Encounter Problems

[1nshort]

So....it started out with a roof panel about half way back on the forward AC unit pushing up about a half inch on the roof membrane, Mr Vrydags of Coachmen/Forest River advised me to take it to the dealer, show them the problem and have them call him when they diagnosed the problem. Fortunately I reported this to him 2 days before my warranty of 1 year expired. On the roof looking forward the seam ran perpendicular from the left side of the AC unit to the edge of the roof. It was not as bad on the right side. When you pushed down on the rise you could hear a sucking noise indicating a delamination. When I took it to the dealer I showed them the problem and they said they would check it out. I gave them about two weeks to diagnose the problem and call John Vrydags. Well, they did not call him but submitted a WEB form. I had the service manager read their diagnosis to me and it had a lot of items on the list with an estimate of 30 hours labor. They have to remove everything on the roof peel the roof off replace and glue two panels....BUT... apparently the end caps were starting to pull away so they need to replace the mounting mechanisms on them to fix it. Go figure, now I am waiting on the Forest River/Coachmen response.
1nshort,

[Roll]

Well that's not good news for you or the rest of us with this model. I note some variation on my roof as well but it isn't sticking up that I can tell. There seem to be lateral low areas running across the roof, side to side, as if the roof panels are not completely abutted against each other. I have a warranty plan, the original warranty has expired; my coach is three years old.

I thought the gaps were for expansion and contraction

[go6car]

I've been away for a while, come back on here to see this! Oh GEEZ!!!! Very unhappy to hear this. I really hope you get this sorted out quickly (and painlessly)!

Definitely will add this to the growing "list" of things to check for us as well. Please keep us posted. I go to the dealer next month to have the slides adjusted - I'll definitely have them double check this as well. Lord knows what else we all should be checking...

[Roll]

Originally Posted by go6car

I've been away for a while, come back on here to see this! Oh GEEZ!!!! Very unhappy to hear this. I really hope you get this sorted out quickly (and painlessly)!

Definitely will add this to the growing "list" of things to check for us as well. Please keep us posted. I go to the dealer next month to have the slides adjusted - I'll definitely have them double check this as well. Lord knows what else we all should be checking...

Are you going to post something about your trip?

[go6car]

Originally Posted by Roll

Are you going to post something about your trip?

I should be so lucky!

Just been busy doing some home renovations. (It takes a lot to get me un-focused on all things RV-related!)

[1nshort]

Originally Posted by go6car

I've been away for a while, come back on here to see this! Oh GEEZ!!!! Very unhappy to hear this. I really hope you get this sorted out quickly (and painlessly)!

Definitely will add this to the growing "list" of things to check for us as well. Please keep us posted. I go to the dealer next month to have thete slides adjusted - I'll definitely have them double check this as well. Lord knows what else we all should be checking...

Update: John Vydraghs of Coachmen Warranty dept emailed me that he has the dealer web data and is going over it with his techs and will keep me advised. Not sure what that means, it's been a few days now.
1n

[1nshort]

Update: John Vrydaghs from Forrest River/Coachmen warranty has authorized the repairs. Coachmen does stand behind their product. I have contacted the dealer for a little amplification on the end cap problem. According to the dealer work order the end cap mounting mechanism/devices were failing and have to be replaced. The roof panels at the front, that are glued...failed. It was not due to water damage. They will not know what failed until they remove the panels and that will not happen until the parts on order arrive. All components ont the roof...front to back have to be removed and the roof membrane is removed. They replace the cap mounting mechanisms the front roof panels that failed, then they have to place the roof membrane remount and seal everything that was on the roof, put new roof to Coach interface caps all around and reseal (caulk) all seams etc. In total 30 hours of labor plus parts, If I had to pay it would be $135 per hour but the warranty hourly charge is $95. Very satisfied with Coachmens response. It took longer to approve only because they tried a few trial fixes at the factory to find the best repair technique, then authorized the repair.

I will have to wait until they have done all the repairs for the tech to diagnose what might have caused the failure of A. The end cap and B. The roof panels by the front AC unit. So patience folks, I will get their best guess at what might have caused the failures and share with everyone. I feel that those of you who have had your coaches for a couple years are probably okay. Those of you that have 2013 units may or may not see the problems but it could be they changed how they do some things on the '13 units...just don't know/

1n

[mvpmich]

1n - I had a very good experience with John and Factory service. Too bad you are out east and can't get to the factory for the repairs. I had a situation that a dealer couldn't seem to handle or wanted to handle and ultimately made the matter worse. When I returned to Michigan I took our coach to the factory where they were more than accommodating.

I haven't had much luck with coachmen dealers including our selling dealer in Illinois.

[1nshort]

Originally Posted by mvpmich

1n - I had a very good experience with John and Factory service. Too bad you are out east and can't get to the factory for the repairs. I had a situation that a dealer couldn't seem to handle or wanted to handle and ultimately made the matter worse. When I returned to Michigan I took our coach to the factory where they were more than accommodating.

I haven't had much luck with coachmen dealers including our selling dealer in Illinois.

