Gelcoat Crack

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Klem

Here's a video from Scamp which speaks of "normal" stress cracks. Go down to the Exterior Shell video only takes 40 seconds!

https://www.scamptrailers.com/about-...ask-scamp.html

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I done sayed that, just not in bold type. LOL

And you done a mitey fine job like all good daddies do for there, they're, their little girls.
Dave

[Mesa]

Finally got it into a repair shop. They determined that it was not just a gelcoat crack; the fiberglass was cracked all the way through. Their assessment is it was due to sharp, acute cuts made in the fiberglass instead of putting a radius curve at the corners, this sort of makes sense to me.

They had to grind all the way through the glass and then re-layed it. He will also smooth out the corners so they will resist shear and put backing aluminum strips for the rivets.

It's expensive here in Denver: one shop didn't have time and the other two shops that gave estimates were both about $950.

Ultimately glad we had this done, it was very clearly not cosmetic.

ETI is still supportive and taking care of us.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Mesa

Finally got it into a repair shop. They determined that it was not just a gelcoat crack; the fiberglass was cracked all the way through. Their assessment is it was due to sharp, acute cuts made in the fiberglass instead of putting a radius curve at the corners, this sort of makes sense to me.

They had to grind all the way through the glass and then re-layed it. He will also smooth out the corners so they will resist shear and put backing aluminum strips for the rivets.

It's expensive here in Denver: one shop didn't have time and the other two shops that gave estimates were both about $950.

Ultimately glad we had this done, it was very clearly not cosmetic.

ETI is still supportive and taking care of us.

Very glad you were able to get your trailer fixed ! Finally since Oct of last year and lots of discussion about warranty which was a needed discussion so those are the positives ! Pat

[gharper]

I am curious if the shop was able to take a photo of the cracked fibreglass. It would be interesting to see the extent of the cracking, the location and the amount of resin around the cracking.

[P&L]

Originally Posted by Mesa

ETI is still supportive and taking care of us.

One more reason to purchase an Escape! It's rare for a manufacturer to step up without consumer organization nipping on its heels. Thanks for the update!

[Mesa]

Originally Posted by gharper

I am curious if the shop was able to take a photo of the cracked fibreglass. It would be interesting to see the extent of the cracking, the location and the amount of resin around the cracking.

No, just this picture of the gel coat crack originating at the corner.

[gocamp]

Appreciate the update and feedback Mesa. Nice to get the assessment and repair from experts. What a loooong ordeal, since October of last year. I Hope spring time will be happy camping you and the family. Did you get underneath blistering and flaking repaired also?
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...tml#post221493

[Mesa]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Appreciate the update and feedback Mesa. Nice to get the assessment and repair from experts. What a loooong ordeal, since October of last year. I Hope spring time will be happy camping you and the family. Did you get underneath blistering and flaking repaired also?
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...tml#post221493

Yes they did repair the blistering also.

[Moaboy]

Interesting thread. I just read all of it...(don’t hold that against me.)
I should admit I am a fan of my Escape and Reace. I will also admit I was surprised and disappointed in Reace’s initial reaction, but sometimes it takes time to discern what is really going on and he is after all only human. My experience is that most of the time he does the right thing in the end. (He no doubt has to deal with a lot of crap.)
Having said that, for a popular and growing FG trailer manufacturer, issues like this should be a priority. And I’m glad ETI is clarifying their warranty. If I damage my Escape by running into or over something Escape should not have to pay for the repair-but I’m sure some folks have tried! However, if my FG cracks within two years for no apparent reason, then I expect Escape to step up and work with me to resolve the problem.
My sense is that Mesa was seeking a solution and I have no problem at all with any of his posts as they struck me as frustrated, but respectful, just as I might have been in his situation.
I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Escspe if GF something happened to mine.
I’ve been trying to help my brother in law find a new trailer and he does not want to wait for an Escape. We have looked at a lot that is out there and bottom line, for the money nothing comes close. That process has certainly reaffirmed my decision to buy an Escape.

[Bobbito]

I'm glad to hear this all worked out for the OP. Even after reading this thread through, I would not hesitate to recommend an Escape to anyone looking for a trailer, especially FG. My own experiences dealing with ETI (many times with Reace and Tammy directly) lead me to believe these people are outstanding in the trailer business. There are ALWAYS issues with trailers and I could write a book about our NASH, its issues and how little support we had.

Bob K

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Mesa

They determined that it was not just a gelcoat crack; the fiberglass was cracked all the way through. Their assessment is it was due to sharp, acute cuts made in the fiberglass instead of putting a radius curve at the corners, this sort of makes sense to me.

.

As a university student we did stress testing in a materials science course. We did various cuts and holes in acrylic and then used polarized light to see the stress concentrations. If you could see the stress concentrations caused by a sharp corner like yours it wouldn't just make sense to you, it would horrify you.

Ever since then I never cutout openings in thin material by running the cut into the corner. I drill each corner so that it's radiused.
Ron

[Jubal]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

As a university student we did stress testing in a materials science course. We did various cuts and holes in acrylic and then used polarized light to see the stress concentrations. If you could see the stress concentrations caused by a sharp corner like yours it wouldn't just make sense to you, it would horrify you.

Ever since then I never cutout openings in thin material by running the cut into the corner. I drill each corner so that it's radiused.
Ron

Do you drill the corner with a hole saw ?

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Ever since then I never cutout openings in thin material by running the cut into the corner. I drill each corner so that it's radiused.

Always a good idea. To bad it could not be incorporated into drywall corners around doors and windows.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Jubal

Do you drill the corner with a hole saw ?

Not unless it's something like a marine hatch with a radius on the frame.

I just use a basic bit, usually about 1/4". Sometimes I stop the cut and "swerve" so that the cut doesn't go right into the corner. Then I just use a round file, about the size of a chain saw file, to put a small radius on the corner. The very worst thing to do is to have one saw cut go past the other. That's a crack waiting to happen.

Not to mention the obvious but this mostly applies to thin material that can flex and start the cracking process.

Ron

[Jubal]

This thread should be made a sticky for future reference.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Jubal

This thread should be made a sticky for future reference.

One of the problems we are starting to see though is there is almost a full page of stickies. I wonder if one sticky with a categorized list with links might be better.

[MyronL]

Sticky listings are getting way too long. I vote for creating a separate topic just for all stickies.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by MyronL

Sticky listings are getting way too long. I vote for creating a separate topic just for all stickies.

A sticky sticky?

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Jubal

This thread should be made a sticky for future reference.

A tech article section might make sense - most of our threads change topics so much, it's hard to keep track of the information.

[MyronL]

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