2004 Journey propane tank weld crack

[Chuck 1935]

Originally Posted by Boeing Guy

Marinelender,
Can you tell me who you talked to and when your coach was built. The plate in my MH is stamped 09/03. That tells me it was built in September 2003. Winebago service Rep told me my MH was built in October 2003. Only coaches built before Sept 19, 2003 were part of the recall.
I spoke to a Mr Flugm I believe in Forest City. He was adament that my coach is not part of the recall. He said tank part number 144116-03-000 is the recall tank. I have a 144116-02-000 tank. But it is leaking at exactly where Winnebago predicted it would leak. That would be indication to me that Winnebago should fix it as part of the recall.
The problem is that part number is a Winnebago part number. No where is it located on the tank. The tank has a Manchester tank Company part number and I can't figure out how to cross manchester part number to Winnebago part number.

Manchester Tank people told me Winnebago installed the tank improperly and it is their fault.

Here is where we are. I sent photos of the tank to Manchester Tank Company. They agreed to send a tank for $460 including shipping. Winnebago sent the new strap mouting kit and a new gauge (the old gauge will not fit the new tank) for free.
I will have to pay labor to replace the tank, plus purging and filling. So, it will still cost me the better part of a grand. Am I happy? No. Would I like Winnebago to fix it totally? Yes. But unless I can talk to someone else, I guess that is where I am. It appears that different folks have gotten different results at different times. One guy told me he ate the entire cost (almost 3 grand). One told me Good Sam paid for it - twice i think. Many told me Winnebago paid for it. I'm kind of in the middle. If any one has a name, let me know. I have hit a brick wall.

My tank was not covered because mine was an Itasca Meridian, built in December of 03, and the recall was for the Journey, even though they are the same Coach. It was like cockroaches when you turn on the lights. Winny and Manchester had all kinds of BS stories as to why it was not on the recall.
On mine, it was a bad weld from Manchester. It was on the rear bracket where it was welded to the tank. The weld material had not filled the burn crater at the end of the weld. I was going to weld it myself ( remove tank, fill it with water and zap it ) because it was just a pin hole but I decided against it and opted for a new tank because, as I recall, my Good Sam Extended Warranty covered some or most of the cost.

[Cheryl Bisson]

Boeing Guy, Were you able to find your build list using the guideline given by cbeierl?

[grtharris]

Boeing Guy, you can get you build list here with the last 5 digits of your Winnebago serial number.
Service Parts List

[Boeing Guy]

Originally Posted by grtharris

Boeing Guy, you can get you build list here with the last 5 digits of your Winnebago serial number.
Service Parts List

I was able to get the build list. Thanks for the info. As Winnebago told me, I have an
144116-02-000 tank. The recall was for the 144116-03-000 tank. So tough luck. I argued that one way or the other, I, and apparently a lot of others got bad tanks. I don't care what number was on the tank. The weld leaked. it was a design flaw. Either manchester Tank welded the tanks improperly, or Winnebago mounted them improperly. But either way, Winnebago put the tank in my MH and sold me the finished unit. Winnebago should fix it. This is a design flaw and or manufacturers defect.

The cheapest way is for Winnebago and Manchester to point fingers at each other. I felt like a 10 year old being told, "ask your mom", "ask your dad" "ask your mom", "ask your dad" and I am stuck with a leaky tank. As I stated in my OP, this unit was in storage for quite some time. I suspect the tank has been leaking since I bought it. But each time I had the system checked, no leaks were found, and the smell was explained away, "overserviced", went from cold to warm climate, etc. It smelled terrible right after servicing, then eventually subsided. Eventually it got so bad, i was afraid to drive it. Right now the tank is empty.

So unless someone has another suggestion, I will pay to have a discounted tank from Manchester installed using the strap mounts that Winnebago gave me. Like Winnebago said, the coach is 8 years old and as one poster said, sometimes you just have to fix the problem and move on.
But I do appreciate the help I was given. Originally I was worried that this would cost 3 grand. The tank was $400 and the straps were free. Wi9nnebago even sent a guage since the old gage will not fit the new tank. With labor and purging and filling the tank, it will probably be a grand. I already fixed both ACs, repaired the genny, put on six tires, and three batteries, but I got a super good deal and I knew that since it had set in a pole barn for so long I woul dhave to put some money into it. Thanks for your help. Iwill report to the thread when it is fixed.

[Boeing Guy]

This is just a follow up to thank every one for their help and to recap what happened. If you are following this thread, I don't need to go too far into what all took place.

The bottom line is that Winnebago sent me the tank install kit for free. I do appreciate it, although we still disagree that my coach should have been part of the recall and repaired. But it is what it is. Manchester tank co sold me a new tank at or below cost (about $480) delivered to Belleville IL from CA.
I just got a call from the RV place. They installed the tank, filled it with propane and checked it out. $493, but that does include an extend kit, so I can eventualy buy a long hose and hook up my littel gas grill.
So for less than a grand I'm back in business.
I do want to again thank everyone again. Ther RV tech checked for leaks 2 times (Naturaly I paid for that). He told me he could smell it but not find it. When I called to tell him to check the welds onthe tank, he found the leak. IRV2 came through again. Thanks. If nothing else, I got a thousand dollars worth of education. Problem solved. Happy motoring.

[skigramp]

Glad you got it fixed and the only damage was to your billfold ...

[1ciderdog]

Thanks for the update. Having talked to you about the problem it's great to hear that it has been repaired and hopefully to your satisfaction. To bad they didn't pick up the entire cost.