I hope the rest of the Motorhome is put together better than this.........

[BB]

I look at it this way, the -average- small coach is the better part of 60 large on a gas cutaway chasis that the converter pays  perhaps, $12,000 for; so for about 48 g's shouldn't the consumer get a product that does NOT shed parts going down the road?

RL pretty much nails it with the suggestion  that quality was different-better in the older rv's, or it seems so from the  ones I have looked at. 

I do believe that some of the new materials are superior, for instance pex as compared to copper-I will take the longevity of pex over the anti bacterial characteristics of copper any day and the modern drivetrains  are hands down far better than the older ones, will anyone argue that galvanized sheet metal does not make sense?

But thats about it, osb no thanks-mdf double no thanks-plastic fixtures/paper thin faux wood paneling/ the list goes on and on, they should be ashamed and made to be accountable to every person they have screwed-or perhaps more accurately, they should be made accountable for everything they have NOT screwed (down that is), staples? on high end coaches, bet they were NOT barbed ones either.

What a perfect slogan for a manufacturer, "BB manufacturing, we screw the coach not the customer"-gotta admit, thats cool.

If the workmanship is horrible on things you can see what do you think the things you cannot see are like?

BUT what really concerns me is that there seems to be an attitude that its ok for damage to be sustained during travel on 'rough' roads, a very, very interesting mindset.

 

[taoshum]

Someone shared the WB email address early in this thread so I emailed [email protected] with the following email:

Hello OR,

I got this email address from the RV-forum.com.  I was told that someone at WB actually reads these emails.  I elected to give it a try.

We have an Itasca, a 2007 model, called a 34H Meridian.  We've had a fair amount of trouble with this and that as we learned about the trials and tribulations of a MH.

I have worked diligently for two years in a vain attempt to fix one PITA that I've never understood why it falls to me, the customer, to repair.  I've talked to a couple of dealers and service managers, both WB shops and others and they all say kinda the same thing..."tough, that's the way it is".

Now, of course, being a retired design engineer I don't accept this answer.

The issue is the rain gutter.  On this vehicle and many others, the rain gutter stops and drips right in the middle of the only door into and out of the coach.  On the driver's side, the non-door side, it ends at the same station and drips over the window we use to see the rear view mirror.  Naturally, this goes on and on until all the water, snow, sleet, from the roof has drained which can be hours.

I cannot, for the life of me, come up with a clue as to why a vehicle would have been designed this way, but, it was.

I have tried various rememdies like gutter extensions, drip extenders, tape of all sorts but nothing seems to help very much or lasts more than a month or so.

I've even thought of selling the MH just so I don't have to think about it anymore.

My most recent thought is to cut it off and do without one.

Do you have any suggestions? And maybe some rationale for why the gutter ends where it does and who benefits from the configuration?

thanks

I got a call from Tom at WB.  He said this is not a new question at WB and the engineering dept has determined that the tradeoff for fixing this is not worth the cost to do so.  Evidently sales doesn't get many complaints so they don't put any pressure on marketing.  So WB's will continue to be this way.  He did say that an awning will help, after you stop of course.  FWIW, now everyone knows what I know which isn't much.

 

[SargeW]

(I've been watching this thread quietly and cautiously cuz I haven't had any issues whatsoever, so I'm speaking reeel quiet-like...)

Cross your fingers, lift one leg and spin in a circle while repeating "Please don't let parts fly off, Please don't let parts fly off........."

 

[SargeW]

I do believe that some of the new materials are superior, for instance pex as compared to copper-I will take the longevity of pex over the anti bacterial characteristics of copper any day and the modern drivetrains  are hands down far better than the older ones, will anyone argue that galvanized sheet metal does not make sense?

But thats about it, osb no thanks-mdf double no thanks-plastic fixtures/paper thin faux wood paneling/ the list goes on and on, they should be ashamed and made to be accountable to every person they have screwed-or perhaps more accurately, they should be made accountable for everything they have NOT screwed (down that is), staples? on high end coaches, bet they were NOT barbed ones either.

Well, I partially agree with you BB. However it's not all about just using cheaper and lighter materials to save a buck. A lot of it has to do with the coaches of today are WAY more complicated and HEAVIER than the older ones. A buddy of mine has a 1986 Apollo coach that he has kept in pristine condition.  It is 36' long, and is built like a brick out house. And it was quite the standard of luxury for it's time.  But it also has no slides, minimal exterior storage, a weak undersized diesel engine, a propane generator, and one 16" TV mounted in a floor cabinet. 

My 35' Winne has 3 slides, one is full wall, tons of exterior and interior storage, a 6.7 Cummins diesel that pulls me and the 5000# toad at 65 MPH and gets 9 MPG, and 4 flat panel HD TV's, among a bunch of other stuff.  The point is all this extra fun stuff is HEAVY. And trying to fit it all on a coach about the same length as my buddy's sitting on the same tires, something had to give. 

Don't get me wrong, I still think that Quality Control should be JOB NUMBER ONE regardless of the materials. But I can't knock them for thin wall board and plastic parts. It's what we asked for in exchange for all the goodies. 

