After reading a number of posts about the need to inspect the gutter and cap seals I took a look today. The three 3/16" square weep holes on the passenger side seem to be clear and the two on the driver side seem to be clear. I assume the third one on the driver side is under the main slide out awning. Unfortunately I discovered some awning gutter sealant failure here and there and most unfortunately I discovered on the driver's side that the adhesive holding the side of the front cap to the side wall has failed. At the corner where the cap turns up from horizontal to vertical to go up to the roof, that corner is protruding out about one quarter inch.
I called Winnebago this afternoon and the service tech told me that for our 2004 Journey 36G that the side wall cap had a metal piece bonded to the inside cap fiberglass and screws located from the inside out through the body frame into this metal piece fastened the side of the front cap to the body side wall.
I told him this sounded just like when the rear lower piece of the rear cap (I call it the bumper) let loose. I used JB weld glue and clamped it tight and it bonded and has been good for over six months. He said that was just about it.
He suggested that I use a similar technique to bond the side wall and the cap. There is not much room with only a decreasing quarter inch gap between the side wall and the side cap. I'll try to wedge it out to allow some room for cleaning and stuffing glue up there. No doubt will need to tape some cover over the side walls to protect the side wall paint.
Then there is the clamp! That would be a size 12'. Not having one of those I'm planning to pull along side one of the steel poles where I store the MH and insert a screw jack between the pole and the side wall to pressure the cap side wall into the body side wall. It should work.
Then lastly is getting some sealant material to re-caulk the joint as well as the other joints. According to the "2004 Journey & Meridian Sealants Callout Sheet" I'll need Sealant A, Winnebago part # 072889-10-000.
On re-reading there are two procedure questions: (1) Will I have enough working space to clean and insert enough glue to cause a strong bond. (2) The obvious problem of how to remove the cap once it is glued in place. I doubt that I'll have the good luck to be able to find and smear sufficient amount of glue to the metal piece so that it will be re-assembled as initially manufactured. At this point I am assuming the screws did not just back out and it's not really a glue failure. Although I'll check it as I can I am betting it's a glue failure.
An alternative repair would be to locate the frame steel and drill and mount two external stainless steel fasteners mounted in a dress washer. This fix would reduce the appearance but allow for easier cap removal. This fix would also set up a potential leak problem as keeping the holes sealed would no doubt be problematic over time.
I searched the forum for a similar problem but only found where Peter Griffin had a side cap come loose and Winnebago fixed it under warranty. Has anyone else accomplished this repair? Anything I might not have thought about?
I called Winnebago this afternoon and the service tech told me that for our 2004 Journey 36G that the side wall cap had a metal piece bonded to the inside cap fiberglass and screws located from the inside out through the body frame into this metal piece fastened the side of the front cap to the body side wall.
I told him this sounded just like when the rear lower piece of the rear cap (I call it the bumper) let loose. I used JB weld glue and clamped it tight and it bonded and has been good for over six months. He said that was just about it.
He suggested that I use a similar technique to bond the side wall and the cap. There is not much room with only a decreasing quarter inch gap between the side wall and the side cap. I'll try to wedge it out to allow some room for cleaning and stuffing glue up there. No doubt will need to tape some cover over the side walls to protect the side wall paint.
Then there is the clamp! That would be a size 12'. Not having one of those I'm planning to pull along side one of the steel poles where I store the MH and insert a screw jack between the pole and the side wall to pressure the cap side wall into the body side wall. It should work.
Then lastly is getting some sealant material to re-caulk the joint as well as the other joints. According to the "2004 Journey & Meridian Sealants Callout Sheet" I'll need Sealant A, Winnebago part # 072889-10-000.
On re-reading there are two procedure questions: (1) Will I have enough working space to clean and insert enough glue to cause a strong bond. (2) The obvious problem of how to remove the cap once it is glued in place. I doubt that I'll have the good luck to be able to find and smear sufficient amount of glue to the metal piece so that it will be re-assembled as initially manufactured. At this point I am assuming the screws did not just back out and it's not really a glue failure. Although I'll check it as I can I am betting it's a glue failure.
An alternative repair would be to locate the frame steel and drill and mount two external stainless steel fasteners mounted in a dress washer. This fix would reduce the appearance but allow for easier cap removal. This fix would also set up a potential leak problem as keeping the holes sealed would no doubt be problematic over time.
I searched the forum for a similar problem but only found where Peter Griffin had a side cap come loose and Winnebago fixed it under warranty. Has anyone else accomplished this repair? Anything I might not have thought about?
