Cracking RV body

[TravelinAnderson]

As promised, here are the pictures of the repair Redwood performed on our 37FL.
Picture one shows the original design of the sidewall framing and the resulting crack of the welded "stud".
Picture two is a closeup of the cracked weld. This was the better of the two sides. The "stud" on the door side was pushing the sidewall out about a 1/4 inch.
Picture 3 is a pic of Redwood's solution to the flexing issue. The tech told me they have been using this method for over a year and have had zero returns so it appears to be a good fix..

I don't have a pic of the finished wall but will post one as soon as I get my unit back. I am having the axle bushing and bearings serviced

I have to say. The people at the Redwood factory treated us like we were the most important people on the planet. They took these pictures for me to show what they did, kept my unit plugged in so I didn't have to empty the fridge. The even have hookups which enabled us to stay in the trailer overnight. We arrived on a Sunday.

If you need this repair and can get your unit to the factory I recommend you do. At the very least you can show the dealer that does your repair how the factory does it.

[spindrift]

How will they repair the skin?

[Grizzby]

The RW Service completed the same repair on our 36FL last month. We've towed about 15K miles with no issues. Yes...the Service Tech's are outstanding!! The repair areas on both sides of our RW are perfect...no evidence of a repair even being completed! We couldn't be more satisfied!

Bob and Deb

[TravelinAnderson]

I'm not sure if they put the piece they cut out back in and fill around it or if they put all new fiberglass in but either way, you cant see where the repair was made. They did an excellent job of finishing the repair.

[TravelinAnderson]

It's comforting to hear you've logged 15k miles since the repair with no issues.. thanks for sharing that.

[Grizzby]

Originally Posted by TravelinAnderson

It's comforting to hear you've logged 15k miles since the repair with no issues.. thanks for sharing that.

We've actually traveled about 5k NOT 15k...not sure where the "1" came from on my previous post. We do travel a lot...just not that much! Sorry for the misinformation.

Bob

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by TravelinAnderson

As promised, here are the pictures of the repair Redwood performed on our 37FL.
Picture one shows the original design of the sidewall framing and the resulting crack of the welded "stud".
Picture two is a closeup of the cracked weld. This was the better of the two sides. The "stud" on the door side was pushing the sidewall out about a 1/4 inch.
Picture 3 is a pic of Redwood's solution to the flexing issue. The tech told me they have been using this method for over a year and have had zero returns so it appears to be a good fix..

I don't have a pic of the finished wall but will post one as soon as I get my unit back. I am having the axle bushing and bearings serviced

I have to say. The people at the Redwood factory treated us like we were the most important people on the planet. They took these pictures for me to show what they did, kept my unit plugged in so I didn't have to empty the fridge. The even have hookups which enabled us to stay in the trailer overnight. We arrived on a Sunday.

If you need this repair and can get your unit to the factory I recommend you do. At the very least you can show the dealer that does your repair how the factory does it.

It's refreshing to see a good quality fix. The "H" channel fix was like putting a band aid on a severed limb.

[dieseldave]

Originally Posted by TravelinAnderson

As promised, here are the pictures of the repair Redwood performed on our 37FL.
Picture one shows the original design of the sidewall framing and the resulting crack of the welded "stud".
Picture two is a closeup of the cracked weld. This was the better of the two sides. The "stud" on the door side was pushing the sidewall out about a 1/4 inch.
Picture 3 is a pic of Redwood's solution to the flexing issue. The tech told me they have been using this method for over a year and have had zero returns so it appears to be a good fix..

I don't have a pic of the finished wall but will post one as soon as I get my unit back. I am having the axle bushing and bearings serviced

I have to say. The people at the Redwood factory treated us like we were the most important people on the planet. They took these pictures for me to show what they did, kept my unit plugged in so I didn't have to empty the fridge. The even have hookups which enabled us to stay in the trailer overnight. We arrived on a Sunday.

If you need this repair and can get your unit to the factory I recommend you do. At the very least you can show the dealer that does your repair how the factory does it.

