Seneca 37k new purchase sewer system vents not connected - is this normal

[klkirk01]

We purchased our Seneca a few weeks ago - haven’t had it anywhere. We hooked it up at our warehouse to test it out - after 2 days it started to SMELL after 4 days it was unbearable. The tech cane out and determined the vents are not hooked up so it was just venting into the unit.

I’m blown away - now they say they are going to have to remove all the tanks and probably a wall to fix it. Is this normal???

[EA37TS]

Not that is not normal. Was this by any chance a unit that got shutdown mid-build due to COVID-19? If so it's possible someone forgot where they left off before going home. Also, says the dealer did not do an adequate inspection when they accepted delivery.

[klkirk01]

Thank you for replying - we are new to RVing so we really just don’t know what to think about this- I don’t want to be unreasonable but I feel like if you’re paying almost 200000 for something it should work like it’s supposed to for at least a while!!!

We purchased it in April and it had been on the lot for at least a month before we bought it - I’m gonna ask tomorrow for the exact delivery date.

The tech they sent said he was pretty sure the vents in the roof are not connected and they will have to remove the tanks and tear into the walls(!!!! This part is really freaking my husband and me out) to fix it if that’s the case. The service manager who looks wet behind the ears told me it wasn’t a big deal it would be restored to factory specifications, but honestly I don’t feel comfortable about it but is there anything we can do. It’s like buying a new car and then it’s wrecked and you never feel the same about it

[Mnwelsh]

I know this is a depressing issue for you. And it should be. My advise is work with your dealer, also call the factory service people and talk to someone there to have an advocate at the factory. Perhaps you can take it there for the repairs. You will get all these issues repaired. And it won’t be the end, other issues will crop up and need repairs. All new RVs go through this, trust me, I’ve owned many RVs in my lifetime, I’m 78. I’ve had 2 Senecas and they both were the best RVs I’ve ever owned, fun to drive, easy to set up at a camp site and after you get the bugs out, very reliable. That’s why you were wise to purchase the Seneca, 2 year warranty. You were also smart to hook it up at home and test it. Others here will give you good advise, hang in there, this will all work out. You will love your Seneca, but like all RV owners, you have to endure this brake in, field testing, repairing stuff for a while before your in the sweet spot and she’s running down the road problem free and fun times unlimited. Good luck and keep us informed.

[75462]

We got our 2020 Seneca in April too. I found that the roof vent pipe has a larger hole than the pipe to the roof and its open around the pipe to the vent cap. No rain would ever come in but I can see how sewer gas could come back down around the pipe. I took some spray foam and sealed around mine.

[75462]

I would ask for a smoke test to be performed before tearing walls apart!

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by klkirk01

We purchased our Seneca a few weeks ago - haven’t had it anywhere.

First... Welcome to the JOF forum and the Seneca family... I will get into the details of your dilema in the next comments

Originally Posted by EA37TS

Not that is not normal. Was this by any chance a unit that got shutdown mid-build due to COVID-19? If so it's possible someone forgot where they left off before going home. Also, says the dealer did not do an adequate inspection when they accepted delivery.

The Dealer is responsible for the finishing touches and making sure everything is right before they deliver it to you... As you will find out, the Factory is not the best at quality control, and many dealers are frankly inept at correcting the most basic of issues the factory did not get just right. That said, Mnwelsh has a good perspective below....

Originally Posted by Mnwelsh

I know this is a depressing issue for you. And it should be. My advise is work with your dealer, also call the factory service people and talk to someone there to have an advocate at the factory. Perhaps you can take it there for the repairs. You will get all these issues repaired. And it won’t be the end, other issues will crop up and need repairs. All new RVs go through this, trust me, I’ve owned many RVs in my lifetime, I’m 78. I’ve had 2 Senecas and they both were the best RVs I’ve ever owned, fun to drive, easy to set up at a camp site and after you get the bugs out, very reliable. That’s why you were wise to purchase the Seneca, 2 year warranty. You were also smart to hook it up at home and test it. Others here will give you good advise, hang in there, this will all work out. You will love your Seneca, but like all RV owners, you have to endure this brake in, field testing, repairing stuff for a while before your in the sweet spot and she’s running down the road problem free and fun times unlimited. Good luck and keep us informed.

