Wayfarer rear wheelwell liners

[dfoote207]

Has anyone experienced problems with the wheelwell liners on the rear wheels?
They are a solid piece of plastic that wrap from the front to the back where they hang down and serve as mud flaps.
I was recently on a three week trip with our Wafarer 25RW from Maine to New Orleans by way of Winfield for some work at the service center.
On the way back to Maine on I-81 in PA, I lost the liner on the right side. By lost I mean it came off at 65 mph and it felt like the whole rear end dropped off as I ran over it. I didn't see any damage when I checked and there were no warning messages so we kept on going.
When I got home I did find some minor damage on the right rear trim which was easy to fix. I think I am fortunate that there was no damage to the LP tank or fittings or the FWT. I am also fortunate that there was no one right behind me when this large piece of plastic came flying out in pieces.
When I examined the left side I found that the liners are held on with 4 #10 screws, 2 at the front and 2 at the back all on the outside. There is no inside support. Of the four screws holding the left side liner on, 2 were completely pulled out of the plastic, 1 was partially out and 1 was holding. I have removed the liner and would not feel comfortable putting any replacements on without a more substantial fastening mechanism.
I think there liners are a significant safety hazard and will be asking the NTSB what their opinion is.
Has anyone else has any issues like this and if so how did you fix it?

[rogerfromco]

We’ve had one replaced on our 2020QW. I’ve seen where people are using larger washers and longer screws to reattach them, but we have not done that.

[dfoote207]

The problem is that the screws are only on the outside and without any support on the inside, eventually the liner will still fail.
I've decided to fashion a set of mudflaps using a piece of flat stock as a brace that can bolt to the wet bay cabinet on the drivers side and hopefully to the Quadra hydraulic box on the passengers side. I haven't opened the hydraulic box yet but there are two sets of holes that would work fine if they are accessible from inside. I might also coat the cabinets in front of the wheels with bedliner spray.
It's not an ideal solution but one that I think is much safer.

[MarkMaxPayne]

Yes I have had problems due to the lack of screws on the inside front bottom of the wheel liners. Air flow under the vehicle will bend the plastic liner and bend it so much it will rub against the dual wheels and melt. Tiffin had to fix as one of my warranty repair items. The fix is to put additional screws on the inside bottom, but the wheels are in the way. You have to jack up the vehicle, pull the wheels, secure the wheel liners properly on the bottom leading edge, then remount the wheels. Mine were so damaged they had to be redone with new wheel liner material.

I shared with Tiffin customer service in a letter with photos back in July 2018 and then again with them in person at the Wayfarer Rally in AZ last year after I saw 2021 Rally demo models with the same issue.

Here is what happened on my rig due to the lack of these screws before the repair/replacement (pic is rotated by 90 degrees - sorry).

Best,
-Mark

[dfoote207]

For all of those following this thread, I have filed a formal complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They investigate safety issues that would necessitate a recall.
It's an easy process and I urge anyone that agrees that the wheelwell liner fastening is insufficient and is a safety issue to also file a complaint. The more voices complaining about this the better.
I really believe that Tiffin/Wayfarer could easily fix this problem with a more concerted engineering effort.
Until then I don't feel safe with the current situation and have removed the one liner that was left on my vehicle.
Thanks,
Don
BTW:
To file a complaint, call the NHTSA Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 and a Customer Service Representative can assist you or you can submit it online by visiting the following link: https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/.

[rosspam]

Originally Posted by dfoote207

Has anyone experienced problems with the wheelwell liners on the rear wheels?

They are a solid piece of plastic that wrap from the front to the back where they hang down and serve as mud flaps.

I was recently on a three week trip with our Wafarer 25RW from Maine to New Orleans by way of Winfield for some work at the service center.

On the way back to Maine on I-81 in PA, I lost the liner on the right side. By lost I mean it came off at 65 mph and it felt like the whole rear end dropped off as I ran over it. I didn't see any damage when I checked and there were no warning messages so we kept on going.

