Discoloration on Nose Cap

[volwing1]

My 2012 Crusader starting at the very top of the nose cap is showing a dullish hue of the paint. It extends almost to the word "Crusader". A friend has a Montana that is doing the same. Neither washing or waxing has any effect. Is this due to the sun on that most exposed part of the nose or what?

[ddphillips52]

I don't have a solution, but my 2013 295RST is doing the same thing. Very top of the front cap is faded from brown to almost white.

[Oakman]

I don't have an answer, but does it look like this?



I've seen fading like this on a number of different brands of RVs and not just Forest River brands. I've seen a few Cougars with this fading too. There was a Silverback that looked similar to this photo at the Goshen Rally but I never had the chance to talk to him to see if the factory was going to do something about the fading.

[Crusaderguy]

I have a 2013 Crusader 290rlt and the brown cap has not yet started to fade. A friend of mine has a 2011 Crusader 260 and his cap is badly faded. The dealer told him Primetime had a bad batch of paint around the time his was made and that was the problem. They contacted Primetime and they would not pay to fix the faded cap since it was out of warranty. Even tho they admitted they used a bad batch of paint. I think in due time mine will start to fade as well. I'd like to find a cover that will just cover the front cap and not the entire RV but so far have not found one. Since we take it out every few weeks, putting on one of those ADCO RV covers would be way too much work.

[Ford Idaho]

Waxing in the very first weeks of the trailers life outside will slow it down, but will never reverse it after the fact.

A local body shop may have an option and could be cheaper than any from the dealer.

[Terier]

I don't want to toss fuel on top of a hot topic but premature aging can't be good for promoting business especially when newer units are involved.

[EXGMTech]

Welcome to B.F.R.G.S. (Bad Forest River Gelcoat Syndrome)!

This subject has been brought up several times...here's one:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...per-66552.html

[Pirogue]

Mine looked horrible within 6 months of purchase. I didn't have covered storage at the time and I realize that the Louisiana sun is tough on anything kept outside but I sure thought it should have lasted better. I met with a Primetime rep at a local show earlier this year and he told me straight up that PT had a known issue with the caps and had changed sources because of it. He offered to help me get it repainted and actually did follow up on his end of the deal. Unfortunately he didnt have the final say so and PT only made me an offer of 4 hours of labor to repair. Not much help in my case. I would still have to come up with over $2K for dealer to repaint. I agree that 4hrs is better than 0hrs but I was not impressed.
I love my Crusader but this front cap issue just blisters my behind everytime I see it. I have tried several cleaners, washes, waxes and polishes trying to improve it but nothing has helped much.
I will eventually have it repainted because I simply can't stand living with it. I have to say my loyalty to PT is not at its peak and when people ask me about how I like my camper I dont hold back.

[wicked1]

Sad they are not doing anything, I just looked at a 2012 but the cap was almost white and it was the brown one, told dealer only way I would buy it is they repaint it, but not looking like that will work so moving on and looking at new or maybe another brand if this is the way PT treats customers


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[jonrjen]

This is a known problem, not with just Forest River many manufactures are experiencing this issue. It is purely a gel coat problem.

I would recommend that if you are with in your warranty period or even slightly out of warranty to contact your FR brand Rep and ask if they can assist you in getting the nose cap painted and new decals put on.

[EXGMTech]

Maybe a class action is the way to go....sometimes that's the only way to get manufacturers to step up to the plate.

[MillerTime]

I've replied on some of the other threads about this situation.
#1 this is not a liability (safety ) issue, thus a lawsuit won't hold water....just cost you more than fixing it.
#2 this is a gelcoat issue not paint. Two completely different animals that people assume are basically the same. THEY ARE NOT!
#3 waxing won't help if this starts, its oxidation. You can have it buffed or color sanded and then buffed but most likely will return because of the cheap gelcoat. There are different levels of quality in gelcoat that have big price differences. And the main difference is the way UV rays effect the gelcoat, which causes the oxidation and if left alone will eventually breakdown the fiberglass.
#4 most manufacturers have had this issue and so many are going with painted caps now.
#5 if under warranty it should be covered, my dealer has contacted me about painting several of his TT's and 5ers that would be under warranty.
#6 I would contact your manufacturer warranty department and explain the situation and tell them " I love my (insert brand here) and just love showing it off as I travel all over the country, I just want it to look the best it can so I can represent the brand and how proud I am of it". If I was in warranty (instead of just fixing warranty issues) I would be delighted to try to help that customer out. If lawyer or lawsuit came up in the discussion I believe that, that customer would be dismissed rather quickly.

Anyway, best of luck to all those witn this issue!

[jonrjen]

^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep, what he said!!!

[goduc]

To get rid of it temporarily you'll need to purchase a cheap polisher/sander from some place like Harbor Freight. Go to any auto paint supply store and ask for their best gel coat compound. It's pricey at around $30.00+ for a 32oz bottle. Cheap compared to painting though. Then you'll need some buffing pads. There are different types per application process. Follow the directions for the purchased product. Each product has it's own set of instructions as far as what speed to run the polisher and what type of pad to use. You'll need a cloudy day to do it. I buffed out mine on tue and it took me close to 4 hrs. And that included applying some polish by hand after I was done buffing. I know the fading will return but as long as I keep it waxed it should not return as fast as not waxing.

The hardest part is having to get up on the roof since it's a mid profile and the cap is rounded compared to more flat front types.

It's not a cure all but at least it will look nice for a few months. and not all of the cap seems to fade. It's mainly the upper part that's more exposed to the sun for longer periods of time.

[wicked1]

Anyone know the cost of having the whole thing repainted and new decals? I am trying to negotiate on a 2012 290 that has this fading but the rest of the Arab is ok


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[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by wicked1

Anyone know the cost of having the whole thing repainted and new decals? I am trying to negotiate on a 2012 290 that has this fading but the rest of the Arab is ok


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Do mean the whole nose cap or whole camper?

[wicked1]

Just the Nose that is faded from Dark Brown to like white


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[jonrjen]

I just had mine done, but I don't know the cost as it was a warranty covered issue.

I will say this, the painted cap sure makes a great impression now that it is back to a shinning bill board running down the road with the product decal advertising to everyone that sees it in its travels.

[southernsky]

Welcome to the world of Prime Time. Just when you get over the disappointment and problems of your trailer and start to like it, some other problem arises.
I have a 2012 Crusader and the brown cap is discoloring. I always keep my trailer washed and waxed and it is covered so the little bit it has sun on it isn't the problem. As others stated I think it's the cheap products Prime Time/ Forest River uses. Are they going to warranty or make good the problem? Don't hold your breath. If your trailer is out of warranty, it's your baby and you're S.O.L. I have even gone to their Facebook page and asked about the fading and the post mysteriously disappeared. So enjoy what you have and remember it next time you're in the market for a new trailer.

[wicked1]

I still like their layouts over everything else however the more I hear and the more I think I will most likely go for a used one not worth buying new for me. I hear things about every NFG and model so just choose the one you want and deal with what happens I guess but Crusaders are my favorite brand and model 290 and 294 I have no little kids so no use for Bunk models.


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