So true. If your dealer is reputable, they will fix the defects on Jayco's behalf. Our Seneca had to have the transfer switch and both AC units replaced before we took delivery... The Dealer did take care of them under the Jayco Warranty.

Originally Posted by klkirk01

Thank you for replying - we are new to RVing so we really just don’t know what to think about this- I don’t want to be unreasonable but I feel like if you’re paying almost 200000 for something it should work like it’s supposed to for at least a while!!!

We purchased it in April and it had been on the lot for at least a month before we bought it - I’m gonna ask tomorrow for the exact delivery date.

The tech they sent said he was pretty sure the vents in the roof are not connected and they will have to remove the tanks and tear into the walls(!!!! This part is really freaking my husband and me out) to fix it if that’s the case. The service manager who looks wet behind the ears told me it wasn’t a big deal it would be restored to factory specifications, but honestly I don’t feel comfortable about it but is there anything we can do. It’s like buying a new car and then it’s wrecked and you never feel the same about it

Our Dealership was a huge one with a few service managers that came and went in the first 6-months we dealt with CW. Wet behind the ears is an understatement for some of these places that are not so reputable.

I trust that your dealer is reputable - until you really find out - and Mnwelsh 's advice to keep in close communication between the dealer and the Factory is a critical part of getting this all fixed.

Our Seneca is no longer under warranty, and we were suckerd into buying an Extended warranty at CW. We found that the extended warranty (Not the same as the Jayco Warranty) was less than useless and fix the remaining issues we find on our own. (I am handy and have the tools) now that our rig has worked out all of the bugs... We rarely have an issue, we use the heck out of our Seneca and it is solid and reliable. We take it Offroad, in remote twisty canyons and over many mountain passes...

Our first year of ownership was shakey to say the least... but after getting a reputable service company and working out the remaining bugs... We are happy Seneca owners now.

[Martigg]

I don’t know where you live but if this was mine it would be corrected by Jayco Factory, Middlebury & no one else.

[RetiredOne]

I know this is long shot, but here goes. If this is a brand new rig, how is there such a bad odor from the vents, if it hasn't been camped in yet? Seems strange that could happen.

Since he said the smell started a few days after plugging it in, any chance the odor he's smelling is the batteries being overcharged and cooked off? Some people have stated a "sulphur type" smell when that happens.... or smells like a rotten egg.

That would be similar to a black tank odor, but this is an unused NEW rig.... unless a tech left a "surprise" in the black tank....

[Rustynuts]

Originally Posted by klkirk01

We purchased our Seneca a few weeks ago - haven’t had it anywhere. We hooked it up at our warehouse to test it out - after 2 days it started to SMELL after 4 days it was unbearable. The tech cane out and determined the vents are not hooked up so it was just venting into the unit.

I’m blown away - now they say they are going to have to remove all the tanks and probably a wall to fix it. Is this normal???

So you have been using the toilets while hooked up inside or is it smelling while not being use? Curious how he determined this without tearing into it, or was it just a guess?


We had a odor that would start after 1-2 days of use in the front bathroom of our RB. I started checking things out and found 2 things wrong. One was the backflow preventer under the vanity that is for the black tank flush system was not sealing off all the way and this would let the black tank odor come up into the vanity. After replacing that, it was better but still there so started searching some more and I found that the foam seal for the toilet to the base flange was not installed correctly and while looking down the toilet with the water pump off and opening the valve, you could see part of the seal sticking out into the pipe. This was letting odor come up between the toilet and flange. Since both of these were fixed, we no longer have any odor......well except while in use

[klkirk01]

Great great info and advice - will keep you posted once we take it In tomorrow morning - again thank you to everyone!!!! Much much appreciated

[Cavie]

Get a second opinion from an independent RV dealer before you do anything.

