Bought our new RV - had a fire!

[2B1B]

Hi everyone. After being truck camper people, we purchased a new 2021 Sun-Lite Classic 18RD. The floorplan is so similar to our old Travel-Lite that we instantly felt comfortable in it. However, on our third day out, while having our morning coffee, we noticed smoke outside. When I went out to investigate, I noticed the smoke was coming from our hot water heater. When I opened the cover the flames started coming out and needless to say, we were shocked! The hot water wasn't even on. We had flipped the "ON" switch back to "OFF" after we filled the sink for dishes. We called the dealer and returned the trailer immediately. The dealer said he had never seen this happen and wants to fix it, but at this point we aren't even sure if we want to keep it. Has anybody else ever had this issue? At this point, we've only owned it less than a week. We're not sure whether to pursue repair, or refund. Any advice would be really appreciated.

 

[darsben]

Pursue what you want but I doubt the dealer will willing give you a refund that would be a manufacturer decision.

good luck

 

[Rene T]

It looks like the fire originated around the gas line fitting. Is that nut loose?
Hopefully the siding will cleanup.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Looks like the area around the inlet of the gas valve, suspect that fitting is loose or not correctly installed. My take on it would be a complete review of the propane installation, after that I'm not sure there's much else to be done. That's a harsh reality check, it's one thing to have annoying workmanship or material failures but this one could really ruin your day. I suspect that the nature of the failure might get you some elevated priority of service which of course you take. After that I know it's something that will always be in the back of your mind and you won't trust it, but consider that most every RV out there is made the same way so it's not like selling and buying something else is necessarily better. My take on it would be to know and understand the problem and solutions and go through it myself, taking the disinterested service technicians out of the equation.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[JayArr]

Do you remember the movie The world according to Garp? He was looking at buying a house when a plane crashes into it and he turns to the realtor and says something to the effect of I'll take it - the odds of something else bad happening are now astronomical. You could now have a trailer with great odds. You can bet the repair depot is going to check every inch of the gas system.

 

[steveblonde]

I agree with the others, i doubt you will get any refund on your purchase. Its an unfortunate incident but these things are made by hand and stuff happens be it a TT or a car or any other appliances.
Try to get the repair expedited and move on.

 

[Isaac-1]

I agree with the others, looks like a gas leak from an incorrectly installed fitting, thankfully it looks like you caught it quickly so it should be a fairly quick and easy fix, but I would insist the dealer go through and check the rest of the gas system in case the same guy did all of the gas connections at the factory.

 

[TonyL]

I feel for you especially with a brand new unit, but if the fire was due to a propane leak, I think I would consider myself fortunate that it caught fire and not caused an explosion. 0ccassionally people are fortunate to walk away from a fire, not so many get to walk away from a gas explosion.
If the fire damage can be repaired to as new, and there are no other signs of damage, I would insist on an independant gas engineers inspection and report before accepting the unit back.

 

[Rene T]

I feel for you especially with a brand new unit, but if the fire was due to a propane leak, I think I would consider myself fortunate that it caught fire and not caused an explosion. 0ccassionally people are fortunate to walk away from a fire, not so many get to walk away from a gas explosion.
If the fire damage can be repaired to as new, and there are no other signs of damage, I would insist on an independant gas engineers inspection and report before accepting the unit back.

Luckily it happened on the outside and any gasses would have hopefully not entered the RV which there wasn’t thankfully.

 

[Domo]

Clearly the propane lines were not installed correctly. If I was you I'd immediately demand a replacement - not refund. I'm thinking letters to dealer, mfg, sect. of state, DMV may end up being in order.

Perhaps your initial request (in writing to dealer and mfg) should express your concern about THIS one, not the whole model line. Further, you can mention that your are not sure of the addresses to use to report this manufacturing defect to the sect. of state and DMV and ask them if they have the appropriate addresses for you to use... When they read that, they should realize it will get noisy in the their legal department.

 

[2B1B]

Thank you all for your excellent feedback. We just received a call from our dealer and they are willing to send the trailer to a reputable independent RV repair shop to have everything inspected and the HW heater and siding replaced and have it done as a priority. Our dealer has shown concern and has been responsive, so we'll continue down this road with them, as per some of your suggestions. The manufacturer has requested to have the defective heater sent to them for analysis. It will then be sent to Dometic for additional inspection. I'm sure the person listed on the unit as the "Inspected By" person will have a bad day eventually....

 

[Rene T]

Further, you can mention that your are not sure of the addresses to use to report this manufacturing defect to the sect. of state and DMV and ask them if they have the appropriate addresses for you to use... When they read that, they should realize it will get noisy in the their legal department.

And the BBB. (Better Business Bureau)

 

[SeilerBird]

Another reason why I always advocate buying used.

 

[JayArr]

Another reason I do my own gas fitting.

 

[JudyJB]

Personally, I would want the unit to be inspected by the manufacturer. Not sure an independent servicer would have the same knowledge as the manufacturer. I suppose this all depends on where you live and where a factory service place is located.

 

[TonyL]

If the manufacturer had any knowledge, they wouldn't have sent out a defective unit in the first place.

 

[2B1B]

We received an update - apparently the heater is the new design that Dometic recently released. We don't know much about it, other than the fact that a technician told us the older version had been being used since the 1980's and this new version has only started being used this year.

 

[TonyL]

New design or not, someone screwed up, what are they going to do about it, and when?

 

[SpencerPJ]

Good luck getting this resolved quickly, we are happy to hear the Dealer seems to be by your side. Still really stinks, but thankful you were not inside or something else tragic.

 

[JayArr]

Don't wait for a problem to consult a lawyer. Better to spend a couple hundred to get one on board and not need him than to be scrambling all summer with no RV, listening to dealership excuses and playing pass the buck.

Find one that does this sort of thing, give him some $$ as a retainer and have him send a letter to the dealership that sold you the RV letting them know that he represents you and they can send legal details to him.

The most organized group usually wins the conflict, right now the dealership is well organized and you are not. You can hope for the best or plan for the worst.

With a good lawyer you may be able to get the RV repaired right away without releasing the dealership from liability and have full use of your RV while the dispute plays out. Put the repairs on a card and when you win they have to pay the interest as well.