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Old 01-16-2014, 09:44 PM   #1
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New Silverback - Cracking in Front Cap

Well just when I thought I was about home free, I found these on the front cap while waxing for the first time. We were actually doing the final loading / moving in and getting ready to hit the road, so I'm a bit frustrated. Not sure how I never noticed it while washing the roof and sides. It is on the off door side of the cap, right at the top where it starts to round down to the front. It's about 12" wide and 10" tall worth of spider cracking. Not sure what could have caused it other than stress when they secured the cap. So, back up and punt, it's gotta go back to dealer I guess at some point. Can't win for losing. Any ideas on what might have caused it? It's obviously not where something hit it. Now I'm scared it will either spread or reoccur. I'm kind of hoping it is something that can be repaired opposed to replacing the whole front cap.

We're still at least taking a week trip before I have to go back offshore. I don't think the cracks are bad enough that water would affect anything. I'll try to drop it off at the dealer when I leave.

Are these caps painted with base / clear, or is it gel coated? I can feel the cracks, but they are not deep which lead me to believe it was just stress cracks.

Help.
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Old 01-16-2014, 09:52 PM   #2
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Cracking front cap

Had the same issue with my Cedar Creek last year although the cracks were not as large Forrest River had the dealer replace the front cap.
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Old 01-16-2014, 10:08 PM   #3
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Kind of what I'm afraid we'll have to do. No telling what kind of lead time there is to get a cap shipped to Louisiana, and no telling what kind of job the dealer will do replacing it if that's what has to be done. Pretty sickening to have to cut into a brand new unit that I haven't even slept in yet.
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Old 01-16-2014, 10:46 PM   #4
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We had the same problem with our2012 35qb4, didn't notice until was on a latter washing two weeks after we got it. It turned out it had been damaged at factory and repaired not very well then shipped. Dealer installed new cap in the fall and in the spring that one had small cracks on the edge near the side wall. Cedar Creek paid for the repair at a local boat repair shop that did gelcoat, can find the repair now. If they want to fix don't let them paint,only gelcoat repair will stand up to time. We have had good luck getting them too fix our concerns, after talking with Dennett Ray in warranty. Ours is having repairs now at the factory now over a year out of warranty. Good luck
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Old 01-16-2014, 11:09 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigJohnD View Post
Well just when I thought I was about home free, I found these on the front cap while waxing for the first time. We were actually doing the final loading / moving in and getting ready to hit the road, so I'm a bit frustrated. ............................ Help.
Sorry to hear about your problems. We have a 2013 - 29 RE and I can't say I have noticed any defects on the front cap. How noticeable are these spider cracks? Are they noticeable from the ground? The posted photos look pretty bad! Hope you get it all resolved to your satisfaction. Safe travels
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Old 01-16-2014, 11:25 PM   #6
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Not noticeable from the ground. I didn't even see them until I was on the ladder waxing the cap. I should know more after a few more phone calls as to what they want to do with it. I'm trying not to let it spoil anything. We're heading out Saturday or Sunday to use it and get it broke in at least before it goes in for repair. Just goes to show, again, none of them are perfect. No more than I've found wrong with this one, I got excited way too quick. I've only had to fix so far, leaking waterless trap under outdoor kitchen, one window crank knob broke, one led light cover, adjust sink sprayer receptacle, and I think that's it. That's a cake walk compared to the last 2 motorhomes. I have put this thing through the testing ringer over the last week. But, I consider this cracking not to be a huge issue, just an irritating one. At least I don't have to worry about delam. Glad to see I'm not alone on this one. Sounds like it's happened before, and it was fixed, Forest River helped out, and that eases my mind a bit. Thanks all for the replies.
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Old 01-18-2014, 12:18 PM   #7
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Cracking front cap

