Chassis (and other stuff) Corrosion

[Jerry Burks]

So we picked up our new Alante 31V (2018 model). Everything looking good for the most part and even the missing Garmin screen device showed up very quickly (thanks to Richardson RV for good service) now even with a spare dock unit.

Today I crawled under the coach to install a rock skirt and found that the chassis beams and other suspension parts are seriously rusted. I don't even know if there is really some paint on the beams. Obviously the motorhome has been sitting in the dealer lot for over a year (but in a very dry climate) and who knows which salted roads were driven from Indiana to California. Otherwise there is some corrosion on the steel and aluminum parts in the propane/heater compartment.

Now, should I just ignore this, given the hefty steel parts which won't rust away anytime soon? Or should I prime and paint everything?

Actually, is this sorry excuse of a paint job for the chassis normal?

[NC Roamer]

Our Greyhawk had rust on the chassis, too. Our dealer sanded and recoated it under warranty four years ago and it’s not returned.

[Foretm]

I would document the condition of the beams and conytact Jayco Motorized CS and send them the photos and ask how they want you to proceed. My experience is they are very good to work with and will help you get to a resolution.


Jayco Motorized CS
1-800-517-9137 1,1,1
motorizedservice@jayco.com


Have the last 8 of your VIN (starting with J0..)

[houstonstroker]

I would coat it.

https://www.por15.com/

[Jerry Burks]

Thanks for the recommendations. I took some pictures and will send to Jayco CS. I find that unacceptable.

Just to give an idea how I received the coach, I attach some pictures below. Pretty poor condition for a new vehicle, even if from previous model year. For that matter, all the loose and dangling wires do not inspire much confidence in long term reliability.

[Foretm]

Jerry,


Could be an optical illusion, but it looks to me like you may have a crack in picture 2 just to the left of the leaf springs where they attach to the axle. Hard to tell in the photo, could just as easily be a shadow, but worth checking on in person to confirm.

See below.

[Midnightmoon]

You could also Fluid Film the chassis on your unit.

[Jerry Burks]

Originally Posted by Foretm

Jerry,


Could be an optical illusion, but it looks to me like you may have a crack in picture 2 just to the left of the leaf springs where they attach to the axle. Hard to tell in the photo, could just as easily be a shadow, but worth checking on in person to confirm.

See below.

Thanks for the hint! It does really look like a crack but I looked at it again today and there is nothing to see (other than the darn rust). I suspect this may be a sharp shadow of the curved axle surface created by the small distance between camera lens and flashlight of the cellphone.

[Foretm]

Ok good... I wasn't sure but better to check and know, than to not check and have a failure.

[Jerry Burks]

Yes, it got me scared for a moment...

I did some research and I found a lot of chassis rust related complaints on this and on other forum sites. Looks like the shoddy rust protection is an industry disease, not just Jayco and the even more shoddy road salt cleaning after transport is also typical for many dealerships.

Let's see if I can get any feedback from the dealer or Jayco customer service. I am already hesitant to let the dealer fix the rust, assuming they will just spray over the rust with black rattle can paint. There are reports regarding that as well.

Not a good start of my motorhome adventure

[RetiredLEO]

That is absolutely horrible. I live in the Midwest where salt and calcium chloride is dumped by the tons on our roads every year. It's crazy that it would have this much rust even if it was transported from the factory in the winter. Our cars and pick-ups even after several winters here don't have near the chassis rust that you have.
If I was buying new and crawled underneath and saw what you have the deal would be off.
So sorry you are starting out like this

[Balibe]

Originally Posted by Jerry Burks

Thanks for the recommendations. I took some pictures and will send to Jayco CS. I find that unacceptable.

Just to give an idea how I received the coach, I attach some pictures below. Pretty poor condition for a new vehicle, even if from previous model year. For that matter, all the loose and dangling wires do not inspire much confidence in long term reliability.

.

I have the same issue with rust on my 2018 Alante 26x. Let me know how it goes with Jayco.

Check the wiring to make sure it is secured properly. I also found so many not strapped up properly. One was a wire conduit for the rear camera, it was resting against the engine header and melted shorting the wires to the camera.

