Fiberglass siding question (updated 12-30-15)

As usual a well written and executed story from Hap. Good to know there is good honest repair facilities available.

That's great it got fixed right. Always good to see Jim get the credit he deserves.

Thanks for the update! Always interested in seeing people's solutions to get these house-on-wheels fixed.

Thanks Hap, as long as you're happy with the repair the cost doesn't much matter. Had to be cheaper then buying a new one! Glad Jim took care of your issues, come spring you're hopefully good to go again, thanks for updating the members.

Y-Guy thanks for asking. I was affair my post above was too long to add that information, but since you ask – here goes.

My Weekend Warrior is listed as a 2006 FSC2800 (with almost all options) but I’ve always considered it as a 2005 build. Jim explained that it was a common practice to build the floor about a foot wider than the outriggers of the stock frame (this was true of all manufactures). Over the years this unsupported area will sag down and this bows the flooring into an arc. The interior of the unit will show signs of this arcing at the wheel wells and cabinets by pulling away from their mountings. This is seen as gaps between the floor and wheel wells or space between the cabinets and walls. (I didn’t see this in my unit).

In my unit I found my main entry door would sometimes stick. You could see the flooring roll downward from about a foot inside the door to the edge of the doorway floor trim. My forward pass through doors were also sticking. None of these issues rose to the level of causing a concern as I believed they just needed to be adjusted after 10 years of lots of road use. The front passenger/front cap separation was due to the downward shift of the floor.

The repairs consisted of jacking up the frame into proper alignment and re-enforcing it as needed. Re-position the flooring back to the proper height (Frame to floor relationship) and then building new out riggers to support the outside edge of the floors around the whole perimeter of the trailer. We also doubled checked the axle alignment while the frame was in the frame jig.

The split seam that caused me to seek help in the first place was found to be dry and the wood still good. The seam was re-enforced, glued, and screwed back into place. The trim was cleaned and re-installed.

The interior had the wheel wells and cabinets removed. The cabinet frames were re-enforced and re-secured to the walls. The wheel wells were also done the same way. The main door and front cabinets were adjusted and the trim re-secured as needed. The whole frame was repainted and I had my whole roof resealed.

One vent cap was replaced and a handful of trim and cosmetic issues were corrected (these were routine wear & tear from age).

I know the real question is “What did all that cost?” I won’t list that here. If you want that answer send me a PM and I’ll reply.

Good news there Hap! Can you share what he did to fix the problem?

OK, here’s the latest and final update.

I did contact Jim Goodwin at VIP RV Service at 27451 Ethanc Rd. Menifee, Ca. 92585, (951-294-1907). I found Jim to be very helpful and informative. He worked with me over the phone to identify the problem(s) and possible concerns as I described them to him. I got a worst case scenario price and made arrangements to bring my trailer down.

As I live in snow country and feared rain, slush, and snow entering the gap and causing additional damage I asked if I could bring my unit down before my Dec. 15th appointment. Jim said sure I'll hold it until I’m ready to start on it. I dropped it off in late Oct.

To transport the trailer the 250 miles at highway speed I did the following. I duct taped the gapping split of the seam on the damaged front passenger side to seal the gap. Then used nylon rope and tied from the awning support arm to the upper center mounted front cap ladder. I laced the rope back and forth from the top to the bottom securing it as tightly as possible. My goal was to prevent the side panel from getting air under it and acting like a parachute pulling the side apart. This system worked fine and did its job. I travelled at 55 mph from home to the shop.

At VIP RV Jim took a lot of time to go over and inspect my unit. He explained what he was looking for, what hidden problems might be found, and what repairs would be performed. I left the shop feeling confident I’d found the right shop and guy to do the repairs. And I was glad to be out of the winter weather.

On Nov 16th while in Los Angeles on other business I got a call from Jim. “Your trailer is done”. I couldn’t get to his shop until after hours but Jim stated he’d wait for me. I then explained I didn’t have my hitch with me, Jim said I’ll loan you one. I picked up my unit and headed home that night.

Jim went far and above to help me get my unit repaired ahead of schedule and to see I didn’t have to make an additional trip back to L.A. His quoted price was the final price except for tax. His shop is a class act and Jim is a Great Guy.

Thanks I'll do some follow-up.
Hap

The weekend warrior expert repairmen is Jim Goodwin. He worked for WW then SoCal rv doctor. He left SoCal rv dr over some differences of opinion. He is a class act and and does excellent work. I would contact him and skip using SoCal rv dr. Here's his new company. http://www.viprvservice.net

Sounds pretty similar to what I dealt with on my 2004 Superlite. THe floor area sagged near the door area and much of the curb side wall. Entire trailer appeared to be leaning towards the curb side even when sitting on level ground

The whole thing pretty much left a sick feeling in my stomach every time we used it, and I was glad to dump that trailer earlier this year. Had even considered setting fire to it as I wasn't sure I would be able to sell. Only got $4500 for it but its no longer my headache.

This problem does extend beyond WW but I believe its mostly older units. I was sure to research if Eclipse was having any of these kinds of issues before I bought my new fiver and so far I have not really heard of any.

I do find it somewhat ironic that the guys who managed the WW assembly lines when these trailers were built are now profiting off owners dealing with these issues.