Actually John had me take it to my dealer for my warranty problems, then he worked with the dealer to get them to the proper fix. The dealership is very slow doing things but perfectly willing to do the work. The first year of ownership it spent 6 months waiting to get repaired, waiting on parts or Coachmen vendor suppliers assistance. This last problem occured, I am sure, over a good amount of time and I discovered and reported it to John 2 days before the end of the 1 year manufacturer warranty. They took about a month to determine the proper fix regimen, then comunicating with the dealer, authorized the fix. I am very pleased as the labor alone would have run me 4 thousand. Now, I did buy a platinum 8 year warranty. Policy is in the coach so I do not know what the coverage would have paid for. It was definately not a maintenance problem so it might have only cost me the deductable of $80.

1n

[go6car]

1nshort - Thanks so much for the update.

Could you see any of this from the ground? Or were you up on the roof to see this? I won't let my other half up there, so I have asked the dealer to do a roof inspection and to check all seals, etc., as part of our service appointment next week. While they're up there on the roof, I want them to check for this on mine as well since I also have a 2013...

Thanks!

[1nshort]

Originally Posted by go6car

1nshort - Thanks so much for the update.

Could you see any of this from the ground? Or were you up on the roof to see this? I won't let my other half up there, so I have asked the dealer to do a roof inspection and to check all seals, etc., as part of our service appointment next week. While they're up there on the roof, I want them to check for this on mine as well since I also have a 2013...

Thanks!

GoCar6,
None of this could be seen from the ground. The separated roof panel was a subtle bump that ran left to right about 1/2 way back on the front AC unit. Facing toward the front of the coach the left side rise was about a half inch. Being the curious type I got down on my knees and pushed down with`my hands and it went flush. I did that a couple of times rapidly and heard a sucking type noise when I did it. I looked closely at the other side of the AC unit and saw a barely perceptible rise seam about 1/8 of an inch but only about a foot in length, so this side was just starting its separation. The end cap separation was found when I brought the coach to the dealer to show the tech the problem (per John's suggestion) he examined the nearby roof seam caulking, looking for a possible water leak hole. The tech then continued to examine the sealing caulk around the whole coach perimeter. When he got to the rear of the coach he pointed out a 1/4 inch seam where the caulking had pulled away. What was suspicious to him was that it extended across the whole length of the rear cap. He stated that this was a possible 'pulling away' of the end cap. He would take a closer look when he got it in the shop to examine the original problem that I brought it up to them for. One thing I need to say about the factory caulk sealing bead around the whole perimeter of the coach is that it was very thin and sparse and I am surprised there were no leaks. I will check the new caulk seal the dealer is going to do when they reapply the roof membrane. If I think it is too narrow I will beef it up with Dicor (the TPO recommended caulk sealer).
All that being said, I will be inspecting my roof quarterly and after each long trip looking for any 'stress' indications. Also I plan on becoming a bit more (actually a lot more) familiar with my extended warranty coverage.

1nshort

[Roll]

Originally Posted by mvpmich

1n - I had a very good experience with John and Factory service. Too bad you are out east and can't get to the factory for the repairs. I had a situation that a dealer couldn't seem to handle or wanted to handle and ultimately made the matter worse. When I returned to Michigan I took our coach to the factory where they were more than accommodating.

I haven't had much luck with coachmen dealers including our selling dealer in Illinois.

Try Arborgast in Dayton Ohio. Not too pleased with the sales group or sales mgr but the service team is outstanding. See Garry and tell him Gary from Columbus (2011 Encounter) sent you.

Gary

[go6car]

Thanks for the added info! We drop off our rig off at the dealer on Monday. I'll keep you posted in case we have anything similar going on.

[go6car]

Spoke to our dealer today and after having them do a full roof inspection, they didn't find any issues. (Hoping it stays that way!). Will keep an eye on it for sure.

[mvpmich]

For all owners of TPO roofs. Please check your roofs multiple times throughout the year for loose, broken or missing caulking. This is not a warranty item but can end up causing thousands of dollars in repairs if left unchecked and not repaired. I had my coach at a dealer who didn't check when I thought I had an obvious water leak and ended up having to have the entire roof replaced.

[1nshort]

Originally Posted by go6car

Spoke to our dealer today and after having them do a full roof inspection, they didn't find any issues. (Hoping it stays that way!). Will keep an eye on it for sure.

Speaking about roofs, the dealer called and informed me the parts are in. I should get the rig back in a week. Been there for a bit over 2 months. They will gie mea breakdown of what caused everything to happen. I will share so others know what to watch for. The RV garage frame work has been assembled and the frame pieces are connected. I need to get a higher ladder to connect in the top frame connectors (16 feet is darn high). Next I install the anchors for the frame and pull the covering over the frame and fasten it and the easy roll zippered doors. I have taken pictures of each step and will do so for the remaining steps. Looking forward to posting.

1n

[1nshort]

The big day. At the dealer getting my rig. I'll get straight to the point. On the plywood on front roof: fasteners failed. Replaced two plywood panels and fasteners. On the End Cap. The fasteners failed so the end cap was starting to separate. Replaced all end cap fasteners and bolts.
What they had to do was take everthing off the roof and all edge radiuses and peel off the TPM roof.
What i got out of it was a new roof and new vent covers. Looks really sqeaky clean.
The factory and John Vrydaghs has been very supportive throughout the whole process. Before each repair was authorized they researched probable cause and best repair method. Also all gaskets were replaced.
Tahts the long and the SHORT (lol) of it

1n

[go6car]

WOW! Glad you have your rig back-to-new! Thank goodness you even noticed that in the first place.