2002 Itasca IFF36M - plastic fenders warping

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Ron Minegar

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Jul 4, 2017
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I have a 2002 36 Ft Itasca model # IFF36M. There are plastic fenders and one storage door on the passenger side of the coach that were melted so at considerable expense I replaced them and had them painted and they are melting and wrinkling again. Frustrated that when I ordered these parts Winnebago didn't tell me they have had problems with them. Any help or direction about what may be causing this would be greatly appreciated!


edit by staff - made subject more descriptive
 
Welcome to the RVForum Ron. That's a new one for me. Can you upload some pictures? Did Winnie later admit that they've had a problem with their fenders melting?

Kev
 
Perhaps you could elaborate a bit re "melted", and a picture would indeed help us understand.  What was the heat that melted it? Was this due to exhaust pipe heat, or maybe the water heater or genset?  Was the problem poor design (trapped heat) or poor quality fenders?
 
I'll post some images later today (I store it away from home) and post them. My Dad bought the motor home used from a dealer who had it on trade and never questioned the wrinkled plastic sections. After about three years of ownership we decided to replace the damaged panels and bought them directly from Winnebago through my Brother's body shop. Today I plan to contact the place where we bought them to ask them if others have reported any similar issues with those particular parts, in the meantime I thought I'd reach out on this forum to ask if anyone else has experienced this problem.
 
First time I've seen this reported, so maybe your problem is unique.

As I recall, Winnie did use the side exhaust configuration of the Workhorse W20/W22 chassis, so that could put hot exhaust right at the wheel well. The rear exhaust option on the Wxx chassis avoids that, but adds some cost.

Could it be that an extension or tip is missing from the exhaust?
 
Here is an image of the wrinkled fender (It's gotten worse since this image was taken about three weeks ago). We considered the exhaust pipe as the culprit however the front passenger side fender also wrinkled as well as a small fixed panel aft of the walk door.

Hmmm, I'm new to the forum. I cant figure out how to embed an image...help?
 

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Got a hold of Winnebago parts dept. They said this issue is news to them and they suggested that I inspect the undercarriage for any missing heat shields, mud flaps, etc. I just checked it all out and come up with nothing obvious that could lead to the wrinkling of the fender. I'm back to thinking that the plastic is somehow flawed. I'm going to ask them to replace the fender.
 
This is a real puzzler. Are there matching parts on opposite sides that aren't getting wrinkled? Any environmental factors involved like concentrated sun or other source of heat?
 
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