More Cameo Questions

[BeeTee]

Took a used fifth wheel hunting trip over the last 3 days. Saw 4 different Cameo's of 2007 and 2008 vintage. Three of the 4 had water damage, none of which was disclosed to us by the sellers (but that's another story.) One of the units had a roof problem where the roof meets the rear cap. The other 2 appeared to have leaks around the rear windows.

Is anyone aware if this is a Cameo problem in general or just bad luck on our part? Unfortunately there are no newer models of those we're interested in which are a reasonable distance from where we live.

Thanks !

[MargaretRehkop]

A true advice. Very nice.

[Durb]

I don't have a Cameo but I do have a 2008 Carriage product that might have some similarities and were trouble spots for me. Carriage does not put a top flange on their slides and relies on a gutter and double seal to keep water out. I bought my unit used and noticed some water staining on the top of the large slide. I removed the gutters and installed slide toppers which solved the problem. A slide topper may not be available if the unit you are looking at has the full wall slide.

Like the Cameo, my unit has a studded aluminum cage and hung fiberglass side walls. These are held in place with numerous zinc plated and painted tek screws, can't say if the Cameo is the same. The screws set up electrolysis immediately and start to rust out, each with the possibility of creating a water weep point. You can tell by rust staining around the head of the screw. I replaced all of my exterior screws with stainless with a dollop of silicone behind each one. Not a hard job but tedious as there were over 600 screws on my unit.

Carriage had an arrangement with Drain Master and installed electric dump valves which have been a total pain. I'm in the process of changing over the switches now. I hope you can pick a unit that has manual drain valves.

Our unit came with bonded leather upholstery which is deteriorating before our eyes.

Overall, we are very happy we bought a Carriage unit. They seem to specify high quality components and their construction is similar to the very high end trailers. Their cabinetry is very nice.

[kennethwooster]

Bought a 2011 Cameo new. Best rv we’ve owned. Never had leakage problems However we have trailer checked over every year. I believe in maintaince.

[hawkhill]

we have a 2008 Cameo. We had the same problem where the roof meet the rear cap. Luckily at the time, we took delivery there were warnings posted about this on the web so we caught the issue at PDI and had it resolved. We inspect our roof frequently and have it professionally checked twice a year. we also have had our unit seal tested. No problem with our windows. As with all brands, regular inspection is key. It was the same with our prior unit which had a fiberglass roof. With proper maintenance, we still think our unit is superior to some of the other units out there with much cheaper frame and slide components.

[azrving]

I've looked at hundreds of used RV and it's completely normal. The Cameo is no different than any other brand if it hasn't been maintained. I do believe a lot of water damage can end up on dealer lots. Some people will lie like crazy and sell privately and some don't want to deal with that so they trade at a dealership.

I have climbed on and in and under dealership rigs with severe damage and wondered why in the world they would sell it to anyone. Well actually that water damaged rig can be a gold mine. They sell it and are then more than happy to take it back and give you every penny back towards a new rig. For them the beauty of that arrangement is that they now have a captive buyer that is much different than the guy who walks in and says he'll pay X amount and goes back home to wait for a call from the dealer saying they will accept or certainly do better on the price.

Those are two completely different buyers. One holding all the cards and the other with none.