Rusty Pipes

[obbm]

Bought our second new Damon Intruder in October 2006 on W22 chassis. After two winters away in the Southwest, the various fluid pipes in the vicinity of the engine are severely rusted and pitted. Transmission cooler, brake and power steering connections, etc.

My impression is that these pipes (tubes?) are not of the finest grade of material and are not very well protected by any finish. They seem to have a very thin coat of cheap paint which has not protected them very well.

Further deterioration could have serious consequences if leaks occur, loss of brakes, transmission overheating and so on.

Anyone know of Workhorse has or will replace these under warranty?

Thanks for any input,

Bill

[obbm]

Bought our second new Damon Intruder in October 2006 on W22 chassis. After two winters away in the Southwest, the various fluid pipes in the vicinity of the engine are severely rusted and pitted. Transmission cooler, brake and power steering connections, etc.

My impression is that these pipes (tubes?) are not of the finest grade of material and are not very well protected by any finish. They seem to have a very thin coat of cheap paint which has not protected them very well.

Further deterioration could have serious consequences if leaks occur, loss of brakes, transmission overheating and so on.

Anyone know of Workhorse has or will replace these under warranty?

Thanks for any input,

Bill

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by obbm:
Anyone know of Workhorse has or will replace these under warranty? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Bill, Unless there is a metallurgical failure there would appear to be no need to repair something which isn't broke.

My chassis is clocking over 5 years and 68,000 miles and I would believe that my tubes and plumbing presents similarly to yours. I have not had any failures with any of these components and I am not overly concerned that these items will fail.

Might they fail in time? Perhaps, however I'll address those failures on a case by case basis if it ever occurs.

I have confidence that the metallurgy will not fail due to discoloration and or pitting. I also would not expect any type of paint to remain viable under these types of temperature and humidity cycles indefinitely.

I would not expect that Workhorse will address any of these issues on your 2004 motorhome as you appear to be out of warranty. In my opinion, even under warranty, the appearance of one particular item or another if it is not defective or broken would not be covered.

[FrontRangeRVer]

Did you drive your unit on salty roads?

[obbm]

REREAD THE POST -- It is a 2006 bought new October 26, 2006 and now has 13,868 miles on it. The 3 year warranty is 16 months old. How about some pictures of your pipes, I bet mine look a lot worse.

Didn't drive it on salty roads, but had some exposure to salt otherwise (scratch your head trying to figure this one out). Didn't drive it in the ocean either.

There's a FORD in my future. I was warned there was little to no Workhorse service available in America, but bought a WCC anyway, because it is so "nice". There are a lot of excuses on this forum for really awful serice availability, but the bottom line here (upstate NY) is you are on your own.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by obbm:
I was warned there was little to no Workhorse service available in America, but bought a WCC anyway, because it is so "nice". </div></BLOCKQUOTE>As of this writing there are 501 Authorized Workhorse Service Centers plus a host of alternates that Workhorse Roadside Assistance is authorized to re-direct you to.

There is an Authorized Workhorse Service Center closer to your home than mine. At 7.3 miles, Wilkins Recreational Vehicles, Inc. is listed.

Wilkins Recreational Vehicle, Inc.
7520 State Route 415 Bath, NY 14810
(607)776-3103
Fax: (607)776-5306

Ballantyne RV & Marine
7447 Route 66 Victor, NY 14564
(585)924-9161
Fax: (585)924-9146

Gary Jonnston's RV Center
2311 Route 21 North Palmyra, NY 14522
(315)597-5388
Fax: (315)597-3516

Meyer's Campers, Inc.
1000 Sanford Road North Churchville, NY 14428
(585) 293-3000
Fax: (585) 293-8036

Zigrossi Pontiac Buick GMC
5069 E. Main Street Batavia, NY 14020
(585) 344-2400
Fax: (585) 344-0456

Camping World RV Sales
7030 Interstate Island Road Syracuse, NY 13209
(315) 451-1266
Fax: (315) 451-1492

Good luck with that Ford thing .... I understand that they don't rust .... ever.

