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Old 06-27-2014, 10:19 PM   #1
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Stupidest engineering idea EVER!

Who was the genius that came up with the idea of using PLASTIC connectors for the water lines??? One failure on the second run of a brand new 2014 Journey bought in April in front of the water heater. CW replaced it no problem, picked it up today, turn water heater on and guess what? Connector 2 inches from the replaced one fails, not 15 miles down the road!!

It is clear to me that when the PLASTIC connectors are joined to the lines, the plastic connector fractures from the pressure of the crimped metal bands b/c it is the joint that is leaking, not the line. Over time these tiny fractures blow due to the pressure from the lines.

Can't put any pressure on the lines without water spraying everywhere, so no water on this trip!

Thanks Winnebago for the award winning design! Can't imagine how many joints need to be replaced with metal ones so this doesn't continue to happen.

Anyone else having this issue? Solutions??

Sorry for the long rant, but 2 of 3 trips in a new MH w/o water sux!

Sean & Gidget
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Old 06-27-2014, 10:27 PM   #2
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Hate to say it , but the connectors ; maybe not the same brand as your coach uses; have been industry standard for years.
14 years on the connectors in my coach, I've replaced tap sets, but never a connector.

Don't worry about ranting , we all do it , and you have the best reason that I've seen this week, may be even this month.
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Old 06-28-2014, 05:18 AM   #3
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Those connectors are the least of the problems.. have a look at how the headlight buckets.. in fact, most of the front end of the coach is assembled - glue. I have now lost count of how many headlight buckets we've had to re-glue or make framework for.
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Old 06-28-2014, 08:38 AM   #4
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We all need a little item to rant about
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Old 06-28-2014, 09:04 AM   #5
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Hey Budlightman

We had a 2010 Jayco Melbourne....after 2 years of stepping in water every trip because of one water leak after another.....
We traded for a Itasca Sunova......no leaks after 2 years
Same type water connections....
Go figure
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Old 06-28-2014, 09:28 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lrose44 View Post
Hey Budlightman

We had a 2010 Jayco Melbourne....after 2 years of stepping in water every trip because of one water leak after another.....
We traded for a Itasca Sunova......no leaks after 2 years
Same type water connections....
Go figure
Cross my fingers....have had no leaks in our 2010 Itasca Sunova 33c in the four years that we've owned it.
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Old 06-28-2014, 09:35 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by lrose44 View Post
Hey Budlightman

We had a 2010 Jayco Melbourne....after 2 years of stepping in water every trip because of one water leak after another.....
We traded for a Itasca Sunova......no leaks after 2 years
Same type water connections....
Go figure
It has everything to do with a properly calibrated crimping tool. When the tool is out of calibration it can either crimp too hard, causing fittings to split, or it can crimp too loosely, causing the fitting to leak at the joint or blow apart.

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Old 06-28-2014, 01:12 PM   #8
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I agree with Nomad297. The fittings are code approved for residential and do well in houses and RVs. Never had one fail in either of my motor homes. Had a couple fail in house after it got down to freezing in the house when we were away last winter. Had the water shut off but it got cold enough to break a couple of plastic fittings in one bathroom.
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Old 06-28-2014, 01:18 PM   #9
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Hi and welcome to the forum.

I agree with Skip below. We've had our Ellipse for 7 years and covered 53,000 miles with no water fitting leaks. Sure sounds like a production/tooling problem to me.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip426 View Post
Hate to say it , but the connectors ; maybe not the same brand as your coach uses; have been industry standard for years.
14 years on the connectors in my coach, I've replaced tap sets, but never a connector.

