Hi Jim -
Sorry to hear that your awning rail is also 'bowing out'. The problem with words is that sometimes they get in the way of communicating - the real concern in cases like yours and mine is *not* the *awning* - it is *roof /wall integrity and possible missing screws* . The way I understand it - the roof and wall aluminum substructure rails are screwed together - then the awning rail is screwed to that assembly to secure it in place - then the fiberglass roof material is flexed into the 'J' channel (which is a physical part of the awning rail) and actually retains the roof material - then the 'J' channel should be 'filled' with a durable, waterproof sealant ( casually referred to simply as 'caulk'). So when we observe our awning rail pulling away it is a strong indication that no screws were installed at the factory to securely hold the awning rail in place, which in turn redirects the awnings stress to the flexed fiberglass roof material, which greatly stress the top roof sealant joint and cracks it open as well as eventually breaking the sealant located at the 'J' channel! (...or the screws were over-torqued and broke off?)
It appears to be a complex interlocking and interrelated set of otherwise simple components - however, if one component fails it creates a *serious domino effect structurally* and very quickly, at some point in time, major leaks occur, which causes sidewall delamination. To make this all a bit more complicated, WGO apparently had defective screws and/or an issue with many other coaches having broken screws due to over-torquing or whatever reason, which has already been documented on this site months ago. One of my complaints is that WGO pretends this has not - and does not happen! I was never told about the potential of my wall /roof separating due to their screws breaking - prior to purchasing my coach. WGO attempts to use 'smoke and mirrors' instead - they casually inform owners to 'check your caulk every 6 months' - simply implying it could crack and cause a leak. In reality, I believe they are fully aware that the "caulk cracking" is a relatively *minor symptom* of a *potentially major issue*, that is an underlying structural problem, which results in a *breach of support*, which directly leads to the "caulk" cracking. I think they are purposefully neglecting to inform each owner of additional, probable implications of 'cracking caulk' - so when these issues do surface WGO can easily say, "Sorry the caulking was your responsibility - you blew it - so you pay for the total structural repairs"? I believe the record will show this to be the case.
When I called WGO in Forest City last week to have my 'awning rail separation with incidental caulk cracking' - and other concerns recorded on their computer system - the service person on the phone, within a nano second knee jerk reaction responded with the precision of a well-programmed robot, 'the warranty on the caulking is only for 90 days after that any caulking maintenance issues are the full responsibility of the owner' - a paraphrase, but very close. I attempted to make it very clear to that individual that the 'caulking' was the least of my concern - I didn't want my awning supported by the fiberglass roof material and caulk, nor did I want to be concerned that sidewall delamination might take place as a result of *whatever underneath* was causing the 'caulk' to crack.
I am aware that I am being hard on WGO, but it is based on their poor past performance - if I am wrong, I will apologize publicly. We have had several warranty repair items worked on several different times for the same item and never got them actually remedied. Now I have this major issue, which *needs* to be addressed by them under warranty and I have zero confidence in their knowledge base, motivation nor ability to properly repair it - especially, for the long term!
I'm still in the process of collecting data and sorting this all out - so don't pay any attention to me - but check your own coaches 'caulking' and underside of the awning rail to see if it is pulling away from the exterior wall - if it is - I would get on it right away. Also if you observe this issue or have had it already repaired on any model Winnebago, please post it on this site so we can all begin to better protect ourselves.
I will post a sampling of some earlier posts for clarity...