Roof Top Bubbling (RW 400) & Very Disappointed!!!

DesertThumper · Apr 15, 2014

We had our trailer in for warranty work this past 3 weeks for them to address all concerns except one item. The owner of the RV Dealer did the majority of the work. When he did the walk through of all the items he said the one item he went to bat for us is the bubbling areas of the roof top we wanted fixed. The size of a basketball and in many areas of the roof. The owner of the rv delaership brings up his concerns of the roof top to be warranty as well as his concerns and reputatuon of his dealership at stake, they declined the warranty work. I cannot understand why any company that sells their products and or services not to adress an issue like this one. My wife and I did not buy a trailer with a roof top that was bubbling when we first bought the unit. That's what a warranty is for right? We have owned it for only 8 months! We are so upset about our time wasted and the trust of the manufacturer to take care of the owners of HL products. We work very hard for our money and the last thing we need to hear is that business is not being handled fairly by the manufacturer. We are very disappointed with HL that all we ask for is to fix this problem we didnt create. This will be our last trailer investment purchase with HL. Very disappointed!!! Chime in if you have anything positive to say or a resolution that can help us.

danemayer · Apr 15, 2014

Hi DesertThumper,

You didn't say what the dealer proposed to do as a remedy that Heartland declined. But let me guess he was proposing putting down a new roof instead of repairing the problem area.

When faced with roof issues after warranty, even if covered by insurance, most people think pretty hard about replacing the entire roof, especially if there's an alternative.

Replacing the roof requires tearing up the Dicor rubber which destroys the wood luan underneath. The roof has to be sanded and a new luan layer installed along with new Dicor material. All the vents, fans, skylights, A/C units and ladder need to be removed. There's potential for human error when removing and reinstalling these items.

The original Dicor rubber installation is extended down a couple of feet in front and rear and then the caps are installed. When replacing, the existing material is cut at the cap and a new seam is created at front and rear of the roof. It's very important to maintain this seam very diligently. Of course if you don't maintain the original caulk at the caps, you might still have a problem, but there's probably a greater exposure after replacing the roof. Some people put down Eternabond across these seams to minimize the exposure to future leaks.

A bubble in the Dicor roof material is usually caused by the factory missing an area when applying the adhesive. You should ask the dealer about making a small hole in the center of the bubble and injecting adhesive, and then placing a small Eternabond or Dicor patch over the injection site. This approach is far less invasive and leaves you with a small patch instead of a couple of major seams at front and rear.

DesertThumper · Apr 15, 2014

danemayer said:
Hi DesertThumper,

You didn't say what the dealer proposed to do as a remedy that Heartland declined. But let me guess he was proposing putting down a new roof instead of repairing the problem area.

When faced with roof issues after warranty, even if covered by insurance, most people think pretty hard about replacing the entire roof, especially if there's an alternative.

Replacing the roof requires tearing up the Dicor rubber which destroys the wood luan underneath. The roof has to be sanded and a new luan layer installed along with new Dicor material. All the vents, fans, skylights, A/C units and ladder need to be removed. There's potential for human error when removing and reinstalling these items.

The original Dicor rubber installation is extended down a couple of feet in front and rear and then the caps are installed. When replacing, the existing material is cut at the cap and a new seam is created at front and rear of the roof. It's very important to maintain this seam very diligently. Of course if you don't maintain the original caulk at the caps, you might still have a problem, but there's probably a greater exposure after replacing the roof. Some people put down Eternabond across these seams to minimize the exposure to future leaks.

A bubble in the Dicor roof material is usually caused by the factory missing an area when applying the adhesive. You should ask the dealer about making a small hole in the center of the bubble and injecting adhesive, and then placing a small Eternabond or Dicor patch over the injection site. This approach is far less invasive and leaves you with a small patch instead of a couple of major seams at front and rear.

Thanks Dan for your reply. After reading your post, I made a call to our dealership and spoke to the owner about your recommendation. Here are the results: They did not proposed a remedy at the time of pickup. You are right about our dealer stating to HL about replacing the entire roof top. At the same time during our conversation, he stated that he is ticked off at HL for not taking the responsibility to address the issue and that the dealers always gets the blame. It is a factory issue. We sell for HL and take care of warranty issues for the customer.

Now, where does a customer fit in this conversation? It seems that it should be the builder and seller that need to figure it out and provide a resolution for us customers.

The process of doing such roof top replacement is a big job to do. Your suggestion of fixing multiple air bubbles on the roof should be discussed by the two parties and be proactive with a remedy to the owner if the roof replacement is out of the realm.

Sure they may miss certain areas when applying the necessary applications in certain areas of the roof from the factory then later it causes the bubbling effect . I agree with you Dan. Then the factory and dealer needs to come together and work it out.

I am waiting for a call back from HL and or my dealer.

danemayer · Apr 15, 2014

Does Heartland know you're waiting to hear from them? If not, call Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032 / 574-262-8030. Have your VIN # ready. They should be able to fill you in on their discussion with the dealer and what their reasoning is about how to proceed.

This is also an opportunity for you to have a direct discussion with Customer Service about the way the roof looks to you. It's common for there to be small bubbles (1" or less). If Heartland thinks the problem is small bubbles and you explain what you've seen, it's possible they might have a different idea about what should be done.

DesertThumper · Apr 15, 2014

Yes. I have made contact with HL and the ball is in there court. They have my vin and contact info. The dealer is suppose to send the pics to them. The bubbles are much larger like a plate or even a basketball size.

Thanks for your feed back of thoughts.

Greengas · Apr 15, 2014

When my 2014 Landmark was delivered with multiple bubbles on the roof heartland said it was acceptable and flat out refused to do anything and that included the regluing procedure mentioned in this thread. I agree with the OP, I just dont understand HLs refusal to accept responsibility for shoddy work dobe at their plant.

gwalter · Apr 15, 2014

My roof bubbled just before my warranty was up. My dealer called them and got the ok from HL to fix it. A week later all was well. I think the quality and willingness of the dealer to help is key. Mine took care of any problems promptly and with no problems or excuses from them.

readytohitheroad · Apr 16, 2014

I am not sure that I would agree that any roof bubbling is normal, but that is just me. This is also a fairly common issue as owners post about this fairly often here. HL ought to communicate to current and potential owners as to how they are changing/improving their manufacturing process to cure this issue.

TandT · Apr 16, 2014

I don't think complete replacement of the roof is necessary. I agree with Dan that spot repair is a logical way to mediate this problem. This can be done fairly easily and efficiently resulting in no long term problems.

I had my roof completely replaced after contact with a 100 year old oak tree two years ago. (there was no alternative)
It involved about 40 man hours of work and cost my insurance company around $7000. Trace

Roof Top Bubbling (RW 400) & Very Disappointed!!!

DesertThumper

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danemayer

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DesertThumper

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danemayer

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DesertThumper

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Greengas

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gwalter

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readytohitheroad

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TandT

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