Roof Radius Cracks Above Awning

[RandyB]

I was given some advice that I would like to pass along. I was told to look carefully above the awning fabric mounting track on the passenger side. This is the sidewall mounted awning, not roof mounted. I was told to look for the presence of cracks above each mounting screw. I am told that some owners are finding cracks at every screw and some as long as 4 to 5 inches.
I took a look and to my surprise, I too found cracks. I took photos and sent them to my Ventana service advisor. I am now scheduled in September to take the coach to Nappanee for an aluminum overlay application. The description was to install an aluminum sheet under the awning fabric mounting strip. Then, the sheet is rolled up to the roof and fastened. Then the sheet is color match painted. I am told it cannot be seen from the ground. They need the coach for 5 days.
You’ll need to zoom in on the photo to see the crack.
2017 Ventana LE 4037

 

[Neal]

Interesting, thanks, will check mine.

 

[whereRVapp]

Thanks I will be looking today!

 

[stang37]

Got the same cracks and they have been there for a year or more. These cracks begin where the patio awning screws are installed. The cracks run about 6-8 inches up the radius. They appear to be just hair line cracks maybe in the gel coat. But, when moving your finger across the crack line you can feel a slight bump or raised area. I will forward picture to Newmar also.

 

[AbdRahim]

Thanks. Hate to see more stuff to get fixed. 5 days in a hotel is not fun either.

 

[Old-RV'er]

Numerous reports of this issue. At Mothership, mine was checked, no cracks, but it's covered under the 5 year structural warranty. I was told they replace the entire roof, so not sure what the whole story is. They will fix it though. So I check roof about every 6 months. Now about the water leak showing up in the TV compartment (no tv) and Newmar could not find it.

 

[Neal]

I was given some advice that I would like to pass along. I was told to look carefully above the awning fabric mounting track on the passenger side. This is the sidewall mounted awning, not roof mounted. I was told to look for the presence of cracks above each mounting screw. I am told that some owners are finding cracks at every screw and some as long as 4 to 5 inches.
I took a look and to my surprise, I too found cracks. I took photos and sent them to my Ventana service advisor. I am now scheduled in September to take the coach to Nappanee for an aluminum overlay application. The description was to install an aluminum sheet under the awning fabric mounting strip. Then, the sheet is rolled up to the roof and fastened. Then the sheet is color match painted. I am told it cannot be seen from the ground. They need the coach for 5 days.
You’ll need to zoom in on the photo to see the crack.
2017 Ventana LE 4037
View attachment 2672

Can you zoom out and draw an arrow where this is in respect to the entire coach?

 

[RandyB]

Can you zoom out and draw an arrow where this is in respect to the entire coach?

I am not with the coach, plus I'm sick, so I cannot zoom out. I can tell you that the track along the bottom of the photo in post #1 is the awning fabric anchorage track. The screw head is attaching the track to the understructure. The front of the track is just off the photo a few inches to the right. This is not the only one. There are 4, maybe 5 visible cracks in mine. @stang37 is far worse than mine. Another possible case of over-torquing fasteners?

 

[stang37]

RandyB

I sent a email to Newmar customer service to the attention of Erica Miller 7/14/2020. I haven't heard back from them yet. I'll wait a couple more days before trying to contact Newmar/her by phone.

 

[RandyB]

To my best recollection it took about 2 weeks for Erica and another week for the service scheduler.

 

[Neal]

It looks like you have to inspect from the roof, or a tall ladder. Will do. I'd dread having to redo my solar panels!!

 

[RandyB]

Yes, I inspected from a ladder. In conversation with the service scheduler, he made me believe that only the color strip is laminated. I’ve envisioned just a strip from behind the awning strip and up to the white part of the roof. Maybe solar panels not impacted?

 

[Neal]

As I maintain the dirtiest Newmar on the highways I inspected and best I could tell through the "protective" layer it seems fine, thankfully. I guess someone didn't do something they were supposed to such as predrill and just enjoyed their favorite screw (self tapping)?

 

[DandR Hill]

Anyone who has had the aluminum overlay repair done want to comment on how satisfied you are with the fix? We have the cracks and are scheduled to visit Newmar in June for the repair. At this point we are going with the aluminum overlay instead of paying $6k for the fiberglass (Filing, gel coat, whatever) repair. Would like to hear others experience.
TIA

 

[Just George]

My coach had the cracks being discussed. Newmar completed the aluminum radius overlay on both passenger & driver side last fall. 5 days sounds about right. I left the coach and had a couple other things taken care of so my time line was a bit longer. The radius overlay looks fine, really can't tell it's there from the ground. Newmar paint shop did a great job matching the color and they also reshot the clear coat on the upper portion of the front & rear caps. On the roof side of the radius they put a "cap" over the edge of the aluminum sheet. The "cap" is attached with screws that go through the cap and into the roof. Each screw is sealed with clear silicone. The edge of the cap that is up against the white portion of the roof is sealed with what appears to be a Dicor type sealant. I would have preferred to have the cap sealed to the roof with eternalbond tape as I think it would be more reliable, less maintenance, and have a longer life. Be aware that once the aluminum radius is installed as I've described the water on the roof will no longer have a path to run off over the radius edges because the aluminum sheet and the cap are approximately 1/4" above the surface of the roof. This means the water will need to run off the front and or rear of the coach. So if you have the radius "fix" installed you will need to ensure all of the other potential leak paths from items on the roof are well sealed since there could be additional "pooling" of water since it cannot run over the now higher radiused edges.

 

[DandR Hill]

Thanks for the reply. Based on your description, I wonder if they treat each crack in some way to prevent them from continuing to expand beyond the aluminum overlay. Would hate to do this and have cracks reappear from under the cap in a year or two. Did Newmar offer any explanation for why the cracks occurred in the first place?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Thanks for the reply. Based on your description, I wonder if they treat each crack in some way to prevent them from continuing to expand beyond the aluminum overlay. Would hate to do this and have cracks reappear from under the cap in a year or two. Did Newmar offer any explanation for why the cracks occurred in the first place?

to fix a crack in cast iron we drill a hole at the end of the crack to keep it from traveling. If I were doing the job that is what I would do. I am sure they know this but it wouldn't hurt to make the comment.

 

[MapNerd]

Whew. No carefree awnings on my unit, which I sometimes regret.

Guess they’re not so carefree after all.
You might even say they aren’t all they’re cracked up to be!

I’ll be here all week

 

[Just George]

Newmar did not provide any info to me regarding the cause of the cracks. My best guess is they are stress fractures initiated at the screws in the various locations along lower edge of the radiused fiberglass. I suspect stress at the screw hole combined with flexure as the coach travels caused the cracks to form and propagate. I did not ask about the details of the repair, i.e. drilled holes to stop the crack propagation, if the aluminum has an adhesive to offer any "structural" enhancement. In my experience I think the customer service rep. and or the tech that is assigned to you would be happy to provide any info they have.