Squeaky flexing floor

Danny Duncan · 04-15-2018, 11:16 PM

In June of 2016 we purchased a new Jayco White Hawk travel trailer. After a couple of months and a couple of trips the floor in the middle of the trailer developed a loud squeak. In a short time this became more pronounced and you could see the floor flex when walked on. It got louder at times and I eventually took it in to the dealer to have it checked. At the time they agreed it was pretty loud, not good. They called me up and said that there was nothing wrong with it as this was an area where the floor joints came together and there were no cross frame supports due to the holding tanks being in that area. This is not acceptable. If the floor made that kind of noise when we looked at it I nor anyone else would have bought it. Well a number of months have gone by, a couple of letters to Jayco and phone conversations with Jayco factory reps and going back and forth with the selling dealer have so far produced no satisfaction only frustration. I have done a lot of research on different forums, talked to different rv repair facilities and have found this is not a new problem but has been going on for some time. Jayco even put thicker flooring in to address the problem but obviously that didn't work. I have found that one fix has been to put flat strap braces above the tanks between the frame. When I have talked to the Jayco reps they admit that the lack of bracing is the reason for the floor squeak and flexing. When asked then if they wouldn't consider this a design flaw they become silent, won't respond. They give me no direction when asked but tell me they will work with me on it. Again when asked exactly what that means they go silent again. They say talk to your dealer and see what they will do. When I talk to the dealer they are no help. They say Jayco won't authorize them enough time for the fix to cover their costs. I've got to say the amount of time the dealer stated needed for the repair seemed way way excessive. The only Jayco dealers I've talked to that have done this repair are way to far from me. From my research I know Jayco authorised this type of repair in some instances in the past. It would seem to me Jayco has been in the business long enough to design a unit without this problem, no support on floor joints. Over the last 25+ years of rving and several different rigs (trailers & motohomes) ive never had one with a floor like this. It makes you feel like they got your money so go away. Very disapointed.

nighthawk87 · 04-16-2018, 10:15 AM

My advice is not to worry so much about it. In the end, it will be fine and a little flex in one spot is t a reason to put yourself through that much stress, especially for something you bought in order to enjoy yourself.

I used to fret about a lot of small things both on my trailer and on my truck. I decided a while back, after almost ruining a trip with family because of my OCD, to just relax and enjoy things.

In the end I’ll admit it was the best thing I could do. I enjoy things much more now.

Unless it literally is going to snap, then just move on an enjoy your camper.

bdreinv · 04-16-2018, 10:34 AM

You may wish you have fixed it when you go to sell! We noticed squeaking floor and roofs seem to be what buyer are interested in. Thanks

curver900 · 04-16-2018, 11:20 AM

if there is an approved repair and the dealer won't do it then take it to the Jayco factory on one of your jaunts and have them fix it.. or take it to another dealer. yea you have to drive but it sounds like those are your only choices. Trade it in at the dealer you bought it at and when they say the floor squeaks you can say yea but you think that is fine...

My bet is they are hoping the warranty runs out.. so get it in writing that the floor needs to be fixed before your warranty runs out.. then you have a legal document...

blujay40 · 04-16-2018, 11:42 AM

Our 2017 Eagle 330RSTS has the same type of flexing issue in two different areas but I refer to it as more of a "creak" than a "squeak" only because it is quite pronounced and lower tone. One is in the Bedroom, just in front of the closet and the second is in the kitchen between the island and the storage cabinets.

If you were to take a chalk line and run it from front to back, both spots are on the same line, just to the campside of center. I have complained to our dealer about this before, and was told that they added extra support to those areas, but in reality, I doubt they did anything because there are no entry points cut in the underbelly directly below those areas, so how would they have gotten up there?

Anyway, I am bringing it up with them again and will go to Jayco to make sure it's notated on my warranty file before it runs out just in case. I also agree with the comment that it may become an issue during any possible resale.

Since I have a newer issue that may require them to pull at least a good portion of the coroplast down to fix, I will push for them to give it a go again because if they actually tried to do something the last time, it didn't help and if anything, it hurt.

Does anyone know if Jayco will tell you what has been reported to them by the dealership in regards to warranty work already completed?

bdreinv · 04-16-2018, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blujay40

Our 2017 Eagle 330RSTS has the same type of flexing issue in two different areas but I refer to it as more of a "creak" than a "squeak" only because it is quite pronounced and lower tone. One is in the Bedroom, just in front of the closet and the second is in the kitchen between the island and the storage cabinets.

