I looked over a lot of my rivets, not all, since it has become cold and windy.
The frame around the door window was where about 1/3 had "brows". I only found a few like that on the body. I found quite a few rivets that had indentations, nicks, etc.—how many? I didn't count, but there were several score in a quick survey. One seemed to have a small hole next to it. Some rivets were applied in an uneven line around windows—maybe 4 or 5.
Around the windows there is a lot of sealant slopped around. I'd rather have too much sealant than too little, but it looks sloppy. Some is smeared on the window frames.
The chrome strip around the bottom of the aluminum panels is applied badly—lots of spaces between it and the aluminum panels.
I tried to push a lot of wax into all the spaces above the chrome strip, but that is a poor fix. I was too tired and rushed to use clear silicone sealant there.
I also used a lot of wax around the seams between aluminum panels and the courtesy and tail lights.
No one without any experience at this is going to see all these things when picking up a trailer and doing the walk around. I tried to prepare myself by reading everything I could and spent about 4 hours at the dealership looking for problems.
Thanks to 2air for pointing this out. At this point I'm unsure what I will do about it. Gouged rivets seem to be a cosmetic problem, but the brows and that little hole are not.
When I waxed the trailer, I found a lot of places on the chrome strip where it looked like there was some sort of plastic coating on it that was coming off—there were what looked like air bubbles. Not round ones, but long ones. They were at the ends of strips. They were hard and couldn't be pushed in or pulled off. Maybe it is sealant slopped on, but why only at the ends of the strips?
That door to the outside is pretty interesting. I suspect the DWR plaque should say instead "peep shows- $10"!
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Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 1991
Well, this is a serendipitous thread to come across. We pick our 08 27' Classic up next Tuesday. 2Air was helpful to us in another post (about tonneau covers) and I can see that he - and the rest of you - have given us some very good pointers on what to watch for.
Funny too, because one of the prime reasons we are exiting our year old '07 Gulf Stream VCM is GS's worse than poor build & QC. We've had the RV for just over a hear and the rig has been unavailable to us for over 1/4 of a year.
We sat inside the new AS last weekend and opened and closed most everything with hardly any problems seen. It was unfortunate that these trailers have to be stored w/o batt or umbilical hookup - can't precheck anything electrical.
Now my eyes are educated to be looking for things that we wouldn't have had reason to watch. Thanks everybody. Will post the results of our inspection and first couple nights in a week or so.
As an update to our earlier post. We had the same problem with the LP detector randomly beeping with the gas shut off, had to disconnect it. No leaks or other problems and we still love it.
I'm relying on memory, always a risky venture, but doesn't the propane detector beep occasionally to let us know it works, but when there's propane, it goes off all the time? I need to look at the literature on it to check when I have some time to do so.
I'm relying on memory, always a risky venture, but doesn't the propane detector beep occasionally to let us know it works, but when there's propane, it goes off all the time? I need to look at the literature on it to check when I have some time to do so.
Gene
It is not suppose to have an audible alarm unless there is gas present in the RV. Typically a green blinking light lets you know it's on and working. The blinking LED light changes color, I think to orange if the alarm goes off.
My 04 occasionally does go off and there is no LP in the area, though one time I did have my bros with me and we had chili and beer. Perhaps that flammable gas set it off that one time.....seriously!
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Computers manufactured by companies such as IBM, Compaq and millions of others are by far the most popular with about 70 million machines in use worldwide. Macintosh fans note that cockroaches are far more numerous than humans and that numbers alone do not denote a higher life form. -NY Times 1991
Long: like everything you come to love there are a few bumps along the way. The dealer has a knowledgeable sales force - lots of tidbits & fair bargaining (thanks Erica K at Geo Sutton). Not sure yet about Sutton's service department.
The rig was well explained during our almost 2.5 hr intro. For those not familiar with RVing, it is going to seem overwhelming. (Hooking up to the tow vehicle was a bit overwhelming as they put that on the end of the fam tour)
The workmanship is head and shoulders above the POS Gulf Stream Vista Mini Cruiser we got rid of to buy our A/S. Everything seemed to work and the exterior skin was clean and rivets were unscarred.
We've had a couple little items that were fixed and a couple that I'm still scratching my head about (why did they put a toilet in whose seat scares the @#%& out of you when (males) use for the first time and it suddenly decides to descend. The temp solution hasn't worked either - swivel the toilet base several inches in a different direction.