When I got home I did find some minor damage on the right rear trim which was easy to fix. I think I am fortunate that there was no damage to the LP tank or fittings or the FWT. I am also fortunate that there was no one right behind me when this large piece of plastic came flying out in pieces.

When I examined the left side I found that the liners are held on with 4 #10 screws, 2 at the front and 2 at the back all on the outside. There is no inside support. Of the four screws holding the left side liner on, 2 were completely pulled out of the plastic, 1 was partially out and 1 was holding. I have removed the liner and would not feel comfortable putting any replacements on without a more substantial fastening mechanism.

I think there liners are a significant safety hazard and will be asking the NTSB what their opinion is.

Has anyone else has any issues like this and if so how did you fix it?

I have 2020RW Wayfarer. I added more screws with fender washers, attached the front of the liner to the cargo box, trimmed the rear flaps so they weren't so low.

I can hardly keep up with Tiffin's/ MB recalls, now perhaps another will be issued from your filing.

I have mine fixed with additional fasteners. Now Tiffin will require me yet again to take my rig to an authorized service center to fix this issue with a solution less than adequate and inferior to mine in order to clear a new recall. (Hitch, wheel simulators/valve stems etc)

[rogerfromco]

Our repair by Tiffin was almost two years ago and we’ve had zero problems since then.

[MarkMaxPayne]

Attending Tiffin's 50th Anniversary Rally and I was able to show a couple of Tiffin employees from their Wayfarer factory in Winfield, AL the issue. Shared where adding two screws while up on the lift at their final station before paint would prevent. They listened and were very appreciative of being shown the issue and suggested preventive fix.

Best,
-Mark

[dfoote207]

I hope that I can close out this thread.
While I did file a complaint with the NHTSA I do not expect that it will result in a recall but I do hope that they talk to Tiffin about the issue and I also hope that Tiffin comes up with a fix.
With my left side liner that I removed, I turned it inside out and drilled new holes for mounting. Also, as Mark suggested, I cut off about 2 inches on the flap to prevent ground contact (rough roads and boondocking). Rather than washers, I chose to use a 1/8x1" aluminum strip as a reinforcement from the top screw to the bottom. I also used new #10 screws and added a #12 in the middle. And while I was impressed at how solid the inside was because it is wedged in so tight (getting all the pieces aligned was not trivial), I still added a single screw on the inside to the front storage box and the rear wet bay.
Bottom line is that the liner is now secured with 8 screws not 4 and the edge is reinforced. It now feels safe.
Tiffin Winfield is sending me a replacement for the right side that was lost while driving. I intend to use the same fastening technique on that.
My advice for anyone doing this is measure, measure, measure. Alignment is difficult when everything is correct. Being just a hair off on the holes causes real problems.
I am attaching pictures of the front and rear aluminum braces.
Don

[edstep]

thanks for the info will have to check mine out

Keep us posted

[MarkMaxPayne]

Interesting. If I am looking at your photos correctly I see that it attaches the front outside edge, but what about the bottom inside were the flex starts? This is where the air under the rig catches the bottom and bends the liner up into contact with the inside dual tire. Especially on a hot day. Adding a screw through the liner and into the bottom inside corner of the storage box prevents it from flexing and contacting the inside dual. Are there floor plans where one cannot put a screw into the bottom inside corner of their storage box?

Here is a photo on that one screw. Since I had removed my tires I added an extra in the middle by my thumb just because... Note that I've also trimmed the bottom to not present such a large surface for air to catch on that protruding beyond the bottom of the box, but not necessary from others I've talked with.



Best,
-Mark

[dfoote207]

I have a screw into the storage box on the very inside corner which I did not show in my pictures.
But I will check the flex to see if an outside screw or trimming the liner is necessary.
My impression was that the rubbing, which I also had, was caused by the outside mount point failing and no inside screw.
Don