Fresh water tank falling out of trailer

[nhunter]

Filled my water tank and drove 2 miles to the Walmart to load up for camping trip. Noticed water leaking out of the belly. Drive back home and cut underbelly because I could see a large square shape in the plastic. The factory sits the water tank between 2 pieces of angle iron with a 3" strap between them. There is plywood on top of this and then the tank. There is only two little pegs that hold the 3" strap to the angle iron and the tank just sits on top with nothing holding it down. The back end of my tank came off the angle iron which allowed the 3" strap to come out and let the whole back end of my tank fall. It ripped the one vent line port out of the tank and wrecked the underbelly. Going to the dealer for repairs hopefully under my 7 year extended warranty. You would think Heartland would have the sense to spot weld the strap to angle iron and have something in place to hold the tank in place besides gravity. Not sure if this is common or not. Ours is an 06 3600. Hopefully the tank is not damaged or it could get expensive.

On Edit: this as been our only major issue with the unit, all in all still loving te trailer.

 

[hoefler]

Seems to be an on going problem with the Heartland lines. I just went through the same thing, except I don't have any warranty. Here is the thread I posted about it; //heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/25165-I-have-one-for-you-all!?p=186632#post186632

 

[jnbhobe]

I have had to put a brace under every TT and 5er I have had in the last 15 years, thats 2 Sunlines,2 Keystones and the Bighorn. But I always travel with a full tank of water.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

We learned this issue a very long time ago from reading the forum. Fortunately for us, I was able to resolve the problem before the tank supports failed. When we first started traveling, I rarely kept water in the tank. Now, we keep about 1/3 tank on hand. About once a month I add a bit of bleach and flush the entire plumbing system and refill the tank to 1/3.

 

[jbeletti]

While of no consolation to those affected, Heartland has learned much from our earliest produced product and has strived to continuously improve them. Tank mounting is one area where large gains have been made.

 

[nhunter]

Apparently my extended warranty was nice enought to cover the repairs. Added a little extra support and should be good to go!

 

[wingfoot]

While of no consolation to those affected, Heartland has learned much from our earliest produced product and has strived to continuously improve them. Tank mounting is one area where large gains have been made.

Jim, I have a 08' BH..just wondering if the supports for the fresh water tank have been improved enough for this year's production...or should I think about reinforcing it?

Larry

 

[slb714]

Apparently my extended warranty was nice enought to cover the repairs. Added a little extra support and should be good to go!

Do you have the easy care extended? Because mine is about to fall out also!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cooknsharry]

WOW I hope my tank mounts R up-dated 2012 I run loaded DO Not need the tank to fall out going down the highway!!!! I guess I will have to drop the under skirt and look at it???? I sure do not want anyone to get hurt

 

[hoefler]

You won't have to drop the belly skin, if it is falling out, you will have a bulge under the tank area in the skin. If the tank is up where it belongs, the skin will be flat between the frame rails.

 

[ChopperBill]

WOW I hope my tank mounts R up-dated 2012 I run loaded DO Not need the tank to fall out going down the highway!!!! I guess I will have to drop the under skirt and look at it???? I sure do not want anyone to get hurt

Our "06" had the tank drop and even after I put a support under it you could see where it bulged. You can fill our "12" to the top and cant even tell where it is and doesnt creak or moan when you fill it. I dont think I would worry about yours.

 

[PUG]

Larry; I had an 09 Cyclone and noticed in short time there was a problem. I removed the underlayment and welded addl straps between the beams and beefed plywood. Yes you should take a look. It is a pretty easy fix where you can weld or bolt addl straps, angle irons, etc.

 

[porthole]

On our trailer something I noticed when replacing the tanks was that the cross mounted angle that holds up the tank is spaced a bit far.
I made up 3/4 ply sheets almost the full width. Also moved the angles in a bit for a closer to the tank fit.

 

[jnbhobe]

I slid a 3/16 th aluminum plate between the tank and the straps then bolted a 1 1/2 x 3 in piece of 3/16th tubing across the frame. That keeps the tank up where it belongs and can't move around wheather its full or empty.

 

[hoefler]

When I remounted mine, I replaced the OSB with Advanteck OSB. Then I cut 3 pieces of 3/16"x1 1/2"x1 1/2 angle iron running front to rear in the original angle brackets. I then spot welded them in place. I guarantee that it will never come out on its own again! Then I installed 2" high density styrene foam board, R7.5, attached to the OSB. Here is a link to the write I did on the project; //heartlandowners.org/showthread.php/25165-I-have-one-for-you-all!?highlight=tank

 

[aatauses]

We have a BH 2010--3670---can anyone tell me exactly where the tanks are located. I think??? the black and one gray is towards the front (on top of each other) as I have a sag when they are near full. However, do not know where the other gray or fresh water tanks are located. Also, any pictures or ideas on how to correct the sagging would be appreciated.
al

 

[TeJay]

It's really to bad that so many have had problems with the water tank. Our 2011 NT-24-RBS broke the strap and dropped about 7 inches. When I looked at it I realized how poorly it was supported. It was fixed under warranty but it should not have happened. This is not really rocket science. Water is heavy and when it's in a flat, long wide plastic tank proper support is absolutely paramount. Why does a manufacturer have to have so many issues in the same area?? A proper installation should have been done at the factory. It's not difficult or expensive. We searched for 18 months before we bought. We both looked for floor plan, fit and finish, cabinets, and quality was at the top of the list. We determined that Heartland was at the top and seemed to do a better job than most. I guess QC is still an issue with most manufacturers.
TeJay

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Jim, I have a 08' BH..just wondering if the supports for the fresh water tank have been improved enough for this year's production...or should I think about reinforcing it?

Larry

Larry, ours in an 07. I would suggest at least removing a couple of screws attaching the underbelly adjacent to the tank and check the type of strap under the tank. Worst case scenario, purchase 2- 6ft lengths of 1-1/2 inch angle iron and use 1/4" self drillers to attach them to the frame. You can go right over the underbelly material but put the screws into the outer side of the I beam. This is just for an extra margin of safety or peace of mind. Probably less than $20.