Unglued Engine Hood

[TerryJ]

Yep, I had the same problem with their "adhesive" on a 2007 Sightseer with a rear panel but I fixed it with SS carriage bolts. Problem is that I now have a 2011 Vista 35F, purchased new, and last winter while parked for 4 mos. in a Florida resort I heard a clunk and thought someone threw something at the MH. I did a walk around and found the upper hood bumper bracket lying right in front of my front tire. This is a pretty large Z shaped bracket with a bolt in it, so imagine the trouble that could cause if it had fell there while doing 65 on an interstate. It was out of warranty but Winnebago said take it to my dealer in Northeast, Pa. They fixed it, along with 3in. of water in my outside electrical compartment. That evidently was what had been causing electrical problems since new. The factory forgot to seal the compartment. This took almost 3 weeks to fix. Went to the Pa WIT State Rally and the jacks wouldn't work and when I checked my engine oil and closed the hood the damn bracket fell off again. It may sound like I'm whining but this is a very short list of the problems I have had in the last 18 momths. Every time I take it to the dealer they have it a minimum of two weeks, and every time, I have to take it back to get it done again because it wasn't done right the first time. It also costs me 60 bucks in gas to make the round trip. This is our 6th MH and 4 have been Winnebagos and this Vista has caused me more grief than the other 5 combined.

[Lindsay Richards]

When we bought our Itaska 33V, it had a detached driver side hood latch bracket. This was the whole assembly. The large flat plate that was epoxied to the end cap. We had it redone as part of the predelievery inspection. That was nearly 5 years ago and it is still intact, so there is hope for you guys. I have had trouble with the other side, but it was just a matter of adjusting the mechanism. This is a great spot for routine lubrication also. If I had to do it all over again, I would use some stainless steel bolts right through the end cap and do both sides so it would look normal.

[jimmccreary]

Both my front and rear hoods, front panel, and lower rear end came unglued. After unsuccessful gluing attempts, I used fiberglass cloth and fiberglass resin to mold the brackets onto the fiberglass, after grinding down to bare fiberglass of course. Now, 40,000 miles later including two trips to Alaska and back on ALCAN, all joints are as good as new. I think this is an alternative permanent fix, but is probably much more work the drilling and bolting. In addition, fiberglass resin is difficult to work with and sticks to everthing permanently. I'm not advocating this as the easiest fix but is an alternative some may want to try. Another alternative would be to take fiberglass panels and brackets into a body repair shop and let them do the fiberglass work but I am not sure if this would be too costly.
hope this helps somebody

jim & debbie, 04 Journey 330 cat

[SCVJeff]

I sure hope Winnebago is watching this thread and paying attention!

They will surely be known and remembered for this just as NORCOLD will NEVER shake their embarrassment with the defective 1200 series fridge, as well as their non-responsiveness.

[bgsc]

Had a similar problem with the lower rear fins on my Tour cleaned up used JB Weld and then put 2 stainless steel screws in, have had a problem with the fender on the left rear, that called for 3M double sided tape I did the top half now I will have to do the bottom half. Great way to assemble a 1/4 million dollar coach?

[1ciderdog]

Last year I put stainless bolts in the front and rear opening access panels which had dome loose from the brackets. I also have louver problems on the rear and have used stainless bolts on some of those.