Anyone had a bad skylight install during manufacturing?

NancyBCR · 12-27-2020, 06:49 PM

Hi, folks, and happy almost new year. It's been quite a year! Anyway, in the midst of everything else, we had a mishap with our 2018 Sunstar 27PE in October. Basically, I was driving it home from a nearby state park, got about a tenth of a mile from home on a very narrow country road I had not had the RV on before, and didn't realize a big tree stump was sticking out from a vertical embankment on my right side, up about six or seven feet off the ground. Someone was coming toward me and way over in my lane (I was only going about 20 mph), so I scooted as far to the right as I could. In retrospect, I should have just stopped and waited. The stump took out the mirror, right side windows, door window and ripped the brackets for the awning completely off. What a mess! It was all like a massive explosion, glass everywhere inside. So glad our son and puppy were not riding with me.Right away, we started the claim, and found a FABULOUS body shop, and at the end of November, we were well on our way to getting it repaired, when.... body shop discovered that there was very significant water leak damage to the entire right rear side wood underneath the exterior material. We had previously sometimes noticed moisture over time in our outside rear compartment, but we and our mechanic attributed it to a door gasket. Well, long story short -- our mechanic and body shop guy work together a lot, and they spent the better part of a day trying to identify the problem. Turns out that the water was leaking in from the roof, but there's more. The clear plastic dome over the shower skylight in the back right corner was cracked where it had been screwed to the rig. No indication that there was ever an impact to cause the cracking, clearly it was that the screws were torqued down too tightly and water was leaking in, then under the roof material and down the right side wall. What a mess. So now we are dealing with not only the accident claim (they are being quite cooperative) for the accident damage, but now the extended warranty claim. We never get extended warranties as they can be a waste of money, but with this purchase and issues we'd had in the past with campers, we went for it, thankfully. Well, we're getting some preliminary pushback from the extended warranty company ("we'll pay to repair the skylight, but not the water damage"), and I'm seeking any insight from any of you who may have had a similar experience, especially if you also had a skylight that clearly was installed incorrectly. Sorry this is so long! We've only used our RV locally so we have really low mileage, under 2500 miles after 2-1/2 years. Thanks for any help! If the extended warranty plan refuses to pay for the damage, we are looking at at least $6,000 out of pocket, over and above the deductible for the accident claim. Ugh!

**macnut** · 12-27-2020, 09:45 PM

First, welcome to the forum, as I see this is your first post! Lots of great expertise here. Your extended warranty contract should have the info you are looking for on whether they exclude water damage. Mine is 30 pages of fine print, but readable. Wishing you the best on the repairs!

NancyBCR · 12-28-2020, 05:55 AM

Thank you for putting my post in the right category!!

**creativepart** · 12-28-2020, 08:21 AM

Sorry for your problems. That is a shame.

About your Skylight, they routinely crack on the edges after a few years in the sun.

On YouTube there is a channel by blogger “AZ Expert” some of his recent videos have been RV roof inspections. People/dealers hire him to inspect roofs looking for problems. He has pointed out that Skylights are often cracked from the edge. He hasn’t said it’s from a bad install and I’m not saying your problem couldn’t have come from a bad install. I just wanted to mention this in case you wanted to check out those videos.

NancyBCR · 12-28-2020, 08:34 AM

Thank you! Will check them out. We are only going from what the body shop told us, and all this guy does is RVs. Either way, we will see how all this goes and hopefully not have to sink $6k more into this still quite new RV! Thanks again for the tip. Good stuff!

**creativepart** · 12-28-2020, 10:34 AM

Here's an example of a video from a Winnebago Forza roof inspection. I have it queued up to the spot where he mentions skylight cracks. If that doesn't work it's at 6:14 of the video. In this one he didn't find any cracks.

https://youtu.be/lltNG1cZe3s?t=374

In another video I saw, he didn't find a crack but stated that when putting screws into the edge of the skylight that you must drill a hole first or it will always crack at that screw and travel up the side of the skylight.

Again, I don't know if a previous owner had a problem that they tried to fix with screws or if the factory created the problem. I doubt anyone one can tell.

Skylights also can get hit with low tree branches and that impact can put stress on the mounting. So, it's really impossible to determine.

NancyBCR · 12-28-2020, 10:37 AM

Thanks so much! No previous owner, we bought it brand new in 2018. Like I said, it hasn't been used much, less than 2500 miles. I'll share your info with our body shop, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Thanks again!

**macnut** · 12-28-2020, 04:20 PM

Yes, AZ Expert really knows his stuff and provides a real education about sealing roofs! I wish there was a better way to make these seals last longer!

mikee409 · 01-05-2021, 10:06 AM

Our new 2018 Vista 27 PE had the outer skylight cracked area on one of the corners at the radius while still on the dealers lot. There was no water damage and they replaced it under warranty before we took possession of it and noted it on the pre acceptance inspection sheet. We bought the rig new in 2019. Thought we got a good deal. We were originally looking at a used 2017 RV on their lot. For $7000 more we got a new 2018 rig with full factory warranty.
I guess cracked skylights must be a common issue.

US1 · 01-05-2021, 08:31 PM

Holes in the cover should be oversize for the screws, and the screws not cranked down tight.
A lot of heat build up within the inner/outer skylight in the hot sun and the cover needs to be able to expand (or contract in the cold) without the screws preventing it from doing so, thus leading to busted covers.

NancyBCR · 01-11-2021, 08:00 AM

Wow, thanks for this info! We are working hard on our extended warranty claim, suspect we're getting pushback regarding the water damage that happened as a result. Really appreciate your comment.