Really rough start with our 351M

[bradleydh]

We just made an upgrade from a Rockwood travel trailer to a Momentum 351M fifth wheel. The first trip out was so disheartening. So many things went wrong and we're wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience...

• 2nd black tank valve stuck in the OPEN position. will not budge.
• Norcold Fridge does not get cold enough - at about 55 degrees, freeze is great. I read forums that said this was due to airflow or hot temps. Our temps were in the 80s and the RV is BRAND NEW. I'm so disappointed if it's the airflow and they didn't design it appropriately for air flow.
• Water leak coming from under cabinets in the kitchen - from the direction of the full bath. This happened on our last day, so we just turned off the water packed up and left a couple hours earlier than planned
• Screen door was busted....we hadn't noticed on our walk through, but the frame around the screen handle was broken and therefore ripping the screen.
• Central vac tools missing. this is probably our dealers fault and not the manufacturer
• lots of rust on the underside of the rv. Since we spent so much time under the thing looking at the blank tank (#1 on the list) and looking for the source of the water leak (#3 on the list) we noticed what seemed to be a lot of rust for an RV that was just made in March according to what we saw on the paperwork.

We had planned to leave it at that campgrounds for several weeks, but ended up dragging it back to our dealer at the end of our first weekend. They apologized profusely and say they can fix it all (we are waiting with no clear ETA - they say the delay will be the fight with Norcold on the fridge)...I'm just hoping we found all the problems in our short time and we won't continually be finding more things to fix.

Just so terribly sad because we all (hubby, myself and two kids - 16 and 10) were excited to spend the first weekend in our brand new RV. Anyone else have similar stories? While misery loves company, I really hope we are just a fluke.

[Retired Copper]

Hate to here it and am sure you will get it fixed. I would hope that the dealer would have discovered some of your problem during a PDI.

[LV Naturist]

Welcome! I'm sure it's just a fluke. Some issues with a new RV are not that uncommon. Give your dealer a chance to take care of those items, but don't be afraid to contact Grand Design if they are dragging their feet. A minor but annoying defect on my RV took my dealer literally 7 months to finally fix. And by their own slip of the tongue it was clearly their fault. As far as the fridge goes there is a common problem with the left door where the center flap hangs up on the floor of the fridge and won't close properly. A minor adjustment of the left lower hinge allows the flap to close. If the flap doesn't close properly, there is nothing for the right door to seal against. This results in the loss of proper cooling. We just pulled the flap closed until I had time to adjust the hinge. Fridge cooled just fine with the flap closed. You might mention that to the dealer before they replace the fridge unnecessarily.

John

[FT4NOW]

Hope the dealer comes through for you. If it was made in March and delivered shortly after it could be rusty from all the salt still on the road during winter. If the dealer didnt do an underbody wash the rust would be expected.

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