wiper blades and arms are on the painted area below the windshield.

[skippy67]

Our new to us 2019 Newmar Dutch Star has had little time out in the rain. I am getting ready for our snowbird trip in AZ and noticed the blades and arms are below the level of the windshield. There is some dark residue from the rubber blades on the paint that comes off with my finger. Is this just a matter of pulling off the arms and rotating the arm so they stop sooner or do I need to take it to a mechanic. Things change over the years and I don’t want to destroy my wipers

Thanks for any help in this matter.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by skippy67

Our new to us 2019 Newmar Dutch Star has had little time out in the rain. I am getting ready for our snowbird trip in AZ and noticed the blades and arms are below the level of the windshield. There is some dark residue from the rubber blades on the paint that comes off with my finger. Is this just a matter of pulling off the arms and rotating the arm so they stop sooner or do I need to take it to a mechanic. Things change over the years and I don’t want to destroy my wipers

Thanks for any help in this matter.

Not sure what you’re trying to tell us by saying your Dutch Star has had little time out in the rain. Is it almost always covered?
The residue from the blades on the paint doesn’t take long if it’s parked in the sun repeatedly. I have foam sleeves over my wipers to save them from UV damage. Replacing your wipers might be best, because I’ll bet they’re parked more than they’re used.

Different blades work differently on different brands. Maybe another Dutch Star owner can tell you how to reposition them in their park position.

[Dutch Star Don]

Newmar uses a wiper arm with a soft metal spline. When you attach the arms, if they are not torqued properly, the arms will spin/sag. This may have been caused when a windshield was replaced, or the arms moved for another reason.

The arms can be adjusted via a turnbuckle type adjustment under the hood. The driver's side is a straight arm and loosening the nuts on both ends of the turnbuckle, allows you to twist and adjust the arm. However, the passenger side has a bend in the arm to pass around the A/C unit. This arm has to be removed at one end to make the adjustment.

Unless something broke, the arms shouldn't have sagged unless they're not tight. Newmar recommends replacing the arms once they're removed because of the soft splines. I kept having to adjust my 2019 arms until I realized the splines were the issue.

I pulled the arms off, realigned them so the wipers sat level. This may take several attempts to get them close. The final adjustment may require adjusting the turnbuckles if you're anal like me and want them perfectly level.

Here is where you resolve the issue. Once the blades are reinstalled, you need a torque wrench to tighten the wiper arm nuts. They need to be torqued to 65 pounds. Because the metal splines are soft, I torqued mine to 60 pounds, waited a day and then torqued them again to 65 pounds. I pushed mine to 70 pounds on the third day. By waiting a day between adjustments, it allows the soft metal to settle. Since I've tightened might this way, no more sagging issues.

NOTE: If the splines are really bad on the arms (distorted or missing) you may need new arms.

[KenNJ]

Just finished replacing my arms and wipers. Per Wiper Technologies the torque for my arms is 70lbs. After first torque, I waited two hours and torqued again. Waited over night and did a final torque check first thing the next day. Think I got them pretty level. Mine kept sagging which is why I replaced the arms.

[mahdi]

When I had my windshield replaced I torqued my windshield wiper arm at 70 ft/lbs also 3 times. They have not moved.

[skippy67]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Newmar uses a wiper arm with a soft metal spline. When you attach the arms, if they are not torqued properly, the arms will spin/sag. This may have been caused when a windshield was replaced, or the arms moved for another reason.

The arms can be adjusted via a turnbuckle type adjustment under the hood. The driver's side is a straight arm and loosening the nuts on both ends of the turnbuckle, allows you to twist and adjust the arm. However, the passenger side has a bend in the arm to pass around the A/C unit. This arm has to be removed at one end to make the adjustment.

Unless something broke, the arms shouldn't have sagged unless they're not tight. Newmar recommends replacing the arms once they're removed because of the soft splines. I kept having to adjust my 2019 arms until I realized the splines were the issue.

I pulled the arms off, realigned them so the wipers sat level. This may take several attempts to get them close. The final adjustment may require adjusting the turnbuckles if you're anal like me and want them perfectly level.

Here is where you resolve the issue. Once the blades are reinstalled, you need a torque wrench to tighten the wiper arm nuts. They need to be torqued to 65 pounds. Because the metal splines are soft, I torqued mine to 60 pounds, waited a day and then torqued them again to 65 pounds. I pushed mine to 70 pounds on the third day. By waiting a day between adjustments, it allows the soft metal to settle. Since I've tightened might this way, no more sagging issues.

NOTE: If the splines are really bad on the arms (distorted or missing) you may need new arms.

