Grille on 2005 Horizon loose - Glue?

LK23 · 01-03-2006, 04:20 PM

The grille just below the engine access cover has come loose on my 2005 Horizon. I recall previous posts about things coming unglued. What glue do I need to get it re-attached. I am out of warranty by one month.

LK23 · 01-03-2006, 04:20 PM

The grille just below the engine access cover has come loose on my 2005 Horizon. I recall previous posts about things coming unglued. What glue do I need to get it re-attached. I am out of warranty by one month.

John_Canfield · 01-03-2006, 05:02 PM

Rex - I can't exactly place the type of materials that you are dealing with but I like two different methods that I have a lot of experience with from boating days.

First on the list is West System epoxy. They have handy pumps to where you can mix up exactly what you need for the job. The epoxy by itself is too runny for that kind of job so part of the West System is all kinds of powders you can add to thicken the mixture. Some of the additives are for sanding down to a smooth finish, some are for bonding, some are for strength.

The other thing I would consider using is 3M 5200 caulk. I used it to bed various things on to the deck of the boat with great results. It is an amazingly tenacious adhesive and sealant; in fact it is so good you never use it on anything you might want to seperate at a later date.

hogbreth · 01-03-2006, 05:23 PM

LK23,
Call winnebago I guarantee they will take care of it.

LK23 · 01-03-2006, 05:43 PM

John, The left side of the grille has a one foot length of aluminum. This was supposedly glued to the fiberglass body. The aluminum appeared to have little or no glue on it.

ichn2go · 01-04-2006, 01:38 AM

Rex, I had that happen to the front access door. I took the panel off only has 4 bolts, took it to my dealer. He epoxied it, clamped it and gave it back to me after 2 days.
I'm sure you could do it yourself. John has the right answer but be sure to clamp it to get a good bond. I would use the epoxy rather than the 5200, Just feel that it has a little more strength.
John I don't know the material either its a black compound that is susposed to hold it together. 1. They don't use much of it and 2. It doesn't do a good job. I think its used as an adhesive in other places too. HNY and

RedT · 01-04-2006, 01:47 AM

The adhesive used on the doors is Plexus Methacrylate Adhesive

A 2 part adhesive used to weld hinge attachments, etc to front and rear fiberglass caps. The mating surfaces must be clean and dry.

John_Canfield · 01-04-2006, 04:07 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by LK23:
John, The left side of the grille has a one foot length of aluminum. This was supposedly glued to the fiberglass body. The aluminum appeared to have little or no glue on it. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Rex - the lunch whistle must have blown when that work operation began

Tom N · 01-04-2006, 04:26 AM

Much of this glued trim came lose on my friends '05 Horizon 40AD. One of the many reasons he traded it in, with 3500 miles on it, for a '06 Allegro Bus.

The Allegro is bolted/screwed together, not glued.

smlranger · 01-04-2006, 08:15 AM

The generator access door is getting loose on mine..not where the hinges attach to the door but where the hinges attach to the cap. Looks like it will be difficult to work behind that cap to re-glue.

Will I have to remove all the existing adhesive? How do you remove it from the fiberglass? There seems to be a lot of it there but not bonded well.

Frankly, I'm thinking of drilling thru the cap and using some type of stainless or white painted fasteners...I've seen rivets on high end rigs and don't think they look bad.

Tom, I'm beginning to think like your friend. We really like this rig and may keep it for some time. However, if I go shopping for another one, I'd be looking for something that doesn't have the front and rear caps glued on.

LK23 · 01-06-2006, 07:04 PM

The local Winnebago dealer fixed my loose grille with a special epoxy adhesive. It was a five minute fix. Great service by Nolan's RV in Denver, CO. And Winnebago agreed to fix it even though I was out of warranty. Yeah!

MrTransistor · 08-15-2006, 06:26 PM

Hi Everyone,

The past two weekends were spent tracking down Epoxy and re-attaching parts of our coach. The list follows:

Removed the rear engine access door. Popped the frame loose from the fiberglass panel (50% of the attachment points had come loose), prepped the panel by rasping the old glue down to flat, prepped the frame by sanding the metal attach tabs, then re-glued using Scotch-Weld DP 125 Industrial Structural Adhesive and allowed 48 hours to set. I don't think a semi doing 60 could tear it loose now.

Prepped and re-glued the brackets that attach the front end cap that are located just to the left and right of the generator slide out. These had come completely separated allowing the front cap to flop around. I used the same Scotch-Weld DP125. This product is extremely tough but too thin for this application. Donalda (it was a lot easier for her to wiggle up in there) and I had to keep adding product to get the proper fill as some of it oozed down the cap.

Prepped and re-glued the right front hinge bracket for the front cap access panel and the left rear hinge bracket for the engine compartment access panel using a much more appropriate product. Scotch-Weld DP460 NS has a much higher viscosity and is designed to stay put on vertical surfaces. It's properties are even better than the DP 125 and the set time was less than 24 hours.

I also used little dabs of the DP 460 NS to re-attach a couple of wood trim pieces to the interior walls.

The original adhesive used by Winnebago showed no signs of separating from the fiberglass but just can't seem to hold to the glossy black paint used on all the metal brackets. I hope this production error has been corrected on the newer coaches.

I have the applicator gun and two 1.25 oz. Duo-Pacs of the DP 460 NS left in case any thing else pops loose.

The DP 125 came from W. W. Granger and the DP 460 NS came from www.epoxy-adhesive.com

AFChap · 08-15-2006, 06:36 PM

The proper way to apply the adhesive is to rough up the surface ...metal or fiberglass ...before applying the adhesive. I had my engine access door re-glued by a dealer last February. In May I noticed it was coming loose again after only 3 months. I had the factory do it at GNR. They used a different adhesive than the dealer did (dealer's is glossy black, Winnebago's is dull pale almost-green), and I can tell they roughed up the surface before putting it on.

skigramp · 08-17-2006, 10:39 AM

The bracket holding my left headlight and turn signal came unglued from the front cap on the way home from a WIT caravan. We have a 2004 Journey

Winnebago fixed it although I was out of warranty. I think they know they were using some weak glue and/or their procedures were inadequate ...