Delamination Problem

[magonzo]

Thanks for the advice. I brought it to the dealer yesterday and they did a thorough inspection. All the caulking lokks good and it appears to be the glue problem. They are contacting FR to get it documented and we'll fix it during the off season. If I notice any swelling or bumps I'll take it right back.

I hope you get yours very soon!

[grhodes50]

rockwood06 & magonzo,

It's good you got it to the dealer so they could document the problem. I hope it holds up through the summer for you.

I'll post, with some pics, when I get the tt back so you'll know how the tt looks after the repair.

[hoody]

i have a 2009 8314bss rockwood signature ultra lite and in between the slides it looks like where the plywood butts togeather it is humped up from the roof line down about a foot.we checked roof for leak and everything looks tight.was wondering if you have a number for forest river ive had this trailer for 1 year and it was delivered on 4/9/2009.

[grhodes50]

Forest River Ph. Number - 574-389-4600
Jonathan A. Gust
Forest River, Inc.
Rockwood Signature Series Warranty Manager

They will probably tell you to take it to your dealer and from that point your dealer will maintain direct contact with FR.

I couldn't find any evidence on the outside where water might be leaking in, but it was.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

[grhodes50]

latest update!

I talked to my dealer last Thursday. Still no idea when the tt will be back. After a few calls back and forth they told me it was scheduled to be delivered by the end of this week.

They called today. TT is back! Yeah! Only took 4½ weeks instead of 2.

Hold on, wait a minute. Now for the bad news. The driver said the front steps opened by themselves and hit a curb! The day I believe that one is the day I'll be the proud owner of some ocean front property in Arizona!

No other damage but the steps have to be replaced. The dealer is trying to get new steps shipped over night so I can pick the tt up this weekend.

Meanwhile, they are going through the trailer to make sure all water, gas & electrical systems are working properly. You can bet I'll check it all myself this weekend.

I hope that anyone else with this problem, or any other problem, has better luck than I have.

CAUTION! Don't linger on this post too long. Some of my kind of luck may bleed through the internet and attach to you!

[rockwood06]

I have already had it, the question is....can I get it again???????? I sounds like to me that the driver forgot to put the step up or he hit the curb with the step in the closed position. That's right blame the poor step, I am glad to hear your camper is back and I would go over everything at the deales lot to make sure all is good.

[grhodes50]

The front steps on the tt are right in front of the tires, so I'm thinking he ran over something and additional damage is possible. I asked the dealer if there was any other damage and they said there wasn't and that they checked it real good. Bet they didn't check it as close as I will.

rockwood06, If your feeling like you've been ran over, dragged through the mud and your wallet is thinner than normal, it's too late. Your in the advanced stages of Bad Luck Syndrome (BLS)!

[rockwood06]

I have two sets of steps, one set in the front and the other in the rear and no where close to the tires. He may have made a right hand turn and jump a curb I just hope he was not going too fast, when you get to the dealers look under the right front side axle and see if it had shifted to the rear, measure the distance between the tires on both sides and inspect the tires.

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by rockwood06

I have two sets of steps, one set in the front and the other in the rear and no where close to the tires. He may have made a right hand turn and jump a curb I just hope he was not going too fast, when you get to the dealers look under the right front side axle and see if it had shifted to the rear, measure the distance between the tires on both sides and inspect the tires.

Good idea. Didn't think of measuring the tire spacing. Thanks for the help.

My tt has two sets of steps as well. It's a front kitchen model so the front door is almost halfway back. You might be able to see in my signature pic that the front door is right in front of the wheels.

I'm also wondering how hard the tt hit. Could it be possible that some of the seams they have just re-caulked have some seperation? Maybe enough for another leak? Or is my imagination going too far?

Dealer is 95 miles away so I won't be able to see the tt till this weekend.

[rockwood06]

It's funny how I forgot what happen to me last year and this concerns the step when it hits something.
We had plans to take our camper off of our seasonal site and take a trip to Ocean City Md for a week, this is when I had a problem with my slide out. I was headed to the dealer from the seasonal site to get the adjustments taken care of so on the way I had to take different rout, there was a head on collision so we were detoured on to a small back road which was about 11/2 lanes wide for two way traffic. In order to get on this small road I had to make a sharp left hand turn, the problem was that the road I had to turn on had a drop or slop as I turned I noticed that the truck had some resistance, anyway once the truck and trailer straighten out all was good.
Once I arrived at the dealer I inspected the camper and found that the resistance I felt was the step housing, it had scrap the road and bent the entire housing at the bottom of the camper....FYI the steps were folded back in to the housing they never pop out. The only way I could get the steps straighten out was to hook a chain fall up to the step housing and attach the other end to the recovery hooks on my truck and ratchet them back in place, now the steps have some problems, they are a little to open I could not get them perfect, so check your steps as well.

