Sask. man shares story after explosion destroys camping trailer that had recall

“To the right of me, about four feet, the gas line behind the fridge somehow exploded and blew the wall out and the roof above it and it was continuing on fire. It had high-pressure gas blowing flames up through the walls, up through the roof.”

Thankfully, no one in Tomanek’s family was injured but the trailer burned to its frame. Tomanek said he used his truck to drag the trailer away so that the flames wouldn’t damage his house.

(Submitted Photo/Trent Tomanek)

After the fire, Tomanek started the process of filing with insurance and bringing the matter to the manufacturer of the trailer, Jayco. That’s when he found out that his model of trailer was actually involved in a recall notice.

“We never knew anything about any recalls; we verified our information with them and they’re not sure why it didn’t get sent out,” he said. “The recall on the motorhome is an issue with the propane regulator which, at this point, we didn’t even know if that was tied to this or a whole new recall.”

According to Transport Canada, dozens of Jayco trailers have been recalled from 2017 through 2021, including several Jay Flight trailers, like the one Tomanek owned.

According to the recall notice, the propane regulator could fail, releasing high-pressure propane to appliances, and putting them at risk of a fire.

Transport Canada is also investigating a number of RVs with the Winntec 6020 propane regulator, like the Jay Flight, from 2015-2022.

The notice also stated that Jayco would notify owners by mail about the recall, something Tomanek said never happened with him, despite verifying his mailing address and email with a Jayco representative after the fire.

As for dealing with insurance, Rob de Pruis with the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) said when it comes to something like an explosion, there are other factors that play into it.

“You have to find out, what exactly did happen. Is there something wrong with the actual fridge itself? So there’s a whole bunch of other factors that need to be investigated,” he said.

Insurance will likely cover the costs associated with the damage but for Tomanek he hopes a situation like this can be prevented.

“It’s not the cost of everything, it’s just the risk of what could happen to someone else or if we would have been sleeping in it. Whatever it takes to get those recalls out to people is what needs to get looked at.”

battlefordsNOW has reached out to Jayco for comment on this story and are awaiting a response.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

by battlefordsNOW Staff

Sask. man shares story after explosion destroys camping trailer that had recall

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