Expanda Roof

[chartrock]

Has anyone ever got up high enough to have a close look at the roof of their van? We arrived home from our trip north a few weeks ago and before we put the van away we gave it a good wash. I even got out our large set of aluminium steps so we could use a broom to wash the roof. My wife spotted cracks in the fibreglass just in front of the hatch above the shower. It appears as though a screw mounting the lift up shower screen may be a bit long and pushing throught the roof.

I have contacted an authourised Jayco agent with photos and he emailed them off to Jayco about 4 weeks ago but has not had an answer from them so I have contacted the local dealer and put it in their hands.



Not happy!! :mad:

 

[bigman0510]

That Sucks!

 

[Moto Moto]

Good luck Chartrock, thats a real bummer. Fight hard bud!

 

[expanda]

Ouch feel for you mate!!!!

Make sure you get onto them and get it resolved....

 

[Peter D]

There might be something too high at that point inside the van, so when the lid is lowered and clamped down it's under a lot of stress.

The roof seems to be a layer of ply, a layer of foam, and a layer of fibreglass, and after repairing a bracket of the pop top mechanism where it attaches to the ceiling, I notice the screws are quite long (previous owner ripped the bracket off by lowering the top when something was obstructing, and fixed it by using bigger screws, which didn't keep it fixed for long). They could get away with using 6mm long screws if they only wanted to fix to the 4mm layer of ply of the ceiling, but the screws are 15+mm long, so there must be some benefit gained by having the tips of the screws locate in the outer fibreglass layer when they're driven home. But that makes it so that when pressure is put on the panel the foam core can't provide any give, because the screws are holding the outer and inner layers of the panel at a fixed distance.

So it may not be that the screw is too long, but that when the top is clamped shut too much pressure is being placed (from underneath) on the point where that screw is.

 

[chartrock]

There might be something too high at that point inside the van, so when the lid is lowered and clamped down it's under a lot of stress.

So it may not be that the screw is too long, but that when the top is clamped shut too much pressure is being placed (from underneath) on the point where that screw is.

Thanks for that, Peter. I don't know what could be putting stress on that part of the roof as the van is near new and nothing has been changed there since new but I will have a look. There is a a spring strap in the screen that folds down with the roof at about that point but that should not affect the roof.

Thanks also to the rest of you guys and the good news received today is that the dealer rang Melbourne and immediately arranged for a local fibreglass repairer to quote for the repair. I just have to wait for them to contact me and I have been assured it will be a profesional repair, not just a patch slapped on.

Go the Jayco dealers.

 

[Sinko]

Good work Chartrock,
It is pleasing to see that Jayco will repair these types of issues. Hopefully with sites such as this singing their praise (no doubt Jayco would read them) they will continue to offer a high level of service. You never know, they may even read the threads and pick up an idea or two to improve their product.

Hopefully the repair is completed to a high standard - although I would be interested to know why it happened??

cheers
Sinko

 

[Moto Moto]

Great news Chartrock!

Jayco do have a good reputation when it comes to repairs.

My in-laws 3 yr old Penguin developed a crack in the front boot. Even though it was out of warranty they replaced the whole front boot, no charge.

 

[chartrock]

Just had a call from the fibreglass repair place. He is of the opinion that it probably happened during manufacture, maybe something impacted the sheet even before it was fitted to the roof and it may not show up until the van has been out in the weather for a while.

The good news is that their process is to grind the area where the cracks are, repair with sheet and glass, and then two pack the whole roof so it does not show a repair. He said, because glass fades and yellows quicker than two pack, just repairing the area would show up as a patch very quickly.

Apparently Jayco have no problem with him doing all that and he is just preparing a quote to go to them.

Another plus to Jayco!!!

Paul

 

[Peter D]

Wow, can't complain about that response from Jayco.

 

[cruza driver]

Just come across your thread Chartrock (still trying to catch up on whats been happening) great news that its going to get fixed mate and with the sound of it without to much hassle, its good to hear :first:

 

[cruza driver]

G'day Chartrock just wondering if the roof is getting fixed before you head off?

 

[chartrock]

G'day Chartrock just wondering if the roof is getting fixed before you head off?

Actually Cruza, I am beginning to wonder the same thing. The fibreglass people have been out to look and photograph and have assured me the pix have gone to Jayco. Am just waiting for word from them to get it in there. I certainly hope it will be done before we go as I don't want to travel for 3 months wondering if it will leak and do more damage.

 

[cruza driver]

Thats right mate I know what you mean, it would be ideal to have it sorted asap.

 

[chartrock]

Now for the bad news. Rang yesterday to check on progress and the fibreglass repair mob have not heard back from Jayco yet and, as they have a lead time of a week booking jobs in, even if Jayco replies today, the job will not be done in time for our planned departure date of Monday week. :hurt:

I now just have to wait and see if Jayco come good in the next day or so in which case we will delay departure. If we don't hear anything quickly then it looks like a couple of strips of duct tape over the cracks and hope we can get it done when we get back. ray:

 

[chartrock]

Well Jayco finally came good but too late to be done before we hit the road. The repair place can't take the van until the end of next week and will want it for nearly a week which means a delay of about 2 weeks to the start of our trip. I discussed it with them and the result is that we go next week as planned with a good supply of duct tape and just keep the cracks covered until we get back and they will do the job then. Not the best result but at least it will be done eventually. :high5:

On another note, while putting stuff in cupboards yesterday my wife found the hot water system leaking. So another call to the nearest agent, and a trip in with the van this morning had a new brass fitting in the hot water outlet. Apparently they are not put in with the white plumbers tape but appear to have a smear of silastic on the threads. Not an ideal method. :shocked:

 

[cruza driver]

Well thats good and bad news on the roof but at least it is getting sorted out, its a shame they didn't get back to you sooner. At least you got an answer before the trip, I'm sure youll forget all about it once your on the road

I've heard of the HWS leaking before on some vans I should pop my head in my cupboard and take a look too. :spy:

 

[achjimmy]

Yeah I wouldn't worry too much, you know duct tape will do the job well if applied properly till you get back. Look on the brightside, no need to polish the roof on your return!

 

[Moto Moto]

What a stuff around Chartrock, tell you what its hard to find good help these days:rolleyes:

Thank goodness for 100 mile an hour tape!

 

[drewy]

Apparently they are not put in with the white plumbers tape but appear to have a smear of silastic on the threads. Not an ideal method. :shocked:

A plumber mate recently told me they no longer use Teflon tape, they now have a clear pipe sealant that is quite sticky, I wonder if Jayco are using the same thing?

Hope the trip goes well as with the future roof repair!