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Old 01-29-2018, 03:46 PM   #1
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Delamination

We have a 2015 Voltage 3990 Epic. We purchased the unit used about a year ago. 6 months ago we started noticing some minor bubbling on the front wall of our living room slide. Then 2 weeks ago we went out for a long weekend and found the damage was getting considerably worse. I have attached a picture of what it looks like now.



We had the dealership look at it to see if they could identify a cause. Long story made short, they could not find any sign of a water leak or any other cause.

I know we are out of warranty, but have reached out to the manufacturer for help. Their response was there is no evidence this damage was caused by a manufacturer defect.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to get this fix or how to get the manufacturer to admit there is actually a problem?


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Old 01-29-2018, 05:38 PM   #2
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I have the same unit but cable slides. No sign of any bubbling on any of my three. Is it just on the one slide/side or on the others as well? Keep us posted if you find anything out. Good luck.
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Old 01-29-2018, 05:41 PM   #3
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I have the same unit but cable slides. No sign of any bubbling on any of my three. Is it just on the one slide/side or on the others as well? Keep us posted if you find anything out. Good luck.
Rusty


We have a small spot on the front of the kitchen slide as well, but nothing anywhere else.


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Old 01-30-2018, 03:47 AM   #4
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I'm wondering if there is moisture behind that vinyl. I have a moisture meter and I would check those spots to find out. The meter has very sharp probes and would do little damage to the vinyl for the test.

Do you have a window above that damage? I would have to check the top of the slide for myself for potential leaks...
https://www.lowes.com/pd/General-Too...CABEgIMw_D_BwE
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Old 02-15-2018, 11:41 PM   #5
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Quick update...

We took it to the dealership on Tuesday. We did a quick once over on the other slides and we have a couple of other spots popping up. They said that they have seen a couple others come in with very similar damage. I will post again when they let us know what is causing this.


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Old 02-16-2018, 05:07 PM   #6
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Those spots seem to "pucker out" in the picture, not a classic delamination pattern. If they are indeed puckering it can only be 3 things. 1. The adhesive is off gassing when the sunshine heats up the black panel. 2. Water has gotten trapped in there and frozen. 3. Water has gotten the wood (particle board?) wet causing spot puckering. But that would leave more of a vertical trail.
I see you live in Oregon. I would highly suspect moisture. These slides are known to leak and can be very tough to find.
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Old 02-16-2018, 05:36 PM   #7
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Those spots seem to "pucker out" in the picture, not a classic delamination pattern. If they are indeed puckering it can only be 3 things. 1. The adhesive is off gassing when the sunshine heats up the black panel. 2. Water has gotten trapped in there and frozen. 3. Water has gotten the wood (particle board?) wet causing spot puckering. But that would leave more of a vertical trail.
I see you live in Oregon. I would highly suspect moisture. These slides are known to leak and can be very tough to find.


We actually live in north Texas. I have talked to several different shops and each one of them thinks if it was a moisture problem, the damage would be more linear. I have had a couple people mention the adhesive off gassing.

The damage is steadily getting worse, but does not seem to have any correlation to the temperature or weather.


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Old 03-06-2018, 07:49 PM   #8
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They still do not know what’s causing the damage. There are no signs of water intrusion. The dealership now has factory engineers involved, as they are calling it “structural failure”. Their estimate for repairs is in the neighborhood of $5,000. Hopefully the manufacturer will warranty the damage.


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Old 03-07-2018, 12:57 PM   #9
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Good Luck!

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They still do not know what’s causing the damage. There are no signs of water intrusion. The dealership now has factory engineers involved, as they are calling it “structural failure”. Their estimate for repairs is in the neighborhood of $5,000. Hopefully the manufacturer will warranty the damage.


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--- Let us know what you find out!
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Old 03-11-2018, 03:19 PM   #10
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Got a phone call from the manufacturer on Thursday. Let me just say, this was not the most pleasant customer service experience. To make a long story short, they said the damage was not caused from a manufacturer defect. But, they could not or would not tell me what the cause is. I have tried escalating this, but was told “this is our final decision”!


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Old 03-11-2018, 04:39 PM   #11
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Doesn't that just make one proud to have spent so much money for just a large POS?

Seeing this just makes hoping a tree will fall on mine and total it all the easier.

Some members have attempted to start an RV warm and fuzzy thread from time to time, doesn't take brain surgery to figure out why it didn't fly.
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Old 03-11-2018, 04:54 PM   #12
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Doesn't that just make one proud to have spent so much money for just a large POS?

Seeing this just makes hoping a tree will fall on mine and total it all the easier.

Some members have attempted to start an RV warm and fuzzy thread from time to time, doesn't take brain surgery to figure out why it didn't fly.


We love our voltage, and love traveling. The part that is so disappointing to us is the serious lack of customer service. Here is the problem, we will continue to buy these very expensive toys regardless of the service. Why, because we have no recourse against the manufacturer. The only two manufacturers I know of that will stand behind their products are Tiffin and Newmar.


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Old 03-11-2018, 07:12 PM   #13
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That's BS! There is something DEFINITELY underneath that coating and they definitely don't want to take credit for it or even find out what it is.
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Old 03-13-2018, 09:08 PM   #14
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I am not sure how these people sleep at night! I just received this email from Keystone/Dutchman.

