2014 31k Minnie Winnie waste pipe too low

[Nocaltom]

Hello,
I,m just purchased my first RV 🙂 listed above and I only have one major problem, the waste pipe is only 6 in off the ground. When I was leaving first campsite on its maiden voyage it rubbed the ground and pulled the pipe off the rubber coupling and all waste came running out everywhere. Needless to say it wasn't pretty. I called Winnebago and they weren't much help told me to bring to dealer and see what they could do. I'm just curious if anyone else is having a issue and what's the fix. It seems to me to be a very poor design and needs to be addressed.
Thanks for a ideas,
Tom

2014 Minnie Winnie 31k

[Jq1953]

Our 014 Minnie Winnie had the same issue. Factory was useless in their help. I finally paid a dealer to rework entire sewer system to raise pipe. Cost me about 800.00 but that fixed the problem.. Asked Winnebago to pay, they refused. Needless to say this is our first and last Winnebago.
It's funny though, I have seen other 014 Winnie's with same issue as well as many that were plumbed properly. I guess mine was made on a Friday.

[badmonkey]

Mich F wrote:

Dlight wrote:
Thanks Mitch for that info.... I talked to winnebago industries and they said to take the rv back to my dealer and if they think it needs to be re-designed, they will cover it under warranty.
I am going do that next week.

I wish you would have finished following up after you dealer experience as its kind of the point of these forums other then just getting what you need.:R

Anyways for others out there the problem still exists with the Micro Minnie except now the floor its spray foamed and insulated making it more difficult to work on. My 2018 only had 5.25" of ground clearance and a scraped getting in my very flat driveway. Any speed bump would knock the cap off too and scrap.

The dealer just wanted $350 to lift the camper 3" but my last trailer never tracked right and swayed like crazy with any cross wind after it was lifted so i'm not doing that again. Winnebago was mostly useless.

With a heat gun i was able to heat the plastic pipes up enough to bend them a couple of inches forward (toward axle) and up that provided 3.5" more of clearance without impacting the drain angle. I used a floor jack to hold the pipes in place as i slowly lifted over 45min and moving the heat gun around to keep the pipe pliable. Once it cooled down everything held in place and i could reinstall the hanger.

As the actual valves are up higher near the tank I also cut the pipes below them and put in a rubber plumbing repair sleeve so that if i hit something it will pull loose there versus damaging the valves or tanks and shouldn't dumb black water everywhere in the process.

Total clearance now is almost 9"'s so i'm likely still going to hit it over time but this way its easier to put the clamps back around the rubber sleeve and the valves hold the fluids back.

[Mich_F]

Dlight wrote:
Thanks Mitch for that info.... I talked to winnebago industries and they said to take the rv back to my dealer and if they think it needs to be re-designed, they will cover it under warranty.
I am going do that next week.

Your welcome. As I posted earlier they've redesigned the system, but I don't believe they've moved it any farther forward, and one of the valves on their new design looks like it would be a pain to get to. Frankly what my son did, is better than their new design.
They incorporated a Y fitting with individual valves. My son put in a swiveling drain fitting with both valves in that, which naturally cost more money.
Perhaps your dealer, like my son,can do better than what the factory did .
There shouldn't be any question that it needs to be redesigned, since Itasca has changed their original ridiculously low set up.

[Dlight]

Thanks Mitch for that info.... I talked to winnebago industries and they said to take the rv back to my dealer and if they think it needs to be re-designed, they will cover it under warranty.
I am going do that next week.

[Mocoondo]

That has got to be the worst feat of engineering I have ever seen for holding tank drain plumbing. It seems like the tanks need to be higher, allowing the drain plumbing to be up higher and in a more protected area.

Catching those pipes on something is just a matter of time.

[mwebber78]

Surprised a Winnebago would have these issues with all the "superior to other brand" posts I see. A low drain pipe seems to be a huge oversight from a company who's been building RVs for decades. Not very reassuring that hidden items like the valve seal and heat tape were installed wrong, too!

[Mich_F]

Dlight wrote:
I also bought the 2014 itasca spirit 31k rv. I am very nervous about the low hanging sewer pipe, since I almost tore it off getting it in my drive way yesterday.
I sent winnebago an email today to see if there is a recall on this design flaw.

I don't believe there is any recall. I did see a brand new one on my dealer's lot and they have redesigned the sewer pipes. The new design is similar to the pictures I posted earlier in this thread.

