Today I took some time to Wax another section of our RB. Sometimes it’s better to approach these types of projects in segments.
Today it was the rear of the coach that was getting the ol’ “wax on wax off”. After barely getting started I saw it. The dreaded “end cap crack” (pics included). It wasn’t there the last time I looked. Don’t you just hate that.
I immediately check the LDO archive and found Harold’s mention of “Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure” and placed my order on Amazon. Then I called Vince at the Mothership.
Vince was a bit shocked, as was I, about the crack and asked me to bring the LD in for a look-see. So with that, I’m heading to LD next week for what I hope is a quick and painless fix.
Wish me luck.
Kent
Blasted ugly crack on that nice wax job.
Wow looks like it broke totally in half. I knew they could crack but didn’t know to that extent.
Shocking right? Just goes to show that this issue can strike even newer rigs. Ours is a 2015 with just about 13,000 miles.
The coach does go through a lot of motion. I suppose the flexing and bending on the corner end caps is quite intense while moving down the road.
Not a big deal actually but certainly not expected after 2 1/2 years of travel. Vince is the consummate professional and when he’s done with the repair no one will be the wiser.
Kent
That's a bummer, Kent! At least you are close to the Mothership, tho!
We had the same thing happen, almost in the same place, two years ago on our 2011 MB. I called Vince and he recommended something to put in there. We will be stopping by the Mothership this summer, and have it taken care of "professionally".
Knowing that the “Flex Capacity” of some plastics can vary and often suffer from fractures in common areas (I’ve seen several Ford SUV’s with identical fractures in the back hatch panel), I wonder what, if anything, could be done to increase the elastic properties of the end caps.
When I mentioned the crack my end cap has developed to my brother, he asked, not being familiar with LD construction, if the cap was aluminum. Hmmm...why not, I wonder? After years of this type of failure occurring on LDs, it does beg the question...”Why plastic?”
Anyway I go about it, I do want our RB to be as flawless as possible and I know Vince is the man to do the job. After all he did have a chance to prove himself back in March of ‘16 after I tried to steal a uhaul trailer with my coach door (pics included 😖).
Good on ya Mate.
Kent
"After years of this type of failure occurring on LDs, it does beg the question...'Why plastic?' "
Indeed. Given that the rates of expansion of ABS plastic and aluminum are so different, end cap cracks and/or separations are just about inevitable. Lazy Daze needs to face the facts and switch to aluminum caps.
that's a big crack. while i'm normally in the urethane or 5200 camp, i'd almost recommend a specialty adhesive like "big stretch" (http://www.sashco.com/products/big-stretch/) as a filler.
Well I made it to the Mothership this morning and had a nice visit with Todd, Vince and Vickie. Great people all around.
While I was there, Vince replaced my old Dry Chem extinguisher that was on recall. Nice to have the new one but for me it’s more to fill the void of the old one since I’m not a Dry Chem enthusiast preferring Foam or Halitron Fire Extinguishers .
Picked up a few other items I’d been meaning to get. The rubber seals for my cargo bays have been pulling loose and away from the openings so I picked up about 25’ of that. The pantry latch has been acting up so there was a need for a replacement there and the city water cap had formed a strange film of sticky something on it. Very odd as I’ve never used the city water connection preferring the fresh water tank and my two stage water filtration system. That’s about that...except I got a New Hat. Very nice.
Sat around in the two floor displays in the showroom. A nice 24’ unit blue paint and a nice 27’ MB with a new upholstery on the couches. Kind of a tweed???
Vince will squeeze me in next week to have the end cap replaced. Had he known how bad the crack was he would have had me drop it off today. That’s ok, next week is fine and he plans to have ‘er ready before my next trip to Serrano at the end of the month. Can’t ask for much more than that. This will be the second time that he has saved my bacon. Sweet...
Showed Vince all the upgrades I have made over the last 2 1/2 years. Todd was amazed that it has been that long since we picked up “Miss B. Haven” from the factory. She’s treated us well and while Vince’s work schedule is booked solid, Miss B’s schedule is not any less busy.
Hope to see everyone in Morro Bay next year. Looking forward to a nice pot luck to celebrate my retirement.
Kent
Sitting at Sizzler with my DW celebrating the End Cap repair on our beautiful RB.
Vince and his crew worked their magic in just a day and a half. Amazing! I was very surprised at the turn around time and I couldn’t thank Vince enough. Everyone at Lazy Daze has always treated us very kindly.
Here are a couple of pics of the before and after.
Kent
Wow, looks perfect, Kent. Nice to see and I enjoyed your visit-to-the-MS report!
Thank you for the update,
Jim & Deb