[RVermont]

Sorry to hear of your issue and best wishes on getting it resolved. Welcome to club. Once you get this resolved the rigs are great and very enjoyable to use.

Hopefully the dealer will find that this is just an issue with the top of the vents not being sealed on the vent riser and they can seal from the top of the unit.

[Grumpy]

Did he check the air admittance valve under the sink? Maybe one of those is missing or defective.

[jack4540]

On our Accolade 37K the the valve under the back bathroom sink was installed backwards . When I tried to flush out the tank water could not go make it into the tank . After cutting the lines and reattaching the valve it works fine now .

[klkirk01]

Well we left it there this morning w ol wet behind the ears who assured us he would have a look at it before end of day but shocker no phone call. This place has lots of older gentlemen working who seem very knowledgeable I’d love to know how this young smug kid is the service manager

Guess I’ll call in the AM

[SloPoke]

My advice.... call him once a day - EVERY day. Document the date/time you call on every one of these calls. as They are used to ignoring the calls you make and will shove your Motorhome in the back corner of the lot and ignore it.

[klkirk01]

We got the Seneca back yesterday. I want to say I am ashamed of myself for calling the guy ol wet behind the ears and the other unkind words - I was frustrated and irritable but that’s not an excuse.

According to the Service guy they think the problem was around the washer vent and they put in some kind of seal that they think should resolve the issue. When we arrived the odor was gone - yay!!! - and we drove it home and the odor was still gone.... until we turned on the A/C and the odor returned. at first my hubs was hopeful it was just in the ducts and would filter out but unfortunately this morning it still smells awful in the whole entire coach.

We called the dealer they told us to run a cycle through the washer to reset the trap. My hubs thinks that’s not going to fix it but I’m hoping. Ugh This is awful. I’m going to call Jayco shortly to see what they think

Thank you

[RVermont]

I was hopeful that they had solved the issue.

A couple of suggestions
If it was my unit I would do some troubleshooting of my own. First I would fill and clean the black tanks to get them as clean as possible. If the odor goes away I would refill them and then climb on the roof as someone opened the valve. If there is air rushing in the vents are attached but still could be leaking into the roof cavity.

Since it was fine until the ac came on I wonder if the ac unit is drawing air in from the roof somehow. Either from a seal in the ac that is not complete or as others have said a leaky vent connection from the pipe to the vent cap on the roof. You can pull filters out of the ac units and see if you can see light coming in. It should be dark as they are supposed to be seal to the outside. There is some sealant tape around the wiring that could be incomplete and when you turn the ac on it might draw air from that area. Also I assume that the filters are clean or again the restriction on the intake will force it to come from other areas.

Dead animals and sewer can smell similar so I would check the air vents to be sure something did not get up there. While it would appear unlikely it has been known to happen.

[klkirk01]

Great news - the smell is GONE!!! words can’t express the relief we feel. So basically this is the sequence of events:

They sealed around the hose in the laundry area that connects to the wall/roof

Then had us run a load of laundry in the unit (which at first didn’t have water because we hadn’t turned on the water in the laundry area as I though that would already be done - so the first load ran no water ����- still has the smell luckily I checked it before it got to dryer cycle so after we figured that out we ran the load through).

We waited about an hour or two after running the load and went inside and the odor was gone

Thank you everyone for all of your help and to put RV dealer who solved the problem and was patient with these newbies.

We are heading to the Rod Run in June in TN for our first real trip and I’m so excited!!!! We are staying at Pine Mountain RV Park in case anyone else is going. As I stated before we are newbies and don’t know anyone else in the RV world yet but hopefully soon we will

Again thanks so much to everyone for being so helpful and nice.