Thank you for contacting Keystone RV company in regards to your 2015 Voltage. Keystone RV will maintain our stance to respectfully deny participation on claim PA01954367 presented by ExploreUSA RV dealership. This was reviewed by our management team and master certified technicians, it was determined no manufacturing defect presented. We do not have the history of this unit , but typically bubbling is due to water infiltration. This can happen from lack of seal maintenance, which is the customer responsibility. Keystone, Dutchmen offer a One Year Warranty from the retail sale date, the warranty on this unit expired 09/13/2015. This email is to provide a hard copy of the denial for your records. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to call into our call center at 866-425-4369 Monday- Thursday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm EST and an advisor will be happy to assist you. This will be our final determination. Thank you.


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Old 03-13-2018, 09:43 PM   #15
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I am not sure how these people sleep at night! I just received this email from Keystone/Dutchman.

Thank you for contacting Keystone RV company in regards to your 2015 Voltage. Keystone RV will maintain our stance to respectfully deny participation on claim PA01954367 presented by ExploreUSA RV dealership. This was reviewed by our management team and master certified technicians, it was determined no manufacturing defect presented. We do not have the history of this unit , but typically bubbling is due to water infiltration. This can happen from lack of seal maintenance, which is the customer responsibility. Keystone, Dutchmen offer a One Year Warranty from the retail sale date, the warranty on this unit expired 09/13/2015. This email is to provide a hard copy of the denial for your records. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to call into our call center at 866-425-4369 Monday- Thursday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm EST and an advisor will be happy to assist you. This will be our final determination. Thank you.


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Time to resort to Trailer Life Magazine. Write them. I'm sure they can get them off their asz and do something about it. If nothing else, will get them some bad publicity when Trailer Life does an article.
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Old 03-13-2018, 11:44 PM   #16
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I am not sure how these people sleep at night! I just received this email from Keystone/Dutchman.

Thank you for contacting Keystone RV company in regards to your 2015 Voltage. Keystone RV will maintain our stance to respectfully deny participation on claim PA01954367 presented by ExploreUSA RV dealership. This was reviewed by our management team and master certified technicians, it was determined no manufacturing defect presented. We do not have the history of this unit , but typically bubbling is due to water infiltration. This can happen from lack of seal maintenance, which is the customer responsibility. Keystone, Dutchmen offer a One Year Warranty from the retail sale date, the warranty on this unit expired 09/13/2015. This email is to provide a hard copy of the denial for your records. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to call into our call center at 866-425-4369 Monday- Thursday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm EST and an advisor will be happy to assist you. This will be our final determination. Thank you.


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I have owned Chevy's Fords and Harley's and four brands of RV's Not one would cover a defect or issue that is out of warranty even though they probably should have.
I would find a independent repair facility that can pull off that covering and see what it is. Maybe they can fix it for not as much as you think. Also if you have a window above that damage I would pull it and reseal...

If I was to look at that I wold cut and peal back that black covering leaving a few inches on each side to reseal with eternabond. If it's not completely rotten it could be sanded and filled with body / wood filler, re-sand and seal it up.

It's imperative to find where the water came from..
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Old 03-14-2018, 02:58 AM   #17
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I have owned Chevy's Fords and Harley's and four brands of RV's Not one would cover a defect or issue that is out of warranty even though they probably should have.

I would find a independent repair facility that can pull off that covering and see what it is. Maybe they can fix it for not as much as you think. Also if you have a window above that damage I would pull it and reseal...



If I was to look at that I wold cut and peal back that black covering leaving a few inches on each side to reseal with eternabond. If it's not completely rotten it could be sanded and filled with body / wood filler, re-sand and seal it up.



It's imperative to find where the water came from..


The problem comes as there are spots like this that are on 4 of the 6 slide out walls. There are more spots that have come up in the past 2 weeks. The slide out walls need to be replaced, I have heard this for 4 separate shops now.


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Old 03-14-2018, 03:38 AM   #18
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The problem comes as there are spots like this that are on 4 of the 6 slide out walls. There are more spots that have come up in the past 2 weeks. The slide out walls need to be replaced, I have heard this for 4 separate shops now.


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Just wondering has anyone removed the slide skin to take a look? Until they do they are just guessing.
I was selling a house once and the home inspection showed several thousand dollars of kitchen structural repair in the wall studs and flooring. I ended up finding a guy who was able to fix the water damage for under $500... It was signed off by the building inspector. The point of my story is you just don't know till you get in there and take a look.

I am beginning to suspect your slide walls are made of Pressboard or Particle board instead of OSB. I have seen Pressboard and Particle board swell and blister from water intrusion. With so many slides affected I am wondering if it's not from condensation they can't all be leaking?

The bottom line is I don't think you are going to get anywhere with the manufacturer.
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Old 03-14-2018, 03:59 AM   #19
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I would add one more thing. I have read on several occasions RV owners have filed claims on water damage to their insurance companies. If you have comprehensive insurance coverage it might be worth a try...
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Old 03-14-2018, 04:21 AM   #20
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I was looking at your photo of the damage again and was wondering if that is Styrofoam insulation behind the black covering? And this maybe way out there, if it is Styrofoam insulation is there any way for mice to get in there?
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