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Old 09-28-2015, 12:50 PM   #1
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Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: THOMASTON
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Connecticut
2004 Thor Adirondack 26RK Owner Here

Hi everybody, my name is Marc, owner of the smallest Thor Adirondack and it is my first travel trailer. I bought it last year from a dealer and am experiencing some issues with it of course after the warranty is up. Since Crowley replaced about half of the camper before I literally used it twice, I'd have to say I got my money's worth.

I'm into the camper for $11,500.00, maybe 500 less than the going dealer's MSRP and if I knew better, I would have purchased a C Class motor home so we could travel a bit, however, since I struck a deal with a local campground to do electrical work for a free stay seasonally, I can't complain and should be able to easily afford another unit in a few years as I am a business owner/partner.

I have to say that my unit is not the fanciest, however, I get a lot of compliments on the floor plan, it's setup, and, the size opposed to what others have in comparison where they paid much more money for and they wish that they did not.

Since I am first using this camper to learn the ropes a bit, I have encountered a lot of normal issues and I will explain. Since I bought the unit not knowing much about it, I basically trusted the dealer and hoped like hell they didn't lie to me. I'm from CT and the closest local dealer is Crowley RV, who has for the most part taken care of me after a bit of bickering and many trips there. It's not that they didn't want to take care of me, it is that there were internal issues they never lnew existed with the unit since it was recently traded in and the inspector who looked at the unit failed to go through it properly, marking off that the unit was safe, tip top, and it really was not. They replaced simple parts like one of the steps, the converter (they charged me for the converter because the deal wasn't closed and they knew they could do so and take complete advantage of me), then, they tore the factory stereo out of it without my consent and hacked together the camper with a crookedly installed Kenwood car stereo on a piece of old laminated cabiner, screwed it over the opening and supposedly threw away the factory stereo and it's mounting kit. They did this all completely against my wishes without asking me to do so. I complained about this because I am a repair tech that could have fixed and their excuse was that the volume knob was broken, which I could have repaired within 10 minutes since that is my area of expertise. Anyway, they paid me back for a high quality replacement, and I have been trying to find time to install it.

I had the unit back there a month after buying it because the outer storage bin was leaking and the guy who worked on it to fix it took the seal off of it and glued an edge seal in place of it, making the water leak even worse. The undercarriage of the unit rotted out and had to be replaced.. They did a small patch job after my wife stepped on the kitchen step and it broke off, injuring her pretty badly, but, they fixed the floor and re covered it with the factory tyvek layer, basically taping it back up with duct tape. More of the floor continued to rot out and they then had the unit for 2-3 months to completely go through it since we complained to Ken Crowley, the owner. He took care of us and told hi camper store to do whatever was necessary to repair the unit. I think the entire problem originally was they kept using the same mechanic to work on my camper and he was full of excuses about every issue, and, he didn't do much to resolve the problems, he just created more issues.

They replaced the mechanic and from what I understand, they put their best guy on the job. He figured out the problem and found that it was the water heater with a rot hole on the very top of it. When the water level was up there, and it heated up, the water was coming out, filling the undercarriage cover with hot water, and the front storage bin. This finally dried up and they fixed some monor issues, however, I now have an issue with rotten egg smells coming from the bathroom sink and, the refrigerator used in the unit is crap because it doesn't have a condensate drain, it is one of those cheapos that has a drip pan on one of the racks, right in the middle of the fridge which is worthless when the fridge is full of food and drinks.

The fridge leaks water all over the floor where the original rot spot was near the steps, so, I know exactly what the culprit was since day one now. I have to come up with a way to drain the water without letting warm air in, however, I think the door is warped or bent and it may be letting warm moist air in at the bottom where the water leaks out, causing mass condensation which is ruining my camper. I'd like to see if anybody has any suggestions on how to do this/fix it. If I have to put a tray and a drain tank and condensate pump in the unit, I will do so to eliminate the issues.

Right now, I'm not sure what is causing the rotten egg smell from the bathroom sink's cold water, but, I added bleach to the lines and run the water until the bleach starts to come out of the bathroom and kitchen sinlks, then, I let it sit for 2-3 weeks. After the water sits with bleach in it, the stink comes right back, in fact, it is worse.

