I noticed some cracked paint near the front strut mount on FWC today. Looks like the metal around is bulging and the mount is being sucked in. Any advice or experience with this?View attachment 34942
Outnabout said:I noticed some cracked paint near the front strut mount on FWC today. Looks like the metal around is bulging and the mount is being sucked in. Any advice or experience with this?IMG_5909.JPG
Bill D said:You have galvanic corrosion. The aluminum is corroding. Virtually becoming a soft powder. It's going to get worse as time goes on.
Your only solution is to cut out and patch the area or replace the entire aluminum nose piece. After that is done make sure use hardware that won't cause galvanic corrosion and replace it periodically as part of your maintneance.
Sorry about your situation. I experienced similar corrosion and replaced the entire aluminum nose piece. I plan to replace the zinc plated steel screws around the camper about every 5 years and use tefseal on the threads.
My guess is that you have more corrosion than you think. I see it above your marker light as well. I bet the aluminum is in rough shape in a number of areas underneath. This is what mine looked like underneath.
You should call and ask for their warranty to be honored. I’m not sure of how it reads, for instance limited to original owner, etc..Outnabout said:Thanks for the feedback. My camper is a 2015 Grandby. I live on the coast. I am wondering if this problem falls under warranty. The website states 5 years on materials. This seems like a defect in materials and or design if this problem is given a chance to occur.
I am uncertain of the root cause of the corrosion, but as a precaution I replaced the marker lights with a type that does not use a ground screw. The marker lights have a power wire and a ground wire. I then grounded the marker lights inside the camper to ground, where it is always nice and dry.longhorn1 said:Bill, was your issue a ground wire issue with a marker light. I seemed to remember a post 3-4 years ago and the corrosion was ugly. I tried a search but couldn't come up with anything. I had questions on his Facebook post. What year camper? Are the struts factory installed or after market install? The struts shows signs of deterioration. jd
Mine was a thin piece of aluminum covering wood. Your gas struts are mounted into the solid aluminum portion of the frame, which will be under the wood. Likely the damage will be isolated to the aluminum skin.Outnabout said:Bill, are you saying that there is a thin piece of aluminum covering the main structure? So, the damage might not be going all the way through the frame?
Nice work. I had no idea there is wood underneath the aluminum. What year is your camper? The lights you changed to are the ones mine came with. Did you just use sealant to attach the lights to the aluminum? Thanks for the pictures.Bill D said:Here is my new install.
Thought I'd add that so you can see it's not the end of the world.
The round light in the photo below is what I went with instead of the light I am holding. You can see that the new ones have a dedicated ground wire. I also like the fact that I no longer have screw holes. I sealed the new lights quite nicely, but I can still change one out if I need to.
My Hawk is a 2013. I'm not sure what has changed since then.Outnabout said:Nice work. I had no idea there is wood underneath the aluminum. What year is your camper? The lights you changed to are the ones mine came with. Thanks for the pictures.
I’ll keep the group posted on how my problem evolves.
Good news, good on FWC. Thanks for the update!Outnabout said:I contacted FWC and will have the damage fixed, under warranty, this fall.
+1Wandering Sagebrush said:Good news, good on FWC. Thanks for the update!
Yes. I am interested in gleaning some info. It is a good drive for me but combined with some other long distance tasks it will be a good use of time.Bill D said:+1
It will be interesting to see what you learn in the process.
BTW, I took care of things myself because I live in Canada and it wouldn't have been worthwhile to drive to California even if the repair was free.