New Silverback - Cracking in Front Cap

[BigJohnD]

Well, dropped it off at the dealer on monday. Unfortunately we have moved into a 24' Jayco temporarily. Had to go to work tuesday, and had to get a place for my family to sleep. Talk about cramped going to a small ultralite. Fortunately though, I have family that will just say, here you go, use it as long as you like. All of my brother in law's will let me use their campers, because I fix stuff on them to kill time and return them fully detailed. It's a win win for us both I suppose.

Either way, I have faith in my dealer on this one. As usual, no questions asked, just a "bring it and we'll fix it" attitude. No scheduling or anything, just bring it ASAP. At the last minute, had to add another issue to the list to fix. Main AC is acting up. Control box clicks eratically like it can't decide what to do. This is the same AC I had started another thread on where the fan wouldn't shut off when switching back to auto. Looks like a new control box and t-stat is in order.

Another interesting thing we discussed, that I do like, is when they replace slide floors, which they have done many, they don't go back with the factory set up. They use floors with the solid surface underneath, like a plastic or filon or something. Kind of like our motorhomes had. Not the darco fabric, which is a joke and bad design in my opinion. That way they don't have to deal with the tearing darco. I can't remember the manufacturer of these floors, but I have seen them on around the interweb before.

Crossing fingers. Cap and outdoor kitchen door are already ordered and should be shipped soon. If they can get the parts fast enough, it'll probably be done before I get home in 3 weeks.

[BigJohnD]

Not the greatest of pictures, but here's the cap removed this past friday I think. So, progress is being made. Just as an update, here's a list of the things it's in the shop for:
- Cracking front cap (Round 2 of this)
- Cracking outdoor kitchen door (Round 2 of this)
- Bedroom slide floor wet from leaking somewhere around t-molding
- Adjust or add thicker floor glides on bedroom floor where the bed slide rides as it's plowing the carpet pretty hard
- ODS bunk slide out of adjustment-wiper not touching side wall
- Rear AC control box issues
- Missing crown molding above master closet

That's the only ones I can remember off the top of my head. I hope this is the end of any big issues as this has proven very difficult to full time in a unit that's been in the shop twice in 4 months. I can, and have fixed most of the smaller ones like several plumbing leaks, shower door allignment, and a stripped hot terminal on the power inlet.

One lesson learned, at least for us. If we were to start over again with a RV purchased from any manufacturer, we would have used this unit for at least a year while still living in the stick and brick house, then go full time. That way we would reduce the posibility of getting displaced twice like we have been so far.

As most know, the Silverback is our 7th camper since 2003. At this point, we are leaning more towards the possibility of building the next unit in our shop in Florien, LA. With the RV Industry at such high demand now, and units being built faster and faster, the QC will only suffer more and more as time goes on. If I'm going to dump a chunk of money on one again, I'd rather pick / choose or build my own chassis and select every single piece from the ground up and assemble it the way I see fit. I've been working on sketches since 2006, and now I'm getting the small details ironed out. I'm pretty much down to selecting the slide out systems. Who knows, it just might happen. We have all intentions of keeping this Silverback for a good long while, unless we continue to have problems. It is a good unit for the price point it's in, We'll see how it goes.

[BigJohnD]

Here's an update. We picked the SB up a few weeks ago. Went out to Toledo SP for a little while, then parked it back in front of our shop to do the first good clean / detail since february or so. Good news at this point, we got it back and are not living in that little Jayco. Bad news, this brand new cap has 2 spots that were supposed to have gotten repaired before pick up (Damaged in shipping), and there is already another crack starting at the top / middle area. The crack didn't appear until about a week ago. They had polished out most of the scratches from shipping, but it was supposed to have gone to the fiberglass place for a better fix. In the process of us wanting it back soon, and them trying to get us back in it, the ball got dropped and those repairs were not made. I'm frustrated, and now the dealer is frustrated, and also CC is scratching their head in regards to the crack. I documented everything, sent pictures and emails, but at this point, nobody's getting it back until this fall. We booked several things this summer, and that's going to happen with or without cracks. No doubt, our dealer and CC have taken great care of us and will continue to do so. We'll bring it back to them later this year, and see where it goes this time.

