Turkeys are dumb!!!!

[JBroadaway]

Just turned west on US 50 near Eureka, NV. Got up to about 65mph with no other vehicles in sight. Here comes a female turkey weighing about 30 pounds (estimated). It trots out right in front of me and stops!!! Air horns on and dumb turkey just looks at me but doesn't move!! I can't move to miss it so boom, I hit it. No place to pull off so have to keep going until I finally find a rest stop and get out to assess the damage. No dents to the front of the motor home but what a mess!!! Then I notice that my right hand fog lamp is hanging by its cord. I crawl under the rig and discover that the entire fog lamp assembly is installed with some sort of adhesive; no bolts, screws, or other more permanent attachement hardware. Now I need to figure out just what type of adhesive Winnebago used to secure this assembly. I was puzzled because the right hand fog lamp assembly was loose and the turkey we hit was on the left side! Got back in the motor home and continued our travels to Pahrump, NV. When I got there I noticed the left hand fog lamp had also fallen out!! This one was different; only the fog lamp itself fell out and, upon inspection, I determined that it broke at the attachment but the attachment with the adhesive is still in place. Can anyone help me with finding out just what type of adhesive is used to hold the fog lamps on and where I could purchase it??????

[homelesshobo]

A turkey is the only animal that will drown in rain. I will open its mouth and stand there till it drowns.

[rgrstndgby]

Originally Posted by JBroadaway

Just turned west on US 50 near Eureka, NV. Got up to about 65mph with no other vehicles in sight. Here comes a female turkey weighing about 30 pounds (estimated). It trots out right in front of me and stops!!! Air horns on and dumb turkey just looks at me but doesn't move!! I can't move to miss it so boom, I hit it. No place to pull off so have to keep going until I finally find a rest stop and get out to assess the damage. No dents to the front of the motor home but what a mess!!! Then I notice that my right hand fog lamp is hanging by its cord. I crawl under the rig and discover that the entire fog lamp assembly is installed with some sort of adhesive; no bolts, screws, or other more permanent attachement hardware. Now I need to figure out just what type of adhesive Winnebago used to secure this assembly. I was puzzled because the right hand fog lamp assembly was loose and the turkey we hit was on the left side! Got back in the motor home and continued our travels to Pahrump, NV. When I got there I noticed the left hand fog lamp had also fallen out!! This one was different; only the fog lamp itself fell out and, upon inspection, I determined that it broke at the attachment but the attachment with the adhesive is still in place. Can anyone help me with finding out just what type of adhesive is used to hold the fog lamps on and where I could purchase it??????

jb, do a search, this has been thoroughly covered on here, JB Weld fixed mine alot of rough miles ago.. IMO, The prep is more important than the adhesive used...rgr...

[JBroadaway]

I thought about JB Weld since I've used it before and like the results; bottom line - jb will use JB!!!!

[RedT]

I experienced the same thing on US-160 in Colorado - only it was 5 turkeys, I hit one. It took out the fog lamp plus the headlamp!

Scrape the old adhesive off as much as you can, and be sure to rough up the metal brackets. JB weld does an amazing job of bonding the parts back together.


RedT in Glendale, AZ
'04 Meridian
'03 Jeep Liberty
M&G Brake System

[rgrstndgby]

Originally Posted by JBroadaway

I thought about JB Weld since I've used it before and like the results; bottom line - jb will use JB!!!!

Very important to get ALL of the paint out of the joint. Its probably sticking to the old adhesive, having released from the bracket.. Rough up the joint, clean to surfaces with some solvent ( alcohol is good ) apply the adhesive, block the piece in place for about a day and you`are good to go... BTW, despite the rgr, I'm a JB too ...rgr

[JMonroe]

Years ago, when I was still handling claims for State Farm Insurance, I had a claim go across my desk on an Airstream TT. A flying turkey had hit the front of the trailer, above the front window. They were traveling at 55 - 60 at the time. The darn thing caved in the entire front 'cap' of that trailer. I don't remember the repair cost anymore, but I know it was in the multiple thousands.

[1ciderdog]

Actually wild turkeys are pretty savy. Domestic turkeys & turkey buzzards are not so smart. Way back in the real old days Ben Frankin wanted to make the wild turkey the US national bird but eagle won out.

[MaverickBBD]

Thank goodness it "wasn't multiple birds strikes" and you didn't fail to make Teeterboro and have to "go in the river".

[Lindsay Richards]

My hood latches are connected the same way. I'd much rather have a bolt, but it has held for years. I'll bet that turkey never does that again. Were you able to cook the remains?

[JBroadaway]

I have been informed by a native Nevadan that there are no turkeys in central Nevada and that I probably hit a 30-35 pound Sage Hen. Since I didn't have the appropriate time to properly identify the "big bird", I will have to take his word for it.
I also talked to a body shop foreman at Camping World and he gave me some pretty interesting information. The fog lamps on Winnebagos are attached using adhesive that should last forever BUT the assemblers at the plant DO NOT REMOVE THE PAINT from the brackets when installing the brackets. He advised me to remove the paint, grind all of the old adhesive off the inside of the bumper, and use JB Weld to reattach them. I will do this when I get to Arizona and have some time. Sure sounds practical for a fix but the question of why Winnebago didn't remove the paint makes one wonder how the rest of the coach is assembled!!!!!