It took about 2 weeks to get the cap to North Carolina and a week for the dealer to change it over no issues since the fix.
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Old 01-18-2014, 08:34 PM   #8
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Thanks for that info Pitcrew. I was guessing a couple of weeks. Hopefully will have some sort of answer this week. In the mean time, we're living in it for the first night tonight. Loving it so far, no problems outside of the cap.
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Old 01-28-2014, 02:53 PM   #9
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Well, dropped it off at the dealer yesterday. Cap manf and Cedar Creek say repair it. I'm ok with that as I feel the local fiberglass repair shop is well capable of fixing us up. Since they have to repaint it, I told them to leave the bear decal off this time. After all it's been through over the last few weeks, I consider my list incredibly small for a new unit. Crossing out fingers as we're ready to finish moving in.
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Old 01-28-2014, 04:11 PM   #10
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Glad everything worked out for you. The whole process for me was flawless and I have no complaints other than getting a 2013 front decal on a 2012 unit which is really not a problem as the new decal looks better anyway.
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Old 01-28-2014, 11:08 PM   #11
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Paint will never match, they need to use gelcoat to repair a gelcoat paint. The paint will look good for a while but will not age the same. We had a crack repaired and cedar creek sent the gelcoat. Best of luck and enjoy the new rig.
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Old 01-29-2014, 10:14 AM   #12
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Had similar cracks in the front cap of my 2014 27BESS. I was very hesitant to have the entire front cap replaced. Fortunately one of the best RV dealers is right in our home town. They did an excellent job with the repair and I'm glad I didn't send the TT all the way back to the factory.
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Old 01-29-2014, 07:23 PM   #13
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I'm pretty sure between this dealer and that glass shop they'll do the right thing. The fiberglass shop does all of the work for that dealer, which sells a majority Forest River products. The dealer is one of the few I even trust. They fixed a small blemish in the sidewall before I'd take delivery of it, and they did well on that one using the gel coat. As far as matching, the front cap is the only thing that color unless you count the skirts. I'm sure they'll do fine as it's not their first one to do. If I don't like the results, I'll face that battle at that point.
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Old 02-22-2014, 11:03 PM   #14
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Update. We got it back, and it looks really good. The whole cap looks better. Not a trace of any repairs. Ours was sitting next to another new Silverback at the dealer, and I'd have to say my cap looks better for some reason. Since they had to remove all the decals on the cap, we opted to leave the bear off this time and just have the Silverback logo. Looks better to me, but some like the bear. I'll try to post pictures of it soon. I did a little more research on the fiberglass place while I was at work. Come to find out, I knew who the were. All they do is repair RV's, so they're very familiar with every flavor. Several years back I had toyed with the idea of having some modifications done to the rear cap on the Tiffin, and this is the shop that was recommended by everybody around here. Either way, they have my business for sure. Very good people. If it cracks again, CC will just replace the cap, but I have a good feeling it'll be fine.

On another note, lesson learned about water lines. I've never in my years of RVing had a water line or fitting crack due to freezing. We had 2 major freezes while they had the unit. Now, when I dropped the RV off, I opened the low points with all faucets open, all tanks were empty, drained the water heater and removed the water filter. Figured it'd be good to go. Nope. Toilet valve on the half bath toilet and one fitting behind the water heater cracked. So how was it caught. Dealer had done another complete PDI after it came back from the fiberglass shop just to make sure everything was 100%. They caught both leaks before any damage was done. Everything was fixed at no charge to me and all was good to go when I got there. Just another reason I like this dealer.
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Old 02-23-2014, 07:38 AM   #15
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Thanks for giving us that update BigJohnD. It really good to hear about a dealer who really takes care of his customers after the sale.
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Old 02-23-2014, 10:04 AM   #16
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Your dealer is top shelf for repairing the water leaks, never mind going over the unit for another PDI inspection. That is a dealer who cares about its customers and I would say they deserve repeat business. I am glad your repair is satisfactory to your expectations now you can get on to enjoying your camping. I cant wait till mine gets delivered in a few weeks time.
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Old 02-23-2014, 09:27 PM   #17
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That dealer should teach some of these other dealers.
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Old 02-23-2014, 10:00 PM   #18
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So here are some pictures of the cap, minus the bear. Hard to tell any difference in a picture, but it does look better.

As for the dealer, I had bought from them in 2010 I think, and had a very good experience then. I paid a shade more then, and this time than I would have at some other dealers, but I can't get the same treatment at the other places. I'll pay a little more to get the service that I'm getting.

Another thing this dealer does that I don't see much, is put some sort of coating or sealant over all of the factory roof sealant. Almost like a thick liquid roof stuff. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks really good. It was the first thing I noticed in 2010 and this time when I walked on the roof. This time, I asked if they had done anything to it, which of course the answer was yes. They said they do this to every unit they get just as a little better insurance. Even the eternabond seams on the slides are done. I'll have to find out what it is. I know I never had to do any resealing on my 2010 due to this stuff.
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Old 02-23-2014, 10:41 PM   #19
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Looks great John.

I'd like to know more about the roof sealant your dealer used.
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Old 02-23-2014, 10:46 PM   #20
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I'll see if I can find out. If we plan on keeping this rig for a good while, I'll probably opt for the sprayed roof in Florida (www.rvroof.com). If not, the sealant gives me a little more peace of mind. This is the first rig we've had that will be exposed to the elements 365 days a year, so I want to do all I can to preserve it.
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