Roof Sealer No Warranty?

[5th_Time]

I have a '12 and a dealer that I like. I just took it in for the "annual inspection" only to maintain the 2/5 warranty. I'm not having any issues at this point. While there, I had the dealer repack wheel bearings and a couple otherthings to charge me for so he stays happy.









Next, I get a call from Service Manager that the technician found 15 "gaps" in my roof sealer that need to be resealed for a total of two hours or $250. I told the dealer I was just up on the roof to remove the A/C covers and checked all the sealed areas (especially my Sat dish) to see how it looked through the winter. Ididn't see anything obvious or thatlooked any different from when I picked it up last April.She said that they were "subtle" issues.



The unit is only 11 months old, so if there are that manydefects in the roof sealer - seems like they must have been incorporated during themanufacturing process.



She stated that Redwood states that any issues found during the inspection are the responsibility of the unit owner and must be corrected to validate the warranty. She stated no correction/no inspection report to Redwood. I can see if after a couple years, the sealer deteriorated, but after 11 months?



Anyone else have this "inspection issue"? Seems like a "fairness" issue.

[KenM]

Earlier this year I had scheduled to take our 31SL in for minor warranty repairs. Before I took it in I got upon the roofand noticed that both the front and rear cap sealer to the roofline had separated.I told the service writer and they fixed it under warranty no questions asked.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

I have a '12 and a dealer that I like. I just took it in for the "annual inspection" only to maintain the 2/5 warranty. I'm not having any issues at this point. While there, I had the dealer repack wheel bearings and a couple otherthings to charge me for so he stays happy.









Next, I get a call from Service Manager that the technician found 15 "gaps" in my roof sealer that need to be resealed for a total of two hours or $250. I told the dealer I was just up on the roof to remove the A/C covers and checked all the sealed areas (especially my Sat dish) to see how it looked through the winter. Ididn't see anything obvious or thatlooked any different from when I picked it up last April.She said that they were "subtle" issues.



The unit is only 11 months old, so if there are that manydefects in the roof sealer - seems like they must have been incorporated during themanufacturing process.



She stated that Redwood states that any issues found during the inspection are the responsibility of the unit owner and must be corrected to validate the warranty. She stated no correction/no inspection report to Redwood. I can see if after a couple years, the sealer deteriorated, but after 11 months?



Anyone else have this "inspection issue"? Seems like a "fairness" issue.

I'm surprised they didn't charge you for rotating the air in your tires too.

[BradPAjax]

There is only a charge if they use RV air... regular air is free.

[Campers]

Hey Mike, When I took our rig in to the dealer, I showed him voids in the sealant around the seams and joints. This was resealed under warranty, why not the roof? This should should be a warranty issue. Maybe a phone call to Redwood might be in order. Or maybe a different service center.

[jlandon13399]

My RW34SK had separation between the front cap and the rear cap at the roof line. Lazy Days technician got on the roof and sealed everything NO CHARGE. I do not understand why a dealer would charge for an obvious defect.

[RollsRoyce]

Michael Did you allow the dealer to repair your roof and pay for it ?? If you did I would call Leonard Nielson . Ron Howard (Emmons replacement) #260-593-3850 and request a warranty refund...As you can see from this site everyone else has had it done under warranty

[5th_Time]

Royce & Bud, thank you for your advice.



I called the dealer and told them to repairit because it was a small amount and "someone" would end uppaying for the repair one way or the other. I need that inspection OK'd.



Then it started bothering me. I ended up calling Redwood because I feel that "on principal", roof sealer should not have 15 gaps develop within 11 months unless it was applied deficiently. I know that roof sealer is prone to failure -that's why many insurance companies insist on a copy of the inspection report. But, it's not like it had weathered for 3 years and I'm trying to beat the system.



Redwood countered by reading from theirwarranty document (which I did not receive a copy of in '12 - how about you??) which statesthat roof sealer is not covered under any circumstance and should be checked and repaired if necessary every 90 days...



This is an issue that will continue to come up as more of us get to the 1st year inspection period. In the end, Redwood authorized the repair- but purely for customer satisfaction. They didn't agree with my position but wanted me to be satisfied. Concernedpeople making good decisions. That'swhy I also stand behind Redwood and their products.



P.S. Based on previous situations, I'm not divulging who I spoke with... Edited by: 5th_Time

[marandjwr]

is dynaflex recommended as a seal repair? If not, what is?

[5th_Time]

It's confusing because there are dozens of products out there.



I used Dicor Self-leveling when I installed my Winegard Sat dish. I got it at my local RV Store. Also saw it on Camping World. Not sure what they use to caulk windows, cargo doors, etc - probably silicone or acrylic in tubes like they have ata hardware store.