If you were to take a chalk line and run it from front to back, both spots are on the same line, just to the campside of center. I have complained to our dealer about this before, and was told that they added extra support to those areas, but in reality, I doubt they did anything because there are no entry points cut in the underbelly directly below those areas, so how would they have gotten up there?

Anyway, I am bringing it up with them again and will go to Jayco to make sure it's notated on my warranty file before it runs out just in case. I also agree with the comment that it may become an issue during any possible resale.

Since I have a newer issue that may require them to pull at least a good portion of the coroplast down to fix, I will push for them to give it a go again because if they actually tried to do something the last time, it didn't help and if anything, it hurt.

Does anyone know if Jayco will tell you what has been reported to them by the dealership in regards to warranty work already completed?

Suppose to do not count on that, call Jayco to make sure every body story matches up.We have a 16 Eagle 321 RSTS floor broke lose from dinning room table under island to stove.Don't know how they repaired it, they did replace all the vinyl in the living area.Must have cut something out.Heat duct in floor created an additional problem in making repair.Floor still creaks in that area! Thanks

Charliebob · 04-16-2018, 12:02 PM

Hello, we just bought a 330rsts 2018 have same issues with floor the whole trailer length it is soft next to floor vents on the door side. Also thermostat is defective will not work above 60 degrees and the dealer had to order a new panel for the outside led lights. Found that before we even took it home tank goodness but have to take back for the panel. We want to wait to see if anything else is wrong as the dealer is 3 hours away. we are going to test this weekend with water, fingers crossed.

Danny Duncan · 04-17-2018, 04:08 AM

Some of you are right, I should just enjoy the trailer and not stress over a little squeak. The problem is that it's louder than a little squeak and more than one spot. Some of you are right it probably will be an issue if and when I go to sell or trade it. As for the dealer I don't hold much hope they will be of any help. I have done a lot of business with them the last 12 years but probably no more. The service adviser that I used to deal with there was very good, on the ball and really advocated for the customer. Unfortunately he retired and the service manager and other adviser aren't much good. As for documenting things with Jayco they have record of my letters and phone calls but as I said before they are so non-committal on issues it's almost laughable. When they respond it's only through a phone call or messages, never anything in writing. It doesn't appear they have any set or approved fix, they barely acknowledge there's an issue. At this point I really don't know what if anything I am going to do with it. I need another trip.

bigironcoder · 04-17-2018, 05:32 AM

I gave up on my last squawker (245RLS) and sold it. It's the kind of thing that really gets to you after awhile, especially heading to the potty in the middle of the night.

The dealer had it for a month and said the problem was the lengthwise wood floor joists were not one piece but shorter pieces joined end to end with the kind of metal plates you see on home roof trusses. And that they were just stapled in place.

So the dealer added heavier metal braces and screwed them in place. Sounds good right... two trips later it was squawking again in the same place. My take on this is these lightweight trailers are going to flex and loosen up.

This is the kind of thing I believe I could have worked on myself, except it had the arctic package with the sealed underbelly. It's kind of a big deal to work on anything inside the underbelly, which is why I didn't want one on my current trailer.

bdreinv · 04-17-2018, 10:17 AM

Write the President of Jayco send it certified I did. It got customer service attention! Still have the idiot dealers that is another story. Derald Bontrager 903 S. Main St. Middlebury IN. 46450-8529.They hope you will just go away!

Danny Duncan · 04-18-2018, 08:09 AM

Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate all the feedback. I too thought about doing something myself but my rig also has the artic package and is sealed up pretty good. After all the contacts and inquiries I've made and from what I've learned I really dread the thought of going through the process and wondering why it's sitting in the shop for one or two months and all the inherent hassles. I am not sure what exactly I am going to do with it but writing to the Jayco president sounds like a good next step, thanks for the info.

Danny Duncan · 04-18-2018, 08:38 AM

Thanks for all the replies and info, it's really appreciated. I thought about tackling it myself but I too have the artic package so it's pretty well sealed up. After all the inquiries and what I've learned I dread all the upcoming hassels and wondering why it's sitting in the shop for one or two months. Thank you for the Info on writing the Jayco president, that will probably be my next step.

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