Leaking grey tank

[turbopilot51]

On our last trip our tanks were getting full after four days of camping. While getting to leave I noticed a small leak where one of the grey tank drain lines exits the under belly. After dumping our tanks the leak stopped so I suspected the leak could be a drain line from the galley or the top of the galley grey tank. I took the rig into the shop to have the issue checked out and some other minor repairs. As suspected the galley gray tank has a cracked near the top and leaks when really full. I am hopeful my extended warranty will cover some of the cost. Has anyone else had this happened to them?

[TomHaycraft]

Trip the first week of August, had water dripping out from underbelly when tanks getting full. I think I isolated it to the front gray (vs black), will be dropping underbelly when out on Labor Day Weekend to see if it is something I can fix, or bring to dealer. 3 years and 100 nights, I've certainly been getting my money's worth!

[turbopilot51]

CW replaced the cracked galley grey tank. My extended warranty covered $1400.00 of the repair. I had a few other issues repaired and really got hit hard in the wallet. The fun never ends!

[chuckster57]

$1400.00+ seems a bit high to me. I replaced a cracked black tank in my Jayco back in 2009, and the tank was only like $250.00. Took me a few days and maybe another $50.00 in pipe and valves, and that was before I was a tech.

[dcg9381]

$1400 for a water tank does seem expensive... What else did you have to fix that wasn't warranty?

[TomHaycraft]

In follow up to my post above on 30 August, local shop confirmed early this week that front gray tank had a crack, about 1/2 way up, running along a corner of the tank. More water that was in the tank, the wider the split. Very consistent with what I experienced in Colorado, early in August. Confirmed, tank was properly installed, just one of those things, "stuff" happens.

Cost? $1,425 with tax. Prior references to $1,400, sounds like some consistency. Is it worth it? Considering I don't have the space, time, tools or experience to do it myself ... compared to what I have invested in truck and trailer? Yes. And the memories of where we've been and what we've done for the last 3 years? Was it a MasterCard commercial ... priceless!

I had to cancel this weekend's reservations, took some searching, but found sites available at another state park we've not been to yet, heading out in two weeks. I'll keep on track to not have let a month go by without camping since purchasing the trailer in August 2012.

[flybouy]

The last comment on this post was nearly 5 years ago and they were last on the forum on last Activity: 10-16-2017 05:54 AM

[Blucaddy71]

Saw that the post was old but I just needed to vent....added a nylon webbed ratchet strap under the tank to hopefully give a bit of support when tank gets full.

[JRTJH]

Your fresh water capacity is 38 gallons (same as my Cougar). That's a 32 gallon FW tank and 6 gallons in the water heater.

Typically, all manufacturers install "under tank supports" on larger tanks and don't install them on smaller tanks. Most define larger tank as over 50 gallons, some use 60 gallons as the "benchmark for support"...

The reasons for that, from what I have heard is this:

Every pound of steel is one less pound of cargo capacity. The competition between manufacturers creates a capacity war that all manufacturers must meet. It's not "just about straps" but about lighter furniture, thinner stainless (or plastic) sinks, thinner mattresses, lighter vinyl flooring, thinner and lighter floors (sandwich Styrofoam vs 5/8" flooring) and much more that comes to mind.

When you consider that the average "new RV owner" keeps their trailer about 4 years before trading, to have one like yours that was built in 2010, ten years ago before the tank developed a problem, that would "statistically" mean 2.5 owners ago or you could say, 2.5 lifetimes ago.....

I know that "doesn't make it any easier" but with the conditions that these things are exposed to during towing, They are "built more like tanks" than you'd suspect.

It's not about "breaking the bank with the cost of an additional support" it's more about having more cargo capacity or using that pound for something "people want" to stay ahead of Forest River or Jayco....

There are loads of "engineering improvements" that could be included, but a lot more engineering that you'd suspect goes into these things. Think how heavy the frames would be if they were still made of wood, had heavy, thick floors and "home style mattresses"... To be light enough to be towed by a "half ton or 3/4 ton truck, they would only have a 10 gallon fresh water tank if the cargo capacity had to be the same as Forest River's comparable model...

It's all about engineering what works AND stays within the design criteria....