RV repair put a hole in my roof!

[pinhead]

I have a 2017 fleet that I installed 2 Zamp flexible solar panels to. The 4 wheel popup dealer in Denver, CO installed the panels (now Juniper Overland). This past summer my panels stopped working. After multiple attempts, I was able to reach someone at Juniper and scheduled an appointment with them in Denver. The technician told me that the panels were bad, as well as the charge controller. He indicated that he would facilitate a call to Zamp and see about warranty and replacement. Four weeks later after multiple phone calls and e-mails, he indicated that he had reached Zamp and I needed to provide photos of the voltage coming out of the solar panels, as well as, the charge controller (not sure why I drove to Denver to begin with). By that point, I had reached out to Zamp directly and initiated a warranty claim (they were great to work with). I live 4 hours from Denver so I decided to go to a RV repair shop closer to home that is an authorized Zamp dealer hoping that they would be a little more responsive. They removed the defective panels and replaced it with a Legacy 170 watt panel that seems to be working fine now. As I was placing a kayak on the top of the camper several weeks later, I noticed a 5 x 5 "fabric"patch on the roof of the camper. I contacted the RV dealer and they told me that when they removed the old solar panels, the roof had separated creating a small hole which they then patched. When I expressed my displeasure about the hole in my roof and the fact that they had not even informed me of the damage when I picked it up, they told me that who ever installed the original solar panels used way too much glue and that is why the roof separated when they removed them. So here's the question.....How concerned should I be?....and what are suggestions regarding what to do next if anything? The issue is that the damage is done and I suspect that Juniper Overland in Denver and this RV repair place are just going to point fingers at each other. Suggestions?

 

[longhorn1]

Back in 2018 my solar controller went bad when we were in Utah. I called Josh at RMFWC/Juniper Overland and scheduled time for service. The controller was bad and he upgraded the Zamp Controller. He told Zamp had a lifetime warranty on the panels and a 1 year warranty on the controller. Juniper has done thousands of dollars worth of upgrades (2020). Never had a problem and never had a problem contacting Chris Janaway or Josh Abram. Phone calls always returned. Not sure why you had a problem. They did move their operation this past summer, not sure whether that caused a delay in calls.

You put yourself in a bad position by introducing another company to do the repairs. Since Juniper originally did the work, that is who should have worked with Zamp to fix the problem.

Sorry but Juniper no longer has a stake in the game. In my opinion you made a big mistake. I'm just trying to be honest with my assessment. Sorry this happened.

 

[pinhead]

I'm glad that you had a better experience than I did with RMFWC/ Juniper three years ago. However, I'm not sure if you really answered my question(s).

 

[Vic Harder]

Can you post a picture of this fabric patch?

 

[longhorn1]

I wouldn't be happy with the patch. Vic has a good point on how it was patched and with what.

Several years ago panels that were adhered directly to camper roofs we're failing in large numbers. The solar panel needs at a minimum 1" space to allow air flow. I can't speak for Zamp panels and whether adhering them caused the panels to fail

I can't say one way or the other anything about Junipers installation. Not sure how Juniper could be responsible now, since another company pulled the panels, did the replacement, and damaged your roof. The finger pointing has started. As I stated I don't think you can expect Juniper Overland to be responsible. It is a very unfortunate situation.

Curious why you went with adhered panels instead of rails and rigid panels. There have been other discussions about how hard it is to remove adhered panels, especially with some of the tapes made today. 3M has one that is nearly impossible to remove.

I had about $5K worth of upgrades done by Juniper in 2020, so not 3 years.

Sorry my answer wasn't clearer before. You need to find out what was used to patch the roof. I truly hope you get resolution to this.

 

[pinhead]

Chris (the owner) is actually the one who recommended the flexible panels because of weight on the roof and I carry "toys" on top. They were installed with tubes of a silicone type glue. I know because I had to swing by a specialized hardware store when I came through Denver, as he did not have any. To be fair, I'm not sure if folks knew about the propensity for the flexible panels to fail at that time. I / we are now aware of the issues of the flexible panels.

I mis-typed previously about the year of my Fleet...it is a 2014. Zamp told me that the flexible panels had a 5 year warranty and a one year warranty on the charge controller. Therefore, none of it was under warranty anymore. However, Zamp did provide me a small credit to apply to my new panel.

So basically, I was thinking that it's now not a warranty repair, therefore I'll just take it to a local shop that is a Zamp dealer. That way, I'm not driving 8 hours total and paying for a hotel room. I did not anticipate that the RV repair place would have difficulties pulling the old panels.

I am pretty certain that I have no recourse given the chain of events.....and that is really not the point of this posting. The damage is done. The real question is what do I do now and how big of a deal is it?

I'll post a picture of the patch tomorrow. Thanks

 

[longhorn1]

Find out what the patch is and post a picture. If they used Eternabond, you should be OK. That stuff is bulletproof.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

While irritating and worrisome, I suspect the patch will not leak, and will be a good long term solution. Speak with the folks who applied it, and find out what product they used. As Longhorn1 said, if it’s Eternabond, you should be OK. Pick up some more for peace of mind.

 

[Wallowa]

Tough story indeed...hate to hear of a hole in a FWC roof...problem you have now is the roof is a single piece of aluminum..so short of patching the hole it would be a massive and expensive undertaking to replace that single sheet roof..not certain if it could be done; assuming if replacement of entire roof is possible then only FWC factory would do it...

Like Sagebrush sezs live with the patch or patch over the patch for peace of mind...if you go down that road a call to FWC should be made to get their recommendations.

Good luck...

 

[pinhead]

Here's a picture of that patch on top of my camper roof. The hole is about the size of a quarter underneath the patch. Yes.... the patch material is eternabond. Let me know what you think and if I should do anything else to fortify.....or any other suggestions. Thanks

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Here's a picture of that patch on top of my camper roof. The hole is about the size of a quarter underneath the patch. Yes.... the patch material is eternabond. Let me know what you think and if I should do anything else to fortify.....or any other suggestions. Thanks

IMG_1979.JPG

What ever was used to glue the flex panels looks pretty nasty, hopefully you won’t have to remove any more. For additional sealing (peace of mind) on the patch, you might consider using something like a self leveling product similar to Dicor, or GeoCel ProFlex to lay a thin wide bead over all the edges of the patch. Maybe an inch or so wide. Make sure the underlying roof and patch are clean, then just check it regularly.

 

[longhorn1]

+2 with Mr. Sage

 

[pinhead]

Thanks for the suggestions.....

 

[Spitfire]

I had some flex panels glued to the roof of my Hawk and both failed. I just left them on there as I didn't want to mess with trying to get them off. Ended up just installing some regular panels and they've worked great.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I had some flex panels glued to the roof of my Hawk and both failed. I just left them on there as I didn't want to mess with trying to get them off. Ended up just installing some regular panels and they've worked great.

From my boating days of using 3M 4200 and 5200, I’ve pondered how to remove something like solar panels and other gear. I wonder how a strand of .002” safety wire would do with a steady gentle sawing action on the adhesive, maybe paired with a heat gun. It might be worth a try.

 

[pvstoy]

Sage that is what I would do.