On another positive note, I have a new bedroom slide floor that turned out really good, AC control box was replaced and most other issues taken care of. After 5 or so months of ownership, I like the unit, but am not impressed overall. Looks like I'll be spending the rest of this year trying to get it up to par, or where I'm half way satisfied with it. My fix it, upgrade it, or replace it list has grown pretty large. If I can't achieve getting it where I am mostly satisfied, it'll be on the market late this year, early next year. All depends on how things continue to go. In the mean time, still researching custom builders where I pick each component, and still working on the R&D on the one I'd build myself.

[CLT]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I see you are full-timing. That must be especially difficult to have these issues. Its like someone's renovating your home. Hopefully it will be all over soon.

[BigJohnD]

Thanks for the comments CLT. Definitely aggravating. We were displaced from it 3+ weeks the first time, and a month and 4 days the second time. When you live in it, it's like having to move homes every time it goes in. First time we chose to live in our family owned guest house, second time we borrowed a family member's camper since we couldn't leave the area (Daughter was in T-Ball). We always have a place to lay our head, but thinking back on what all we gave up to live like this, it's a little frustrating and makes you wonder sometimes, what in the world did I do. I've made the comment a couple of times on threads here to those that are just now getting into the full timing, especially with kids. Have yourself a back up plan in the event stuff like this happens. We still like full timing, but there are some things I miss and didn't plan on encountering. That excitement of planning, loading up and taking off somewhere every time I get home from work is gone. In other words, we don't "go camping" any more. So, to get that excitement back for now, we cancelled our living in Arkansas plans, moved the fifth wheel back to our property / home base (Our shop), and planned several "camping" trips for this summer.

[klash2]

First off want to say great post BigJohnD, I thought I was the only person having front cap cracking issues but I guess not! We picked ours up at the dealer last spring and as soon as we got it home we found many cracks starting to form up high on the front cap already. Our dealer was over 5 hours away and I opted to have it dealt with locally, so after speaking directly with Forest River they blamed the cracks on a rock from towing which was absolute garbage. After all the smoke cleared Forest River agreed to pay $500 towards the repair and I ended up paying another $600 out of pocket. Just pulled it out to wash it a few weeks ago and it has more cracks in the cap now then before it was repaired! I'm guessing whole front cap replacement is the next option.

T-Klash

[BigJohnD]

They never blamed mine on towing. They did go back and forth with the manufacturer of the cap though. I looked at the old cap when I picked ours up, and I still don't see what went wrong. From the inside, all looked fine. No thin areas or anything. When I called back this time telling them that the brand new cap was cracked, they're scratching their heads now. I'll bring it back after the summer. For now I'm just watching it. If it keeps cracking after this next attempt, well, somebody else will probably own it. I can't keep bringing this thing back time after time. It's our house, and I need a reliable house.

[BigJohnD]

Well, another update. I had dropped the SB off at the dealer to get the cap fixed again. Got it back today, and my opinion has changed a little on the body shop and dealer. Me being picky, I always check stuff a lot of people wouldn't check. Overall, looks fair, besides 1 run in the clear coat they attempted to buff out. I might look over that, but it's right at eye level and ticks me off. There was also some overspray on the side walls, which I should be able to buff out. Good thing I had just waxed it before bringing it, as this will make it a tad easier. I got it home, and was fixing to wash it, and being the CSI type person, I figured I'd take a closer look at the clearance lights and LED light strip. Sure enough, removed the clearance lights and not a drop of sealant behind or around the lights. So, fixed that. Wiring hole for the LED light strip was not resealed, so, that's done now.

So, I'm starting to feel a little better, until I'm through washing it. I kept seeing a little water come out of where it shouldn't at the bottom of the back wall. There is a piece of 90 degree trim at the bottom of the wall, and I had flashbacks of my bedroom slide floor. Removed the trim and sure enough, they had sealed the bottom, and not the portion that you see on the rear. So, essentially formed a trough to catch water and hold it in the trim. Removed the trim, and luan behind the fiberglass was soaked. So, for now I have the wall pried out an inch or so with fans blowing up inside. It's drying pretty good. When dry, I'll redo it like the T-molding on the slide was done. I'll be pulling the same type molding under the front basement storage door and do the same, as I know it's probably the same way. This is Cedar Creeks fault 100%. They had a bad day with the sealant on this one. I'm not one to swear, but today, this brought out a few choice words (nobody around but me of course).

So, why not leave it at the dealer and say fix it? Because the damage is done. They've had it 3 times in 8 months, and honestly we're getting tired of seeing each other. I'm hard to get along with as I expect a lot (from a dealer or service). Sometimes you might leave it with one problem and get 2 back. From here on out, I'll do all of it myself I reckon.