Thanks for all the info. I just arrived at the service center this evening so they can do the same thing on mine starting in the morning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TravelinAnderson]

How did it go at the service center?

[dieseldave]

Originally Posted by TravelinAnderson

How did it go at the service center?

Great!!

I arrived on Sunday evening and spent the night at the service center. I made a mistake and parked in the spot closest to the bay doors not realizing the delivery trucks started arriving at 4:45 AM.

Once they got it inside a little after 7AM I did a walk through with the techs and they showed me another unit they were working on with the same issue. They had already done the welding on it and had the patch installed. The end caps on both of my main slides started de-laminating after a recent trip where it rained almost everyday. The techs showed me several places that were not caulked at the factory which caused the issue.

They touched base with me several times though the week and kept me up to date on the progress. I picked it up Friday morning and the ends caps and the flexing issue were taken care. I had two broken welds that were causing the flexing so they made the same type repair with the additional bracing. They also went through a checklist and repaired several other items that I didn't realize were an issue.

It was a great experience and I am more than satisfied with everything that was done. Everyone was more than willing to help and answer any questions I had. I can not say enough good things about everyone at the service center.

I made the 1200 mile trip home with no problems so it looks like the flexing issue is finally resolved after two years!

[Dave6532]

Hello,

I am having more issues since Explorer USA did a crappy job on my stress crack. All Explorer USA did was cover it up and not actually repair. I am OVER Explorer USA. I attached a picture to show you guys. I need to get this FIXED!!!! This time, it is worse. Will I need to take it to a service center or can this be done by a RV repair man? I would even pay one of you to fix it! Please help me

-Dave

[dave3421]

Ok...here is what happened when traveling. How do I repair this? Please HELP!

[Dave&Ginny]

Dave,


The stress cracks started showing up in the Redwood line around 2012 as well as other brands. The manufactures failed to realize that the flexing of the frames would cause these cracks when they had a solid wall.


The solution that they and he other manufactures used was to pre-cut the walls very much like the concrete people do on driveways. This gave enough movement to prevent further damage. Then they covered their cuts with trim pieces.



To protect yourself, put some exterior grade silicone over the crack to help prevent water penetration. Then cover with a trim piece. I would also recommend keeping a close eye on how much movement you have in the "pin box" area. It's normal to have some movement there but it's my understanding some of the older Redwoods have had to be modified to restrengthen that area.


Good Luck

[dave3421]

Thank you so much! After reading a lot of the comments on here, my Dad and I are going to try and repair this ourselves. I have a 2014 Redwood 36RL. The crack was repaired by Explore USA in Denton but after closely examining the trio, it looks like a screw broke off while traveling and caused too much movement that the fiberglass and wood came out.

We will unscrew the metal band around the crack and insert the fiberglass and wood back in and secure the trim piece with multiple self tapping screws instead of two. Then use some external grade silicone to finish it off.

[dave3421]

Since I'm passed my 5 year warranty by about 9 months, Redwood refused to repair mine. I sent a lot of pictures of the damage and they told me today, my claim was denied. I was very disappointed to say the least. I would've driven up there and dropped it off. So instead of paying 16,000 to fix it at a local repair shop, I'm going to fix it myself.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by dave3421

Thank you so much! After reading a lot of the comments on here, my Dad and I are going to try and repair this ourselves. I have a 2014 Redwood 36RL. The crack was repaired by Explore USA in Denton but after closely examining the trio, it looks like a screw broke off while traveling and caused too much movement that the fiberglass and wood came out.

We will unscrew the metal band around the crack and insert the fiberglass and wood back in and secure the trim piece with multiple self tapping screws instead of two. Then use some external grade silicone to finish it off.

Dave,


if you feel the need to take a section of the fiberglass out you, just make clean cuts and then glue it back in. Then use body filler over the cuts. This is what the factory does.



good luck

[5th_Time]

Dave... you’re back!

Did you guys trade in your MH for a ‘12 RL for old times?