sidewall crack

[DSam]

we have a 2020 Pinnacle 36SSWS
that developed a crack in front of the bedroom slide out.
sounds like this is a common problem, the other issue we are having is that this same slide does not extend out far enough to close the bedroom door.
Jayco would like to have my dealer make the repairs but they have only repaired one other with this problem and I am not so sure I am comfortable in having them do the fix!
the others that they have had repaired the dealer sent them back to the factory.
Any thoughts on who should make the repairs and have you been happy with the results and have the repairs held up?

[Joan617]

Welcome to the club and don't worry; it gets better.
After we developed the crack, we were still within a few hours striking distance to our selling dealer in the Winter Park FL area, but they backed out of trying to repair the crack, citing the lack of resources. Jayco at the time was booking up to a year out at the factory, so they recommended Vogt RV in Ft. Worth. So we decided to make lemonade with our lemons, turn it into a family adventure and slowly move west.


We had the work done at Vogt RV in July, along with a honey-do list of other things, some warranty, some not. Turns out Vogt has done scores of these and helped Jayco develop the current techniques used in the repair.

There is now a new crack at roughly the same place, but we are not upset, because we are quite sure that it is cosmetic at the finish level and not structural. I saw all the aluminum and steel plates that were welded in to the frame and sidewalls and firmly believe that the pinbox would be ripped from the unit before another structural crack appeared there.

During the crack repair, it was noticed that there was a problem with our bedroom slides, both inner Schwintec and outer SlimRack, and we have an appointment to return to Vogt in January 2021 to fix those.


Now, for the bedroom door, ours has shut properly maybe once since our PDI. But we are just the two of us plus pets and the door was not a severe issue. A bigger problem for us with a 2019 unit was where the outer SLIDE would not extend, due to a problem with the lock-out switch on the bedroom door. We just shorted the switch wires in the basement.

None of this severely impacted our life, besides finding a home for us for 2 weeks (AirBnB) and the expense of boarding four cats.

Looks like you are east coast(?). I think that any good RV autobody shop with access to good welding and obviously cosmetic paint repair can do the job right if they follow the engineering drawings from Jayco. The labor allowance is 40 hours and the rest is literally waiting for paint and glue to dry. Vogt RV doesn't even have a welder; they bring in a 3rd party pro for that part of the job.


Hope this helps and not discourages; let me know if there is anything else or further questions. We are very happy in our home.
Angus

[bill3kirk]

We had ours repaired twice. Both times at the factory. 10/2019 we delivered it to the factory and picked it up (was convenient) and 12/2019, Jayco picked it up and returned it. The first repair failed after ~300 miles. The second repair looks great and has held up so far (approx. 6,800 miles). If it happens again though, I'm having a expansion joint put in.

As Joan617 said, Vogt gets a lot of good press. I've not heard anything bad about their repairs.

Scheduling will most likely be the biggest delay.

[DSam]

Thank you for your comments
Jayco contacted me and can not schedule the repairs until June-July 2021
I asked about taking it to Vogt RV and Jayco said they could make the appointment at Vogt for me and would probably be January - February

[DSam]

Thanks all for your comments,
Took my RV to Vogt RV Service Center on Saturday and Grant was very helpful, friendly and professional.
I am looking forward to getting my camper back.
Totally believe that pulling it 700 miles to get the warranty work done was the correct decision!