My Voltage Story with Pics of water issue - Dutchmen Owners
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×

Go Back   Dutchmen Owners > Dutchmen RV Owner's Community Forums > New Member Introductions
Click Here to Login
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-03-2016, 06:25 PM   #1
New Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Inland Empire
Posts: 9
California
My Voltage Story with Pics of water issue

I'm already thankful for this site! Just got a 2012 Voltage 3950 and it's been interesting to say the least. We took it to a shop to get checked out fully before our first outing since we only had about a week before our Halloween trip. I won't get into details, but needless to say I will be doing most of the maintenance from now on. It was an auction unit that didn't come with keys so I've been picking the locks. Finding keys has been a horrible ordeal (with Dutchmen and the dealers they pointed me too) and the poplocks setup isn't working.

First trip out:
massive fresh water leak. Maybe 1/2 full for the trip.
Diverter Tee for shower leaked. More water came out from the tee than the showerhead.
Upper bunk only stopped on 3 of the 4 bunk stops so we didn't use it this trip.

Got home and pulled the belly pan apart. Upper hose connecting the fresh water tanks was disconnected on one side. Used heat gun to warm up hose and reinstall. Did it to all hoses, because none were clearing the barbed section and would have eventually caused an issue. Filled the tanks and found massive bowing in fresh tank frames! Of course. Out came the frames and 2x2 unistrut was added to reinforce it all. Making progress...

Ordered the shower diverter tee and found there is no access door to get behind the shower in order to loosen/tighten the hot/cold valves. THANKS TO THIS SITE I found that some units did not come with an access door. Ordered one up and used stainless steel screws per the "Show off Your Mods" thread once I got it installed.

2nd trip:
No water issues
No shower issues
Upper bunk had metal bunk stops that didn't look factory. This one has me worried and I'll be posting in another section on how I should fix later. If I flipped the bunk stop (more metal on one side of screw holes) the lower bunk hits as it passes, but upper bunk would stop. Needless to say the drivers side upper bunk fell down past the stops and almost smashed my kids heads who were sleeping on the bottom. The happijac frame also ripped the screws out of the wall as it pulled away

I've learned a bunch thanks to this site especially in terms of maintenance and repair. Thank you everybody for the help so far.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0293_2[1].jpg
Views:	386
Size:	59.2 KB
ID:	3766   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0295_2[1].jpg
Views:	333
Size:	57.0 KB
ID:	3767   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0298_2[1].jpg
Views:	348
Size:	59.2 KB
ID:	3768  
__________________

1fstTRX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2016, 06:52 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
snakebitten's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Alvin
Posts: 727
Texas
2x2 unistrut??
Is that the structure that resembles a truss?

That's amazing. Well done!
__________________

__________________
2017 Aerolite 213 RBSL-ND
2018 Wolf Pup 17RP Limited (Tiny THauler)
2018 F150 King Ranch 3.5 Beast
2003 Ram 2500 Cummins (can't kill this beast)
snakebitten is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-03-2016, 11:52 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Minden
Posts: 707
Nevada
1fstTRX, Welcome to the site, and as a guy who has rebuild a few RV's over the years, you will like this site and give some things to add or repair, good luck and enjoy
__________________
Rich and Angela, Lab Dogs, Ruben, Ace
2015 Voltage V3895
2006 Lance Truck Camper 1181
2019 GMC 3500HD 4X4 CC DRW LB Bags Husky 26K Hitch Can Am Commander 1000 ATV
RVNevada is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2016, 12:43 AM   #4
New Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Inland Empire
Posts: 9
California
Quote:
Originally Posted by snakebitten View Post
2x2 unistrut??
Is that the structure that resembles a truss?

That's amazing. Well done!
I attached a picture that I found online. The 2 pieces of unistrut alone are strong enough to hold all the weight of each tank. The install was really easy too. I can't take the credit for it though. A buddy told me how to fix the sagging.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	unistrut.jpg
Views:	341
Size:	22.8 KB
ID:	3769  
1fstTRX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2016, 12:46 PM   #5
Site Team
 
wahoonc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Sprung Leak
Posts: 3,157
North Carolina
Uni-strut is a brand name, it is also known as Kendorf bar.

It is used in a wide variety of industrial applications for supporting things, in both a vertical and horizontal application.

Aaron
__________________
There is madness to my methods
2015 Coleman CM16FBS(traded) 2016 Concord 300DS
2015 Ford Fusion Hybrid following along
wahoonc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2016, 04:53 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Lakewood
Posts: 94
Colorado
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1fstTRX View Post
I'm already thankful for this site! Just got a 2012 Voltage 3950 and it's been interesting to say the least. We took it to a shop to get checked out fully before our first outing since we only had about a week before our Halloween trip. I won't get into details, but needless to say I will be doing most of the maintenance from now on. It was an auction unit that didn't come with keys so I've been picking the locks. Finding keys has been a horrible ordeal (with Dutchmen and the dealers they pointed me too) and the poplocks setup isn't working.

