Sandpiper Decal Problems

4xford · 06-11-2010, 11:26 AM

Hi,
I hope I posted this in the right forum. I'm having problems with my 2009 Sandpiper 345RET decals and was wondering if anyone else has ran into this. When I parked the camper last fall, I didn't notice anything wrong with it and niether did my dealer who winterized it for me. I went out to check on it as soon as the snow melted this spring to make sure everything was ok and found that a lot of the decals on the off door side and front were peeling, flaking, and just plain coming apart. I went to my dealer and showed them pictures of it and they said they would see what could be done. The response I got after they sent the pictures to Forest River Sandpiper was that I was 5 months out of warranty (expired in November of 2009.) They did say that they would provide the decals for me but that they would pay no labor to put them on. Now I'm finding out that it's going to cost between $1000 and $2500 to fix the decals depending on how long it takes the dealer to clean off the old and put on the new. I've shown the pictures to other dealers who say they haven't seen anything this bad on such a new unit and that the decals must have been defective.
Has anyone else ran into this? I'm not sure what to do at this point, my extended warranty won't pay for it, my selling dealer won't help me out any on the labor, and it seems Forest River only cares that it lasted long enough to outlive it's 1 year warranty and now it looks worse than the 10 year old camper I traded in on it.
Any ideas on what I can do or where I can go to find help on this? I just couldn't believe that Forest River wouldn't stand behind something that everyone I talk to says must have been defective decals to start with to fall apart so bad so soon.

Thanks for any help you can give.
Jim

NWJeeper · 06-11-2010, 11:34 AM

It doesn't surprise me. The decals are the cheapest they can get. The decals on our '94 Fleetwood motorhome did the same thing after only a couple of years. They do not stand up well to sunlight (UV). My solution was to remove all of them completely. I think the rig looked much better. If you remove the decals you might find a paint shop that will paint new stripes for less money and they will last forever.

Sorry to hear of the troubles, it's aggravating I know. I wished the RV makers would just stop using them, charge a little more for the rig and use paint instead.

dichayer · 06-12-2010, 08:57 AM

I do not think that you bought your camper for thr decals. If they are important to you, talk to someone that you know from a local body shop. They remove and put on decals all the time. I had to have the front of my camper repaired and the dealer had me drop it off at a body shop to be fixed. Perhaps it will be less painful (in the pocket book) if you by pass the middleman and his big markup. Mine was paid for by the Forrest river so I had nothingout of pocket. I talked to the owner who is also a member of the BPOE and he told me that they do alot of decal work on campers and motor homes. I hope this is some help.

If the decorations are important, think of all the different things you could put on to make yours a one of a kind.
Dick

4xford · 06-12-2010, 04:08 PM

Your right, I didn't buy the camper for it's decals but for the money I paid for it I sure didn't expect it to look like a mess as soon as the warranty ran out. If it was just a little peeling, I wouldn't complain but when I send the pictures to a different dealer and they say there had to be something wrong with the decals when they were made to be coming apart like this so soon, I would like some sort of help. I can't find any contact information for Forest River. The other side of the camper looks like the day I brought it home from the dealer.
I uploaded the pictures to an online photo sharing site located here: Picasa Web Albums - 11128411426159457... - camper decals#

skidoonut · 06-12-2010, 04:20 PM

do you cover your trailer? it looks like they are peeled from over heating. it gets very warm inside a tarp or cover even during the winter.

4xford · 06-12-2010, 04:33 PM

No, I don't have a cover. It sits out behind my garage. The side that is peeling faces to the east and the front of the camper faces south. The only trees are at least 20 feet to the north of the rear of the camper. I try to keep it away from where anything can fall on the roof.

MtnGuy · 06-12-2010, 07:48 PM

We have a 2008 Surveyor, and ours is peeling and cracking on the sunny side, but not as back as the OPer.......The other 3 sides still look great I have to do a lot of polishing on the front to get the sun fade out, too.

dano 2 · 06-13-2010, 07:43 PM

I have a 2003 Rockwood TT. I'm planning on removing some of my decals for the same reason. What should I use to remove the old glue that would not harm the fiberglass finish.

skidoonut · 06-14-2010, 08:32 PM

i would say that the decals are defective then. maybe they did not clean the trailer properly prior to installation.

chevy02 · 06-14-2010, 09:12 PM

Wow that sucks i just looked at your pictures that is terrible i dont think i seen anything like that.Its sad FR wont fix this. You think they wouldnt want a 1yr old camper with their name on it looking like that would you I feel for you and sorry i dont have any advice for you other than what has already been said i think paint and body shop would be the way to go also

Captbob8 · 07-16-2010, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4xford

Hi,
I hope I posted this in the right forum. I'm having problems with my 2009 Sandpiper 345RET decals and was wondering if anyone else has ran into this. When I parked the camper last fall, I didn't notice anything wrong with it and niether did my dealer who winterized it for me. I went out to check on it as soon as the snow melted this spring to make sure everything was ok and found that a lot of the decals on the off door side and front were peeling, flaking, and just plain coming apart. I went to my dealer and showed them pictures of it and they said they would see what could be done. The response I got after they sent the pictures to Forest River Sandpiper was that I was 5 months out of warranty (expired in November of 2009.) They did say that they would provide the decals for me but that they would pay no labor to put them on. Now I'm finding out that it's going to cost between $1000 and $2500 to fix the decals depending on how long it takes the dealer to clean off the old and put on the new. I've shown the pictures to other dealers who say they haven't seen anything this bad on such a new unit and that the decals must have been defective.
Has anyone else ran into this? I'm not sure what to do at this point, my extended warranty won't pay for it, my selling dealer won't help me out any on the labor, and it seems Forest River only cares that it lasted long enough to outlive it's 1 year warranty and now it looks worse than the 10 year old camper I traded in on it.
Any ideas on what I can do or where I can go to find help on this? I just couldn't believe that Forest River wouldn't stand behind something that everyone I talk to says must have been defective decals to start with to fall apart so bad so soon.

Thanks for any help you can give.
Jim

I have had the same problem, but you are ahead of the game if they will provide them for free. It will not take much to remove the old ones, you should not need "heat" I use a heat gun but hair dryer will also work, if stubborn if you need to get it down to the "glue" which a lot of chemicals will remove. I find the replacement cost to be prohibitive so I'll buy some that I like to give it color.
CaptBob

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