Crazing

gday barry
what model jayco do you have and what troubles have you had
cheers

Number One,

an Eagle camper (bought new in 02) and then an Expanda Van (now sold). I was particularly disappointed in the poor interior workmanship. Little things apparent in both. Poorly stapled timber, electricals and a water pipe hit with staples. Trims not secured. Gaps in exterior panelling particularly around the floor area. Exterior corner trims were a particular issue. (Put the camper in a dark garage/shed and then shine a very bright light into the cupboards aimed towards the floor. The light visible from the outside will show you where to apply gap sealer/silicone) Poor installation of appliances. Breather hoses not fitted. Insufficient screws and poorly fastened slides. Stay backing plates poorly fastened and not actually having a backing plate on them meaning the support arms sat on the timber and push through it. Inadequate sealing around the wind down mechanism, and the actual roof of the camper was bent out of shape meaning it did not seal properly.

They certainly build to a price point and their quality assurance seems to have dropped off somewhat as they upped their production. Once all the bits and pieces were finally fixed, strengthened or replaced with better equivalents, the Eagle performed well which lulled me into trading up to the Van. I’d forgotten just how poor the quality of the finish can be. The earlier models seemed to have been made to a much higher standard.

Should have read .... 2 pack.

Still no edit function, not much to ask for!

The gel coat is there to protect the resin underneath.
I will become structural as moisture penetrates faster into the resin (which is hydroscopic) and the effect rapidly escalates. Also, if UV gets to the base resin, the resin will fail quickly.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

Gel coat is porous, which in itself is why most polyester resin/glass permanently moored boats will, at some stage of their lives get osmosis!
Again, gel coat crazing is not structural, many, many boats get crazing in their decks with no adverse affect whatsoever, other than cosmetics.

I agree about the UV inhibitors, they possibly got a bad batch of gel-coat. The company that I worked for had a similar problem about 12 years ago and product is still coming back from then with crazing. They are still repairing the old product after that time at no cost. A big job but if you make a quality product you must follow up with after sales service. The product was boats not caravans.
I had a 2004 pop top Jayco with the same trouble after only 18 months and noticed it on return from WA to Geelong, when washing the roof of the van. Jayco replaced the roof as it was cheaper than the repair.
I think if every van with this sort of roof was checked then a lot of people would get a nasty surprise. More than likely all the gel coat may have come from the same supplier. The gel coat supplier that brought it in from Europe at that time has since had a heart attack and died so there is no come back on him.
Hope this helps.

What about "Fit for purpose", has worked for me !
Write to Jayco HO, Att Mr Jerry Ryan.
Barry.

It would be a waste of time & money, Jayco could get plenty of expert testimony that it has no effect on operation or longevity & is little more than a cosmetic problem.

wasting your time consumer affairs will laugh at you

the product was second hand and unles otherwise stated under australian law any waranty only applies to the original purchaser.


Jaycos warranty quite clearly states this and is perfectly legal

I don't understand why people don't contact the manufacturer before posting on forums.

Shaker, please read the original post - they did just that.

Sorry about that! I obviously read it originally.