Sarge

 

[afchap]

I stopped to find that the rear bedroom window (fire escape) had self-unlatched and was blowing in the breeze

At least you know it works!!   Some folks don't know if their emergency exit will work, and are afraid to try it for fear they won't get it shut after they open it!

 

[SargeW]

At least you know it works!!   Some folks don't know if their emergency exit will work, and are afraid to try it for fear they won't get it shut after they open it!

Man, that's what happened to me just a few days ago!  I was monkeying with the exit window and couldn't get it to budge.  I was afraid to force it.........

 

[afchap]

The issue is the rain gutter.  On this vehicle and many others, the rain gutter stops and drips right in the middle of the only door into and out of the coach.  On the driver's side, the non-door side, it ends at the same station and drips over the window we use to see the rear view mirror.  - snip -  did say that an awning will help

  Yep, been there. Have tried every kind of gutter extension I could find with no success ...none really fit. I am blessed with an awning over the entry door, but we STILL had water dripping on us when we opened the door until I applied caulk behing the awning AND added a rubber gutter under awning just above the door ...that stopped MOST of the drips...  I added some rubber gutter on the glass on the driver side to divert some of the run-off, but other than that I've pretty much just given up on the driver side.

 

[SargeW]

On my last coach I used the adhesive "J" channel on a roll from CW. I put it over the windshield, over the entry door awning, and over the drivers window. It worked really well and stopped 95% of the water run off. I will most likely put it on this rig as well. 

 

[taoshum]

On my last coach I used the adhesive "J" channel on a roll from CW. I put it over the windshield, over the entry door awning, and over the drivers window. It worked really well and stopped 95% of the water run off. I will most likely put it on this rig as well.

I put some of that stuff on last May and it does help...  I tried to use it as an extension of the existing gutter though and the joint was awkward.  You just gave me a great suggestion... put some under the existing gutter to catch the run-off and route it away from the door.  If that works, I'll try the drivers side window and then the windshield.  Thanks!!

 

[JPete]

Just curious, why do you put the self adhesive gutter over the windshield? I can understand the driver's window and the entrance door but why the windshield?

Thanks,

Pete

 

[John Canfield]

I used "J" channel around the top of the driver's window and it has helped quite a bit to keep streaks off that large window.  Never saw a need to use it anywhere else on ours.

 

[SargeW]

Just curious, why do you put the self adhesive gutter over the windshield? I can understand the driver's window and the entrance door but why the windshield?

Thanks,

Pete

Yep, just what John said.  The way that the upper body slopes just above the window, every time the dew got a little heavy I would get all kinds of drip streaks down the windshield.  And if it was a little dusty first, now they were dirty streaks.  The J channel eliminated 99% of that problem.  I used it for the same reasons above the drivers window and on top of the door awning.  I never thought of putting it under the awning but I guess it would do the same thing...

 

[SCVJeff]

Cross your fingers, lift one leg and spin in a circle while repeating "Please don't let parts fly off, Please don't let parts fly off........."

Twisted my ankle and fell over after 2 turns, but I think the message got thru..

 

[SargeW]

Twisted my ankle and fell over after 2 turns, but I think the message got thru..

See, that's where I went wrong. I fell over after the first circle......... ;D

 

[SargeW]

Well, I may as well put the newest development here.  It's not Winne's problem, but I am sitting in a Freightliner in East Hartford, Ct.  I have had a squeal coming from my left front wheel since I bought the coach.  I finally stopped to get it checked out. The shop pulled the front wheels and re-torqued the wheel bearings, which were a little loose. Nope, didn't fix it.  They called Bendix for their opinion, and after a few phone calls and pics back and forth, I am spending another night in the parking lot. We will see tomorrow..................

 

[John Canfield]

..I am spending another night in the parking lot. We will see tomorrow..................

Been there, done that  :  Spent some nights at Freightliner in Tolleson (Phoenix), Gaffney, SC; Cummins in Columbus, OH (on a 20 amp outlet at the base of a light pole) and Avondale (Phoenix), etc.  Just one of those things.

Hope they get you squared away - at least it's not on your nickle.

 

[SargeW]

Yeah, no kidding.  It's just maddening. The squeak is there, you just can't find it..

 

[SargeW]

Well, third night in the Freightliner parking lot. But at this time the squeak is gone. After waiting 2 days and a series of e-mails and pictures back and forth with Bendix, the company that made the brake caliper assembly. After 2 days of their engineers looking at it decided "it's not our problem".  Great. Freightliner recommended sanding the pads and rotor faces, and put it all back together. The techs (2 of them) did just that in about an hour. The test drive showed that the squeak was gone, at least for now. Too late to hit the road tonight, it's raining here in Ct and the place we were headed for is 170 miles away.  We will pull out in the morning and hopefully the squeak will remain gone.

 

[John Canfield]

So that begs the question of what happens if your pads or rotor get replaced in the future - will the squeak reappear requiring more sanding?  I suppose you can be grateful you don't have Bosch brakes on a Workhorse chassis 

 

[SargeW]

Yeah, I'm a little surprised by the fix but I guess it worked.  At least for a little while. And if it doesn't then I have made a record for FL to authorize an entire brake job.  Actually I hope it works, I have been listening to that dang squeal for 3 months......