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Old 01-02-2009, 06:10 PM   #1
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Trying to post a pic of the roof blow off that happened to us on our 2005 Itasca Horizon 8,000 miles
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Old 01-02-2009, 06:10 PM   #2
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Trying to post a pic of the roof blow off that happened to us on our 2005 Itasca Horizon 8,000 miles
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Old 01-02-2009, 07:23 PM   #3
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Wow!!! I have a 2005 also, what was the root cause ?

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Old 01-02-2009, 08:02 PM   #4
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Old 01-02-2009, 09:38 PM   #5
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Hi kscouple52,

Sorry to see damage like this, I think Winnebago should help out on this one since the attachment joint has had such bad press. They also need to publish an ‘official’ permanent fix that all of us can follow.
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Old 01-03-2009, 03:11 AM   #6
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From about ten years experience with three Winnebago motor homes, the cause of this is not keeping the roof edge sealed. Winnebago says the seams need to be inspected every six months and resealed if necessary. Inspection and re-sealing is considered a maintenance item. Our's were re-sealed at the roof edge several times over the years.
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Old 01-03-2009, 04:56 AM   #7
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by h moffitt:
From about ten years experience with three Winnebago motor homes, the cause of this is not keeping the roof edge sealed. Winnebago says the seams need to be inspected every six months and resealed if necessary. Inspection and re-sealing is considered a maintenance item. Our's were re-sealed at the roof edge several times over the years. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Can you explain what 're-sealed' means? First and foremost, I want to ensure that I don't run into a similiar issue. Secondly as for Winnie not backing up what is a 'known' issue, well they have lost me as a customer. I'm going with either Tiffin or Newmar for my DP. Unfortunate because I really like the Tour but I'm not giving money to a company that needs to stand behind this issue.
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Old 01-03-2009, 05:06 AM   #8
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Due to the potential severity of loss caused by lack of seam maintenance, it surprises me that Winnebago doesn't publish more definitive instruction on how to do this. There are sealant lists by year, but those aren't updated with part numbers to replace the part numbers with the original sealant lists shipped with the motorhome. I would think that every year they would have a 1hr or even 2hr seminar at GNR. A nice pictorial instruction sheet with pictures of what to look for and how to seal wouldn't take an engineer much time and could prevent a lot of grief. Another thing to check is skylights. I had mine crack over a winter and allow melting snow to get into the wall and cause some delamination. The Winnebago cost to repair the delamination $14,000. This was the shower skylight and wouldn't have caused any wall damage if the area around the skylight was sealed with a waterproof sealant of some type. It is the adhesives loosening due to water that causes the delamination. I would think they could find a water proof adhesive or construction method to prevent this kind of damage.
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Old 01-03-2009, 05:27 AM   #9
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I don't know how many have this wind damage, but to exclude Winnebago from not eliminating the problem in there next production runs seems inexcusable. I just recaulked mine with 3M 5200. As for my next Rv if I have to recaulk the roof and constantly inspect it, I am not interested in that brand. I will look at Tiffin next as I think it is wonderful that as an owner you can talk to the top man himself! I met a couple in Maggy Valley that had there complete left side with delamination replaced by Tiffin on a motor home that was OUT OF Warranty. If Winnebago dosn't do something about there public relation problems with there products how can they stay competitive? Don't get me wrong I am rooting for Winne, but as I am in my 60ies I don't like doing roof work. Tiffin had some roof issues & cracks in the sides that they quickly took care of. I see some folks on this site blame the consumer for not doing the maintenance. I guess I am on the other side as I feel roofs should not leak or tear off. Art in Mobile 2006 Winnebago Voyage
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Old 01-03-2009, 07:54 AM   #10
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I had the same problem with my '98 Adnentuer. When I went to a dealer the front man said never heard of such a thing, when I talked to the tech he said there is a sevice bulletin, not enough frame to glue roof too. Have they not learned? The other excuse we bought glue from a new vendor and it didn't hold. It is the Wrong economy to not support your owners and/or potential buyers. Nuf Sed.

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Old 01-03-2009, 08:18 AM   #11
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One thing I learned at the GNR factory tour last summer, was that on the coaches with full body paint the roof seal is installed by CDI (the paint company) after they put the paint on. On coaches with white sides & vinyl graphics, the seal is put on by Winnebago employees.

When my 2004 was built production was hitting all time peak and they had a lot of new rookies building these coaches. My roof seam was a pathetic thin little fillet of sealant and had no structural integrity. The seal was bad the first time I looked at it.

