Front Cap fading

[Garryschmidt50]

Just noticed that the front cap on our 2014 is fading. Is anyone else having this problem? Do they have to replace the who end cap when this happens?

[Shane Wood]

Is this a full body paint unit
I know the the non painted units have had problems with the front and rear cap fading. Redwood has stood behind most of them and had them redone. Within the warrenty period

[Garryschmidt50]

No, not a full paint. From what I read, they first try to buff them out without very good results. Hopefully we can skip this step and go right to a permanent fix.

[Moos]

I have a 2014 Redwood 38BR with the same tan gelcoat cap (non-painted) and am having fading issues also. It seems to be a known issue based on the initial response I got from the customer service representative............but unfortunate for me I bought my coach used so the Redwood rep told me I would be on my own. Was pretty bummed out to find out a company knows they have an issue but wont make it right on a unit because its not the original owner. To me that type of customer service just kills your resale. Who wants a coach that's nearly new but your shunned when there is a warranty type issue. Live and learn I guess! It was not that way with my previous coaches.............both NUWA and TETON were excellent to deal with.

[travelin' texans]

I think I'd call the RW GM & throw a fit. The fading problem has been on those gelcoat units since the beginning. Whether you are the original owner or not, that's a manufacturer defect.

[Russ & Linda]

We have a 2013 36 RL. Not full body paint and they fixed ours. It was out of warranty and they didn't hesitate. So far they have been very easy to deal with. Hope that continues.

[azandy]

My current RV has a gel coat nose cap that also is fading. This is an industry wide issue actually.
The company will pay a collision center of my choice to paint it. They already sent decals to my dealer. Now I just have to figure out how to do it. I've been living in this since March. While working in Louisiana . Can't just drop it off somewhere. Wish they could just come here and spray it. But no one will.
This is another reason I'm looking at the investment of full paint on my next one. But seems like full paint is still a lot of money.

[Ford truck guy]

Any RV that has color infused gelcoat caps will fade .END OF STORY!! You can prolong it but it will happen.. My last one ,like Andy's had that style and i almost killed myself trying to keep it shinney... This time around i was not doing that again....Joe

[Garryschmidt50]

Ford Truck Guy When you spend $100,000 for a unit, store it inside, take care of it, it should not fade within the first year!!!! I refuse to pay them their exorbitant prices for a full paint job. I saw an invoice which showed what the actual price of a full paint job and how much the dealer makes. It was outrageous. I spent the extra money on a Redwood because at the time I believed I was buying quality and service.

[Ford truck guy]

Originally Posted by Garryschmidt50

Ford Truck Guy When you spend $100,000 for a unit, store it inside, take care of it, it should not fade within the first year!!!! I refuse to pay them their exorbitant prices for a full paint job. I saw an invoice which showed what the actual price of a full paint job and how much the dealer makes. It was outrageous. I spent the extra money on a Redwood because at the time I believed I was buying quality and service.

Garry,
I agree with you, but unfortunatly as long as the process of infusing color into gelcoat is around, there will be issues. We could spend 200K on a trailer with the same process and have it happen... I had an old Holiday Rambler that sat in the Florida sun for a long time, had it stripped and painted, then 2 coats of clear... No more worries.. I hope it all works out for you, it sounds like RW is helping others with this issue...

[Moos]

I think it heavily defendant on the quality of the gelcoat, and I would venture to say THOR takes the cheap route. I had a 2004 NUWA that was in the sun its whole life until I traded it in 2009 for a Teton. The Teton also sat in the sun a good bit until I traded it in on the 2014 Thor product (we all know I am talking about Redwood). I washed and waxed them regularly and the gelcoat was in show room quality. No fading on either of them. However, they were both white and the white seems to fair way better than the silver or tan colors but I still don't think its the same quality of gelcoat product.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Moos

I think it heavily defendant on the quality of the gelcoat, and I would venture to say THOR takes the cheap route. I had a 2004 NUWA that was in the sun its whole life until I traded it in 2009 for a Teton. The Teton also sat in the sun a good bit until I traded it in on the 2014 Thor product (we all know I am talking about Redwood). I washed and waxed them regularly and the gelcoat was in show room quality. No fading on either of them. However, they were both white and the white seems to fair way better than the silver or tan colors but I still don't think its the same quality of gelcoat product.

