Sidewall crack study-what’s your setup?

[Timpey11]

Hello again,

Well, I received the estimate for the repair shop to fix my sidewall crack. $21,796 for the repair...yikes. Waiting for Jayco authorization...we will see how this goes. I would think they would rather take it in to Middlebury but that has not been offered at this point.
This involves the 15 page repair dated 2008 with removal of slide and sidewall, welding in gussets, and replacing sidewall with new Filon.
I will keep you all posted on how this progresses.

Thanks,

Tom

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by Timpey11

Hello again,

Well, I received the estimate for the repair shop to fix my sidewall crack. $21,796 for the repair...yikes. Waiting for Jayco authorization...we will see how this goes. I would think they would rather take it in to Middlebury but that has not been offered at this point.
This involves the 15 page repair dated 2008 with removal of slide and sidewall, welding in gussets, and replacing sidewall with new Filon.
I will keep you all posted on how this progresses.

Thanks,

Tom

Wow, that's more then I paid for my trailer lol. Pricey repair.

[ALJO]

RV manufactures produce poor workmanship and still can find foolish buyers - 2020 a top year.

[16WhiteColly]

Really, seems the quality is getting worse instead of better.

[ALJO]

Sometimes we have an apprentice work for a week on a 5er (Furion) to clean-up and repair the factory mess - but at least we get paid (at a lower shop rate).
Manufactures seldom stop a production line, because that cost more. Dealers and some customers are handy enough. It is all a game of the $$$$

[rkelly]

Just wondering if anyone with a 36fbts has had a sidewall crack? It just looks like with the bedroom slide being further back that there is more sidewall material in the area prone to cracking

[madams144]

We’re about to purchase a 2021 Northpoint 377rlbh. Sounds like Jayco can’t seem to solve this issue. Very disappointed after all our research to narrow our choices to learn of this issue. Should I move to my second choice? A Cedar Creek 377?

[Marine71-76]

Originally Posted by rkelly

Just wondering if anyone with a 36fbts has had a sidewall crack? It just looks like with the bedroom slide being further back that there is more sidewall material in the area prone to cracking

We have a 2016 36FBTS and nothing yet. Now, bent outriggers and flooring crowning are another story.

[Lowmiler]

Originally Posted by madams144

We’re about to purchase a 2021 Northpoint 377rlbh. Sounds like Jayco can’t seem to solve this issue. Very disappointed after all our research to narrow our choices to learn of this issue. Should I move to my second choice? A Cedar Creek 377?

Jayco finally relented on the 2021 models and put a stress relief seam right at the corner where the crack starts. They used to brag about their one piece sidewalls that didn’t use that relief seam, but I really don’t think anyone cared, was a strange marketing tactic considering the propensity to crack without that relief seam.

Verdict is out if the relief seam ends this issue. But also bear in mind that Jayco isn’t the only manufacturer with this issue.

[Joan617]

Just got back from Vogt RV in Ft. Worth. They corrected the Schwintek slide problem that we made the appointment for, But they want us back to work on the other BR slide (our rig is the one with the Schwintek BR headboard slide inside of the larger Slimrack BR slide. They will likely replace the motors.


On the way to this visit, the little re-occurrence of the stress crack that I though was superficial and cosmetic had blown up into a full gaping fissure. Manager Rob explained that since they had done our crack repair last summer, they had done the same repairs on other rigs (they do a LOT of these), and found cracks in the frames farther back from that front BR corner. When they get ours back, they will peel the skin back farther and treat what they need to, then button it up with a stress relief / expansion joint. Rob explained that he has done a lot of these on other brands, especially Forrest River. The last dealership he worked for was a big Forrest River shop and they had worked with them to develop the expansion joint installation that is now common.


For now, they stop-drilled the crack, epoxied it up and painted it nicely and just told us not to go off-roading with it. We have decided to cancel our US tour and work our way back to Las Cruces, NM, where we are building a house. When the house is done in late June, we will move in and once we get some basic furnishing, will drive the rig back to Ft. Worth and leave it with Vogt for as long as they need it (a long with a honey-do list of other little things). Then we'll finish the house, pick up the rig and resume our efforts to fill in our map with state stickers.



Angus

[prm99v6]

Got mine back from Jayco today from the third crack repair. New wall (second time) and they out the relief cut in.

So far it lasted the entire drive from Indiana back to Delaware. Last time it didn’t last 250 miles before it cracked again in the drive home from picking it up. [emoji23]

[rkelly]

Originally Posted by prm99v6

Got mine back from Jayco today from the third crack repair. New wall (second time) and they out the relief cut in.

