Fresh Water Tank Fell Out!

[Apoennim]

Hi! First post here. After a lengthy search on this forum and others I thought I should post here about my fresh water tank falling out this weekend.

We have a 2009 Jay Flight G2 BH27 we bought new. This weekend was going to be our first trip of the year. When we were about 10 miles down the interstate we had someone pull alongside us and inform us our steps were down. I've never managed to do that before, but no big deal; I pulled off on the next off ramp. Well, someone was looking out for us because as I walked back to put up the steps I noticed the underbelly was hanging about an inch from the pavement and hundreds of pounds of water in the fresh water tank were sitting on it!

Most of the underbelly plastic had ripped away from the frame from the sheer weight of the tank. The two flimsy straps underneath the tank had broken but the brackets for the tank under the floorboards appeared intact. I opened the drain valve and drove very carefully home trying to avoid big bumps and potholes. After jacking it up and allowing the water to drain I was able to reinstall the tank and added two new straps in addition to replacing the factory two straps. A few trips down a dirt road near our house with the tank refilled and all appears okay for now.

My concern is, and why I'm posting, that this could happen to someone else. After reading all the different RV forums out there this seems to happen a lot on a variety of RV brands. I haven't found any for Jayco in particular but wanted to let you know it does happen and how dangerous it could be. My FWT sits in front of both my trailer axles. If it the underbelly would have given out we would have wrecked the trailer and who knows what would have happened to anyone behind us.

I'm losing more and more faith in my Jayco; every year something else goes wrong. This one being the most serious.

[Crabman]

Welcome to the forum. Yikes! That`s scary stuff.........

[Jagiven]

That is scary! I would contact Jayco, and share your pictures. Personally I have never heard of tank falling out of a TT that is in good condition.

[norty1]

I have 2 friends who each have had the grey water tank come loose from its binding. Both not Jayco's.

I hardly ever travel with full tanks so I have not given mine a real test, but have pulled with the fresh water tank full several times.

A full tank is a lot of weight, not making excuses for it though.

[tlhdoc]

Wow you were lucky. Hope you have the problem beat and have a safe trip.

[clubhouse]

Welcome to JOF. Thanks for sharing the experience.

Was the tank completely separated from the TT and only being kept off the road by the enclosed underbelly?

I ask because you say the straps broke, but the bracket at the top of the tank and under the floor was in tact. I questioned those straps when we purchased ou TT. I called Jayco on it and they indicated to me the straps are primarily there to support the tank during construction untill the top bracket could be installed. And after installation the top brackets are what secure the tank to the TT.

[Murphie]

Wow, I have never seen this before in a post and like many of you out there I have read lots. I am surprised that the tank was able to get out of the top hangers. I wonder if the holes drilled for the side that comes undone were set too far apart. When you reinstalled it did you check to see how tight the tank fit? It's also amazing that the tank was held by the bottom
cover of the trailer. Thanks for sharing.

[Terry]

Originally Posted by clubhouse

I called Jayco on it and they indicated to me the straps are primarily there to support the tank during construction untill the top bracket could be installed. And after installation the top brackets are what secure the tank to the TT.

I was going to say the same thing...I dont think the straps are really meant to hold the tank, but it should not have come lose. I would put in a call to Jayco and see what they have to say. I guess a bunch of really hard bumps could do that as the tank weights several hundred pounds full...add the sloshing and you have a big weight...but it should not have dislodged like that....

Please let us know what you find out.

[ex9501]

I had this happen to my previous travel Trailer. (Not A Jayco).
Upon investigation, I found the metal straps were damaged from the tank being over filled from the garden hose. (wasn't paying attention as it was filling)
The rectangle shaped tank actually took on the shape of a football from the water pressure & volume, bending the straps which allowed the tank to drop down.
Didn't even realize it until I set up the trailer at the CG.
Turned on the water pump , but no water. Crawled underneath and found the water line was crimped, due to the tank hanging down. I drained the tank, pushed on the tank to make it rectangular again & installed new straps.
DON'T OVERFILL THE TANK... EVER!

[BlueHaul]

Thanks for sharing! I'm sorry that happened, but I'm glad you posted about it - definitely something I'm going to check on before our next trip!

[Jagiven]

My TT has an open underbelly. I crawled underneath the other night and looked at my tanks. From how they are secured in, I could not image how my tank could ever fall out. Shifting laterally, I could see, as they are only held in place by gravity, and sandwiched to the underside of the floor. I was able to push the fresh water tank laterally. The black and grey tanks I could not push, but they are tied in a little more due to the drain pipes.

