Bent roof on brand new Eagle

[horseshoeexpedition]

Well chalk me up as one of the idiots who wrecked their four wheel camper on the first trip out. I've done so much reading about others who have damaged their roofs. I was so careful to not pop the top without tripple checking all 6 roof latches but unfortunately on the last day of an 8 day trip before heading home I did not double check that the roof was latched and missed the entire passenger side of the roof... Someone ended up waving me down on the free way because the roof was lifting. Luckily nothing was seriously damaged (that I know of)

So my question is has anyone else done this? And what should I do now? I can't tell if the damage is just the external skirting around the corner or if it goes deeper than that.

 

[horseshoeexpedition]

You can see here there is a gap now that I can fit my finger into. Should I be worried or just leave it alone? I tried pushing it back with a rubber mallet but only seemed to ding the skirting so I don't think I'll do that again.

 

[longhorn1]

My corners are wide. Not sure that I see anything. Kind of hard to see in a photo. I'll look at mine, but I do know there is more space at the corners.

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[horseshoeexpedition]

Thanks for the reply. Here's a pic of the opposite corner. can't squeeze a finger between the gap. I'm pretty sure that corner on the drivers side has pulled up a tiny bit causing the gap. Would be great if you could take a look at yours to compare though.

 

[longhorn1]

I think you would find a bend on the roof

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[idahoron]

I have done that, I was lucky. In the first picture it looks like you can see the PVC did you tuck it back in?Did you lift it up afterward? You might try lifting it up see how it looks and putting it back down folded correctly.

 

[horseshoeexpedition]

Yeah I tucked it back in and lifted it put it back etc. It still looks out of spec. I guess I'm lucky it wasn't any worse. The thing that makes it so bad is someone flagged me down within the first 20 min, I got out and looked at the camper but only from the driver side. Everything was intact so I didn't know what they were referring to. Now I know....Judging by the bug splatter it must have lifted a good foot at times.

 

[Oryguntroutbum]

Doesn't look like there is anything wrong to me. Mine looks that way too. Kick your feet up, take a deep breath and have a beer. All's good.

 

[Bill D]

Not likely a big deal if you can't see any obvious damage besides a bigger gap on one corner.
I'd open and close the roof a few times and see if it remains exactly the same or if it adjust a bit.

I would contact FWC and ask their advice. I'm sure they've dealt with this a few times and can ease you concerns or give you advice.

 

[cdbrow1]

Mine is near new (Jan 2015) and I have a gap that big on both front corners and it is REALLY tight in the rear. That is how it came and it seems to be working fine. I would not worry about it. As long as it latches and lifts fine it is all good.

I doubt you could actually bend the roof in any case - that aluminum frame is pretty tough. It might be out of alignment somehow, but I have never heard anybody talk about how to adjust them.

 

[Beach]

My 05 hawk has the same gap. Never been an issue but we did hit a day long heavy rain while driving once and found a very small amount of leakage in the right front corner. I suspect driving at 50-60 mph in heavy rain blew the water up and under then it trickled back and ran in through the window Velcro. I am currently experimenting with some auto weather stripping to seal that area.