DO NOT USE SILICONE to re-seal your roof seam. My dealer used silicone and now 5 years years later I still fight getting a good seal in that section. Silicone just doesn't have the strength of the urethane they use -- considering all the thermal and structural movement that exists along the roof edge.
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Old 01-03-2009, 09:47 AM   #12
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In our WIT Club in North Dakota, we've had two members roofs ripped off in wind. Winnebago did nothing in either case. These were 2003 2004 model years. My 99 Brave has the same roof seam, so it is nothing new.
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Old 01-03-2009, 11:49 AM   #13
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From the posts on this forum it sounds like the only thing holding the fiberglass to the roof is the sealant along the sides, and front and rear caps. I can't understand any engineering that would design a coach like that. If nothing else they should have run a trim molding along the seam and secured it with screws to the structural supports. I too think Winnebago owes owners of this type of mishap extended warranty. What does this "10 year" warranty cover? Sounds like Nothing!
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Old 01-03-2009, 12:48 PM   #14
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The manual says to check every 6 mos. That is to much of a pain for me and it was bad after the first year. I tried new sealant and it didn't last 6 months. Now I got Eternal Bond tape and it has been excellent. That stuff solves the problem of seam parting at roofs edge. No more checking and the roof won't blow off in a hurricane.
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Old 01-03-2009, 12:55 PM   #15
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To answer Kyle241's question and for others that do not know, as best I can explain re-sealing is nothing more than afer inspecting the edge of the roof and if the fiber glass edge is coming infastened and tending to raise up, seal on top of the edge and gutter to hold the fiber glass down so that wind does not get under it and rip it up and off. A friend had a problem with a mid 90's coach that was way out of warranty and Winnebago fixed. Dealer tried to tell him it was an isolated problem. He and another friend went out and climbed on the roof of another half dozen new Winnebagos on the lot and found the same situation on every one of they looked at. Have heard of others (but do not know any) that Winnebago blew off with no help. I do not know why some winnebagos have the problem and others seem to never experience it.
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Old 01-03-2009, 03:10 PM   #16
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Like many others, I elected to use Eternabond tape along the roof edge. That was three years ago and the stuff is still stuck fast. I would agree that Winnebago appears to have a design shortcoming in this area. IMO, a thin bead of sealant should not be the primary thing keeping the roof from ripping off the motorhome.
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Old 01-04-2009, 06:06 AM   #17
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h moffitt,

Thanks, that is what I thought you meant but wanted to be sure.

I still feel this is a Winnie issue, period. They need to come to the table and address it whether the coach has full body paint or not. I like Winnie overall but this type of a major flaw in a product that ranges from $70,000-300,00 is inexcusable. We're not buying some cheap product from China are we???

I was up on my roof in the fall and will be going back up in the coming days to do another inspection. I'm usually up there every 2-3mths because I am paranoid of water leaks. Never thought I would have to worry about the roof ripping off!

Bottom line is with this extra knowledge of how Winnie's are designed, I'm going to compare with Tiffin and Newmar who are on my list of DP's. Right now the 43' Phaeton and 43' Dutch Aire are 1&2....the Tour 40TD has now fallen in the list.
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Old 01-04-2009, 07:07 AM   #18
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I have never had a roof to wall problem. And I've never had any roof to wall caulking problems with my 2 Winnebago class A's.

I have often thought that some of these problems are created by walking to close to the edge of the roof and/or some wild driving and/or improper use of the leveling jacks.

I have never been to the Winnebago factory to see their assembly procedures.

The graphic below is from the back cover of most Winnebago class A brochures. Any comments??

-Tom
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Old 01-07-2009, 04:55 PM   #19
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Ive had it happen twice in the same year once while parked, rear driverside blew up in about 50mph winds i pushed it back in the channel and resealed the whole roof with the correct winnie sealent. This last time happened on the highway and blew completely off and we pulled off and a 2006 Adventurer in parking lot with the exact same roof damage drivers side front.

The repair shop said it was a design flaw and my insurance company has gotten wise and is starting to deny future claims on roof damage on Itasca and Winnibagos. The roof fiberglass is just wrapped around the sides push in the channel and sealeant/adhesive is ran down inside the channel.
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Old 01-07-2009, 05:23 PM   #20
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Am I the only one confused about all this? There are a zillion Winie MH's on the road and I just now am reading about this after several years here and the other forum. Are these isolated incidents?

I was on the roof today for another reason and because of this forum, I looked...but then decided that I did not know what to look for. And, please, don't tell me to take it to a dealer. First, there are none within 200 miles and even if there were, they wouldn't be able to fit me in for months...and then a tech that didn't have a clue would look at the same thing I looked at and only charge me a zillion $ for nothing.

Winnie makes a great product. Our '08 is essentially a zero defect coach (there's always something, but what we have had is very minor for 10 tons on a SC highway).
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