If it warms up and if I ever get a few spare minutes I will try to crawl under again with the camera.

[thomasmnile]

Discouraging for sure. If faced with the situation, I'd be fabricating a plywood platform for that tank to sit on. Too much static weight when full, and certainly too much dynamic load on just straps and brackets when the trailer is in motion. Guess I'll not ever fully load my fresh water tank again...............

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Our 26BH has 2 FW tanks that are held in with 1" steel bars on the underside. They bolt directly to the frame cross members. There are also the clamps along the sides of the tanks that are screwed to the floor. I doubt ours are going anywhere!

[clubhouse]

IMO the OP is spreading FUD. Must have an axe to grind against Jayco.

Look at the facts, appears to have joined the forum to make a single post and closes it with how they are losing faith in Jayco. Several members then reply asking for clarification on what and how it happened and we are getting no response from the OP. I along with others have looked closely at the mounting design of my tanks and I simply can't see how it happened. The pictures provided are inconclusive at best as to the cause/fault.

[Meathead]

Originally Posted by ex9501

I had this happen to my previous travel Trailer. (Not A Jayco).
Upon investigation, I found the metal straps were damaged from the tank being over filled from the garden hose. (wasn't paying attention as it was filling)
The rectangle shaped tank actually took on the shape of a football from the water pressure & volume, bending the straps which allowed the tank to drop down.
Didn't even realize it until I set up the trailer at the CG.
Turned on the water pump , but no water. Crawled underneath and found the water line was crimped, due to the tank hanging down. I drained the tank, pushed on the tank to make it rectangular again & installed new straps.
DON'T OVERFILL THE TANK... EVER!

Forgive me, I'm new to this. How does one overfill a tank? I took my new (used) 2005 Jayco on our first trip and filled the FWT with a garden hose until the water could be heard in the filler tube. I figured traveling with a full tank would prevent the weight transfer caused by a half full tank. And what is the difference between full and overfull??

[clubhouse]

Originally Posted by Meathead

Forgive me, I'm new to this. How does one overfill a tank? I took my new (used) 2005 Jayco on our first trip and filled the FWT with a garden hose until the water could be heard in the filler tube. I figured traveling with a full tank would prevent the weight transfer caused by a half full tank. And what is the difference between full and overfull??

I too don't know how to overfill a tank. Mine has overflow hoses the start to bleed water once it reaches that point. Further I agree full tanks, although heavy, would be preferred over towing slack tanks.

[ex9501]

Believe me... very easy to overfill a fresh water tank on some trailers.
As I stated, This happened on a previous trailer (a 2002 wilderness TT.)
No vent on the lower part of the tank.
The vent was next to the fill opening. As i said in the original post " i wasn't paying attention...."
Totally my fault.
The vent hole is tiny compared to the fill hole. So when i realized I left the hose on, the water was shooting out of the vent tube. only problem was, there was still more water going in than what the overflow vent would allow to escape, resulting in the tank expanding from the water pressure.
that pressure was strong enough to bend & break the metal straps that secure the tank.

[Meathead]

So I suppose the hose should be attended while filling? Mine took nearly ten minutes to fill from what I remember, but I stood by until I could hear the water enter the fill tube itself. I also held onto the hose rather than push it into the opening. I have to say I find it hard to believe even a full tank would pop out, even on a rough road.

[Foleys]

I had the same thing happen to me this month on my brand new TT. I just bought a new 26 foot BHS. After filling my fresh water tank in a campground, I was heading to our site and heard a grinding sound. When I looked under the trailer there was the water tank testing on the ground. I found that the steel straps were installed with self tapping screws and 2 of the 6 had fallen out. I had to jack up the tank so it would drain then had to replace the screws with nuts and bolts. Not an easy task in the middle of a secluded campground. I'm glad I don't travel with full tanks our this may have happened in the middle of a highway.

[demus72]

This is frightening as I too own a 2009 Jay Flight G2 27BH. It has an enclosed underbelly so I would have to tear the liner down to inspect.

When filling the fresh water tank, I only run my hose half open but I do let it run until water spills out of the overflow/vent hose. As soon as it begins to run out, I pull the hose out. Is that the correct way to fill it?

The reason I'm here is the Jay Flight G2 27BH has one of the smallest fresh water tank capacities in this line of travel trailers at 39 gal. I was considering my options to increase my capacity as I primarily dry camp. Has anyone else modified their travel trailer to increase fresh water capacity? My first thought is to add another tank and connect them such that they pump down at the same time. Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks