2018 TT has been deemed Total Loss by insurance company

[brianosaur]

So our beautiful new, one season old, travel trailer has been processed as a Total Loss by our insurance company claims department.
:(:M

We loved it. 30' KZ Connect purchased at the 2017 Hershey RV show.
As weekenders and vacationers, we got away for 25 nights last season and 8 so far this season.

Why? - It was flooded out!

How? - The shower was left on at night and we were at a campground with no on-site sewer connections. We had a city water hook up and it ran for hours while we slept. The gray tank filled up, the bathtub then filled up, then the floor filled up.

We woke at 2am and were sloshing around in what seemed like a 1/4" of water. We mopped up with towels, drained the tank/tub and went home the next morning. We saw the underbelly sagging and leaking water.

Took it to a body shop that repairs trailers and the insulation was soaked and the floor ducts were full of water.

This was two weeks ago and we found out last week about the total loss.

My thought is why is there no safety overflow drain in the tub to the ground? A $25 drain would save $25k in losses.

We just cancelled our July 4th five day campground reservation in Lake George. That just sucks.

So we are in the market for a TT asap and I guess I will be spending my July 4th vacation time going to dealers. Oh joy! Don't we just all love RV shopping and negotiating?

Wish me luck!

[TNGW1500SE]

A long time ago I posted how I equipped my RV with a automatic shut off valve. Half of the people on here responded like I was an idiot.

What I did was add a 12 volt water valve right where the hose attaches to the RV. Then I installed 4 wireless, battery powered buttons in the RV, one above the shower, one at each sink and one in the wet bay. My water is always off unless a button is pressed. If any button is pressed, the water valve is opened for 15 minutes then shuts off again automatically. That's it. I never worry about a pipe busting and flooding the RV while we sleep or are away.

If you are using the water and it goes off, just press the button again. If you are taking a long shower and you don't want it to go off, press it again anytime during the shower, the timer resets with every press for a 15 minute countdown.

Some people say just use the water in the tank but my tank holds 70 gallons of fresh water and my grey holds 40. Do the math. I guess I could just fill the tank half way but that's a pain. My buttons work great.

I don't think anybody sells what I made so you'd have to know someone who can program an Arduino or ESP8266. I used a NODEmcu, a 12 volt valve, Mosfet and four 433 mhz wall mount switches. Cost me about 50 bucks for everything. There was 12 volts in the wet bay for the light so I just tapped into that. You could program it for any about of time you wished to but I felt 15 minutes was about right. I only have 6 gallons of hot water. Shower longer than 15 minutes and the hot water is gone anyway.

If for any reason something in my wiring failed, simply disconnect the hose and hook it up to the RV directly.

[Grit_dog]

^ Sounds like it'll work out good for you. That's great to hear.
Understand not wanting to do any work to it. Totally, but as proof it isn't destroyed, the camper guy couldn't wait to buy it.

Bionic man, your totally right. No wood to rot in our boat either, but wet cushions and carpet will mold or mildew just as easily. Point was, it's summer. Wet turns to dry pretty quick anywhere south of the Arctic circle.

Similar example. Water heater in garage was leaking for a couple weeks before I got a chance to replace it.
Wood buildup platform under it was saturated, drywall moldy behind it
Replaced water heater, wiped mold down with some Windex (works as good as bleak I found out from my plumber buddy). Turned a fan on it for a couple days. Poof. Good as new.
Not allergic to mold though

[brianosaur]

OP here.

Selling the salvage TT, for $2500 over what insurance will give me, to the body shop owner. He currently has a 2006 TT - and he renovated that one to the frame. He's been drooling over our 2018 TT the moment I told him insurance said it was a total loss. He's got the time, desire, and manpower to make it as good as new. So, good for him! I hope he enjoys it for years to come.

We saw it today. The floor is completely pulled back and the queen bed is disassembled and gone. Black mold dots here and there throughout. Underbelly completely opened. Cabinet bottoms not too bad but I think I see a little swelling.

I am getting the hell outta dodge with this one.

After what was close to 50-75 combined hours searching the internet at night & weekends, and DW on the phone throughout the day, over the course of the last week and a half....

I believe we found a new TT about 5 hrs away from me in western NY. Put a deposit on it over the phone and negotiated to about 36% off MSRP and $1200 less then three other dealers in the states surrounding us. We are supposed to take the drive this weekend. Hopefully all goes well.

Sheesh, perhaps I didn't have to cancel my Lake George 7/4th trip after all!

...but I didnt want to take a chance on losing a $400 reservation.

[dodge_guy]

Jack Spratt wrote:
Snowbirds leave the city water on for months at a time

It’s only waste water if you bathed or cleaned with it. Other wise it’s like filling a bucket from the faucet and dumping it!

[Bionic_Man]

Grit dog wrote:

MitchF150 wrote:
Well, mold could become a problem in the ducts if they were full of water like he said... I see what you are saying Grit, but he's on the East coast and we are on the West coast and I don't think things dry as well over there?? (humid)

Anyway, no idea what I would do in that situation.. I stopped hooking up to city water a long time ago. Even with a sewer connection, but that's just me..

Good luck with it all OP.