. Thanks for taking the time to explain everything so clearly. I will get on in tomorrow and let you know how it went. Again, I am grateful for your help.

[skippy67]

Originally Posted by kenandterry

Not sure what you’re trying to tell us by saying your Dutch Star has had little time out in the rain. Is it almost always covered?
The residue from the blades on the paint doesn’t take long if it’s parked in the sun repeatedly. I have foam sleeves over my wipers to save them from UV damage. Replacing your wipers might be best, because I’ll bet they’re parked more than they’re used.

Different blades work differently on different brands. Maybe another Dutch Star owner can tell you how to reposition them in their park position.

Thanks for your help. Yes, we have only put about 4K on the rig since we bought it. It is parked undercover and only remember using the wipers once and they gave a loud thump when they touched bottom of their travel. I will get some of the covers that you suggest as some sun in the winter reaching in the covered area and hits the wipers.

[Mr.Goodbar]

Originally Posted by KenNJ

Just finished replacing my arms and wipers. Per Wiper Technologies the torque for my arms is 70lbs. After first torque, I waited two hours and torqued again. Waited over night and did a final torque check first thing the next day. Think I got them pretty level. Mine kept sagging which is why I replaced the arms.

That's exactly what the very helpful guy at BJ's RV and Marine Supply told me to do when I had the passenger side come loose while driving on interstate. rvandmarine.com That's where I ordered wiper blades.

To get both of the arms in the correct off position, I looked at a picture of the coach from when we bought it.

[UMXHAULER]

I leveled my arms out the way DS Don did his, however, since then I have discovered a much easier way to deal with this common issue. Since the wiper arms are so long, you can easily just bend the arms a little bit to bring them up higher. It does not take much bending to move them up a couple of inches. If you think that you are getting close to possibly kinking the arm tubing, then you can do what Don and I have done but it is a PIA on the passenger side-at least it was on my coach because the AC box was in the way of being able to turn the inner arm because that shaft has a bend in it and it could not be rotated without removing one end of it-I removed the end at the center by removing the snap ring.

[Bobby Dowdle]

The groove on the arms is cut when then they are first installed. If you take them on and off, you can strip out the arms and have to replace them. Just words of advise. But in order to get them above the gasket, you would have to take them off and move up and install.

[skippy67]

Originally Posted by Bobby Dowdle

The groove on the arms is cut when then they are first installed. If you take them on and off, you can strip out the arms and have to replace them. Just words of advise. But in order to get them above the gasket, you would have to take them off and move up and install.

I was able to get the arms up but on the passenger side I almost ran out of adjustment. When I went to torque down the arms, it felt as if they had never been torqued down. I remember the owner saying he had the windshield replaced so it looks as though the person must have taken off the wipers. Whoever did the work never torqued down the nuts. I will see how it goes. If they start migrating down the front of the coach, I will have a dealer install new arms and blades. Thanks for taking the time to help a novice.

[scotttkd]

My 2020 this summer had both wipers fall down onto the paint, and only wipe part way up. I was able to move the arm back into position, and put over a full turn on the locking nut on each side, so far no more off the windshield movement. I think the torque specs are getting missed, or the vibration going down the road is causing the nuts to back out. Entropy in action!

[RVStitchy]

I had my windshield replaced a few months ago. The glass company had to remove and reinstall the wiper arms to get the glass in place. I tried to get them to leave them on due to this whole topic. He said he had done thousands of RV windshields and never had a problem.

We were driving up I-95 yesterday and it started to rain. This is the first time running the wipers since the windshield replacement. On the third swipe the driver wiper flipped over 180 degrees and lodged itself between the sideview mirror and corner of the coach.

Fortunately it was a very light rain and we were close enough to our destination to get there without pulling over.

Since I was fore-warned in these forums about this issue I had purchased new wiper arms and had them stored in the coach.

I swapped out the wiper arm the next day. This is the first time I have done it and could now see the design. The wiper arm is driven down with torque onto a cone taper. The taper is grooved to give the arm a little more bight into the soft material when torqued down. Some people have called them splines, but this is nothing like splines that you find on pumps and drive shafts. They are not deep and not well defined. Once you have removed a wiper arm you have no chance to feel the grooves and line them up during reinstallation.

So word of

[Dutch Star Don]

I will say that I have removed my passenger arm three times and reinstalled it. Twice for adjustment, once for a new windshield. The driver's side I've removed and reinstalled four times, including once to bend the arm for more load against the windshield. I use a Sharpie to mark a line on the arm and bolt and then gently work the arm back on when it's in the right-angle position. Then torque it to 70 pounds.