R-pod Owners Forum : Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw http://www.rpod-owners.com/ This is an XML content feed of; R-pod Owners Forum : I need HELP!!! : Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw Copyright (c) 2006-2009 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Thu, 21 May 2026 02:44:46 +0000 Mon, 10 Oct 2022 03:31:33 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 9.64 360 www.rpod-owners.com/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=15411 R-pod Owners Forum http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_images/web_wiz_forums.png http://www.rpod-owners.com/ Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : Great to hear that. Susan Thornberg... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149768#149768 Author: jato
Subject: 15411
Posted: 10 Oct 2022 at 3:31am

Great to hear that.  Susan Thornberg is a good egg to get hold of.  When we ordered our new fridge a couple years ago, she was the one who handled the majority of the whole situation from start to finish. 

Nevertheless, you are correct, it shouldn't have happened in the first place and in the second place it should have been 'caught' by quality control, if there is such a thing anymore at FR.
]]> Mon, 10 Oct 2022 03:31:33 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149768#149768 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : UPDATE: I meant to post an update... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149767#149767 Author: BH Podder
Subject: 15411
Posted: 09 Oct 2022 at 9:50pm

UPDATE: I meant to post an update here but things kind of got away from me.  About 3-4 days after posting to NHTSA, I got a call from Susan Thornberg at FR requesting some photos which I sent right away.  The next day she notified me that FR would pick up the repair costs and to schedule with the dealer to replace the hose that was torn up by the screw.  So even though I was quite annoyed with FR for this happening in the first place, I was at least pleased by how quickly they rectified the situation.  ]]> Sun, 09 Oct 2022 21:50:10 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149767#149767 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : Good point OG. A lot depends on... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149197#149197 Author: jato
Subject: 15411
Posted: 03 Aug 2022 at 1:36am

Good point OG.  A lot depends on who is working on the assembly line, what day of the week it is, if the worker is under pressure to put out more pods/day and the list goes on and on as to why there is such variability in build quality. 

In our case we were blessed.  Maybe due to the selling dealer as our 177 was spotless, no sawdust, no loose 'parts' floating around even in the dark corners in storage and non storage areas; then again, that was March 2011.
]]> Wed, 03 Aug 2022 01:36:30 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149197#149197 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : Jato, not sure anyone should count... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149196#149196 Author: offgrid
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 6:30pm

Jato, not sure anyone should count on these changes being planned or controlled in any way. It seems like the guys building these pretty much do what they want, can't count on any two trailers being built the same way. ]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2022 18:30:17 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149196#149196 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : Thank you for the pic's.... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149193#149193 Author: jato
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 5:38pm

Thank you for the pic's.  I purchased my 177 back in January 2011.  Looked at our setup and it is totally different routing than what is shown on your 177.  Our water pump is held down by 4 screws that go into the floor on the slide, I took one out and it measured 1" in length.  I did not remove the whole piece of luan but have a 5" x 7" opening cut above the 3 valves for winterizing ect.  Shown a flashlight at the furnace and all looks well.  Thanks for posting this, obviously some major changes in routing took place between our 2011 and your 2018 model.
]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2022 17:38:42 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149193#149193 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : Yeah, probably best to replace... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149191#149191 Author: BH Podder
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 2:43pm

Yeah, probably best to replace the hose.  I haven't called FR yet, but I'd like to see if they would cover the cost of having the dealer do this work. I was planning to get the sewer pipe recall done soon anyway.  But I'm not holding my breath, either.  Certainly cheaper for them than a wrongful death lawsuit.  ]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2022 14:43:40 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149191#149191 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : Yikes, another case of bad/careless... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149190#149190 Author: offgrid
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 2:23pm

Yikes, another case of bad/careless workmanship from FR. Guess we should t be surprised anymore. Anyhow, I would replace the propane line. The electric cable looks like it will be ok if you tape it, but be sure the conductors didn't get damaged. ]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2022 14:23:07 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149190#149190 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : I did report it to the NHTSA.... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149189#149189 Author: BH Podder
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 1:42pm

I did report it to the NHTSA.  It would be good to know if others have encountered this issue.  ]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2022 13:42:41 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149189#149189 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : It would probably be a good idea... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149188#149188 Author: lostagain
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 1:04pm

It would probably be a good idea to document this situation with the NTSB.  I'll bet that your trailer isn't the only one with this very dangerous defect.  Glad you found it before anything awful happened.]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2022 13:04:53 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149188#149188 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : I'm glad you found this before... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149187#149187 Author: StephenH
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 12:46pm

I'm glad you found this before it became a disaster.]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2022 12:46:49 +0000 http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149187#149187 Dangerous situation-propane hose wear from screw : Hello, we're new to this... http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15411&PID=149186#149186 Author: BH Podder
Subject: 15411
Posted: 02 Aug 2022 at 11:58am

Hello, we're new to this group.  We have an rpod 177 which we purchased new in 2018 in Wisconsin. 

I just encountered an issue that could have been disastrous and wanted to see if anyone else might have encountered this issue, and what we should do to fix it.  The other day I happened to pull back the bed plywood and noticed that the propane hose and also 120 wire were chewed up from two long, sharp screws that hold some of the wood together by the water pump and go through into the bed frame/panel wood. The wire and hose are held together by cable ties and attached to to bed frame to keep it away from heater I assume but as a result hold the bundle close to the screws. The rubbing from vibrations during travel nearly cut clear through the propane hose insulation and also cut the wire insulation. Considering the hose is right next to the heater this could have easily created a massive fire if it suddenly started to leak when the heater was on. I can't believe FR would use long screws in this area; they're extremely sharp and extend nearly an inch. Has anyone else encountered this problem? You might want to have a look in that area as I had looked in there many times to close the water heater, etc., but had never noticed those screws before. Obviously different models may not have this issue, but I would think 178, 171, etc. have a similar layout as mine and might have this issue.

I'm also not sure if this is something I can fix myself. It appears that it's only about a 3 foot section of hose from the heater to a metal T on the outside of floor/undercarriage. But I'm guessing it might be hard to remove/unscrew the gas line from the T and heater. And I am guessing patching it with pipe tape and a clamp probably wouldn't be advisable. Any suggestions would be most appreciated. I've attached a few photos.






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