My wife and I have a 2013 Denali 262rlx that we purchased used in 2014. Within our first year of owning it, we suddenly saw a significant amount of what we thought was fading paint on the top of the front cap. Upon closer inspection it appears to be oxidation.
I took pictures of the trailer to our local Dutchmen retailer to talk to them about what was going on with such a new trailer, and they (before I could give them all the details of our trailer) immediately said "Oh this must be a 2013 model." I was like yeah, whats going on here? Long story short, apparently there was a slew of trailers painted with the same product in 2013 that ended up having lots of issues with oxidation and fade, so much so that the manufacturer switched suppliers in the years after to avoid costly warranty repairs etc.
Now with our trailer being out of warranty (again second owners here) I asked what our options were. The dealer informed me that it would cost me about $3000 to replace the entire front cap, about $1800 to repaint and install new decals, or I could attempt to start a warranty claim with Dutchmen since there have been plenty of examples of this being a defective paint product, and maybe they would replace it for free, or at least offer us some money towards repairs. The rep I was working with said, she has seen all sorts of responses from free replacement to $300 towards repairs, etc. when processing these types of claims, and suggested I at least give it a chance.
Fast forward about a month and of course they denied the claim, stating it was due to lack of maintenance by the owner. The rep at the dealer suggested I hire a professional RV detailer to try and fix it, and take lots of pictures. She said if the detailer could get it fixed, then it would simply cost that much money and I'd be set. However, if they couldn't fix it and I could prove to Dutchmen that a professional was unable to fix a 2 year old product, plus show examples from forums like these of others who have experienced the same issue, I might be able to get them to cover the repairs.
So today, I have a professional RV detailer out working on the front cap (costing $300 for the cap) and we will see how it all comes together, but I thought I'd try and start a thread to enlist others who have had similar issues to try and have some "ammo" if I need to go to the manufacturer again. Also I'd be interested in seeing how others faired in finding a solution here? It just really sucks to have such a new 5th wheel and have it look like such crap!
Thanks for reading and I hope some will take the time to share.
Here's some pictures of what I'm talking about
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