Apparently, according to the paint guy that painted my front cap, the color caps are the ones having problems. He said most of the ones he paints are gray but they all have the problem. I have seen lately where some of the manufacturers advertise painted caps, probably in response to their prior claims. I also owned a 2004 nuwa with no fading but, as you stated, it was a white cap. I might add that I owned it for 4 years and never once waxed it, just washed It and it looked great when I traded it.

[atom ant]

I remember when they started introducing colored gel in Motorhomes - Dolphin with its gray and blue, Southwind with some tans - they were fading so bad so quickly we went with a aluminum smooth sided Holiday Rambler.

[Old Okie]

I just had my dealer contact RW to see if they would stand behind my 2012 unit. The front & rear caps are badly faded. RW flat out said NO!!


My unit presents a good reason not to buy from RW as I travel around the country. I take pleasure in telling people why such a new rig looks like crap.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Old Okie

I just had my dealer contact RW to see if they would stand behind my 2012 unit. The front & rear caps are badly faded. RW flat out said NO!!


My unit presents a good reason not to buy from RW as I travel around the country. I take pleasure in telling people why such a new rig looks like crap.

You don't state whether you purchased your unit new or used. If you purchased it new, I would definitely fight Redwood on repainting those caps under the 5 year structural warranty. I was told when I purchased new that any thing Redwood puts together would be considered structural. This so called 5 year structural warranty has been a real sore spot for owners as Redwood will not spell out exactly what is covered but instead seem to deny many items as not covered. If you purchased it used then it comes with no warranty

[homeguy]

[QUOTE=Old Okie;54072]I just had my dealer contact RW to see if they would stand behind my 2012 unit. The front & rear caps are badly fadedI also have a 2012 RL that has faded on the front and the back. We bought the unit used, and have loved every minute. I would not hesitate to get another Redwood. I plan on having mine painted at some point because that is the real fix.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Old Okie

I just had my dealer contact RW to see if they would stand behind my 2012 unit. The front & rear caps are badly faded. RW flat out said NO!!


My unit presents a good reason not to buy from RW as I travel around the country. I take pleasure in telling people why such a new rig looks like crap.

The fading cap issue was only ever covered under the Redwood 2 year warranty. I know of no owner that has had the issue covered under the 5 year warranty including myself and I tried. The fading on my caps did not start to show up until year 3 1/2 because the trailer is stored inside when not in use. I charted the amount of outside exposure that our coach has seen and it was 1.5 years during the first 4 years of ownership and the fading started showing up this past winter while in Florida.

I am going to try PolyGlow product to see how that works. Here is a link:

Poliglow Products, Inc.| Manufacturer of Poli Glow, A New Concept in Boat Polish

[Russ & Linda]

We were right at three years. We are the original owners and they covered ours. Front and back.

[Moos]

Since Redwood didn't want to cover mine either, I researched and decided to go with Meguiar's M4966 Complete Marine/RV Fiberglass Restoration Kit and a Dual Action (DA) polisher from Harbor Freight instead of forking out the money for a paint job. The polisher runs about $42 with a coupon and the restoration kit runs between $45 and $50 depending where you purchase it. It took me about three hours to complete the nose and about the same for the rear cap (6hrs total). It worked great they both look as good as new when I was done. Meguiars also makes an all in one RV cleaner/wax that I purchased for the sides of the coach. I thought the sides were in good to decent shape but it made a big/huge difference........no more spotting.

After spending a good bit of time with my face in the caps buffing (about 6 hours to be exact) I can tell you the fading is caused by the poor quality of workmanship in the fiberglass or gel coat itself. You cant see it from the ground but if you get on a ladder and inspect the cap closely you will notice a lot of imperfections in the finish (ie - the surface is ruff, not smooth as glass like it should be). Those imperfections allow water and natural contaminates to remain on the caps longer than they should .........and ultimately cause the oxidation much sooner than it should. Inspect a few other coaches in the park the next time you have your ladder out.........you wont see this crummy ruff finish on the other high-end coaches. But then again that's why you don't see oxidation or fade on them either.

I still love my Redwood but wish they would spend the extra time and money to make the caps right on new ones, and the ones they have already produced!

[mhs4771]

This is not a Redwood only problem, there are any number of other Manufacturers that have the same problem. Probably bought the Caps from the same distributor, thus the same problems.
With RW it's no longer a problem because Full Body Paint is now a manditory option. Can't say the same for other Manufacturers.