So far it lasted the entire drive from Indiana back to Delaware. Last time it didn’t last 250 miles before it cracked again in the drive home from picking it up. [emoji23]

Attachment 68342
Attachment 68343

Good to hear about the relief cut. Mine goes back in April for the 2nd crack repair. Did the repair center say if there was anything structural loose behind the wall or was it just cosmetic? My first crack had a broken weld in the aluminum at the lower corner of the slide cut out

[prm99v6]

Originally Posted by rkelly

Good to hear about the relief cut. Mine goes back in April for the 2nd crack repair. Did the repair center say if there was anything structural loose behind the wall or was it just cosmetic? My first crack had a broken weld in the aluminum at the lower corner of the slide cut out

They have not indicated any structural issue. I presume they would have told me. When they found the suspension hangers ripping off the first time it was in, they told me and said Lippert had to come make the the repair. I presume the same would have been true if the frame was damaged.

[goducks]

Don't understand why Jayco doesn't do the relief cut and trim as part of the build process. Other MFG's do. What would it take? 5 mins a side. Grab a trim router, cut the grove, grab some caulk and a pre cut trim piece and it's done.

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by goducks

Don't understand why Jayco doesn't do the relief cut and trim as part of the build process. Other MFG's do. What would it take? 5 mins a side. Grab a trim router, cut the grove, grab some caulk and a pre cut trim piece and it's done.

Their hubris won’t let them do it. They’ve touted how great Jayco sidewalls without expansion joints are for so long, they can’t or won’t now say they were wrong the whole time

[prm99v6]

Originally Posted by goducks

Don't understand why Jayco doesn't do the relief cut and trim as part of the build process. Other MFG's do. What would it take? 5 mins a side. Grab a trim router, cut the grove, grab some caulk and a pre cut trim piece and it's done.

They do now. Started for 2021 builds.

[madams144]

Originally Posted by Lowmiler

Jayco finally relented on the 2021 models and put a stress relief seam right at the corner where the crack starts. They used to brag about their one piece sidewalls that didn’t use that relief seam, but I really don’t think anyone cared, was a strange marketing tactic considering the propensity to crack without that relief seam.

Verdict is out if the relief seam ends this issue. But also bear in mind that Jayco isn’t the only manufacturer with this issue.

Well .. I just have to have the Northpoint. None of the posts suggest risk of structural failure .. so superficial? So we just ordered our NP377 with factory gen, 2 panel solar, and the new Truma tankless water heater. Looking like a June delivery. Can’t wait!

Fingers crossed the new “relief joint” addresses the issue.

[Jeffur]

Yes the issue is overblown. How many responses can include pictures of the steel stress cracks or breaks? Steel will flex, aluminum not as much and fibreglass and gel coat wall vacuum glued to aluminum sidewall structure - not at all. Stress relief is the answer.

[Slurugger]

I just picked my unit up a two weeks ago after having the first sidewall crack repair performed. My service advisor was Michelle Scarberry and she was great. We had been on the waiting list for over 18 months and was glad to finally have it repaired. They also fixed the issue where staples in the roof deck were pushing through the roof. They peeled the roof back and put in screws where there were staples. I can also see multiple locations where they added additional steel bracing to the frame for support. She said they haven't had many come backs recently so I'm hoping this the last time I have to deal with the crack.



My only issue was that they scratched the nose cap in a few places during uninstall or reinstall. Michelle said get a quote and they would pay for it to be repaired.



While it took a long time to get in, I'm pleased thus far with my experience with Jayco Service. She also stated that 2021 / 2022 Jayco models will have relief cuts from the factory.

[chfisher2004]

Having been in the tire business most of my life, I can tell you the major causes of sidewall cracks (dry rot)

1. Too much weight, exceeding the rating of the tires. Load rating is right on the sidewall, do the math. Very dangerous if you are on the road, even with new tires! Heat buildup can cause a blowout.

2. Age; having dealt with used tires / salvage all my life, trailer tires are the worst for this. Most of the ones I've seen removed from trailers / RVs have tread like new but are all rotted from age. UV damage and being parked in one spot for long periods of time causes cracks where the tire meets the ground. Infrequent use of the RV contributes to this; a twenty year old RV with the original tires is a ticking time bomb.

3. Low air pressure (related to no. 2 from sitting)

4. Garbage quality cheap imported tires.