[obbm]

I have known the founder of Wilkins RV for 36 years. He was always very good at customer service. Wilkins RV did a very good and fast job of replacing the Actia IP at about 8,000 miles. Now the M/H needs another Actia IP (this will be it's third one).

I showed the Wilkins service staff the Allison transmission filter and the WCC fuel filter and asked them if they could get them, and they said they had never seen those and they had never changed either of them. "We don't do much of that kind of work". They couldn't find the WCC part numbers either.

All the other dealers you listed are 70 to 100 miles distant.

I wasn't testing the sarcasm level (although I sort of asked for it) of the forum with the rusty pipes question, I actually wanted to know if WCC had considered replacing the pipes as a safety measure against pushing hard on the brake pedal and having a real adventure when the brakes fail completely on a big steep downgrade. Replacing rusted parts under warranty or recall is not unprecedented in the transportation field. There have been several big "rust campaigns".

The 2000 Damon Intruder (bought new) was enjoyed by us for six years and 43,000 miles on a Ford F-53 chassis without any problems. I have owned 29 Ford powered vehicles, and know where to get parts and service. I do 99% of my own service work.

The "alternates" which you mention are interesting. A few miles beyond Wilkins RV there is a very capable big truck service where I take my M/H when I really need something done right. It is Sonny's Service, Avoca, NY. This would be a great place to get WCC service including warranty service. The local area list of alternates might be very useful.

I have gotten some good information from this active forum, but it takes a lot of sorting.

Thanks,

Bill

[JCM]

I have the same "frightening" problem. They all look pitted and about to fail. There is salt on our roads when we drive south in the winter and come home in the spring. I believe this should be considered when designing a vehicle since not ll drive on interstates in southern USA.
Years ago (1965) I bought the 1st Honda that ever came to North America (Canada). It was a small sports car (S600). It was a nightmare as all the running gear had non anodized aluminum cases which "welded" together after a few weeks in the salty air of Vancouver. After 1 1/2 years it was discontinued and Honda didn't return to North America till the early 70ths.

Driver - you say you will deal with failures when they happen. Great but what happens when it happens in the middle of night on a rainy road in the middle of B.C. where there is no service.
Noa built the ark before the rains started NOT after.

[obbm]

JCM - The guy who asked about driving on salty roads is on the right track. In NY the Department of Transportation keeps the body shops and car dealers in business by salting the daylights out of the roads, thereby causing the rust worm to flourish.

I have never driven the M/H on salted roads, but deliberately neglected to mention that is was parked on a windy shore on Copano Bay, TX.

BUT, as you mentioned, there is no reason that a mfgr. should not build a vehicle that can take the salt, since it is in such wide use, and one of the nicest places to do the RV thing is near the seashore.

The plastic parts on my cars don't rust.

There are good things in Canada. When researching and building a fix for the WCC fuel filter debacle, I bought a fuel filter for $5.00 here in NY which was made in Canada and it was built much better than the $10-$15 dollars with U. S. brand names.

[scoutmstr]

obbm

It would seem to be a simple solution for you to coat the pipes after cleaning them. WCC isn't perfect but neither is any other chassis and in no other gas MH can you get a Allison.

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JCM:
Noah built the ark before the rains started NOT after. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>When Noah eventually floated the Arc he took care of the leaks on a case by case basis.

[JCM]

I wasn't there then - not that old (even though I feel it some times).
I guess he didn't have an authorised "ARC" service center nearby either.

[Photog]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JCM:
I guess he didn't have an authorised "ARC" service center nearby either. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's a good one!

[DriVer]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by JCM:
I guess he didn't have an authorized "ARC" service center nearby either. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Quite to the contrary, Noah had authorized service centers just about everywhere. All he had to do is consult the "scrolls." Noah also wasn't in any big hurry either, he just went with the flow.