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Old 06-25-2017, 02:27 PM   #1
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Wheel Wells coming apart over rear set

Our 2017 Alante 31V has 3k miles on it, and we've owned it for almost a year. It's never seen road salt, or a Minnesota Winter, and it's stored indoors.

Today I smelled something burning, and one of my wheel wells, came loose, pushing the plastic into the rear tire, and burning a hole through it. For reference, i inspected the other side, and that side is loose as well. The screws they used have snapped off on the heads, and these pieces of sheet metal are just flapping in the wind.

I'm going to call the dealer as I'm still within my warranty, but can I just get some quality self tapping stainless machine screws to put this all back together, so that tehy don't rust again?

Very disappointed in the construction of the underside of this rig. Wish I knew to inspect this sort of thing before I dropped 80k on it.
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Old 06-25-2017, 03:24 PM   #2
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At least four others of us on this forum have reported the same problem. In our case there was a big BANG while driving on an interstate highway resulting in the heavy panel hanging my one little screw. Length and diameter of screws required in assembly does seem to be a terribly basic subject for a manufacturer to deal with.
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Old 06-25-2017, 03:51 PM   #3
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What did you use to repair it? I don't recall hearing a big bang or anything, but it certainly is frustrating that it has happened so quickly, especially after not being in the elements AT ALL.
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Old 06-25-2017, 04:23 PM   #4
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What did you use to repair it? I don't recall hearing a big bang or anything, but it certainly is frustrating that it has happened so quickly, especially after not being in the elements AT ALL.
Since the three screws on the angle iron at the top broke off, I bought a serious riveting tool from Amazon and installed 3 1/4-inch stainless steel rivets along the top. Plus a larger self tapping screw at the bottom corner. This should suffice until I get back to Middlebury one of these days. There really is no excuse for crap like this, but the folks in Middlebury Customer Service are so nice, and I feel sure they will make it right.
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Old 06-25-2017, 05:36 PM   #5
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Same thing happened to me on my 2017 35S.
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Old 06-26-2017, 06:13 AM   #6
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Same thing for me. Saw an earlier post on this. Checked my wheel wells and found both rears were loose, broken screws. Replaced them with heavy duty screws. Seems that they will hold for now. I check them every trip !!! Also had 3 screws rust out under my water compartment. Screws that hold a 3 foot peice of angle iron. Replaced them also. I get under the motor on a weekly basis just to look around. There is always something that needs attention. Also used up 3 cans of Rust Check spray and sprayed anything I saw that had rust on it. Look great now.
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Old 06-26-2017, 06:38 AM   #7
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You should all contact Jayco individually, tell them what happened, Report on here what they say.
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Old 06-27-2017, 07:58 PM   #8
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Any pics of the repair?
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Old 06-28-2017, 12:44 PM   #9
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I was under my 35S yesterday looking at the cheezy wheel well installation and I will be adding a lot of reinforcements to them. There are spots where I can use L brackets to fasten the wheel well to the sub-frame steel. I will use stainless steel hardware rather than any self-tapping rust collectors. I'll post pics of mine when it's done. Also, one note: one of the selftapping Jayco screws was rubbing on my propane hose. The hose couldn't be re-routed so I remove the offending screw and put in a stainless nut, bolt and washers.
Stainless hardware is expensive but once it's in you don't have to worry about it and it won't "rustweld" together so you can always undo it.
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Old 06-28-2017, 12:51 PM   #10
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I'm getting ready to buy a 2018 Alante..... has anyone contacted the factory regarding the wheel well issue? Seems like it's something that the factory service should address. We've been to the factory 3 times over the last 4 Jayco's, and they really impressed me.
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Old 07-04-2017, 04:57 PM   #11
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I did a quick fix of #10 Self Tapping screws to secure the metal to the side of the house, and then secure the plastic to the metal again. It is not a permanent fix but it keeps me on the road, and keeps the wheel from burning through the plastic again.

