Gelcoat Crack

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Good idea. And maybe, just maybe, no one would gum it up with insoluable/redundant posts.
(...Like this one.)

Hi: MyronL... Groucho Marx said it best when talking about new homes for sale. "Why you can even get stucko, boy can you get stucko". Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Mesa]

Well, it's happened again. We were camping at Steamboat Lake and noticed a new crack.
One day it wasn't there and I know because we had given a tour of the trailer and I had showed the shower to describe the repair job. The very next day the crack appeared. There is no possibility that this was caused by any impact as there are no trees or anything near where it was parked that could've caused this. The only thing we did was use it.

[steve dunham]

I’ve had some small hairline cracks in the Gelcoat of my Casita which I repaired with Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cream ( Thanks Donna D ) but that one looks like it needs professional help. From my observation the fiberglass & gelcoat on the Casita is considerably thicker than the Escape which may help prevent cracking

[Upfisk]

Same compartment as before or a different hatch opening?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mesa

Well, it's happened again. We were camping at Steamboat Lake and noticed a new crack.
One day it wasn't there and I know because we had given a tour of the trailer and I had showed the shower to describe the repair job. The very next day the crack appeared. There is no possibility that this was caused by any impact as there are no trees or anything near where it was parked that could've caused this. The only thing we did was use it.

Looking at your photo, it appears that this is on the upper right corner and not the lower right as before? If so, I'm guessing that there is a sharp corner there as well in the cutout for the shower insert.

Did they repair all 4 corners of that hole when you had it repaired or just the one with the crack?

[Mesa]

Originally Posted by Upfisk

Same compartment as before or a different hatch opening?

Same, upper corner vs lower corner.

[Mesa]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Looking at your photo, it appears that this is on the upper right corner and not the lower right as before? If so, I'm guessing that there is a sharp corner there as well in the cutout for the shower insert.

Did they repair all 4 corners of that hole when you had it repaired or just the one with the crack?

They were supposed to have reenforced the opening and softened the corners. I'm supposed to take it back in next week.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mesa

They were supposed to have reenforced the opening and softened the corners. I'm supposed to take it back in next week.

Ah, gotcha.

This thread tells me that cutting a hole in the shell with sharp corners is problematic. Perhaps the reason cracks aren't seen at other insert points is that the item inserted doesn't require a square hole, but a rounded one.

[k4zvu]

How does ETI insure the proper "thickness" of the fiberglass ?

[dfandrews]

I didn't look through the 160+ posts to see if it was mentioned, so please excuse if it has:
My thought when seeing this post was, Is there a structural problem causing undue flexing? Have you examined the trailer frame to see if there are cracks or deformations?

[SteveLiu]

Theoretically, the stress intensity factor at the tip of a crack could be "infinity" if the material has no elasticity. That means the stress at the tip is "many many" folds as other area. That's why crack starts and propagates from a sharp acute cut of this Escape RV (#142). That's why one doesn't see a rectangular (or square) opening in any steel ships.
I drilled a hole at the tip of a crack of my Samsung S2 Tab cover where it folds. It's been 2 years and still hold the crack very well.
I thought all Escape trailer openings has rounded opening. Hope they do that from now on.
Steve

[Mesa]

Originally Posted by SteveLiu

Theoretically, the stress intensity factor at the tip of a crack could be "infinity" if the material has no elasticity. That means the stress at the tip is "many many" folds as other area. That's why crack starts and propagates from a sharp acute cut of this Escape RV (#142). That's why one doesn't see a rectangular (or square) opening in any steel ships.
I drilled a hole at the tip of a crack of my Samsung S2 Tab cover where it folds. It's been 2 years and still hold the crack very well.
I thought all Escape trailer openings has rounded opening. Hope they do that from now on.
Steve

And think about the stress of the AC on the roof and its opening. I don’t have any cracks there. So I agree and think I’m dealing with sharp corners.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

I didn't look through the 160+ posts to see if it was mentioned, so please excuse if it has:
My thought when seeing this post was, Is there a structural problem causing undue flexing? Have you examined the trailer frame to see if there are cracks or deformations?

I don't think it has anything to do with the frame. The trailer is rigid, but thin. There will inevitably be some flexing of the shell as it goes bouncing down the road.

[steve dunham]

I cut a couple of access doors in my Casita . I rounded (radius) the corners and reinforced the opening with plywood which I glued and clamped in place . None of the openings developed stress cracks . If we cut any openings in our new trailer I plan on doing the same procedure . It takes a little more effort and time but still better than having to repair the fiberglass .

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Mike & Donna

"Manufacturing defects reported to Escape Trailer Industries within two years after original retail delivery of your new Travel Trailer will be corrected without charge and within reasonable times. Excluded are misuse (including lack of reasonable maintenance), minor imperfections, alterations, and owner improper transportation, installation or hookup."

If gelcoat crack is due to a manufacturing defect it should be covered for 2 years. If the gelcoat crack is due to misuse or is considered to be a minor imperfection then it would not be covered.

That's my understanding of the warranty.

Interesting thread - all the build pics I've seen show shell cutouts made by using templates to mark rounded cutout patterns for all the hatch openings, but nowhere could I find a pic of a factory cutout for an external shower hatch. Hard to believe that someone would be allowed to "freehand" a rectangular opening like that on a production line - I would definitely call that a manufacturing process defect.