A crack on exterior wall of my newly purchased 2013 5th wheel

[Lan Young]

I just bought a brand new Forest River Wildcat REX293 Ultralite 5th wheel. Sunday the weather was nice so i decided to wax it. As i was doing this i noticed what appears to be a crack in the exterior fiberglass going pretty much the whole height of the panel just ahead of the bedroom slide. Maybe where the sections were joined? We have not hauled it anywhere except from the dealer to home which is about 20 miles.

Any suggestions on what can be done about this? I prefer to get a replacement cause we pay alot of money. Cannot return to the dealer cause the sale agreement said so. Emailed manufacture and they asked if I can get a dealer to come and estimate the cost for repair. I really do not want a repair. I meant it is brand new, we had never used a single time. That type of crack is not easy to fix; even if it is fixed, who know when it is gonna crack again. I just wanted to see if it is possible to get a replacement from the manufacture or we are gonna stuck with it.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

[bodzcampers]

I'm confused why you can't take it back to the dealership for warranty work.

[ependydad]

^^^ me, too- seems weird.

But- if your selling dealer can't take a look, the manufacturer should be able to help you find another dealer who can take a look and help with the warranty process. They might even be able to help you with a mobile RV repair company.

[caper]

I'm confused why you can't take it back to the dealership for warranty work.

The unit should be sent back the the factory and be repaired. They most likely would replace the side that is cracked.

[bakken]

If the fibreglass is cracked, the whole side will probably have to be replaced at the factory.
Do you think the crack was there when you bought it?
Maybe that is why the dealer included the non-return clause?
Regardless, it is under warranty and the factory has to fix it.

[Lan Young]

Originally Posted by bodzcampers

I'm confused why you can't take it back to the dealership for warranty work.

Sorry I did not mean I cannot take it back to the dealer for warranty work. My idea was that I wanted to return it and exchange for another one without having to deal with repair and warranty. But returning to dealer is not an option, cause sale agreement said no return for any reason. I am just so uncomfortable with the repair being that it is new and we have never used it, just had it for a month. Is there a possibility that Forest River will replace it with another one, or they will just offer repair?

Thanks.

[Lan Young]

Originally Posted by bakken

If the fibreglass is cracked, the whole side will probably have to be replaced at the factory.
Do you think the crack was there when you bought it?
Maybe that is why the dealer included the non-return clause?
Regardless, it is under warranty and the factory has to fix it.

It has to be there when we bought it. It is not easy to detect being that the color of the wall is white. It is a straight crack from top down. I only found it because I was waxing it.

[bodzcampers]

I just want to say WOW....I looked up that model....That is one Heck of a gorgeous RV....Phew!

[bakken]

A picture of the crack would be awesome.

[Lan Young]

Originally Posted by bodzcampers

I just want to say WOW....I looked up that model....That is one Heck of a gorgeous RV....Phew!

We love it, except the crack, lol.

While you were looking it up, I was reading again the sale clause that said Buyer cannot return the unit to dealer and seek a refund for any reason. Does that mean seeking for a replacement is allowed? lol just hate dealing with repair.

Anybody got a complete replacement for a defect yet? Is it something that manufacture may agree to do? Or never?

[Dave_Monica]

I can recall several V-nose camper owners that had a crack above the main slide and had to return their camper to the factory to have the entire side replaced. I remember that they commented favorably on the quality of the repair and that the factory also went over their campers and fixed anything else that they found wrong.

Dave

[bakken]

Many have had whole sides replaced at the factory for delamination.
I don't know why yours would be any different. I have never heard of anyone successfully repairing a crack.
Is the crack at the corners of the bedroom slide, up from the top corner, and down from the bottom corner. Or is it out in the open area ahead of the slide, from top to bottom?

[Lan Young]

Originally Posted by bakken

A picture of the crack would be awesome.

I am new to this forum. Not sure if the pic was attached yet. Hope you can see. Like I said, it was not easy to see it against the white color of the wall. If you look close, you can see a straight line right about middle of the picture, to the left of the slide out.

[Lan Young]

Originally Posted by Dave_Monica

I can recall several V-nose camper owners that had a crack above the main slide and had to return their camper to the factory to have the entire side replaced. I remember that they commented favorably on the quality of the repair and that the factory also went over their campers and fixed anything else that they found wrong.

Dave

Thanks for the info. That made me feel a little bit better.

[Lan Young]

Originally Posted by bakken

Many have had whole sides replaced at the factory for delamination.
I don't know why yours would be any different. I have never heard of anyone successfully repairing a crack.
Is the crack at the corners of the bedroom slide, up from the top corner, and down from the bottom corner. Or is it out in the open area ahead of the slide, from top to bottom?

It is not at the corners, it is about 10 inches from the slide, in the open area. It is the whole way down from top to bottom, most likely that it started from the top then ran cracking down cause it is more visible at the top.

[bakken]

Yes, I can see it, and it is not acceptable by any measure.
It could very well be at a seam in the crap luan that they use as backing for the thin fibreglass covering.
Definitely a warranty issue.
Hope your dealer treats you right.

[Lan Young]

Originally Posted by bakken

Yes, I can see it, and it is not acceptable by any measure.
It could very well be at a seam in the crap luan that they use as backing for the thin fibreglass covering.
Definitely a warranty issue.
Hope your dealer treats you right.

What would be the procedure now? What should the dealer do if they are going to treat me right? Anything I should look out for to prevent further headaches?
Wonder hoW far I have to take it to for the repair. I am in Pittsburgh PA. Will FR cover the cost of gas etc? HoW to get them cover it?

Lot oF questions. bear with me

[EXGMTech]

you need to get in touch with Wildcat Chris on this forum

[caper]

The first step is to have your dealer look at the problem. They should get in touch with FR. If it has to go back to the factory it would be covered under warranty. Everything that I have read on the site FR does an excellent job at repairing the unit. Wish RV companies sold rebuilt RV's. When a product is repaired/rebuilt at the factory the workers are not on a fixed time frame to get the job done (not on an assembly line).

[OL Creeker]

For what it's worth, I had a problem with our rig. The people at FR could not have been of more help!