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Old 09-03-2011, 07:49 AM   #1
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Spider Cracks on Rear End Cap

When I began negotiating to trade-in our '08 Melbourne 29D this past Wednesday, the dealer found significant spider cracking on the rear cap, and not just in one place, but over most of the bottom. I had seen these previously when washing and waxing, and noticed some on the top as well, but thought nothing of it--actually thought it was a bad paint job--shame on my ignorance. Ended up costing me about $10,000 on the trade, but I'm glad we didn't sell to a friend or mislead a dealer; at least I can sleep at night. This, and comments I've heard from other Jayco owners, particularly Melbourne owners, lead me to believe that we did the right thing in getting rid of the motor home. I will say that until this, it was pretty much trouble free, and we had loads of good times. But to take a 15-20% loss because of defective fiberglass is unacceptable in any situation. I sure hope Jayco is listening, because most of their newest customers we've visited with have indicated extreme unhappiness with them, and won't buy from their product again. And, I won't recommend them to anyone again.
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Old 09-03-2011, 08:09 AM   #2
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Spider cracks

They may have been there a while. My new 2011 has some on the front cap. I have taken it back to my dealer for a estimate from Jayco. It will be repaired locally by a fiberglass company. Looks like a factory defect. I have only used the camper twice.
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Old 09-07-2011, 12:15 PM   #3
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You would think they would monitor this site.......... but I really don't think they do or don't care. We are in to 3 months FIGHTING to get warranty items fixed by Jayco. Like you I'm lossing faith in Jayco!
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Old 09-07-2011, 06:12 PM   #4
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It's a real shame, because Jayco had such an outstanding reputation. Last June 2010, I took the Melbourne to the factory to check the water pump and lines. They found nothing wrong, but interestingly, I made a comment about some other less reputable brands, and the FACTORY SERVICE MANAGER said they were all about the same, including Jayco. He said that he had worked with a couple of other companies in the Elkhart County area. This is the FACTORY SERVICE MANAGER. I was astounded. Oh well, I've moved to another brand now, made in Forest City, IA, and we'll see what kinds of issues they present.
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Old 09-07-2011, 06:25 PM   #5
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That is interesting. I volunteered to bring our "new" Melbourne to the factory to have warrenty issues resolved. Was told by the customer service person that "they" did not do that and that all work had to be done outside the factory. Factory was not geared to do work on mh's once they leave.
Spent about a hour today with Jayco customer service (on the phone). Boy there's a lot of "talk" with that group.
Promised me they would get back in 24 hours with solutions. We will see.
I promised them I would start posting our disappointment with Jayco in 25 hours.
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Old 09-08-2011, 06:51 AM   #6
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Spider cracking is common on fiberglass. more cosmetic than anything.. rather than take a $10,000.00 hit just apply a fresh gelcoat layer.
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Old 09-11-2011, 08:06 AM   #7
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For minor spider cracks take a look at the gel coat repair kits at your local marine supply. There are a few that are ready for use directly out of the tube and look great. Kits exist that allow you to mix colors that also work well. Boaters also have these issues due to constant flexing. The minor cracks are generally cosmetic and you only want to prevent water intrusion.
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Old 09-11-2011, 02:11 PM   #8
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Our local dealer called and has received the ok from Jayco for the spider cracks on my front cap to be to be repaired by a local independent shop.
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Old 09-15-2011, 07:39 AM   #9
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If you have a warranty why are you messing with the factory. The dealer where you bought it from, or any dealer for that matter should take care of it for you, it's their job, not yours to contact the factory. Do you do that when you have a warranty issue with your car or truck? No, you take it to the dealer and they take care of it. I'm new to trailers so I might be missing something here, it just doesn't seem that you have to fight with the factory unless the dealer refuses your claim.
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Old 09-15-2011, 09:42 AM   #10
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I have not had a bad experience with Jayco warranty service at my local dealer.

I always give them a chance to do their job before going over their head.

IMO Jayco still has good quality.
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Old 09-15-2011, 02:21 PM   #11
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I've had many boats in my days and spider cracks are common on all fiberglass products. It is not structural since the gel coat is the first layer applied in the molds then the fiberglass is sprayed in a layered up from there. Most spider cracks occur from a flexing issue or maybe as much as a hard hit to the point where the spider starts, i.e. center point. Unless your whole panel needs to be replaced or completely resurfaced you could have a fiberglass or good auto body shop repair the issue for a fraction of what you're loosing on the trade IMHO. At the very least have a shop specializing in this type repair work write up a quote for the work. The other option is if you can get to another dealer get a second quote on the trade in writing and see what they say. At least you've got something to bargin with then. $10K seems steep unless I am missing something.

The fiberglass caps on our rigs do very little for a structural stand point since they are only 1/8-3/16 of an inch thick.
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Old 09-16-2011, 08:13 AM   #12
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Jayco or Dealers ???

All of my warranty work has been done by a Jayco dealer (Owasco in Ontario) without a problem. Is the problem that some owners have a Jayco factory or a Jayco dealer problem ? My problems have always been resolved without any need for involvement at the Jayco Factory.
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Old 09-17-2011, 08:59 AM   #13
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2 comments:

1) I, too, have generally had very good experience with Jayco in terms of dealer and manufacturer response. This is my 4th Jayco RV.

2) I had spider-web cracks on my HitchHiker fifthwheel and although I never followed through with this suggestion, I did think it was a good one (for what it is worth): contact one of the bathtub renew companies that makes old fiberglass bathtubs look new and see what the could do and what they would charge to "renew the end-cap".

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Old 09-19-2011, 09:31 AM   #14
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Getting Jayco to help with our issues has been a constant problem from day one. Our dealer is 620 miles away (not going there). The local dealer said he would prefer not to do the work. So we are driving 120 miles to a dealer that will.
Getting the parts to fix our problems has been a joke. Wrong parts received, damaged parts received. You name it & it has happened.
Going on three months now to get issues resolved.
My big hang up is that I've been the driving force to get things done. Jayco will not except ownership of the issues. If I was not constantly on the phone, nothing would be getting done (that's all the way from Orlando RV to Jayco, Inc).
I even had one dealer tell me that the RV industry was not like the auto industry. "Don't think you can just drive into any Jayco dealer to get warranty work done. No dealer wants to do warranty work. No money in it". That's what I was told.
As a first timer, this is really turning me away for Jayco and the rv life.
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Old 09-19-2011, 10:39 AM   #15
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My local dealer made arrangements for a local fiberglass repair company to repair my front cap gelcoat thru Jayco on warranty. I dropped it off today and will pick it up in a couple days.

Sure am happy that some things are working as they should.
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Old 09-19-2011, 11:31 AM   #16
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I would consider you lucky !
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