Our brand new T@b has a leak

DaveLu_Explorers

We just had our very first camping experience with our brand-new Sofitel S Max. We love it. It is one of the most wonderful camping experiences we've ever had, and we are experienced campers backpacking tent campers. The only disappointing thing was that we had not tested the unit while hooked up to shore water. As soon as we started running water down the sink we discovered everything under the sink was soaking wet. It was leaking around the seal that connects the bottom of the sink to the drain pipe. We called our dealer Southland RV, near Atlanta. They think it is absence of sealant tape/glue from the factory. We will be dropping it off tonight on our way back from the trip. We thought to post this to let people with new units know that you should check everything out while connected to shore water, with full pressure, power, etc. as it is, we were unable to use our kitchen sink, had to use the shower &  drain in order to brush our teeth and did not use the stove since we couldn't wash things. But other than that our trip was wonderful.

thedarksideoftheTaB

We experienced the same thing this weekend in our new CS-S M@X.  The two connections for the trap were loose and I had to tighten them.  I also had a small leak under the wetbath sink.  I am truly disappointed as these could cause great damage if not detected immediately.

jkjenn

My dealer actually mentioned this was a potential issue and said sometimes they come loose in transport. He made it sound unavoidable. Sounds like the dealer should have checked it out for you before you took delivery. I highly recommend testing everything possible while at the dealer to avoid a repeat trip. I had them turn on the heat, a/cm fridge, stove, water, and light the fridge on propane.

OneOleMan

This sounds like a QC problem at the factory where everything should be checked and then rechecked.

“My dealer actually mentioned this was a potential issue and said sometimes they come loose in transport“.  This, to me, is hogwash, once you hook up for a trip you're “transporting” your baby.

Deltaboy59

Since the drains are just screw on fittings, I can see where they need to be checked regularly for tightness...especially with the constant vibration from being on the road...thanks for the heads up... I can see why the manf wants access there for clogs etc... So a removable trap is needed.

tpurr02

I am going to be picking up my T@B Sofitel from Southland RV the beginning of April.  I am so excited, I can't stand it.  Dave and Lucia please let me know if you are still loving Sophi@.  I haven't seen it in person yet, but it looks so beautiful.  What have you liked it about having her the most?
Thanks to everyone on the forum.  I have been reading it for months to prepare for my purchase.  While I am a bit nervous because I have never purchased an RV before, I feel so much more prepared due to the collective experience, brainpower, and kindness of everyone one forum.  

DaveLu_Explorers

@tpurr02 yes, we are still absolutely in love with Sofi@! We dropped her off at Southland RV on our return trip from our first camping outing with her. We had a wonderful trip staying in Hilton Head at an RV park on the marina that was just beautiful. 

The fellows at Southland were very gracious, took care of the leak and a few minor adjustments, even gave us a brand-new lamp that my husband inadvertently broke thinking it would swivel at the base, but it snapped off. Southland replaced it for free and they were very gracious about it. We have yet to test the leak on our next trip but we're confident it will be okay. Unfortunately it has been extremely cold, below freezing temperatures here in Atlanta and they winterized it for us at Southland. We don't want to pump any water in it until the worst of the cold passes. (You can winterize two ways, they either pump all the water out and blow air into the hoses and plumbing, to make sure all the water is out, or they fill it with antifreeze. We prefer the first method because then it's ready to go and you don't have to bump out the antifreeze.)

I agree, this is a wonderful forum, we have learned quite a bit about T@bs here. There are also a couple of Facebook groups with very kind people but it's more of a social thing (search for T@b & T@DA Camper Trailer Owners). Lots of good pictures. Finally I found a lot of cool stuff on Pinterest on all things RV with lots of ideas for accessories, mods, tools, etc. I searched camping, T@b and teardrop. 

Welcome to the board!

Lu

wizard1880

Its a special type of RV antifreeze which is far less toxic. No ethylene glycol.

DaveLu_Explorers

Yes it's supposed to be a type of non-toxic antifreeze, but we used the air method instead.

wizard1880

Perfect, that's what we do as well. They say to use the rv antifreeze in the drain taps, but instead I used the air compressor's air nozzle and just blew it out dry. (Put a paper towel over it while spraying, otherwise the water in there sprays back at ya!)