Notes on exterior inspection at the mothership

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June 30, 2018, 11:47:03 am

Sue and I are just past the one year mark with our first motorhome, a 2011, 27’ mid-bath we call Sidra (Urdu for ‘of the stars’).

After a year of getting to know Sidra, and over a year of reading most every post on this forum, we judged it prudent to get a factory evaluation of Sidra’s exterior condition. Last week Sue and I trekked to the Mothership.

The remainder of this post is a slightly edited version of the entry in our Maintenance Log. I’m sharing it for what it’s worth.

I want readers to know that Vince was great. Sometimes a bit abrupt, and sometimes rather ‘black and white’ on issues that might have more color, but always engaged and generous. There was no charge for the time he spent with us, including the adjustment he made to the coach door. The only money we left at the Mothership was for touch up paint and new beading for around the faux spare tire cover.

--Begin Maintenance Log Entry--

27-June-18: Mothership exterior inspection and Q&A session

Vince worked with us for a couple hours, performed the inspection, and answered all of our questions.

Roof: All seals in good condition, including entire perimeter and all vents. He also commented that the escape hatch cover is in good condition and that to prevent any rattles, we should lower the hatch until fully closed and then tighten it a bit more. (Sue uses foam pads to prevent the aluminum on aluminum rattle.)

Regarding the roof, Vince had one large concern.

Sometime in the past, the original owner replaced the original factory rooftop antenna with another product. The owner did not like the new product and restored the original antenna. The process left the antenna mount base and several sites adjacent to it sealed with self-leveling sealant (Dicor?; see attached photo; yes that’s a WeBoost antenna in place of the TV antenna).

Vince doesn’t like Dicor, but his real concern was what couldn’t be seen under the sealant, which most likely covers non-factory holes drilled in the roof. He somewhat reluctantly advised that we remove the sealant, evaluate the penetrations, if appropriate patch with fiberglass and polyester resin(!), and then seal with polyurethane (Loctite PL S40). No immediate action taken.

Related: We asked Vince if he thought the antenna coaxial cable as it passes through the aluminum base plate, protected by a boot, is water tight. He recommended sealing the boot.

Solar panels: The rear panel has some ‘snail trails’ in the cells. See attached photo. The panel appears to be fully functional. Vince was unconcerned. He was also unconcerned about the UV (sun) damage to the rubber cover of power cables.

End caps: In good condition, with one exception. See attached photo.

The horizontal end cap crack on the rear right (passenger) side goes across the full width. The crack is above the interior floor level and is vulnerable to water penetration. Repair options include replacing the end cap (~$1000), or sealing (Vince recommended PL S40) and monitoring. There is A LOT of discussion about end cap repair options on the LDO Forum. We will start with 3M 5200 Fast Cure and monitoring.

Fiberglass tail light panels: Vince said that the small cracks in the panels are in the gel coat only. No concern.

Coach door: When the door is closed, the upper third of the door doesn’t fully seal. Vince took Sidra back to the work yard and adjusted the door. It now seals perfectly. The work was performed gratis.

Windows: Vince was satisfied with the exterior seal of all windows. I did not see him inspect the top of every window. I asked him to look at a repair I made (thin coat of 3M 5200), and he said that it looked clean and careful and that I probably didn’t do any harm.

I mentioned that I used 5200 and he indicated that he didn’t know what that was. Hmm.

Misc other:

Interior antenna control mechanism: Vince reattached the handle and indicated that the rod to which the antenna attaches had been cut too short.
Interior window lock mechanism: The locking mechanism on one window keeps falling off. Vince suggested that the loose screws be removed, a slightly larger hole be drilled, and slightly larger screws be used to secure the plate. In responding, I misspoke and said something about longer screws, and he emphatically replied not to use longer screws! That a longer screw could come into contact with the glass and break it.
Postscript: I looked at this problem more carefully yesterday. It turns out that when the moving piece of glass (which also has the locking mechanism) is fully closed, the locking mechanism alignment is past the groove in the aluminum extrusion that the locking arm swings in to. (I know, it doesn’t seem possible, but it’s clearly the case). To address the problem, it appears that the factory (or original owner) placed a plastic shim under the lock mechanism which gives it the correct alignment. (None of the other windows has a shim under the locking mechanism.) The stock screws were used to attach the mechanism, which, with the shim, are too short to achieve even a full rotation of penetration in the aluminum. So, I will clean everything up, and use screws that are 1/8” longer. I will probably have to cut down longer screws.
Interior Kitchen blinds. The mechanism that adjusts the tilt of the blades doesn’t work. Vince suggested replacement over attempts to repair. To repair, we will likely have to replace the wand tilter mechanism (replacement guide: Tilt Mechanism Buying Guide | FixMyBlinds.com; based on Mini Blind Tilt Mechanisms, ~$6-10 or $5-12 on Amazon)

Other notes:

Vince advised that we use polyurethane (Loctite PL S40) for ALL applications where a sealant is needed.
Vince advised that we lubricate the electric step more often (KwikLube). He didn’t like what he heard when our electric step deployed.
Vince suggested that we run the generator 2 hours every month, and then, after some push back, said at least an hour.
Vince offered that Sidra was a really clean coach with the exception of the roof concerns.
Both Vince and Todd checked the fire extinguisher to ensure it was not part of the recall (it’s not)