[grhodes50]

ANOTHER UPDATE!

I've had several phone converstions with my dealer the last few days.

First, the steps won't be in until next Wednesday. So much for overnight delivery. If they come in and if they get them replaced, I should be able to pick the TT up next weekend. 6½ weeks after I delivered it to the dealership. So much for the 2 week turn around they promised on 3 different occasions.

Second, they informed me they found a damaged cabinet door under the kitchen sink. A new one is on order but they have no idea on a delivery date. I'll probably have to make another trip to pick it up and replace the door myself. As I stated in an earlier post, I live 95 miles from the dealership. I will see if they will ship it to me but I'm not holding my breath.

Turns out they probably coudn't get to replacing the steps this weekend anyway. They are having their Big Spring Weekend Sale and will be too busy to get to it. At least I know where I stand.

I talked to the service manager and he told me they would inspect the TT when it arrived. Turns out they will only do a walk through, but they arranged it (electric and water hookups) so I can inspect the TT when I pick it up.

I'm telling ya, don't linger on this thread too long. I wouldn't want this bad luck virus to leak through to anyone!

The service manager told me the roof was also replaced. Seems they used the same bad glue on the roof and that's where most of the leaks were located. He also told me that the glue is not manufactured by FR so other RV manufactures buy from the same supplier. He said they are starting to see some of the same problems in the Keystone units that they sell. Just thought I should pass this info on.

[grhodes50]

Sorry about the last couple of posts. I let a little of my frustration with the situation show. I started this thread to tell my experience with the delamination problem I am experiencing and how my dealer and FR respond, hoping it may give some insight for those who come across a similar problem. The additional problems and my frustration has nothing to do with the delam problem or how it's handled by my dealer and FR and are also specific to my situation and probably not problems others will experince.

Here is the summary so far.

Took TT in for warranty work at the end of Jan and picked up middle of Feb. One of my complaints was water inside the trailer. Dealer re-caulked 4 places on the roof.
1 year warranty expired Feb. 20th
Cleanning the TT on March 6th, noticed "bubbles" on outside of TT above slideout. Contacted FR and my dealer. Dealer stated if delam problem, the TT would have to go back to factory and it would take 2 weeks to repair.
Took TT to dealer on March 15th. Dealer confirmed delam and showed me damage inside. (wall swelled and hard bumps from water leaking inside the wall). Dealer stated slideout area is most common place for delam problem. FR said they would fix the TT even though it's out of warranty (by just 2 weeks) because the delam is caused by manufacture's defect. Bad batch of glue used in sidewall laminating process.
Told that FR couldn't fix the TT until May or June. Will take approx 2 weeks.
Dealer called on March 22nd, asked if I could bring the TT in that day. They had a driver and FR called and said they had a slot to get the TT in and fixed. I couldn't take the TT that day but took it in the next. Inspected the other sidewall with dealer and found delam on that wall as well, so both sidewalls are to be replaced. FR picked up the TT on the 25th. Told TT will be back in approx. 2 weeks. Should be back around April 8th.
On April 14th I was told TT was ready to ship back on April 10th, waiting for available driver.
April 27th TT arrived at dealership with damage, two areas (steps and cabinet door). Parts ordered and should arrive by May 5th (steps). I was told at this point that the roof had been replaced as well. Same glue used.
I will inspect and pick up TT, if repaired, on May 7th.
I will post pics when I get the TT home as per rockwood06 requested.

I am thankful that my dealer and FR are taking care of the problems. I'm just a little frustrated because it's looking like I got a "lemon". This is the fourth repair due to water leaks. Right front corner leaked through corner trim, kitchen window leaked and black water tank flush valve leaked, found this out after the bedroom carpet got soaked. I have had 4 other warranty items fixed as well.

Again, sorry about the rant in the previous posts and I hope this does help anyone who may experience a delam problem..

