Micro Minnie Water Tank Brace Fail

[Marine359]

Wondering if this has happened to any other WBGO towable owners.

Was sitting under the awning having a brewski, looked down and noticed something weird just forward of the front curbside tire. On closer inspection, it seems the bolts holding the fresh water tank support bar had fallen out, and the water tank was sagging badly. Fortunately, we were traveling with less than 1/2 tank fresh. I believe if we had a full tank, the tank may have fallen out onto the highway. Problem is the support bar is not through bolted to the frame. They just used tapping bolts through the bar and into the frame pre-drilled holes.

Repairing in the field so we could continue our journey was not easy. It required emptying the tank into the sink and gray tank. We were dry camping, so extra trips with the tote. Then using the jack of our tow vehicle, and wood blocks to jack the bar and tank back into position. Lots of contortions for an old guy. Medium gauge bailing wire strung through the bar and frame and twisted and tied off. Then drill in a size of self tapping bolt that would give a tight fit. It’s not possible to reach the inside of the frame to install a thru bolt without removing the coroplast. I wonder how long it will be before the driver side bolts fail?

This fail, which has probably has happened to many others, could have been totally avoided if WBGO had not “cheaped out” on the build. How much more would it have cost them to install through bolts with nylon locking nuts? Maybe 50 cents and 10 more labor minutes per trailer?

[Ray,IN]

I'm glad you noticed the problem and got it repaired. The NRVA assn. standards requires holding tank supports to be able to support a full tank while traveling, but it doesn't say for how long, I suppose until the warranty has expired? :(


It might be a good idea to put a few drops of LocTite on those bolt threads when you return home. (btw, blue LocTite is removable, red is permanent unless it it heated with a torch)

[Fred 2106DS]

Jim, sorry to hear about your tank brace issue. I made an external check of the self-tapping screws on our three tank braces. All appear to be in place. We tend to travel with a full fresh water tank so your report concerned me.

When I remove the coroplast this Spring to install tank heaters and ultrasonic water level sensors, I'll be able to make a through inspection and see about replacing the self-tapping screws with hardened bolts and locknuts.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Fred 2106DS

Jim, sorry to hear about your tank brace issue. I made an external check of the self-tapping screws on our three tank braces. All appear to be in place. We tend to travel with a full fresh water tank so your report concerned me.

When I remove the coroplast this Spring to install tank heaters and ultrasonic water level sensors, I'll be able to make a through inspection and see about replacing the self-tapping screws with hardened bolts and locknuts.

I recommend reconsidering "hardened bolts and nuts". The highest shear strength is when there is no clearance between bolt and the bolt holes. That is why the factory used self-tapping screws, they are a tight fit with no clearance slop to increase the odds of the screw shearing when the brace and frame move.
If you want a permanent screw/bolt connection, use red LocTite after cleaning the screw and threads of all oil and dirt.(see my reply above)

reference; https://www.quadratec.com/c/referenc...ades-fasteners

[Marine359]

Thanks Ray,
I wouldn’t have known that.

[Fred 2106DS]

Good information to know, thanks Ray!

[Camping Life]

Thanks for the info! Heading out this Friday with a full fresh water tank. I will be sure to take a look at it ��

[KLKGWH]

This happened to us too! Thankfully the tank was still in place. We discovered the brace was down just after returning home from a 5 week trip. The bolts had sheared off. We have already reattached the brace with larger self tapping screws and plan to add another brace.

Not sure if we can see all three tanks or not. Will have to look. Would love to know what kind of support, if any, is up under the, is it, coroplast?

We only travel with water when we know we will be boondocking, usually only a night, but sometimes the other tanks are not empty either, since they say to only empty the black when nearly full.

[Marine359]

We try to always empty black and gray tanks before travel. They add too much weight to the trailer when they are full. And it’s at the rear, which unbalances the weight distribution. So waste tanks are never a problem. But, we do travel with 1/2-2/3 fresh water. I’d just advise all Micro Minnie owners to check their FW tank brace bolts before travel. The FW tank has to carry 280lbs of fresh water. It’s a lot.

[KLKGWH]

Thanks. We don't travel with full gray or black tanks, maybe just a day or two's worth. Usually dump when at a campground. So, just when boondocking while traveling.

[gamewarden]

Thanks for the post Ray, I'm gonna get under there and check mine.
Happy Trails

[Trout One]

Interesting. I've seen warnings like this since we bought our 1706FB in March 2020 but have never worried since we don't travel with a full fresh water tank. That's coming to an end next year for a lengthy trip running the Oregon Trail.


So I took the trailer to my trusted RV repair shop where we pulled the coroplast to reveal two i-beams bolted (not screwed into) across the frame with the bolts running all the way through the frame rails. We saw nothing we could do other than running three padded metal straps from the front i-beam to the rear i-beam to provide additional support when water was in the tank. Running another brace from one side to the other in the middle appeared to be a non-starter as it would have flattened the curved bottom of the tank, forcing the water up against the floor and ruining the flooring.


Just wondering if anyone with a 1706FB has encountered issues traveling with a full fresh tank? FWIW, ours is a 2019, manufactured in November 2018.


Thanks for any comments.

[Marine359]

I just used some bailing wire and a larger diameter tapping bolt to effect a sturdy repair. But if you look back further in this thread someone who I can’t recall used strut channels across the bottom of coroplast secured by “u” bolts wide enough to fit over the frame rail and long enough to reach through the strut channel. No doubt you can put as much or as little pressure you want by using washers and lock washers and maybe a nylon locking bolt

[Blue Sky]

You folks are making me nervous. We are not new to TTs, but this is our first WBGO - have had it for about 6 weeks. We noticed right away the quality is the same as the other builders; which means to me it could be a WHOLE lot better.

We got the spare tire off the bumper so we won't wreck the people traveling behind us. Now our fresh water tank might fall out and have other consequences. I'm wondering if the tank securement will be recalled. Does anyone know if that's in the works?

[gamewarden]

Agreed!

[Marine359]

Fixing stuff is part and parcel with the experience of owning an RV. Yes, you can make a point that WBGO towable should be built better. And IMHO, an owner of other brands as well, WBGO does have a higher build quality than most. Pick something that can go wrong on one trailer, and it will be just fine on 99% of the other ones of the same model built in a given year. If your expectations are that nothing like this kinda stuff can or should be tolerated, you’ve chosen the wrong hobby. It doesn’t matter how much you pay for a rig, stuff is gonna break. And there will be stuff that the factory got wrong. Go take a look at the Airstream forum. They complain as much us Winnebago owners do. Peek into the $400k and up Class A forums. The amount of stuff that goes bad is 10 times worse than our problems. I’ve had my share of problems, but a few skills and a good toolbox keep me in the “happy camper” category.