If you have full body paint, you need caulking colors reasonably close to what Redwood used based on your paint scheme.

[BradPAjax]

My inspection is booked for Apr 11 to check everything... I will report back on what happens to me at my dealer.

[Campers]

Good to hear that you were looked after. They use caulking tape when they install windows, doors and hatches. It does weep out after time and to keep the edges clean you can use a piece of plastic to clean it off around the door and windows.

[RollsRoyce]

Well, called today and found that my dealership Explore USA in Canton (Mr. Cody Willis) had just got off the phone with RW at my request; because almost all the dealerships I called no one knew hardly anything about the 2/5 inspection little lone the price...They inspected mine today and the charge including Dicor if needed would be $49.50....The information on page 2 of the RW owner's guide gives the information you have to have checked......That being said, if YOU decide you want anything extra done it will cost you what ever there hourly rate is plus stuff.....

[5th_Time]

People are reporting what it says in their owners guide. I took delivery on March 30 last year and all I received was a loose leaf containing the instruction manuals for all the components. Nothing written by Redwood in that pile. Any other 2012 owners that received a Redwood Owners Guide?

[Campers]

We got the book. I will go to the rig tomorrow and see what it has written. We picked up ours in may last year. Mike will send you a pm after I read it. All the best my friend

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

People are reporting what it says in their owners guide. I took delivery on March 30 last year and all I received was a loose leaf containing the instruction manuals for all the components. Nothing written by Redwood in that pile. Any other 2012 owners that received a Redwood Owners Guide?

Mike, I did receive a book.

[Happy Camper]

I paid $50.00 for my inspection and then emailed the paperwork to the RW Warranty Clerk.

[BradPAjax]

All,

According to the manual, you have a 30 day grace period from acceptance date each year to complete the annual inspection by a dealer.

Inspection includes:
1. Inspection roof membrane for damage
2. Inspect lap seal on all roof appliances for cracks
3. Inspect sealant for all windows
4. Inspect clearance light lenses for cracks and inspect seal around body of light
5. Inspect all exterior moldings for cracks in sealant. Inspect visible screws in moldings for rust or breakage. Inspect molding butt seams
6. Inspect for presence of condensation in roof cavity

Roof membrane is supposed to be inspected every 90 days by owner as noted on page 47 of the manual to check all areas noted above.

Inspection of frame, jacks, axles, brakes, appliances are all the responsibility of the owner and are not specifically mentioned in the guide. Stand alone documents are available from Lippert for axle, wheel bearing, and wet bolt maintenance that you can do yourself or pay your dealer to perform.

This is all very misleading on the webpage and when we got the sales pitch at the dealer when we bought our unit. Time will tell what is covered over the next 4 years I have my unit.

[RollsRoyce]

Mike we picked ours up in May and there was a brownish colored black plastic spiral book with RW logo and at the bottom white letters that said Owners guide

[UNDRPSI]

Hey Mike when I climbed up on our roof last fall for the final wash and wax before I stored it for winter I noticed that I had little cracks or separations on both my front and rear cap. So it was off to the RV dealers to get a couple tubes of self leveling caulk to fill the cracks. At that point ours was less than 6 months old. So I defiantly think they need to rethink how they are applying the caulk during build. I know I probably should have taken it in under warranty to have the dealer do it but for the price of 2 tubes of caulk and the short time it took to apply the caulk it wasn’t worth the fuel to a dealer. Besides The closest Redwood dealer is in Mass. and we both know who that is and there is no way Im going there! I bet where everyone is finding the cracks in the sealer is on the caps. And you can see it pretty easy because that area is painted and the crack shows up white or you actually see the metal strip. What it almost looks like to me is when they apply it it is almost like its to fresh or to warm and it self levels it self and doesn’t stay on top of the metal. They put it on thick at both caps but it looks like it runs off to the sides and is very thin over top of the metal that they use to hold the cap on. What they should do is apply a smaller coat one on each side of the metal strip that is not self leveling let it dry for a day or so then apply the a thicker bead over the metal strip that is not a self leveling caulk. By doing it this way it might stay more on where they are trying to seal instead of being thicker on both sides of the metal strip that is being screwed down holding the front and rear caps on. Total time spent on recaulking these two area including getting the caulk at the RV store was less then 2 hours. 75% of this time was driving time. Easy fix and I know it was done right and not as quick as possible to get the customer out the door. These two areas are defiantly areas to check out during your walk throughs for new buyers. And for us that already have Redwoods. Check these two areas and you will find it heavily caulked BUT very thin on the metal strip that is used to secure the cap to the coach.