Today while dropping the trailer at short term storage (long way from home) the electrically driven tongue jack decided to short out mid way and for a brief while we thought we were semi stranded. A telephone call to the service manager at our dealer yielded that maybe a ground screw had come loose. Before I got too involved in sleuthing the prob (it wasn't the fuse) I performed the universal "first move" of repair: I smacked the post/motor housing with my hand. For now the jack works.
There's more for those wanting the finer details but it is late and we are weary. Not used to 100 degree dry camping in SoCal.
Short: we love it.
Today while dropping the trailer at short term storage (long way from home) the electrically driven tongue jack decided to short out mid way and for a brief while we thought we were semi stranded. A telephone call to the service manager at our dealer yielded that maybe a ground screw had come loose. Before I got too involved in sleuthing the prob (it wasn't the fuse) I performed the universal "first move" of repair: I smacked the post/motor housing with my hand. For now the jack works.
Bill
Bill; I had similiar issues with our tongue jack on the way home after delivery. It would intermittently quit. Upon wiggling the wires, it would ultimately start working. After arriving home we put it into storage until several weeks ago. Going over it and prepping it for this season, low and behold the jack acted up for the last time. Because the motor head (shorted) and is over $100, there is a time consuming process going through AS for a replacement under warranty. I was very tempted to take the jack head apart, but didn't. New head installed with a more quiet motor and no more intermittent jack issues. Long story short, problems don't fix themselves and usually surface at inconvenent times. Good luck and enjoyable travels,
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Larry & Sandy
08 Classic 30
05 GMC K2500 Duramax Four Courners Unit
WBCCI # 2460 AIR # 17259
Another problem that can cause the jack to malfunction is located under the propane cover. The wire for the jack—it comes straight from the battery—and the wires from the umbilical to the truck connection, are under the cover and rest on the tongue. Eventually the cover wears the insulation off the wires, first the jack wire, and eventually can wear the insulation on the umbilical (it does have tubing protecting it). If it wears through the jack wire, it will short out the batteries as well as the jack. It will start as an intermittent problem. If it wears through the umbilical, you can lose brake and turn signals, courtesy lights, charging, etc.
Some people cut a "mouse hole" in the cover. I think that can weaken the cover unless you reinforce the cover. I placed a 3/4" pipe clamp over the wires after I placed a lot of electrical tape around the wires, drilled a couple of holes in the tongue and screwed it down with some wood screws. The insulation was beginning to wear off the jack wire after about 2,000 miles towing when I discovered the problem—it's described elsewhere on the Forum. Others reroute the wires, the best solution, but I didn't want to take the time to do so and plan to present it to the dealer when I bring the trailer in for warranty claims.
This is a dumb design flaw on a lot of models for at least several years. Best to correct it now.
Another problem that can cause the jack to malfunction is located under the propane cover. The wire for the jack—it comes straight from the battery—and the wires from the umbilical to the truck connection, are under the cover and rest on the tongue. Eventually the cover wears the insulation off the wires, first the jack wire, and eventually can wear the insulation on the umbilical (it does have tubing protecting it). If it wears through the jack wire, it will short out the batteries as well as the jack. It will start as an intermittent problem. If it wears through the umbilical, you can lose brake and turn signals, courtesy lights, charging, etc.
Some people cut a "mouse hole" in the cover. I think that can weaken the cover unless you reinforce the cover. I placed a 3/4" pipe clamp over the wires after I placed a lot of electrical tape around the wires, drilled a couple of holes in the tongue and screwed it down with some wood screws. The insulation was beginning to wear off the jack wire after about 2,000 miles towing when I discovered the problem—it's described elsewhere on the Forum. Others reroute the wires, the best solution, but I didn't want to take the time to do so and plan to present it to the dealer when I bring the trailer in for warranty claims.
This is a dumb design flaw on a lot of models for at least several years. Best to correct it now.
Gene
Excellent point Gene. Upon delivery, I too noticed the impression on the wiring harness pinched between the a-frame and propane cover. That area is where I wiggled the wires to get the jack operating. My quick fix solution for this poor design flaw was to install jam nuts on the underside fo the propane cover to prevent contact and maintain a secure cover. Larry
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Larry & Sandy
08 Classic 30
05 GMC K2500 Duramax Four Courners Unit
WBCCI # 2460 AIR # 17259
Larry, glad you saw that. These trailers come to us in Colorado with more than a 1,000 miles on them, something I keep forgetting when I keep track of the miles on the unit. There may be a break in the conductor inside the insulation on the jack wire on your Classic.
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