Preventative Maintenance and lack of Quality Assurance

[longhorn1]

I decided to use the gray coating to paint the bottoms and sides of the cross slats on the bottom of our 2014 Grandby. This is the area that comes into contact with the bed of the truck. I was kinda shocked to find numerous bare spots on the bottom that never got painted in the factory. My jack leg bases severly rusted in less than 6 months. I wired brush and primed and will put a finish coat on when it warms up. Should that have happened? I also found 5-7 staple pops where the staple was not driven level into the floor, but instead driven at a angle popping out part of the plywood bottom on the underside of the camper. I wonder how much that compromises the structural integrity of the lower side and floor. Should additional staples be added around the bad ones? You thoughts!!

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

JD, I would use stainless square drive screws, and if you ever have to replace any wood... Only stainless screws.

The rust doesn't surprise me, not a problem. Do you leave the jacks on full time?

 

[longhorn1]

JD, I would use stainless square drive screws, and if you ever have to replace any wood... Only stainless screws.

The rust doesn't surprise me, not a problem. Do you leave the jacks on full time?

Jacks stay on full time. They were down on single-ply membrane over plywood that holds my tarp tie-offs in place. I have plastic grided pads that I will place under then when I store so that they drain off.

 

[lqhikers]

after many different campers,motorhomes etc over the years i thank that most builds are
built for first looks and when you look closer,hidden wiring,braces,cabinet mounting hardware,
plumbing,tank suports,most are done just to "pass".

you should always plan on redoing many things on any unit if you want it to perform to the standards that the
salesperson said the unit is used for.

even when i bought a "custom" built tiger motorhome i still had to redo many of the systems
to reach the condition that i felt would hold up to my usage.

just my thoughts yours may differ.

Les,lqhikers

 

[cdbrow1]

I have found at least one glitch on mine (2015 HAWK) - a bad cabinet latch. Stopped by Friday and asked them to fix it. They had it for 20 minutes and it's not fixed.

I have an issue with my roof which seems to be more of a "is this really right" issue. There is a lot of "popping" when I raise or lower the roof and it is not centered on the camper - it sits about 1/2 inch forward from the body in the front. I also notice some "waves" in the top itself at one point but recently I have rechecked and they seem to be gone. It works and does not leak - but it seems like a rush job to me. Until I know if it is "right" I am not putting on any solar.

Finally there was the issues with my isolator, which I will not ascribe to FWC since it may have been the result of the battery change to LiFePo4.

Overall still happy with the unit - but I do think production might have been a little rushed - especially on the roof.

 

[iowahiker]

The jack legs are purchased from a name brand vendor who is responsible for the leg rust. The legs should be galvanized and the jack leg vendor is lowering cost. The roof noise is a related to solving a larger issue: leaks at screw holes in the earlier roof design. I do not want to caulk screws on my roof and so I chose to be a "guinea pig" with the new roof design. So far, approximately 400 roof lifts have not caused a failure and I have no roof leaks (crossing my fingers). The roof noise does make me wonder if the glue is coming apart but only time will tell. I plan to add another 200 lifts this year. The under coat of paint is very thin and spotty but my wood can dry out. The linoleum floor prevents the wood drying to the inside so we are only lightly touching up the gray underside with a breathable paint and we are not doing a heavy full coat of exterior paint. Most of the RV posts (on other sites) of wood rot involve trapping water in the wood. The wood life will be very dependent on the plywood vendor since there is no industry standard for "marine grade" plywood. Another "crossing my fingers". So far, our wood is very dry even though the camper never comes off the truck because we have no bed mat and water can drain and we store our camper inside. The newer FWC campers are using a plywood with a new coating to address this concern but the new camper owners will also be "guinea pigs" (what if water gets trapped in the wood?). I am not a fan of staples but if the plywood is also glued then the joint should hold. I have thought of adding a few "framing clips" to high stress points.

Overall, quality will suffer when Stan posts of another new dealer. Sales doubled from 300 a year to 600 recently and are most likely headed to over 1,000 campers per year. New hires will have less experience and the rush to get campers out the door will cause problems. Meanwhile more sales help cover the cost of new technology: one piece roofs (with a noise) and better coating on the plywood and better frame welding and synthetic lift panels...

 

[cdbrow1]

I have the new "plywood" (the stuff with the black coating) so far so good. It does seem to have a very tough texture.

I wonder if anyone has ever put Line-X on the underside of the FWC camper? That stuff is pretty tough.

 

[cwdtmmrs]

Yes, I SS screwed, caulked and used a gallon of roll on bed liner on the bottom of my camper. Works great and doesn't move either. I also had DIY bed liner custom color matched and sprayed the roof of my camper....screws and all. It is the ONLY way to go. Weatherproof and dirt washes right off. The kit is $100 including the gun. Takes longer to mask than to spray. I have also been involved with the RV industry for 35 years and have visited 100's of manufacturers. Even the best can be iffy.

cwd

 

[RC Pilot Jim]

We have the one piece roof and are happy with it - NO Leaks.

Yes it "Pops" in certain wind conditions ( 50 mile an hour cross-winds) and it is wavy because it is NOT screwed down.

The wavy roof was another reason to glue a bendable solar panel on it. The panel "rides" the wave with no problems in 6 months of driving (Eagle is mounted full time).

 

[cdbrow1]

We have the one piece roof and are happy with it - NO Leaks.

Yes it "Pops" in certain wind conditions ( 50 mile an hour cross-winds) and it is wavy because it is NOT screwed down.

The wavy roof was another reason to glue a bendable solar panel on it. The panel "rides" the wave with no problems in 6 months of driving (Eagle is mounted full time).

Good to know - sounds like mine might be normal. I just don't like the pops as it goes up and down - but there is no binding that I can tell.

 

[cdbrow1]

Yes, I SS screwed, caulked and used a gallon of roll on bed liner on the bottom of my camper. Works great and doesn't move either. I also had DIY bed liner custom color matched and sprayed the roof of my camper....screws and all. It is the ONLY way to go. Weatherproof and dirt washes right off. The kit is $100 including the gun. Takes longer to mask than to spray. I have also been involved with the RV industry for 35 years and have visited 100's of manufacturers. Even the best can be iffy.

cwd

I really like the idea of spraying the roof with bedliner....that would make it less likely to "pop" and add some insulation and abrasion resistance. I did the DIY bedliner in one of my trucks before - the prep work is the key. I will probably pay to have it done (sucks being old, but at least I am not as poor as I once was).