[Dlight]

I also bought the 2014 itasca spirit 31k rv. I am very nervous about the low hanging sewer pipe, since I almost tore it off getting it in my drive way yesterday.
I sent winnebago an email today to see if there is a recall on this design flaw.

[Mich_F]

Nocaltom wrote:
Thanks Mich, I was looking at it closer tonight and saw that the grey water tank could have been mounted 5" higher. I sent a email to winniebago we will see if I get response. I will show dealer your pics...
Thanks,
Tom

You're welcome for the pics. We never checked to see if the tank could be mounted higher, assuming it was that height because of the plumbing going into it. It's fine now, with the extra 4" or so we picked up in height, along with it now being a foot or so closer to the wheels.
I have to go back to my dealer for a recall on the range, which covers a whole bunch of Winnebagos and Itascas made over a 15 month period. I also just developed a bad leak in one of my air bags. Also had a leak in the skylight over the shower, which my son just fixed the other day.
I got a letter from Itasca and called my dealer on June 6 to order the part for the recall. I called Itasca 3 days ago (waited 20 min. for someone to answer on their customer support line)only to find out my dealer hadn't ordered the part. Supposedly they ordered the part June 9.

[Nocaltom]

Thanks Mich, I was looking at it closer tonight and saw that the grey water tank could have been mounted 5" higher. I sent a email to winniebago we will see if I get response. I will show dealer your pics...
Thanks,
Tom

[Mich_F]

I just noticed your questions on the other thread. There are a couple of things to note. We used a couple of white Home Depot coupler PVC fittings (and used a different glue) because the job was done over a weekend and our local RV supply house was closed. The other thing to note was that I used a swivel waste valve assembly which wasn't really necessary, although that also provides a little extra ground clearance.









*** I just realized looking at those pictures that we haven't put any support straps on the pipes yet.

[Handbasket]

Sounds like my previous class B... an '02 Chevy-van based Roadtrek 190. That was one of my major gripes with it. I even encountered a few dump stations that I couldn't use at all because the curbs were too high. You may want to consider installing a macerator pump as a complete replacement for the dump plumbing. I think that was RT's eventual factory answer. If not that, maybe carry one of the removable ones or a Sewer Solution along for high-curb situations.

If it's near the rear axle, another solution might be installing air bag helper springs to raise the rear a bit.

Jim, "I've learned so much from my mistakes, I think I'll keep on making them."

[Mich_F]

Nocaltom wrote:
Hello,
I,m just purchased my first RV 🙂 listed above and I only have one major problem, the waste pipe is only 6 in off the ground. When I was leaving first campsite on its maiden voyage it rubbed the ground and pulled the pipe off the rubber coupling and all waste came running out everywhere. Needless to say it wasn't pretty. I called Winnebago and they weren't much help told me to bring to dealer and see what they could do. I'm just curious if anyone else is having a issue and what's the fix. It seems to me to be a very poor design and needs to be addressed.
Thanks for a ideas,
Tom

2014 Minnie Winnie 31k

I bought the same unit back in March and that was my biggest gripe also. I had 5 3/4' ground clearance on my waste pipe. Aside from the height issue, the waste valve assemblies are a good distance back from the axle making it even more likely you'll hit something. Fortunately for me, my son who's been an RV tech for about 18 years, replumbed the whole waste pipe dump system. You're somewhat limited in how much height you can gain by by the location of the grey water tank. We did notice they mounted that tank at an angle to help with draining.
After rerouting the drain pipes and changing out the waste valve assemblies, I now have 9 3/4" ground clearance and the new valve assembly/drain fitting is about a foot closer to the rear axle.
We also noticed when he took out the original waste valve assemblies, the o ring inside the black water assembly had been improperly installed which prevented the valve from closing properly.
My unit also has heated holding tanks. On one of the tanks they had placed a heating element downstream from the valve so it would be heating up an empty pipe.
It's hard to believe they would let an RV leave the factory with a waste system mounted that low.
On another note is your motor home involved in the recall for the range, for units manufactured between Jan 10 2012 and April 5 2013 ?

[wbwood]

That sucks. Our pipe is a little higher than 6 inches, but its hidden up into the body. We actually have a door that flips up to get access to it. If it were to hit some and break off, then we would have body damage as well. Gotta be careful with these C's. They sit low.