Winnebago Adventurer Roof issues

[fenwickfam]

Hi there! I'm hoping somebody out there has some insight for us on this topic:
We have a 2005 Winnebago Adventurer 38J
Over this past weekend (a very windy weekend, I might add!), we were traveling south on I-29. As a semi went by us (we were only traveling around 50 mph due to wind and visibility), we heard a noise. I told my husband that I thought he had blew a tire, as it was a sound I hadn't heard before. When he went to pull off at the exit, we heard an awful sound from above (like somebody wobbling a piece of sheet metal). When we got out of the MH to look, the tires were all fine, however, the roof wasn't. The roof had came out of the seam from above the driver door to behind the front slide out. I called our insurance company, who told us to secure it as much as we possibly could, and continue to drive it.
We used tape (all we had available) and drove it to the nearest campground. I spoke with the insurance company again on Saturday. Of course, no adjuster available, so was told to try to drive it home, and yes, they would still cover the damage if we drove it home. As we headed north on a back highway, the wind was once again terrible from the west, once again hitting us on the driver side. This time, it got under the tape, picked up the roof and tore it. Once again, I climbed up and taped it down as best I could... we turned around and went south and dropped the MH at our sons place, because there was no way we could get it home without even more damage.
Now, our insurance company today tells me that this is a common issue with Winnebago Adventurer roofs, and that they may not cover it.
Has anybody else run in to this problem? Is this a common Winnebago Adventurer problem? I did call one Winnebago dealer service shop that said that they are unaware of this being a common problem.
I would like any information anyone could help me with to argue with the insurance company about coverage on this.
Unfortunate timing, as I am changing insurance companies to the Good Sam Insurance as of October 4th. However, that doesn't change the fact that this occurred while under this insurance company.
Thanks for any information!!

[Hikerdogs]

DrivingMissDaisy wrote:
I have a 2000 Winnebago Adventurer and about two years ago the fiberglass roof was sucked out of the aluminum channel by a combination of cross wind and passing tractor trailer. Drivers side front to back roof peeled up and all the foam insulation sucked out. I duct taped it together and drove home, I reinserted the fiberglass and glued secured it with urethane caulk/adhesive. Here's the kicker, I swear, there was never any adhesive in the roof to aluminum track. Both sides of the motorhome were like that. I assumed Winnebago left it loose so it could move when the motorhome flexed.
Wheel wells attached with pressure sensitive tape, most of the end cap accessories glued on with epoxy, how could we expect anything remotely resembling quality construction!

It sounds like you bought the motorhome used, and it hadn't been properly maintained by the previous owner. I'm not surprised caulking was missing if it hadn't been inspected in over 14 years.

Over the years there have been complaints about the Winnebago roof design. In almost all cases the units were purchased used with no knowledge of the previous owners maintenance history. In all cases the owners did not seem to be aware of the need to complete the maintenance procedure and in fact had never inspected or replaced any caulking during their time of ownership.

The OP has a coach 12 model years old and again has no history as to whether or not the maintenance procedure was ever performed, and was not even aware that it should be performed. In the lifetime of the coach if the owners had followed the Winnebago recommendation it should have been performed 24 times. Even performing the inspection and maintenance procedure on an annual basis it has missed 12 maintenance cycles.

It's unfortunate that the OP has had a problem, and even more unfortunate that the insurance company exacerbated the problem by telling them it was OK to drive the unit and is now denying the claim using an excuse like you didn't talk to the right person. In my opinion the person they were directed to call was a representative of the insurance company regardless of whether they contracted by, or employed by the company. It is the inaccurate information provided by the insurance companies representative that turned a minor problem into a major one.

I would agree with those that suggested contacting the state insurance commissioner. We had a problem with bad advise given by an insurance company representative several years ago. We wrote the state insurance commissioner a letter with dates and times of contact, and the advise given by the representative. We called the insurance agent and he suggested we send him a copy and hold off sending it to the insurance commissioner until we heard back from him.

Long story short our agent presented the letter to the insurance company president. The president agreed with our assessment of the situation and covered the problem. Since the situation was resolved we never sent the letter to the insurance commissioner.

As for the use of adhesives to secure plastic or fiberglass panes to steel, aluminum or plastic substrates, it's a common practice for almost all automobile manufacturers. It's been in use since the late 1980's and has proved to be an excellent practice. There are even adhesives specially made for the job. An example would be SEM Weld Bond 39537 Adhesive. It's used at the OEM level and by body shops.

While it is a proven method of securing panels I do agree that Winnebago could improve their implementation procedures.

[hotjag1]

If the OP's insurance company only has insurance advisors answering their phones after hours and they are not qualified to advise the customer on what to do in a claims situation, then they should have told the OP not to move the motorhome until Monday when he could talk to an insurance representative that was qualified to give the correct advice. I would be contacting my state insurance commissioner and see what they thought about all of this.

Although I have not had any problems with the roof on our MH, after reading all of this thread, I think I will Eternabond all the seams on the roof. I don't think wind will ever pull that stuff off, and I won't have to worry about a possible leak either.

[Mile_High]

ya, you're right, I forgot to clarify that.

