Leaky Lance 1881 Travel Trailer

It appears that some TT's have vocal fan clubs here; Lance certainly being one. All TT's are built in very similar ways with materials that (though some debate) obviously work in most cases. It is interesting to me that the RV industry hasn't put more engineering effort into water infiltration. Cars and trucks don't need semi-annual inspections to prevent leaks around windows, doors, antennas, etc. They get at least as much abuse as TT's. It seems to me that TT's are built using home building technologies, which of course are not intended to travel.

Airstream appears to have made an attempt to build a vehicle you can sleep in instead of a house you can drag around. I don't know. Interesting that manufacturers expect more than semi-annual inspections from owners...they want effective sealing solutions; something they themselves apparently don't provide. Seems wrong to me.

Given the state of the industry and the personalities of people who use forums, it's natural to find lots of complaints and praise for various products. I was very unhappy with my Kodiak when it was delivered due to multiple plumbing leaks. Once corrected, I have had no trouble and love the layout and reliability of the TT. My dealer has been outstanding in correcting any issues we discovered along the way (slight tilt to the shower pan that caused small amounts of water to land on bathroom floor, broken antenna rotator, and a few even more trivial issues.

As I suspected, there appears to be little difference in manufacturing quality between brands. Overall, the industry needs a better approach to QC. Lance, like most trailer companies make a reputable product that occasionally gives some owners problems. Who's shocked? I'm not.

I like Cloquet MN go through there about six times a year. At this point all you can do is fix it and move on. The mfg are all about the same when it comes to leaks, there out is you did not do required maintance. Some mfg will help as a goodwill gesture. You might give them a call. I've had 2 Forest River trailers that the sealent bead was not even on the seam. Award trailers were very well built trailers and still command a good price.

WoodGlue wrote:

BillB800si wrote:

We had out Jayco Eagle for 7 years and NEVER had a leak.

You were very fortunate that your Jayco didn't leak, but then again I suspect that YOU kept an eye on things as you strike me as this sort of person - maintenance oriented, etc.WoodGlue

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I'm usually on the roof a few times a year and yes I do check for cracked caulking and loose tape on the slide outs.
Leaks are a major concern of mine. Water can lead to delamination- rotting & mold. Don't want any of that happening.

I plead guilty to not checking the roof area more often.

However, the leaky fan vent had a gap in the sealant under the flange where it counts so the 'self-leveling' sealant around the outside of the flange wasn't near enuf. And, yes the vent was held in place with 4 screws thru the flange on the roof hole inside relying on this clamping to hold it in place. As a sealant to hold things in place, I;m not impressed with what is used, the flange for the fan vent came loose just basically with my fingernails, the sealant didn't have very good adhesion to the flange in the first place.

There have to be mfgrs who stand behind their work better than what I've heard.

Years ago I owned an 'Award' brand 27ft TT into it's 12th year, and had to do very little re-sealing.

Is that year Lance a flat roof? If so, you've found the root cause, nearly every flat RV roof I've seen on Forest River, Jayco, and on develop a few spots that pool water. Yes, inspecting roof seals is a bi-annual project but a flat roof complicates the issue due to constant water standing at low points.

I don't think it's too much to ask for a brand new trailer to be watertight for 2 years. I'd be a little bit pissed off too.

also agree with the others I would be more concerned about the sagging roof.

Every trailer I've owned said to check the sealant twice a year. Did you do the inspection?

BillB800si wrote:

We had out Jayco Eagle for 7 years and NEVER had a leak. So much for Lance's water test!!!!!

When someone has a 3 year old trailer and says "it was a poor job of sealing the roof vent area" it leads me to believe that they've never been on the roof to inspect the sealant, which is a huge no-no. It almost sounds as if the OP expected the roof seals to last forever and ever.

You were very fortunate that your Jayco didn't leak, but then again I suspect that YOU kept an eye on things as you strike me as this sort of person - maintenance oriented, etc.

WoodGlue

I'm more interested in the low point on the roof...that seems problematic to fix.

You either hear Lance is the best or the worst; the products are very polarizing. Every time I have seen one I always thought they looked pretty good; but I have heard some people shooting venom before about them too.

thomasmnile wrote:

WoodGlue wrote:
The Lance 1881 hasn't been in production for a few years.
Have you been performing regular roof inspections and maintenance?
My suggestion is get up on the roof at least 3 times a year and inspect the caulking for wear and cracking. A good self leveling lap sealant should be applied if these things are found.
WoodGlue

X2. RV sealants are not forever and require vigilant maintenance. I had to reseal the roof ladder attachment points on our new Jayco WhiteHawk and we hadn't owned it 6 months. And, despite their 2 year warranty, Jayco considers sealants a maintenance item and will not cover water damage if the servicing dealer considers the cause of the leak a failure to maintain the sealants.

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We had out Jayco Eagle for 7 years and NEVER had a leak. So much for Lance's water test!!!!!