ROOF QUESTIONS (primarily):
I'm considering purchasing a 2015 28a Majestic (Thor) from Cruise America. I have gone through much of this (and other) threads about purchasing a rental RV. I understand the pros and cons. I have owned RVs in the past am familiar with lots of RV issues.
My specific question is about the roof construction of these rental RVs. I can't seem to get an intelligent answer from the salespeople. Someone there mentioned that the roofs were custom build for Cruise America "because they never want them to leak". They mentioned something about them being "PVC" or something equivalent. Do any of you know how these roofs are generally constructed on their 2015 model? Is there plywood sheeting? Are the rafters/supports wood or metal or something else? Knowing this would be very helpful for me.
Sooo... I was inspecting one that I'm considering purchasing and one of the things I noticed is that there was a water leak coming from the front vent (over the cab) and also the one over the bathroom. Water was coming from under the vent flange (not through the screen as though the vent was left open during the rain). It was coming from under the vent moulding. This concerned me. My biggest worry is that if there has been some leaking, could it have possibly damaged some of the wood members in the ceiling?? Thankfully, I didn't see any signs of water damage BELOW those vents (like on the over-cab bunk, or on the bathroom floor, etc). I also didn't see any signs of wall or ceiling damage, sagging, etc. When I brought up this issue, they pulled the RV over to their service bay, had someone jump up on the roof (I joined them) and it looked like some of the caulking had some cracks in it. So they got out their Dicor and put on a bunch around all of the vents.
So I'm wondering if this is something I should be worried about. The salesperson is talking as if it is no big deal. I would normally expect a salesman to say things like that (...just to continue the sale moving along). But I will say that I have up to this point felt very comfortable with the multiple salespeople I have worked with over there. I created a list of about 20 things that I would want fixed on the RV and for the most part they said, "No problem, we can do that for you." I also got them to agree that if it leaks anytime in the first year I can bring it back for them to seal again.
In general, I am very happy with the condition and price of the RV. And I'm very happy that they are going to fix so many of the issues I identified during a VERY thorough inspection. But I'm just noto sure if I should be worried about the fact that the roof was leaking around the vents.
Thoughts? Your opinions/feedback is much appreciated.
Chris
PS: I'm not interested in creating a lot of chatter about whether or not it's good or bad to purchase an RV rental. I'm primarily looking for any feedback/opinions about the roofs on these Majestics and/or your thoughts on whether I'm over-thinking a vent leak (...one which may now be fixed since they resealed it). Thanks!!