Don't worry about ranting , we all do it , and you have the best reason that I've seen this week, may be even this month.
Rick
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Old 06-28-2014, 01:43 PM   #10
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It could also be the dealer not winterizing or blowing out the lines in the coach while it was sitting on their lot and it got below freezing. A lot of variables there. Plastic fittings in my 2001 (previous owner took a film crew to Alaska in it) have not been a problem nor in the 1995 I had previously.
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Old 06-28-2014, 01:56 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by budlightman View Post
Who was the genius that came up with the idea of using PLASTIC connectors for the water lines??? One failure on the second run of a brand new 2014 Journey bought in April in front of the water heater. CW replaced it no problem, picked it up today, turn water heater on and guess what? Connector 2 inches from the replaced one fails, not 15 miles down the road!!
It is clear to me that when the PLASTIC connectors are joined to the lines, the plastic connector fractures from the pressure of the crimped metal bands b/c it is the joint that is leaking, not the line. Over time these tiny fractures blow due to the pressure from the lines.
Can't put any pressure on the lines without water spraying everywhere, so no water on this trip!
Thanks Winnebago for the award winning design! Can't imagine how many joints need to be replaced with metal ones so this doesn't continue to happen.
Sean & Gidget
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These plastic fittings don't leak if you treat them right, (and are easily replaced if you don't): Flair-It Fittings | Mobile Home Parts Store
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Old 06-28-2014, 02:01 PM   #12
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Usually the fittings are fine in all the repairs I see come in. It's bad crimps that are a problem, or water lines being left to freeze.
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Old 06-29-2014, 07:38 AM   #13
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Has Winnebago stopped using Flair-It fittings and switched to crimped ones? They have used Flair-It fittings for many years.

As far as plastic for plumbing, PEX has been around for about 50 years. It's very common these days.
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Old 06-29-2014, 08:04 AM   #14
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I've had my Providence, for 7 years and have had two plastic fittings, on the water heater, split and flood my bedroom. When the first one broke, I was able to get to it and replace it, with a metal fitting, with some difficulty, because of where it was located. I should have replaced the second fitting at the same time, but it was impossible to get to, from the bedroom closet. So I decided to take a chance, that it wouldn't split. WRONG DECISION! Within a couple of weeks, the other one broke flooding the bedroom again! This time, and I had to totally, remove the water heater from the coach, to get at the fitting and replace it.
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Old 06-29-2014, 08:14 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tderonne View Post
Has Winnebago stopped using Flair-It fittings and switched to crimped ones? They have used Flair-It fittings for many years.

As far as plastic for plumbing, PEX has been around for about 50 years. It's very common these days.
Out 2013 Adventurer has a mixture of both. The fittings to the outdoor shower have Flair-It fittings as well as the ones to the toilet. All others are the crimp style. I added shutoff valves inline just ahead all of the outlets (kitchen sink & water purifier, Bathroom sink, toilet, shower, and outdoor shower). If any of them fail or get sediment in them (from poor water sources) the individual outlet can be shut off leaving water to the remainder of the outlets.

It also helps when we leave the cold Wisconsin weather for warmer climates in the winter. We winterize everything with RV antifreeze in the fall then shut off the valves to the outdoor shower. When we put in fresh water for the trip south the outdoor shower will still have antifreeze in it. No worries about it freezing while traveling down the road 60+ miles an hour in -10* weather.
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Old 06-29-2014, 08:35 AM   #16
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BudLiteMan. Do you use a pressure reducer on your city water hookup? If not, this might eliminate your problem. Eddie Elk.
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Old 06-30-2014, 08:43 AM   #17
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Angry Update

Here is an update...

Called a mobile RV repair service who came out Saturday am. Guy replaces the leaking fitting, tests it and that fitting is now OK - except the one right next to it fails, repeat fix, test, new one fails. This goes on and on for a total of 6 replaced fittings around the water heater! Just moving the lines and fittings to repair them caused the next one to it to fail.

Guy leaves and 10 minutes later, fitting to water filter under the kitchen sink fails! Call him back and he turns around. Turns out not only was the fitting bad, but the hose/tubing was bent on installation of the water filter. No fittings available on his truck so he proceeds to remove the filter and cap the two fittings so at least we can have water - well at least hot water only in the kitchen because the cold supply was capped.

Guy basically says "I'd be worried if I were you about every fitting in the coach." Unbelievable!!

$500 later - problem is still not resolved, have some dripping from the terminated fittings and we have no confidence that WB will reimburse us.

Yes, we are using a water pressure regulator - and have since day one. Thanks for all your answers and input.

Sean & Gidget
2014 Journey 36M
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Old 06-30-2014, 12:41 PM   #18
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You sure it didn't freeze?
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Old 06-30-2014, 03:04 PM   #19
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You sure it didn't freeze?

Have no idea - bought it brand new off the CW lot in first part of April. It was winterized when we bought it - CW dewinterized it for us.
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Old 06-30-2014, 08:10 PM   #20
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Have no idea - bought it brand new off the CW lot in first part of April. It was winterized when we bought it - CW dewinterized it for us.
So why would you have to pay out of pocket to repair a 3 month old coach that's under warranty? I'm confused.
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