Hood Latch issue

monytaker · 10-03-2020, 05:42 PM

hi, i am new to the forums. i found [a] post about the hood latch coming loose. i have had this same problem, i tried epoxy to reglue and left it for 24 hours with no pressure on it. it feel off. i had a local shop fix it and it fell off. i hate to run bolts through the fiberglass but don't know what else to do. how has your fix worked and has it held or fallen off again. any suggestions would be helpful. i have a 2017 winnebago vista le or ve. thank you.

Americanrascal · 10-04-2020, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monytaker

hi, i am new to the forums. i found your post about the hood latch coming loose. i have had this same problem, i tried epoxy to reglue and left it for 24 hours with no pressure on it. it feel off. i had a local shop fix it and it fell off. i hate to run bolts through the fiberglass but don't know what else to do. how has your fix worked and has it held or fallen off again. any suggestions would be helpful. i have a 2017 winnebago vista le or ve. thank you.

The hood latches on our 2016 38Q came loose with epoxy failure twice in 2016 and 2017. I tried fixing it myself with new epoxy but eventually that failed also. In 2017 I took the rig back to the factory in Forest City. They removed all the old epoxy and then applied a newer diferent type of epoxy and it has held well for the past 3 years. You may want to contact WBGO Tech support and ask them what specific epoxy they now use as it seems to be working well for me.

monytaker · 10-04-2020, 06:20 AM

thank you for repying so quickly. i will contact them.

MIDMONDN · 10-04-2020, 07:04 AM

After several failed repair attempts I purchased six 1/4-20 chrome button head bolts to go thru the fiberglass with nylon lock nuts plus a 2 part expoxy. I20 didnt torque the bolts down just firm. Looks good to me and still holding.

Darry
2017 27N vista

Lakejumper · 10-04-2020, 11:50 AM

We ended up using four stainless steel screws and you can hardly notice them. We used a brand new drill bit so not to damage the fiberglass. Also, used automotive epoxy from an auto body shop.

IOS 3 · 10-04-2020, 03:57 PM

I used stainless bolts through the fiberglass, and epoxy. No issues since repair. You can hardly see what I added.

Cataska · 10-05-2020, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IOS 3

I used stainless bolts through the fiberglass, and epoxy. No issues since repair. You can hardly see what I added.

This ^

monytaker · 10-05-2020, 06:34 PM

thank you. the previous post indicated that winnebago might be using a different epoxy. i will contact them and see. last resort will be the bolts.

powercat_ras · 10-05-2020, 07:09 PM

I have had the plates on both sides of the hood come off and the plate on the top of the air grill come off as well. I have used stainless machine screws on all 3 to reattach. I also re-epoxied with JB weld which with the machine screws the repair gets held tight and stationary while the expoy cures. Between the machine screws and the epoxy I have had no further problems. The remaining plates that have not come off have nylon straps on them connected to the front chassis metalwork so if they fall off they will not get lost but will hang by the straps until I discover the failure.

monytaker · 10-05-2020, 07:44 PM

i appreciate your input. thank you. it just pains me to think i have to run holes through the front to make sure this will hold. winnebago has probably had alot of questions and complaints about this issue. their silence on this forum leads me to believe, they know it is a bad construction issue but they don't want to pay for a recall or fix for it. shame on them.

**macnut** · 10-07-2020, 03:52 PM

The same thing happened to my hood latches over a year ago, and the dealer just glued them back in using epoxy. They are super solid this time and I have no worries about them detaching again. To keep the look of your motorhome, you may want to give this a try before drilling into the hood.

monytaker · 10-07-2020, 07:21 PM

thank you for your response. just to give an update. i did give winnebago a call today as "american rascal" suggested. the gentleman that i spoke to indicated that the prep work to fix this is extremely important. Make sure all previous epoxy is removed, then reapply a 2 part epoxy. they are now currently using a product called "plexus" 2 part adhesive. the problem that i can see at this point is when i brought this in for repair, the person who did the repair, did not remove the previous epoxy. so i am bringing it back for a redo, as i paid over $200 for this repair. i will be passing the recommendations from winnebago on.

Americanrascal · 10-08-2020, 04:34 AM

Your email jogged my memory about what the Tech told me when we took our rig to the factory at Forest City for this repair several years ago. I recall he told me he had to spend a good bit of time removing , sanding and preping the area before he applied that new type of epoxy. Good lusk with your repair!

Joe

monytaker · 10-08-2020, 06:17 AM

thank you Joe. I thought the layer that was left on the fiberglass was a mold to place the bracket on because the open slots of the bracket fit perfectly on them, allowing for current placement. Silly me.

Americanrascal · 10-09-2020, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monytaker

thank you Joe. I thought the layer that was left on the fiberglass was a mold to place the bracket on because the open slots of the bracket fit perfectly on them, allowing for current placement. Silly me.

I'm not sure about a mold and never noticed one when I tried it myself before I took it to the factory. I was not able to observe how he made the repair when I went to Forrest City. Seemed as though it was a smooth surface but not sure.

Joe

monytaker · 10-09-2020, 06:25 AM

what i thought was a mold was the left over epoxy from the original application. according to the winnebago rep, all of that has to be removed. have a great day.

Jim_HiTek · 10-09-2020, 10:33 AM

I have a '02 Winnie and it's happened to several of the epoxy joints holding panels on the front and rear of my diesel pusher. Rather than stick with a failed method of attachment, I just used SS 6-32 flathead hardware with lock nuts to hold things. Didn't bother with any epoxy at all. If I'd been able to find 8-32 SS flatheads, I would have gone with that size but the 6-32 is what I had at the time and are virtually invisible once installed PLUS I could just dab the heads with paint if I wanted them to totally disappear. So far haven't bothered.

After 4 years and thousands of miles, no failures, no cracking of the fiberglass panels, and they're holding firm. In other words, haven't needed to do a thing with them since install. Here's my ad free articles about it. Check out the pictures...as I say, you can't hardly tell the screws are there: Body Work - Rear; Body Work - Front

There are 7 screw heads visible in this picture holding on panels and brackets:

monytaker · 10-09-2020, 03:01 PM

thank you for sharing. if my next attempt after cleaning all epoxy off and regluing doesn't work i will follow your procedure

**creativepart** · 10-09-2020, 03:42 PM

I got lucky. about 16 months ago I took my RV in for an oil change at an independent RV repair shop in San Antonio (Texas RV Supply). When they opened the hood one bracket fell to the ground and the other was already laying there on the ground.

They thought it was their fault and they re-epoxied the latches back on and they did a great job. They are still solid as a rock.

BONUS - since they didn't know this was a WBGO quirk and they thought it was their fault they didn't charge anything extra for fixing the issue. After I paid for the Oil Change and other work they mentioned the event as I was leaving. I like that shop.

monytaker · 10-09-2020, 06:03 PM

well look at you, must be living right, lol