Crack by slide

[Zonearc]

I brought our class a motor home down to a local dealer that has a service shop. The service shop is the only one in central Texas that does alignments and we need a full chassis alignment done before a big trip. They were walking around the vehicle and the service manager mentioned that there's a 7" crack in the fiberglass right by the rear master bedroom slide . They said that is an indicator that the frame around the slide has a structural issue. Therefore they highly suggest that they do a full inspection because often there are Welds that have broken. Of course they want to charge some serious labor around that job and now we're completely freaked out because we have a trip to Disney world in 3 way experience I'm wondering if this is true and we should be worried about it or if this is a dealer trying to make money. What are your thoughts?

[jacwjames]

What is the make/model/year of the Class A.


These cracks have been reported in a couple different makers of similar cracks. I know a while back there was a post on a Monaco. Bunch of replies and the consensus was not good.

You could opt to crawl under the rig and look for problems yourself. If you see something of concern you could then opt to go the dealer route and/or a repair shop.

[NXR]

You have a 2015 Fleetwood Excursion per your profile. Is that correct?

Here is a thread on this subject. Does your crack look the same?

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/fle...ck-273902.html

Ray

[Zonearc]

Originally Posted by NXR

You have a 2015 Fleetwood Excursion per your profile. Is that correct?

Here is a thread on this subject. Does your crack look the same?

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f107/fle...ck-273902.html

Ray

That is the EXACT same crack ... from top left to bottom right, at the bottom right of the slide. Wow.
Ok, so its a known issue due to being a single sheet and enough movement there. Now to figure out what to do. Let it sit there awhile? Fill it?
Nowhere near a Fleetwood dealer, so not sure we can have it dealt with the correct way.

[Dutch Star Don]

One of the immediate repairs is to drill a small hole at the end of the crack. This will typically stop it from cracking any further. After that, you can decide how you want to repair it. Have the fiberglass repaired or just cosmetically cover it.

[dons2346]

Lots of coaches have this crack, Country Coach, Monaco, Beaver, Newmar, National, etc. I would drill it and watch it.
I have seen some repair of this crack and the repair was worse than the crack. It might go so far and then stop and then you can fill it

[Zonearc]

Thank you. It doesn't bother me, so I'll drill it and see what happens.
The dealer wanted to charge us thousands. This helped so much!

[DSDP 2002]

I have the exact same problem. Please share your path forward.

Tiffin Bus 41'

[Zonearc]

My plan is to drill it, sand down the crack, put a slight cut in the crack (1/8") and fill it with silicone. Then, paint the silicone. That way it can flex which is essentially what it wants to do.
I just need to find a store with touch up paints so I can find a close match.

[jacwjames]

Any good auto paint store can match the paint, take something that has the color paint you need (water heater cover, fridge cover) and they can shoot it to match. Buy a small touch up spray gun. The hard part will be the clear coat, chances are it will not blend well.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by dons2346

Lots of coaches have this crack, Country Coach, Monaco, Beaver, Newmar, National, etc. I would drill it and watch it.
I have seen some repair of this crack and the repair was worse than the crack. It might go so far and then stop and then you can fill it

Yep, have it on my CC. Will be getting it fixed in March.

[Dutch Star Don]

Originally Posted by Zonearc

My plan is to drill it, sand down the crack, put a slight cut in the crack (1/8") and fill it with silicone. Then, paint the silicone. That way it can flex which is essentially what it wants to do.
I just need to find a store with touch up paints so I can find a close match.

I would tape it off the crack, an 1/8th inch on both sides, enlarge it a little and then fill with resin. Let it dry and sand. Once smooth, spray or brush with a matching paint.

[eddndee]

Originally Posted by Zonearc

My plan is to drill it, sand down the crack, put a slight cut in the crack (1/8") and fill it with silicone. Then, paint the silicone. That way it can flex which is essentially what it wants to do.
I just need to find a store with touch up paints so I can find a close match.

Here in the Northwest we can take our rig to NAPA auto parts store and they will measure the existing paint color and mix you a spray can or a jar of paint to match. Probably any well stocked automotive paint store can do the same.

[US1]

Fleetwood have the paint codes on a build sheet usually stuck inside the bedroom closet on back wall.