[J_W_Booher]

I have an 08 Rockwood 8315 SS and after reading this tread this afternoon went out and discovered the same issue on our trailer. My problem is we are out of warranty and the 2nd owners (1st owner had less than a year). Has any 2nd owners had any luck with getting Forest River to repair the problems? Has anyone had them cover out of warranty trailers? We store our trailer in an enclosed storage and have for over the year we have had it.
Thanks

[grhodes50]

Originally Posted by J_W_Booher

I have an 08 Rockwood 8315 SS and after reading this tread this afternoon went out and discovered the same issue on our trailer. My problem is we are out of warranty and the 2nd owners (1st owner had less than a year). Has any 2nd owners had any luck with getting Forest River to repair the problems? Has anyone had them cover out of warranty trailers? We store our trailer in an enclosed storage and have for over the year we have had it.
Thanks

Sorry, I don't have the answer to your question. Then only thing I can think of, take it to the nearest FR dealership and see what they say. They should, at the very least, contact FR for you and let them make the decision.

As far as being out of warranty, my TT's warranty ran out on Feb 20th. I reported the problem on March 6th and FR had no problem accepting the responsibility of repairing the TT.

Good luck. I hope things work out for you.

[rockwood06]

Originally Posted by rhodes 50

Sorry about the last couple of posts. I let a little of my frustration with the situation show. I started this thread to tell my experience with the delamination problem I am experiencing and how my dealer and FR respond, hoping it may give some insight for those who come across a similar problem. The additional problems and my frustration has nothing to do with the delam problem or how it's handled by my dealer and FR and are also specific to my situation and probably not problems others will experience.

Here is the summary so far.

Took TT in for warranty work at the end of Jan and picked up middle of Feb. One of my complaints was water inside the trailer. Dealer re-caulked 4 places on the roof.
1 year warranty expired Feb. 20th
Cleaning the TT on March 6th, noticed "bubbles" on outside of TT above slide out. Contacted FR and my dealer. Dealer stated if delam problem, the TT would have to go back to factory and it would take 2 weeks to repair.
Took TT to dealer on March 15th. Dealer confirmed delam and showed me damage inside. (wall swelled and hard bumps from water leaking inside the wall). Dealer stated slide out area is most common place for delam problem. FR said they would fix the TT even though it's out of warranty (by just 2 weeks) because the delam is caused by manufacturer's defect. Bad batch of glue used in sidewall laminating process.
Told that FR couldn't fix the TT until May or June. Will take approx 2 weeks.
Dealer called on March 22nd, asked if I could bring the TT in that day. They had a driver and FR called and said they had a slot to get the TT in and fixed. I couldn't take the TT that day but took it in the next. Inspected the other sidewall with dealer and found delam on that wall as well, so both sidewalls are to be replaced. FR picked up the TT on the 25th. Told TT will be back in approx. 2 weeks. Should be back around April 8th.
On April 14th I was told TT was ready to ship back on April 10th, waiting for available driver.
April 27th TT arrived at dealership with damage, two areas (steps and cabinet door). Parts ordered and should arrive by May 5th (steps). I was told at this point that the roof had been replaced as well. Same glue used.
I will inspect and pick up TT, if repaired, on May 7th.
I will post pics when I get the TT home as per rockwood 06 requested.

I am thankful that my dealer and FR are taking care of the problems. I'm just a little frustrated because it's looking like I got a "lemon". This is the fourth repair due to water leaks. Right front corner leaked through corner trim, kitchen window leaked and black water tank flush valve leaked, found this out after the bedroom carpet got soaked. I have had 4 other warranty items fixed as well.

Again, sorry about the rant in the previous posts and I hope this does help anyone who may experience a delam problem..

Personally I think you have handled this quit well and in the best way possible, If it were me I would have gone off of the deep end by now. As far as venting here on the Forum that's ok, this will help others with there problems and your experiences with dealing with Forest River and the contractors in between. I am hoping with you getting your frustrations and stress off of your chest it makes you fell better, I know it's hard but KEEP COOL.... I am glad I had an ace in the hole when I had my problem with delam.

[grhodes50]

UPDATE

Thanks for the kind words rockwood06. Your posts have helped me keep my cool.

Picked up the TT yesterday. I had contacted FR asking for an extended warranty because of the problems I've had with the TT and since I was going to have to do my own inspection. FR told me that a PDI by the dealership was included in the warranty work. They contacted my dealer to make sure they performed the PDI. Dealer didn't seem to be upset and did the PDI. FR also extended my warranty for 1 year.

I've got to give FR credit. They didn't shy away from the problem and then gave me a little peace of mind with the extension on my warranty. That's GREAT customer service!