While diagnosing the camera, I found another wire conduit touching the catalytic converter. So far this one only melted the wire conduit and some of the wire insulation. Good thing I caught it before it shorted as the wire conduit has 115v in it.

The exposed wiring at the kwikee steps is as major mess on mine. Hasn't caused an issues yet, but will if not addressed.

.

[Jerry Burks]

Thanks, I will check that wiring. So far no reply from Jayco CS or from the dealership on my email. I guess I will have to call them next week. I need to schedule service for the fuse recall anyway.

But I am already committed to fixing the rust myself. After reading some other people's experience I have no confidence that the dealer service is going to do it right.

Now I need to find a place with a pit where I can get it power washed from below to remove the salt residue and later to apply rust converter and undercoat. I could put the motorhome on ramps but the 6.5 inch rise don't leave much space to move around.

Where would I find such a place with a pit (I am new to RVs)? I googled and looked on Yelp but I am not sure if I am using the correct search terms.

[Foretm]

Originally Posted by Jerry Burks

Where would I find such a place with a pit (I am new to RVs)? I googled and looked on Yelp but I am not sure if I am using the correct search terms.

Most truck shops would have one, but unlikely they would let you use it without at least some sort of fee, but maybe not at all.

[Jerry Burks]

Now I did get a response from Richarson's RV (the dealer) saying they are going to check with Jayco what to do. I have the fuse recall service scheduled in June and the least they can do at this time is get the salt off from below (and take care of a leaking tire and a leaking shower faucet). I will do the rest of the rust treatment.

I also got a reply from Jayco Motorized Customer Service. Quite polite but basically they said that such a crappy condition is normal, not to worry about, common in the industry and not covered by the warranty.

What can I say.

I hope other potential customers for new RV's (not just motorhomes) will see this and remember to bring a flashlight and old clothes to crawl under and check out the "new" vehicle before signing the contract. I wish I had done that.

[Jerry Burks]

Update, message from Richardson's RV dealership:

"Just letting you know that The Riverside Service department will be addressing your undercarriage rust issues when you bring it in for your service appointment. This is a goodwill repair. We will clean rust areas, Apply rust neutralizer and spray paint affected areas in the undercarriage. "

So that is good. While Jayco's response was pathetic, I think I want to commend Richardson's for their customer service. I will give an update when the work is done. I am not sure yet if I will let them spray paint it or if I should rather apply something like fluid film myself.

JB

[saarf]

I have a 2014 Precept and same issue.
Worse is the propane/battery compartment that has a lot of electrical connections exposed. I had an issue with the connections for the stablizers. A tech spent 3 hours cleaning all the connections in that compartment of rust.
I wish I had then coated everything so the rust would not come back.
Poor design to put that stuff exposed to the elements.
Fred

[OTTERCOMET]

Here are some before repairs photos.








This is a 2017 Jayco Eagle HT model 24.5 CKTS. Purchased June of 2018 - so it sat on dealer lot for a year (Whitby Ontario Canada). Used it once for a 3 day weekend and got under it when I got home thinking I just had some surface rust to take care of. When I saw how bad it was (considering this was a new trailer- albeit a year old) I took photos of the rust and underbelly fabric damage to the dealer and suggested that they replace the unit - that didn't fly. Sept 28 it was decided to return the unit to LCI (Lippert Component Industries) the company that makes Jayco's trailer frames, for repairs. According to the Lippert work order they spent 40 hours sandblasting, welding and painting (order says 6 coats). Unit was returned to dealer in late November and Jayco assigned underbelly repairs to the dealer. Unit spent the winter at the dealers and I got it back a week ago. The underside of he unit now looks like I expected a new unit to look. It has taken a while but between Jayco and our dealer, they stood behind their warranty. No more rust, the underbelly is now one solid piece and well sealed, and they replaced the axles, springs and spring hangers (they also were well rusted).

[RetiredLEO]

I belong to several RV sites and this rust issue is a problem across the board it seems with every manufacturer of rationally priced RV's. Big problems with Winnies also.
Something needs to be done about this all to common problem. Every new owner needs to check their new RV purchases and keep after the manufacturer for repair. Thank goodness it seems that Jayco was good about taking care of this problem...........that speaks volumes for them

[SLS]

Hello, I am new to motorhomes and I am inquiring about the rock guard, where was it installed?