My dealer is aware of the issue, and I'll get it taken care of permanently when I have time to leave it with them for a week or two. It's just a shame it's so far away. There is a great shop within 15 minutes of me, but they are not authorized Jayco dealer.
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Old 07-04-2017, 05:03 PM   #12
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There is a great shop within 15 minutes of me, but they are not authorized Jayco dealer.
I keep seeing it said on here that Jayco will authorize repairs at shops that have no affiliation with Jayco. . . . For sure Jayco is well aware of this particular issue.
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Old 07-06-2017, 05:45 AM   #13
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I spoke to someone at Jayco via e mail this week about some things, and this was one topic. He said that this is an issue with the chassis manufacture, and not the coach. That tdidn't make sense to me since it is supposed to be attached to the coach/house to keep it from flapping around.

Either way, my dealer said they will fix it next time I bring it in, which is great news. Jayco also did inform me that I can get my local RV dealer approved for warranty work, instead of arranging travel to my purchasing dealer, when needed, so that's cool.
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Old 07-06-2017, 10:36 AM   #14
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I spoke to someone at Jayco via e mail this week about some things, and this was one topic. He said that this is an issue with the chassis manufacture, and not the coach. That tdidn't make sense to me since it is supposed to be attached to the coach/house to keep it from flapping around.
That makes no sense. The sequence of wheel well disintegration is initiated when the screw at the bottom falls out. Clearly that screw is installed by Jayco, into their coach, and Ford has no control over it.
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Old 07-06-2017, 10:58 AM   #15
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I wasn't going to argue with him about it, since my dealer said they were going to take care of it anyways. Just wanted to make him aware of the issue.
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Old 07-07-2017, 01:52 PM   #16
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While preparing to check my generator oil about an hour ago, I too discovered the rear driver side wheel well shield had several sheared off screws. Thing is just dangling.
Thank goodness I discovered this before I took off again. Could have been a disaster.
Called Jayco customer service. They have had previous complaints, and they will authorize repair/rebuild.
In the meantime, I just arrived in west virginia from florida, and will be leaving for points north in a few days. Looks like if I can't do a secure fix myself, I'll remove it for now. In fact that's what the Jayco customer rep recommended.
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Old 07-09-2017, 07:22 AM   #17
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While preparing to check my generator oil about an hour ago, I too discovered the rear driver side wheel well shield had several sheared off screws. Thing is just dangling.
Thank goodness I discovered this before I took off again. Could have been a disaster.
Called Jayco customer service. They have had previous complaints, and they will authorize repair/rebuild.
In the meantime, I just arrived in west virginia from florida, and will be leaving for points north in a few days. Looks like if I can't do a secure fix myself, I'll remove it for now. In fact that's what the Jayco customer rep recommended.
While at my friends homestead here in WV, all is well
Thanks to his help and tool collection, the wheel well is better than ever.
3 1" self tapping steel screws did the trick.
Other than the gyrations we went through to get to everything, the job was easy peezy.
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Old 07-09-2017, 06:30 PM   #18
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Not criticize anyone but l just want to bring up the point that self tapping screws have little shear strength. That is why the factory screws are failing. Self tapping screws are not stainless steel or galvanized and will rust. The best solution here is to use stainless steel nuts, bolts and lock washers.
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Old 07-09-2017, 07:06 PM   #19
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Not criticize anyone but l just want to bring up the point that self tapping screws have little shear strength. That is why the factory screws are failing. Self tapping screws are not stainless steel or galvanized and will rust. The best solution here is to use stainless steel nuts, bolts and lock washers.
Except that the screw that "fails" initially simply falls out. Too short and too small in diameter. But yes, the screws at the top of the panel will then shear off when exposed to the back-and-forth motions of a rather heavy panel flapping in the breeze.
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Old 07-10-2017, 04:39 AM   #20
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Except that the screw that "fails" initially simply falls out. Too short and too small in diameter. But yes, the screws at the top of the panel will then shear off when exposed to the back-and-forth motions of a rather heavy panel flapping in the breeze.
The metal flap on the front of the driver side dually wheels was being held by one screw, after the head off the screw holding the metal panel to the inside of the outside wall sheered off.
I replaced two screws, and added a third. Seems very sturdy for now.
Passenger side wheel well seems fine, with no repair necessary.

This trip will last till 1st week of September, after which I plan to take the rig in for routine service and attention to wheel wells. Will be curious to see what Jayco advises and authorizes for permanent repair.
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