Funny thing, after talking with the service manager for about 15 minutes he asked, "What did they have to do to your trailer?" Don't you love it when people are on top of things?

Everything looked good when I did my initial inspection at the dealer. The sidewalls, inside and out, look great. Now that I can see how it looks repaired, I can tell a big difference. It truely looks better than it did when I bought it.

The steps were replaced and a new cabinet door as well. Never did see any of the damaged parts. Inspected underneath the TT and found no additional damage. I measured the distance between the wheels on both sides and they matched. Thanks again for the idea rockwood06.

I got the TT home, no problems. Started cleaning and loading it. Hooked up electric and water. Only 1 issue. When I turn the switch on for the water heater, nothing. The red light doesn't come on and the water heater doesn't try to light. I hope it's just a bad switch. Electric side heats the water as usual. The refrig works on gas & electric, the stove worked, but the furnace would come on for a little while then shut down. I cycled through the furnace 3 times, about 5-10 minutes between cycles, and it finally seemed to stay on. I know one tank was empty and the other is low so I'll fill them and see if it makes any difference.

I'll camp next weekend and that should give me a better idea about the condition of the TT. I don't expect any major problems. I'll take some pics then and then post 'em.

Thanks again to all who have helped me with this problem. For those of you who are having similar problems, I hope my experience has helped you.



JUST THOUGHT I SHOULD ADD:
The top was NOT replaced and the front and rear caps were NOT re-caulked. The service manager was the one who told me that FR does this when they replace the sidewalls, so after a few converstions with him I don't think he really knows. He's a nice enough guy just doesn't seem like the type that stays envolved with details. I believe I gave him more info than he gave me.

[milzat]

Glad to hear you've got your trailer back.
Now, you can go camping and relax.

[grhodes50]

Thanks milzat. You can bet I'm biten' at the bit to get out there next weekend.

Thanks for your help as well.

[rockwood06]

Originally Posted by grhodes50

UPDATE

Thanks for the kind words rockwood06. Your posts have helped me keep my cool.

Picked up the TT yesterday. I had contacted FR asking for an extended warranty because of the problems I've had with the TT and since I was going to have to do my own inspection. FR told me that a PDI by the dealership was included in the warranty work. They contacted my dealer to make sure they performed the PDI. Dealer didn't seem to be upset and did the PDI. FR also extended my warranty for 1 year.

I've got to give FR credit. They didn't shy away from the problem and then gave me a little peace of mind with the extension on my warranty. That's GREAT customer service!

Funny thing, after talking with the service manager for about 15 minutes he asked, "What did they have to do to your trailer?" Don't you love it when people are on top of things?

Everything looked good when I did my initial inspection at the dealer. The sidewalls, inside and out, look great. Now that I can see how it looks repaired, I can tell a big difference. It truely looks better than it did when I bought it.

The steps were replaced and a new cabinet door as well. Never did see any of the damaged parts. Inspected underneath the TT and found no additional damage. I measured the distance between the wheels on both sides and they matched. Thanks again for the idea rockwood06.

I got the TT home, no problems. Started cleaning and loading it. Hooked up electric and water. Only 1 issue. When I turn the switch on for the water heater, nothing. The red light doesn't come on and the water heater doesn't try to light. I hope it's just a bad switch. Electric side heats the water as usual. The refrig works on gas & electric, the stove worked, but the furnace would come on for a little while then shut down. I cycled through the furnace 3 times, about 5-10 minutes between cycles, and it finally seemed to stay on. I know one tank was empty and the other is low so I'll fill them and see if it makes any difference.

I'll camp next weekend and that should give me a better idea about the condition of the TT. I don't expect any major problems. I'll take some pics then and then post 'em.

Thanks again to all who have helped me with this problem. For those of you who are having similar problems, I hope my experience has helped you.



JUST THOUGHT I SHOULD ADD:
The top was NOT replaced and the front and rear caps were NOT re-caulked. The service manager was the one who told me that FR does this when they replace the sidewalls, so after a few converstions with him I don't think he really knows. He's a nice enough guy just doesn't seem like the type that stays envolved with details. I believe I gave him more info than he gave me.

I am happy to hear that everyone was able to help and that Forest River made good on there product for you and as stated before go camping and relax and enjoy......I like an happy ending.

[grhodes50]

Solved the water heater problem. Sunday morning I went out and checked the tanks again. One empty the other half full. I tapped on the regulator a few times. Everything works great now.

Now I'm ready to camp. Friday can't get here soon enough.