Engine "hood" locking issue

[lgehring]

We have a 2000 Itasca Sunrise Class A built on a Chevy Workhorse P32.

We noticed when we returned from a recent trip that the "hood" opening wasn't closing all the way. When we opened it, we saw that the part the two locks on the inside hook into was loose. It was resting crookedly on top of other parts of the engine.

I'm not sure how to describe this. It's a long, slightly curved piece of metal that fits along the inside curve of the front a little below the opening. We put it back where we think it belongs, and the bottom of the hood closes flush, but the top sticks out a bit and is loose.

Is the long channel of curved metal supposed to be firmly attached to the rig somehow? Or is it supposed to be loose? How do we fix this problem?

Winnebago's good about providing parts lists, electrical and plumbing diagrams and just about anything to fix the coach. Is there anything similar our there for a Workhorse chassis?

I have no idea where to look this up. Any ideas are welcome.

[creativepart]

I can’t tell from your post, but is one of the latches not connected to the front cap?

This is a common problem as the two latches - one on each side of the cap are just glued on to the fiberglass and are known to come unstuck.

But, again, from your post I cannot tell if that’s the problem or not.

[lgehring]

Originally Posted by creativepart

I can’t tell from your post, but is one of the latches not connected to the front cap?

This is a common problem as the two latches - one on each side of the cap are just glued on to the fiberglass and are known to come unstuck.

But, again, from your post I cannot tell if that’s the problem or not.

The two latches that you open with the barrel key are still fine. What they latch into is loose. It's a piece of curved metal, like c-channel, that has the notch for the key-operated latch to hook to.

That long piece of metal is not firmly attached to anything. We have it resting along the area we think it should be attached to. And it kind of works. The keys turn the latch, it catches, and the engine opening front cap locks on the bottom. But the top is still loose. So we're doing something wrong.

If we need to attach it in some way, I need to figure out how. If it is supposed to just rest there, why won't it stay there? And why won't the top part of the engine front cap catch or close properly?

We went through some rough roads in Colorado. Perhaps we shook something loose?

[lgehring]

Originally Posted by creativepart

I can’t tell from your post, but is one of the latches not connected to the front cap?

This is a common problem as the two latches - one on each side of the cap are just glued on to the fiberglass and are known to come unstuck.

But, again, from your post I cannot tell if that’s the problem or not.

Your comment about glue was correct. Only the part that was unglued was the curved c-channel bit. Thanks for your help!

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by lgehring

Your comment about glue was correct. Only the part that was unglued was the curved c-channel bit. Thanks for your help!

I suspected that this is what the problem was. Most others don't have the curved c-channel but have individual pieces glued onto the fiberglass side around the opening.

I saw that someone asked WBGO why they continued to glue these attachment points to the fiberglass instead of a better mounting and their response was "What problem? We've not heard of this attachment failing from our customers."