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Old 10-19-2017, 11:16 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by float5 View Post
I asked an RV shop about putting an exterior shower on our 19'. They said that they could not because there would need to be reinforcement.
Do you see that thick frame around the shower enclosure door? I think that serves as reinforcement.
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Old 10-20-2017, 12:09 AM   #22
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Sad to say Bob, however when it comes to FG issues, ETI is either going to say it's cosmetic as in print -thoughs around the door like we both have, or spider cracking like Greg A has. Now with this situation - it must be your fault, because evidently it isn't theirs as they haven't heard of it in three years. Right- and they never heard about rusted window screws until mine happened. By then they had been making trailers for over seven years. Huh?
Interesting ,just out of warranty and on inside door crack on our trailer . With Ron's help fixed it myself . Since I have had opportunity to see thickness in roof and also upper side for Sam1 upgrade , I just deal and try to forget about it . Fiberglass is pretty thin in places . Found a good 1/8 in when I changed to Smart plug . Would rather roof , door and side ,were better then near the bottom where Smart Plug is installed . By the way we also have the rusted screws too ! We are twins ! Pat
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Old 10-20-2017, 12:14 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
Do you see that thick frame around the shower enclosure door? I think that serves as reinforcement.
I have no idea what that RV shop would say about that but I would not think that they were referring to such a thing or they could have easily installed it, could they not?
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Old 10-20-2017, 12:25 AM   #24
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Fibreglass mat and resin is very strong and I expect that the crack is just in the gel coat. Had many fine cracks in the gel coat in my old boston whaler boat. Repaired the larger ones (deep and wide across) and left the small fine cracks as is and did what ETI suggests - keep clean and wax well. Never had problems.

If you want to repair - tape off the area, clean the crack with acetone (Q tip), fill the crack with gel coat, let it dry, either wet sand smooth, put saran wrap over it as it dries or leave as is. Wax afterwards. Hard to match perfect colour unless ETI can send you some of their's.
The product I purchased for the 7-8 in crack I purchased from Marine West . They had colors to add in package and was able to get a good match with the white . Been over a 1 1/2 years and still good . Can't even tell where there was a repair . Need acetone , blue tape , different sand papers . Needed to get the rubber door seal out of the way and sealant to put back . Found lots of video's on U-Tube , watching boat repairs . Oh also had to remove door to work on . Really not very hard . Probably owning a fiberglass trailer a good skill to know about for little chips or cracks . PT
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Old 10-20-2017, 12:33 AM   #25
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I asked an RV shop about putting an exterior shower on our 19'. They said that they could not because there would need to be reinforcement.
I installed my own, and have zero concern about not needing added reinforcement other than that the shower unit itself supplies. The installation I did is rock solid.

Regarding the OPs original concern, I too am quite confident it is just a superficial gelcoat crack, in that it almost certainly does not go through the shell. I had a myriad of cracks in the gelcoat of the '76 Trillium I rebuilt, mostly on the roof, and even with the roof drastically sunken and badly flexed, when I ground off the gelcoat, the fibreglass below was stained but fully intact.

The repair really is an easy one. I too would see if Escape will send some of the matching gelcoat and a bit of hardener. You would just need to scratch it out a bit more to ensure a nice new bonding surface, then clean up with acetone, apply the gelcoat, and once set a series of wet sandpaper will make it pretty much disappear.

Best of luck with whatever solution you end up with.
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Old 10-20-2017, 12:34 AM   #26
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I have no idea what that RV shop would say about that but I would not think that they were referring to such a thing or they could have easily installed it, could they not?
I would think they could have easily installed it. I think they didn't want the job. Didn't have confidence, not knowing what they were cutting into ( wiring, plumbing etc. ).

Not exactly the same. Mine is almost 10 years old, with no issues. Looks reinforced by the door frame.
Attached Thumbnails
shower1.jpg   shower2.jpg   Shower3.jpg  
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Old 10-20-2017, 01:18 AM   #27
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I wrote them. Was told that it couldn't be their issue and that it must be my fault or some other action. My theory is that the stress from plugging in the quick connect cause flexing at the corner and caused the crack. According to Escape that can't be because they have no complaints and they have been installing external showers for three years.

Do I sound frustrated?

Their suggestion was wax it well to keep out dirt....
Maybe this is common knowledge, but I had the hardest time in beginning trying to plug in the quick-connect hose.. then I found out that if I opened 1 of the faucets, it was really easy to plug-in.
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Old 10-20-2017, 07:59 AM   #28
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
I installed my own, and have zero concern about not needing added reinforcement other than that the shower unit itself supplies. The installation I did is rock solid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
I would think they could have easily installed it. I think they didn't want the job. Didn't have confidence, not knowing what they were cutting into ( wiring, plumbing etc. ).
Agreed. If I listened to people saying that it couldn't be done because of this or that or got scared of something that may happen half of my mods would never have been done.