I would say, definately do not buy here! This is the original product from the Winnebago store - they must be getting rid of the last 7 they have!

Stone Mason

[Stormy_Eyes]

Mile High wrote:
I came across this Winnebago video that shows how the roof is installed (a little after minute 13)

roof

It makes it a little more clear to me how it is done, and emphasizes the importance of keeping that seal in good shape. I also learned it is not a moisture issue, as if the seal leaks water only goes into an aluminum channel - the issue is simply keeping that rolled fiberglass in the channel and not let it pop out under any circumstance.

Not a great design, but manageable if you understand it. Here is the sealant number and type:

Sealant E is a Seam Sealer: Part Number
094401-04-000 is a solvent-based sealer, versus
a silicone or urethane. This product is milky
when applied and becomes translucent when
curing, allowing the underlying paint or gelcoated
fiberglass to show through.

The sealant depends on the finish. The sealant fallout sheet for mine (2005) shows sealant "A", a urethane for the roof edge, but if the area is painted then the above part number is recommended.

[Mile_High]

I came across this Winnebago video that shows how the roof is installed (a little after minute 13)

roof

It makes it a little more clear to me how it is done, and emphasizes the importance of keeping that seal in good shape. I also learned it is not a moisture issue, as if the seal leaks water only goes into an aluminum channel - the issue is simply keeping that rolled fiberglass in the channel and not let it pop out under any circumstance.

Not a great design, but manageable if you understand it. Here is the sealant number and type:

Sealant E is a Seam Sealer: Part Number
094401-04-000 is a solvent-based sealer, versus
a silicone or urethane. This product is milky
when applied and becomes translucent when
curing, allowing the underlying paint or gelcoated
fiberglass to show through.

[J-Rooster]

I'm sorry to hear about your roof. I bought my Winnebago Adventurer new 12 years ago and never had any roof problems and never heard of any until now. IMHO you got bad advice from your insurance company to continue driving your coach. I would of never have allowed that. Good Luck

[smlranger]

So sorry you had that issue and that your insurance company is denying the claim.

I owned two Winnebago motorhomes, 1997 Adventurer and 2002 Journey. It is a bad roof attachment design and shame on Winnebago for not improving it over the years. However, the absolute permanent and easy fix is a 2" strip of Eternabond tape along the edge.

[DrivingMissDais]

747Driver wrote:
Just because you don't see any chalk in the slot, does not mean it was never there. My 2003 Adventurer was checked yearly and was a little dry last year, but still had adhesion. Climbed up there in August, 3/4 of it was gone. Real scary. Removed the other 1/4 and resealed, good to go now.

I find it very had to believe that in over 60 linear feet of roof to track joint I would find no evidence of previous sealant. I stand by my premise that there was never any type of sealer or adhesive on the roof joint on my rig.

[747Driver]

Just because you don't see any chalk in the slot, does not mean it was never there. My 2003 Adventurer was checked yearly and was a little dry last year, but still had adhesion. Climbed up there in August, 3/4 of it was gone. Real scary. Removed the other 1/4 and resealed, good to go now.

[DrivingMissDais]

I have a 2000 Winnebago Adventurer and about two years ago the fiberglass roof was sucked out of the aluminum channel by a combination of cross wind and passing tractor trailer. Drivers side front to back roof peeled up and all the foam insulation sucked out. I duct taped it together and drove home, I reinserted the fiberglass and glued secured it with urethane caulk/adhesive. Here's the kicker, I swear, there was never any adhesive in the roof to aluminum track. Both sides of the motorhome were like that. I assumed Winnebago left it loose so it could move when the motorhome flexed.
Wheel wells attached with pressure sensitive tape, most of the end cap accessories glued on with epoxy, how could we expect anything remotely resembling quality construction!

[fenwickfam]

I totally agree Bruce!

[Bruce_Brown]

KPetrick wrote:
If you would like to send me a private message with your contact information I can call you to discuss and offer you some ideas. I have over 30 years in the insurance industry.

Keith Petrick
Director of Good Sam Insurance Agency

That is a very nice offer, and nice to see!

I think this speaks volumes.

[fenwickfam]

Oh, KPetrick.. I really didn't mean it that way.. I sure didn't take it as a solicitation....It was more of a... after this experience, I am doubly happy that we made the decision to go to drop this company and go to Good Sam Insurance... a company that is much more familiar with RV's!!
They have already called to say they denied the claim. He gave me the number of his supervisor, however, didn't answer when I asked if there were a way to appeal this decision.

[the_silverback]

I belong to WIT ,Winnebago owners club. I have been on 7 caravans with them and at least 50 campouts since 2001. Of the hundreds of owners I have met no one has had this problem. I am not saying this hasn't happened. I am just saying it must be very rare. I do have the roof cleaned and inspected once a year on all the Winnebago MH's I have owned. Never had an issue other than I had to have an area rechauked on one of them after 6 years. Have your roof checked once a year no matter what MH you own.

[KPetrick]

Understood. I was not soliciting but since I saw you were a Good Sam life member I wanted to share some things to consider that might help you get this resolved.