2018 Sunstar 32YE Hood Latch Recall Fix Concerns

[thompwil]

Had the work done today and I’m a little displeased with the solution. Nothing against the dealership, that’s the solution they were given.

Pop rivets that I’ll likely drill out and replace with chrome or stainless button bolts to attach the brackets. They removed the lower bump stop brackets on the hood, one of which I recently lost, and then installed longer bump stops. I’m hoping the fiberglass hood doesn’t start splintering from direct contact with the stops, maybe I’ll glue on some metal plates for them to land onto.

Oh well, at least the pilot holes are already drilled for the bolts.

 

[sundog964]

Agreed, I'd be very upset if this was their solution. I didn't think they were doing anything but using new glue on them. I did the stainless carriage bolts for both the hood, and the grill.

 

[tderonne]

Here's part of what I did to my Mom's 2020 Adventurer. I made a strap that goes from the hood bracket, that's glued to the front cap, to the frame extension that the cap is bolted to. I used an aluminum stock I had laying around. The two parts aren't in the same plane, so the aluminum was easy to form to fit.

It adds some strength to the hood mount, but mainly holds it to something not glued in such that if the new glue does fail, the piece won't just fall to the ground and be gone while driving. (What the chain is for in the OP's images?) It has been solid for a few thousand miles so far.

Not sure what other models this would exactly apply to, but something similar could be done I'm sure.

 

[thompwil]

Using black pop rivets was not what I was expecting from a company like Winnebago. My son commented that the solution is “epic stupidity”. I’ll get down to my local supply store and get some button bolts, still not sure if I want stainless or chrome, I know they have both.

Every other metal bracket and attachment point from the molded front fascia to the chassis is glued. Now my biggest concern is when will those attachment points begin to fail? Will the front fascia come loose or fall off ?? Will they come out with another recall that covers the front end with black pop rivets?

As stated before the root cause of this failure (as I had been told by the adhesive manufacturer) is the factory using automotive body panel adhesive on painted metal parts. Many auto manufacturers use that adhesive to assemble body panels and it sticks like weld to bare metal. I had already re-glued one of my hood brackets after flapper wheeling the paint off, it was on there for good. I guess I’m going to have to keep an eye on it and prepare myself for another re-gluing project sometime in the future.

 

[RJWinn-iRV2]

Had the work done today and I’m a little displeased with the solution. Nothing against the dealership, that’s the solution they were given.

Pop rivets that I’ll likely drill out and replace with chrome or stainless button bolts to attach the brackets. They removed the lower bump stop brackets on the hood, one of which I recently lost, and then installed longer bump stops. I’m hoping the fiberglass hood doesn’t start splintering from direct contact with the stops, maybe I’ll glue on some metal plates for them to land onto.

Oh well, at least the pilot holes are already drilled for the bolts.

View attachment 2480632View attachment 2480633View attachment 2480634View attachment 2480637

 

[RJWinn-iRV2]

Picked mine up today (2019 Adventurer), looks like **** and the tech somehow spilled black paint on the front. Left evidence of the spill on the clear skin and managed to scratch the clear skin as well. But he atleast tried to hide it with a black sharpie. Had to schedule a followup visit to have everything fixed.

 

[marudnick]

We just had the recall (plus some other things) done at the Winnebago Factory Service Center in Forest City, IA. They painted the rivets the color of the rig. It looks nice. I can’t guarantee how long the paint will last but very satisfied with the work.

I wonder if the recall called for painting the rivets and the dealer didn’t bother with the painting?

 

[wyocamper-WO]

Looks just like my stainless steel screws, but I did buy some touch-up paint and dabbed the screw caps since I took this pic.

 

[Tillie]

My problem is not the hood epoxy. The grill came off but that is not part of the recall even though it uses the same poorly designed epoxy and metal bracket and presents the same hazard. That is one ugly fix for the hood. It looks like with everything else I that is a “fix” from Winnebago I am better off fixing myself the right way.

 

[Winn2021]

I dropped my rig off for an AC repair and asked if they could adjust the hood.
They were so frustrated with the job, I got the AC fixed for free and they charged 500$ for the hood repair. The repair report was so detailed as to include words like UGH! and (sigh). But the epoxy and adjustments worked well... for a while. These doors just sag over time, whether wind buffeting or heavy bellies resting on em.