First trip out:
massive fresh water leak. Maybe 1/2 full for the trip.
Diverter Tee for shower leaked. More water came out from the tee than the showerhead.
Upper bunk only stopped on 3 of the 4 bunk stops so we didn't use it this trip.

Got home and pulled the belly pan apart. Upper hose connecting the fresh water tanks was disconnected on one side. Used heat gun to warm up hose and reinstall. Did it to all hoses, because none were clearing the barbed section and would have eventually caused an issue. Filled the tanks and found massive bowing in fresh tank frames! Of course. Out came the frames and 2x2 unistrut was added to reinforce it all. Making progress...

Ordered the shower diverter tee and found there is no access door to get behind the shower in order to loosen/tighten the hot/cold valves. THANKS TO THIS SITE I found that some units did not come with an access door. Ordered one up and used stainless steel screws per the "Show off Your Mods" thread once I got it installed.

2nd trip:
No water issues
No shower issues
Upper bunk had metal bunk stops that didn't look factory. This one has me worried and I'll be posting in another section on how I should fix later. If I flipped the bunk stop (more metal on one side of screw holes) the lower bunk hits as it passes, but upper bunk would stop. Needless to say the drivers side upper bunk fell down past the stops and almost smashed my kids heads who were sleeping on the bottom. The happijac frame also ripped the screws out of the wall as it pulled away

I've learned a bunch thanks to this site especially in terms of maintenance and repair. Thank you everybody for the help so far.
Welcome to the group
Did you take any pics of your unistrut repair ?
Lilnuts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2016, 10:24 PM   #7
New Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Inland Empire
Posts: 9
California
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilnuts View Post
Welcome to the group
Did you take any pics of your unistrut repair ?
Yes I did. It was actually really easy to do. The hardest part is removing the belly pan! haha. The only new holes are on the main frame rail for each piece of unistrut. Other than that was removing the tank frame and notch a groove in each piece of angle iron for the unistrut to sit in.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0309.jpg
Views:	338
Size:	57.1 KB
ID:	3789   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0310.jpg
Views:	352
Size:	55.1 KB
ID:	3790  
1fstTRX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2016, 08:46 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Tucson
Posts: 872
Arizona
Regarding door keys. If you disassemble the door locks you will find a code number inside that you can use to order new keys. When my 3600 was new we never got the key to the back door. I got the code and ordered it.
__________________
2014 Voltage 3600
2013 Chevy 3500 CC DRW
2019 RZR 1000XP Trails and Rocks Edition
azdryheat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2016, 10:26 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Lakewood
Posts: 94
Colorado
1fstTRX, thanks for the pics. I'm prolly gonna pull my belly pan this spring and see how bad the workmanship is, and I will for sure do this mod. I even have plenty of strut in stock.
Lilnuts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2016, 04:26 AM   #10
New Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Inland Empire
Posts: 9
California
Quote:
Originally Posted by azdryheat View Post
Regarding door keys. If you disassemble the door locks you will find a code number inside that you can use to order new keys. When my 3600 was new we never got the key to the back door. I got the code and ordered it.
We called Keystone and they pointed us to Bauer. We gave Bauer the number on the main entry door and the cargo door (only ones with numbers). The main entry door worked, but the cargo door key did not work. I'll pull the compartment locks off and check them. It's easy to pick the locks, but at some point somebody may notice my "universal key" and start asking questions.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilnuts View Post
1fstTRX, thanks for the pics. I'm prolly gonna pull my belly pan this spring and see how bad the workmanship is, and I will for sure do this mod. I even have plenty of strut in stock.
I noticed the angle iron was showing signs of flexing, but brushed it off. We decided to fill the tanks to check the hose we put back on and noticed exactly how bad the tanks were sagging.
1fstTRX is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2016, 02:49 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
HornedToad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Midland
Posts: 606
Texas
One of the reasons I bought my Voltage was the size of the fresh water tanks. If you do the math 160 gallons X 8.34 lbs per = 1,334 pounds... that's a lot of weight!!! Great mod, something to put on my To Do List. Thanks for the pics.
__________________

__________________

Mike & Helen
2014 Voltage 3895 EPIC III
2013 Ford F350 CC DRW FX4
HornedToad is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

« Hello | New owner »
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Dutchmen RV or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT. The time now is 05:51 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2020 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.
×