than 20" so it could drain even more given enough time. Losing half my water on the way to dry camping was not an option. Finally one of Newmar's techs agreed it was a problem and agreed to have it fixed on warranty. The replacement hose now loops to the top of the compartment. It's not 20", but seems to be effective.

[tomato]

Originally Posted by robertlipp

That is not enough rise to avoid losing water. My hose came straight out like your first picture. I had a hell of a time convincing Newmar that this was a design defect on my new Kountry Star.



There are some very long slow twisting roads through the coastal ranges here in Northern California. After an hour of driving maybe 100 or more of these 15 to 35MPH curves I was losing as much as 50% of my fresh water. I religiously followed recommended speed recommendation signs. It turns out if you look up the specs on road design, a 25MPH turn at recommended speed is the equivalent of lifting one side of the RV up by 20 inches. So every time I took a left handed turn my water was pouring out. The tank is quite shallow, much less than 20" so it could drain even more given enough time. Losing half my water on the way to dry camping was not an option. Finally one of Newmar's techs agreed it was a problem and agreed to have it fixed on warranty. The replacement hose now loops to the top of the compartment. It's not 20", but seems to be effective.

I left the pegboard off for our next trip 2 weeks from now and will keep an eye on the water level. You are probably right, though. If so, I will extend the hose length to get more of a rise.

[PATRICK49]

Have explored some of the hidden spaces (around the kitchen slide, behind the shower, under the sink and in the engine compartment and under the chassis on my 1999 Holiday Rambler Endeavor. So far been pleased with the routing and securing of wires and pipes. The fresh water pex pipe routing in wet bay and ABS waste pipes from B and G tanks is neatly routed and secure. Maybe the difference in workmanship and attention to detail 20 years ago!

[Frank_RV]

Originally Posted by PATRICK49

Have explored some of the hidden spaces (around the kitchen slide, behind the shower, under the sink and in the engine compartment and under the chassis on my 1999 Holiday Rambler Endeavor. So far been pleased with the routing and securing of wires and pipes. The fresh water pex pipe routing in wet bay and ABS waste pipes from B and G tanks is neatly routed and secure. Maybe the difference in workmanship and attention to detail 20 years ago!

I think you may have hit the nail on the head. The craftsmanship and pride in a job well done of yesteryear has sadly gone by the wayside in many cases, not just in the RV business, unfortunately.

Reading through this dialog clearly demonstrates the change in quality experienced by owners of contemporary coaches. But I must admit I was surprised to read so many negative comments for the high end coaches too - guess it is systemic today… Very sad indeed…

[mogul264]

Originally Posted by tomato

Really disappointed at what I found behind the pegboard. Pulled it out to get a look at my overflow hose, per Dutch Star Don's recommendation (I believe I was losing water from the tank). Pics attached of what I found.

A relay on a big loom of wires just dangling. Some sort of control board for a solenoid on the tank dangling (curious what that is, if anyone knows-on the right side of the pic with the bashed up plywood). Wires and coax cables not secured and up against the rotating slide out cross shaft. Ends of the plywood smashed - not sure if they were like that when they put them in, or if they drove them in with a hammer!? And, as Don notes, the ridiculous routing/set-up of the overflow hose.

Last 2 pics are after I cleaned things up. I did not extend the hose, but I was able to secure it with at least some rise to it. We'll see if it does the trick.

I also found a similar deal with wiring up around the generator. A large harness/connector was just dangling up against part of the frame. The wires had actually started to rub, and I'm sure would have worn through over time.

The fit and finish on our Ventana has been excellent - especially the cabinetry. Much of the 12 volt wiring I have looked at was excellent as well. Shocked by this apparent lack of attention to detail, but glad I caught it before any issues arose.

I think viewing RVs made today, vice those made 20+ or so years ago, should be as eating sausage: enjoying the taste, trying NOT to see them being made! With luck, you MAY enjoy your RV as much as that sausage. Split open before cooking, see the mess and you're bound to be put off.

Or go in as necessary, KNOWING! Better, photo EVERYTHING and send pix to the attention of the President/Owner/General Manager (as appropriate), expressing your UTTER disappointment, AND your willingness to BROADCAST this lack of attention to detail (WITH the photos!) to any and all, friends, family, Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc, this ABYSMAL FAILURE of HIS/HER company, who made YOUR unfortunate purchase! Couldn't hurt!

[djbmsu]

Sad to know you spent tens of Thousands of dollars to find this shoddy work. Obviously very little employee ownership in their work ethics.

[tomato]

Originally Posted by PATRICK49

Have explored some of the hidden spaces (around the kitchen slide, behind the shower, under the sink and in the engine compartment and under the chassis on my 1999 Holiday Rambler Endeavor. So far been pleased with the routing and securing of wires and pipes. The fresh water pex pipe routing in wet bay and ABS waste pipes from B and G tanks is neatly routed and secure. Maybe the difference in workmanship and attention to detail 20 years ago!

Completely agree. Much has changed over the years with the quality of workmanship and materials / equipment. As an example, the water heater in our previous home lasted 20-years. And, I have to admit, I never performed any maintenance on it. Current home, our water heater lasted only 9-years, and I flushed it around year 5.

[Steve 716]

Welcome to the wonderful world of RV building. Many manufacturers want product built and out the door quickly and bad build, non functional items, leaks, and a lack of quality control can be the result.

Whenever I find wires, cables, water lines, and hydraulic lines in a jumble I try to sort them out and cable tie them together logically to keep them from rubbing, breaking or leaking. Areas that have required serious attention in my RV include the firewall behind my slideout generator, wet bay, behind my center cockpit panel, behind my cockpit gauge panel, below the horizontal dash panel near my entry door, below my driver side switch panel, and behind the electronics bay panel above my television. All have been a jumble of at least some of the items I listed above. I have found many of these areas while fixing things that did not function, stopped functioning, or never worked at all. Trying to trace a cable can be difficult when things are not logically routed or are either not labeled or are mislabeled. Add to this list every remote control antenna wire in my RV. All were crammed behind their respective modules, cutting remote control distance operation to just a few feet until I stretched them out and attached them with velcro.

[bentjm]

Dang.

This is a rolling house. Literally miles of wiring, controller boards, interconnects, ...


My 90 ft houseboat is simple compared to my 40 ft MADP.

Despite the reality TV shows, RVing is not for the faint-hearted.

[Winepress]

Originally Posted by djbmsu

Sad to know you spent tens of Thousands of dollars to find this shoddy work. Obviously very little employee ownership in their work ethics.

Nope, employees just following the directions of management.

[tomato]

Originally Posted by bentjm

Dang.

This is a rolling house. Literally miles of wiring, controller boards, interconnects, ...


My 90 ft houseboat is simple compared to my 40 ft MADP.

Despite the reality TV shows, RVing is not for the faint-hearted.

Wow. I can tell you I am not faint hearted. That is why I fix 99% of my RV issues myself. Posted this as an FYI to try to help others avoid potential issues. I have been RVing for over 20-years, and I have had a rig in only 1 time for warranty work and 1 other time for "optional" work.

[Jchemie]

Does the term “out of sight, out of mind” come to mind? Found a few dangling wires and fast & cheap attachments on my coach too, behind panels that the owners aren’t supposed to see.