I've done an outside shower too on a Scamp and it came out great. No extra reinforcement, but it was under the rear dinette seat so it had the bench seat supports very close.

www.scampowners.com/forums/outside-spray-portshower

If you felt it needed something extra you can always bond a wood frame to the fiberglass on the inside. Like this:

www.scampowners.com/forums/outside-shower-or-hatch-install-diy
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Old 10-20-2017, 08:08 AM   #29
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Maybe this is common knowledge, but I had the hardest time in beginning trying to plug in the quick-connect hose.. then I found out that if I opened 1 of the faucets, it was really easy to plug-in.
I didn't know that. I will try next time I use it.
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Old 10-20-2017, 08:15 AM   #30
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I didn't know that. I will try next time I use it.
Very similar to air hose quick connects, it is a lot easier to operate with low or no pressure, so by opening a faucet you release the pressure on the water system and you then can insert your quick connect accessory.
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Old 10-20-2017, 10:37 AM   #31
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Interesting ,just out of warranty and on inside door crack on our trailer . With Ron's help fixed it myself . Since I have had opportunity to see thickness in roof and also upper side for Sam1 upgrade , I just deal and try to forget about it . Fiberglass is pretty thin in places . Found a good 1/8 in when I changed to Smart plug . Would rather roof , door and side ,were better then near the bottom where Smart Plug is installed . By the way we also have the rusted screws too ! We are twins ! Pat
Fiberglass thickness can vary -- we owned a Casita Spirit Deluxe for 6 years. Had some spider cracking on the front that we just waxed and never caused us any problems. As to thickness we could see the light shining through the wall of our closet so think the fiberglass there was pretty thin.
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Old 10-20-2017, 10:50 AM   #32
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Fiberglass thickness can vary -- we owned a Casita Spirit Deluxe for 6 years. Had some spider cracking on the front that we just waxed and never caused us any problems. As to thickness we could see the light shining through the wall of our closet so think the fiberglass there was pretty thin.
Fibreglass thickness will definitely vary to some degree, a lot dependant upon who is doing it and their experience.

From what I have witnessed with a few moulded fibreglass trailers is that it is the varying thickness of the gelcoat that allows light transfer to differ, and not the thickness of the glass to much of a degree.
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Old 10-20-2017, 11:34 AM   #33
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Fiberglass thickness can vary -- we owned a Casita Spirit Deluxe for 6 years. Had some spider cracking on the front that we just waxed and never caused us any problems. As to thickness we could see the light shining through the wall of our closet so think the fiberglass there was pretty thin.
Yes in some of the upper cabinets where the vinyl didn't cover completely see light . Pat
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Old 10-20-2017, 11:36 AM   #34
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Old 10-20-2017, 12:50 PM   #35
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And here's the answer. I apparently was using it abnormally.

"Hi Shawn

I have looked at the photo sent and it is difficult for us to determine why this has cracked. We do not cover stress cracks under warranty unless they are apparent within the first few months of use and are a result of a manufacturing defect. We have no way of knowing what has happened to cause this, however I do know that with normal use, this would not happen.

Regards


Reace Harmatiuk, Director of Operations
Escape Trailer Industries Ltd."


So the Two year warranty is only good for the first few months for stress fractures. I guess I didn't read carefully enough.
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Old 10-20-2017, 01:12 PM   #36
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The way I read that is that if it was a manufacturing defect, it would have shown up early, not after a year and a half. The warranty is for manufacturing defects, not for damage from an impact or some other cause.
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Old 10-20-2017, 01:14 PM   #37
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Ugh!!! This thread is hard to swallow. I’ve subscribed to see how this ends.
Under what circumstances would a stress fracture develop other than a collision with something?
Hope you get resolve or at least just a gelcoat crack.
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Old 10-20-2017, 01:19 PM   #38
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Ugh!!! This thread is hard to swallow. I’ve subscribed to see how this ends.
Under what circumstances would a stress fracture develop other than a collision with something?
Hope you get resolve or at least just a gelcoat crack.

Yeah I know: "we don't know what (or if) something happened, but it must have, because we don't make mistakes."

New buyers need to do a thorough check of the trailer within the first few months to make sure there aren't any stress fractures. It wouldn't have helped me as this showed up after 18 months into the two-year warranty.
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Old 10-20-2017, 01:33 PM   #39
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Ugh!!! This thread is hard to swallow. I’ve subscribed to see how this ends.
Under what circumstances would a stress fracture develop other than a collision with something?
Hope you get resolve or at least just a gelcoat crack.
Check this; there are others too where an impact was NOT the cause.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...base-6355.html
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Old 10-20-2017, 01:39 PM   #40
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The way I read that is that if it was a manufacturing defect, it would have shown up early, not after a year and a half. The warranty is for manufacturing defects, not for damage from an impact or some other cause.
Then why have a two-year warranty? If the issues are going to shake out in the first few months, then just make the fiberglass shell a six-month warranty.

I think, because a six-month warranty wouldn't attract the pricing their trailers command...
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