I have been told to flush the hot water heater and the fresh water holding tank, however, the holding tank is and has been empty and we don't use anything but city water. The smell is NOT from the drain. The vent is NOT clogged at all, I took the cap off the roof over the bathroom and it is completely clear from top to bottom. This recent weekend, the kitchen sink's cold water is now rotten since the bleach has stayed in the water lines. I have also checked the filter outside and it does not smell. I added bleach to the grey tank and put the campa chem in the toilet. It seems to be related to the pressure build up from the campa chem since we had no issues until we used that stuff, however, the gray water tank and the black tanks are separate, the kitchen and bathroom sinlks should not be affected. There are no W/D hookups that I know of, however, outside of the unit, there are hot and cold lines with caps on them if this is what's considered the W/D hookup. I will uncap them to see if that stinks, then, deal with it accordingly, however, if I pump bleach into the entire system, hot water, cold water, and the fresh tank, as well as the W/D connectors, I should eliminate the issues.

I've been told the bathroom and kitchen sinks have inlet air valves to eliminate vacuum issues that could be causing the problems, however, the sink's cabinet under neath does not smell like rotten eggs as the water does. When I turn the water on, it doesn't immediately stink, it takes 35-40 seconds to smell it, then., it takes a minute or so to clear up.

Anyway, we've been staying away from even touching the water and it seems everytime we go camping, my 6 year old daughter gets sick, soar throat, stuffy nose, crying and throwing a fit. I cleaned the air return filter, which had a lot of black dust in it, but, she never touched the water. I think the air is being infected with some of the gases from either campa chem or the gases being released are toxic or have a high bacteria count in it, making her sick everytime.

I need some insight as to what is happening... We are not dirty people, we are not stupid, and, we've been wiping everything down with bleach and water from the tables, floors, sinks, filling the drains, hoses and all with bleach to disinfect it all, however, the stench and the sickness keeps on happening. i am starting to wonder if the sickness is just an allergy to Campa Chem or maybe the air duct content and dust.

We really need to solve the issues because we love to camp and we have everything we are supposed to be using including a top dollar inline filtration system for drinking water, a high quality outside filter, and, I've done everything recommended to us. What could be the issue? Do you guys think the hot water heater or the installation of this maybe cause a water system infection? If so, what's my best option to sanitize if bleach won't kill it?

I have literally stuck my nose in every location that's accessible to me including the potable water fill (no scent of anything there). I took the hot water heater's element out and there's no stink there. I have taken the water filter off and replaced it. (no stink) I have checked the external shower and hose, no stink there either.

I am at my wit's end and I only have one other place to check.. That is the W/D hookup, if that is what it is called. These are two connectors under the outside of the unit with a red and blue cap on them. They are located near the bathtub, under the unit, on the outside. If I open them up, how do I fill them with bleach? This must have a connection under the bathroom sink, so, I am wondering if it could just be disconnected and eliminated to stop the water from getting stagnant.

If anybody has a clue what could be happening, please let me know. If it is the black tank's gases leaking backward into the trailer instead of venting outside, I'm guessing we have a really bad problem that needs attention quickly, however, I don't know how they would be connected in any way. It shouldn't be unless somebody made a connection with the plumbing or drains that isn't supposed to be there.
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Old 09-19-2016, 05:38 PM   #2
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We had a sewer smell coming from our kitchen sink area. Discovered there is a check valve on the drain that acts as an air inlet when draining the sink. This valve would stick open and then vent the tank under the sink. I replaced it with one from Home Depot and seems to work fine now. I also changed the one under the bathroom sink(which wasn't smelling yet). The valve screws in a small stack located just after the trap on the sinks.
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Old 09-20-2016, 02:06 AM   #3
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We had a rotten egg smell finally traced it to the cheap original converter overcharging the battery and boiling the water out. Replaced the converter with a new Progressive Dynamics and a new battery-problem solved. Just a thought.
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Old 09-20-2016, 12:52 PM   #4
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You very possibly have mold growing in your camper from all the water leak, which could be why your daughter gets sick when you use it.
Don't know about the rotten egg smell.
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