Mitch

Dry? Here? Maybe this month and the next 2 months. But unless you’re in a different Puyallup than I’m thinking of.
OP made it sound like it just happened. Yeah sitting for long period of time wet/saturated is no bueno, but seriously, my boat gets soaked inside all the time in the summer. Wet carpet and cushions.
Park it in the garage, open up the hatches and flip up the seats. Boom it’s dry in a couple days tops.

Hmm. Comparing a boat getting wet to an RV. Seems reasonable.

Maybe, just maybe, the boat manufacturers use different materials in their construction than they do in an RV. My last four boats were constructed “wood free”.

[Grit_dog]

MitchF150 wrote:
Well, mold could become a problem in the ducts if they were full of water like he said... I see what you are saying Grit, but he's on the East coast and we are on the West coast and I don't think things dry as well over there?? (humid)

Anyway, no idea what I would do in that situation.. I stopped hooking up to city water a long time ago. Even with a sewer connection, but that's just me..

Good luck with it all OP.

Mitch

Dry? Here? Maybe this month and the next 2 months. But unless you’re in a different Puyallup than I’m thinking of.
OP made it sound like it just happened. Yeah sitting for long period of time wet/saturated is no bueno, but seriously, my boat gets soaked inside all the time in the summer. Wet carpet and cushions.
Park it in the garage, open up the hatches and flip up the seats. Boom it’s dry in a couple days tops.

[Grit_dog]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
The reason there is no overflow to the ground is that in most if not all states it is unlawful to discharge waste water on the ground. Water from the bathtub is considered waste water.

Pfft who cares. Pretty sure no one ever went to jail for an overflowed bath tub.
Now we also have rvnet superfluous law cops...

[Jack_Spratt]

Snowbirds leave the city water on for months at a time

[CharlesinGA]

My rule is never leave city/park water on. Use it to fill the tank, use the pump. When the tank is low, refill off the hose. And make sure the pump is turned off unless you are using the water. You are very likely to hear the pump cycling. City water usually has more pressure, and unless you are using a GOOD pressure regulator, bad things are more likely to happen.

Yes, mistakes do happen, sorry for your loss, but thankfully you have a good insurance company. Trailer will show up at Coparts shortly.

Charles

[down_home]

DownTheAvenue wrote:
You know, that trailer is not really damaged. If one would open the belly and let it dry out, put in new insulation, and button it back up, it will be just fine. You should consider buying it back from the insurance company for salvage value.

Probably cdx for flooring it is nothing but oatmeal by now. Then insulation in thee walls wicked up water and everything in the unit as affected short of the ceiling. Repair costs are such a new unit would be probably cheaper.

[brianosaur]

dodge guy wrote:
I would've found a TT I liked in a short time and not settled just to get one!

I am finding the hard way that's way easier said than done.

...and I am willing to travel 300-400 miles too!

[dodge_guy]

I wouldn’t have cancelled so fast! If it were me I would’ve found a TT I liked in a short time and not settled just to get one! I’m sure you will have one by your trip!

[Neil_Citro]

mgirardo wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Not sure what you are doing at the house but assuming 2 - 20gal showers and 20 gal for dishes and minor other uses per day...that works out to around 900gal per month in the RV.

I think your calculator is messed up, 60 gallons * 30 days = 1,800, not 900.

There are 4 of us, 2 adults, and 2 teens. So that would be 4 showers a day on a normal day. However, there is a lake and 2 pools here, so there are times when we take more than 1 shower each per day. We also often times have visitors who also take showers.

valhalla360 wrote:
Also, with a 100 gallons total waste tanks (probably a high estimate with only 40gal fresh water), your 6,000gal assumption would have you going out to drain the waste tanks twice a day anyway (more often if most is going into a one waste tank). Of course if you leave your waste valves open, you wouldn't fill the waste tanks in any case.

We have 4 waste tanks, 2 black and 2 grey. The grey tanks are always open. They are opened the day we arrive and closed the day we leave. The main black tank is emptied every 6 days or so. The secondary black tank is drained every few weeks.

My 5,000 - 6,000 gallon per month assumption may be a little on the high side, but not by much.

-Michael

Regardless the OP started he does not have full hookup and uses the dump station when he leaves, so he's obviously got way less usage than that.

[mgirardo]

valhalla360 wrote:
Not sure what you are doing at the house but assuming 2 - 20gal showers and 20 gal for dishes and minor other uses per day...that works out to around 900gal per month in the RV.

I think your calculator is messed up, 60 gallons * 30 days = 1,800, not 900.

There are 4 of us, 2 adults, and 2 teens. So that would be 4 showers a day on a normal day. However, there is a lake and 2 pools here, so there are times when we take more than 1 shower each per day. We also often times have visitors who also take showers.

valhalla360 wrote:
Also, with a 100 gallons total waste tanks (probably a high estimate with only 40gal fresh water), your 6,000gal assumption would have you going out to drain the waste tanks twice a day anyway (more often if most is going into a one waste tank). Of course if you leave your waste valves open, you wouldn't fill the waste tanks in any case.

We have 4 waste tanks, 2 black and 2 grey. The grey tanks are always open. They are opened the day we arrive and closed the day we leave. The main black tank is emptied every 6 days or so. The secondary black tank is drained every few weeks.

My 5,000 - 6,000 gallon per month assumption may be a little on the high side, but not by much.

-Michael