Went on top of our fifth wheel and washed the roof with dawn. Inspected the roof and saw spots where it looked like large stickers had been removed prior to delivery to dealer. Taking off white material down to black. Sent in pictures to dealer and they are waiting for authorization for no cost roof replacement. Glad I did inspection while under full warranty. I figure it would cost $4000 to replace.

 

Stickers on the roof? Wow! Waiting for Steve to pipe in on this topic.

 

Interesting. Never heard of that. I do get up and inspect mine every month or so.

I use spic and span on my roof.

 

Not a clue why there would be stickers on roof. I have never seen that on anything. Figure cost to replace rubber roof at a minimum $150/foot of RV and often way more. I will be interested to see how the manufacturer handles this in terms of warranty. I am wondering if they will try to say the owner did something to the roof.

Warranty coverage can be a total "B". On one I did, the manufacturer failed to cut the opening in the roof for the refrigerator vent and did not want to pay to have it done for the owner. (True story) Without it the refrigerator did not work worth a darn.

 

On the subject of roofs, how hard is it to replace yourself? Ours is about to give out, you can almost see through in some spots.

 

Everything is readily available and I am sure there are videos on Youtube showing how to do it.

The easiest way, if the roof is still solid, is simply to go over what you have with a new substrate, screw it down, and glue down the new rubber. I used Luan. Particle board is cheaper, but I don't think it does as nice a job. Two men working hard can do one in a day. No real trick to it.

Take everything on the roof up (you can leave the AC unit on the roof and move it back as you move end to end. Take the molding off around the perimeter (don't trash it as you will want to reuse it). If you are going with a new layer, lay the board in place and go inside and mark the opening, then cutting it out on the roof saves time. Use a blower to make sure you get all the dust off the roof, before you roll on the adhesive (just a paint roller). Start at one end and work from there unrolling as you go.

Make sure you lay the rubber straight so you have some to trim where it drapes over the edges. Don't put your foot through a vent opening and fall off the roof!

The longer way is too get all the old rubber up and start from scratch, which takes much longer, but may make a neater job. I found very few folks felt the extra cost was worth starting from scratch. Again search the Internet.

I stopped doing roofs some years ago as it is too weather dependent and there is plenty of work to do that I enjoy a great deal more.

Good luck,

Steve

 

The system wont let me post pictures but you can definitely see where there was large stickers that pulled the white right off in many square shapes with rounded edges. Dealership thought it might have been at the beginning of a roll from the manufacturer. This unit was the first unit made of that model year and has had many bugs but they have covered everything and extended the full coverage bumper to bumper warranty for a second year at no cost.

 

I share the dealer's thought it was the start of a roll, but you can't help but wonder if they let something so obvious go through, what else did they do. I am glad to hear you are not having a problem with coverage, but I am always wondering why, for how much these things cost, they can't get it right from the start. They ought to reimburse the customer's time bringing it back in for repair. My opinion.


Steve

 

I got one of those demo unit...after a couple of years they bought it back and replaced it.

 

Not much left to fix other than the frame. They have worked on just about everything else. Except the tanks. Let's see the worked on furnace ductwork, ac unit, slider, replaced counter top, vanity, bathroom sink, bed spread, linoleum, cub boards. Happy with the dealership work. Wish the factory did their job the first time. We plan on keeping it for a long time!

 

I can't believe the dealer isn't fixing it & dealing with the manufacture. I had a few warranty issues when we bought our 05 Tahoe & the dealer fixed them & dealt with the manufacture. two were floor issues. Maybe that is why the dealer I bought ours from would only carry certain lines of trailers. Because of warranty things. He serviced everything he sold 100%. No waiting for manufacture to approve he just fixed the problems. He was a dealer that sold lots of trailers out of Elko NV Gateway RV.

 

Huge variations in how warranties are handled and increasingly dealers are refusing to honor warranties if someone local goes online and buys a model they handle at a better price. You just can't assume anything about warranties.


I handle warranties on the stuff I sell just like your dealer does, but I am the only mobile tech in the area who does. My competitors will not warranty anything they do!


Steve

 

I guess that has always been that way. Buyer beware & do your homework not only on the product but the person selling it.
I have always tried to be a savvy buyer. To me even if I have to get something that isn't exactly like what I think I want, or pay a little more, if the dealer is like the dealer I bought from or like you then that plays a major factor into my buying.

It is the same with auto warranties. The dealer is the key factor in getting things fixed.

I had a friend that was a small Ford dealer years ago. I bought all my Fords from him. Because any issues he took care of them NOW.

 

Rv teck, last fall the roof looked good only could see some outlines of the stickers. After traveling a lot this spring and summer and a lot of rain then the problem showed up as the black outlines of missing white material got larger and had pattern.
I don't blame them as to waiting on approval of $6000 in work. They told me today that they will have the approval next week.

 

I understand the dealer's position and it sounds like all will be good, so I am glad of that. I am just not sure where it would leave you or someone in your position, if the manufacturer told the dealer to take a hike.


From my perspective, if the dealer is saying he will make it good, but let's see what the manufacturer says first, I think that is fine. If the position is he will fix it if the manufacturer agrees, that is not so hot/


Again, just my two cents.


Steve