Front hood bracket came loose

[Rose and ken]

While driving home from camping trip Front hood bracket came loose and fell into front light wiring thank goodness. it could have came loose and fell on road surface it could have hit my towed car or something on my motorhome . Is there a recall on this seams like a recall for such an intricall part. Thank you for reply

[Rose and ken]

Is the National Transportation and Safety Board aware of this problem if that heavy bracket falls to the road surface at highway speeds it can damage the underside of the motorhome or go through windshields of following cars if parts were falling off automobiles there would be a recall thanks for listening.

[powercat_ras]

No recall. No acknowledgement from Winnebago that there is any design or build defect.

This has been happening on a small percentage of Winnebago Class As for many years, the method Winnebago uses to surface bond metal brackets to the back side of the fiberglass caps with epoxy has a tendency to fail after a few years of use in particular if the coach is driven on less than perfect highways. The don't embed anything into the front cap fiberglass to fasten the brackets to.

Personally I lost one of the hood latch brackets, and most of the brackets that the grille is screwed to on my 2015 Vista. I put saftey straps on the hood brackets after that in case one of the others failed.

The epoxy Winnebago applied to my 2015 where brackets have come off seems poor quality, at least after a few years. I could break off pieces with my fingers when prepping to repair. I have wondered if this is factory temperature related, the build date of my unit was December 2015 and I have wondered if the room temperature of the building area where the front caps have the brackets epoxied on is not as warm as the epoxy Winnebago uses requires for a good bond.

When re-attaching, I have used JB Weld Epoxy and have drilled a hole thru the fiberglass where an existing slot exists in the middle of each bracket, and put a stainless steel machine screw thru each with washers and lock washers on the back to make sure that they can't fall off.

[Duner]

X2 on the powercat reply. JB Weld and some places added stainless bolts.
I took delivery on my coach Dec 2003. Less than 1 yr hood bracket let go. Under warranty, dealer fiberglass'd it back in place and added fiberglass to the other side which was still intact. That was on the access door itself. They are still holding fine now 19 yrs later. BUT a variety of other brackets have broken loose that I reattach with JB Weld, and on some brackets attach a shoe lace just in case.... don't want to loose it on the road.

In my opinion, whether the factory epoxy holds well, or lets go sooner or later all depends on the cleanliness of the black painted surface. I think the ones that hold a long time are super clean, with no degreaser or other impurities. And so there is a wide variation of how clean is clean. And this has been going on for decades at Winnebago.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Rose and ken

While driving home from camping trip Front hood bracket came loose and fell into front light wiring thank goodness. it could have came loose and fell on road surface it could have hit my towed car or something on my motorhome . Is there a recall on this seams like a recall for such an intricall part. Thank you for reply

No recall, but I was very surprised as to how common it was.

Here is a thread on topic, Starting with post #79 through #83 you can see what I did.

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...-358900-4.html

I basically have a new redesign and it is still snug tight. Cost me about $570 to do bothg sides, which was way under what my local dealer wanted.

[wyocamper]

The epoxy on mine is still stuck tight to the fiberglass. The passenger side bracket sheared off, and the holes were still full of the old epoxy when I found it. The driver side was loose as well. I used the old epoxy to place the bracket correctly, then drilled through the epoxy and fiberglass from the inside and put 8/32 panhead screws through the outside with fender washers and nyloc nuts inside. Repeated on the other side and on the three brackets holding the top of the grill, and put some touch-up paint on the screw heads.

[Jim_HiTek]

Pretty common and in my case front and rear items came loose. I've just ignored the epoxy because it's not needed with these lightweight fiberglass body parts. I can say that after 8 years of using the solution I came up with. I just use 6-32 stainless flathead screws.

Here's my ad free blog article about it: Body Work Rear....

And here: Body Work Front...

I've found that putting new expensive epoxy on or paying as shop to do it is totally unnecessary when a couple of tiny screws will do. Cost me maybe $10 for SS hardware, locknuts and washers.

Try to find the screws...



And here it's obvious but they are hidden when it's closed, and years later, still holding the grill fine...

[dkoldman]

It is really a matter of preference on whether you redesign to drill for screws, or redesign the bracket for support using a stronger epoxy ( JB Weld) Both can work. In my case, I couldn't foresee drilling holes on the front of my new RV. The $570 I spent was a non issue given what the WBGO authorized Dealer fix would have cost, and given that their solution was simply a repeat of materials, and what was done at factory. That piece or one of them could theoretically fall off every year

My bonus was it was how I met my Mobile Tech. Since that job he has been my go to guy and comes to the house to check on things and he only charges when / if something needs to be done. I like him so much I struggle to find things that need to be done that I know I can't do just to run work his way

FWIW, I have not been back to the local Dealer since they quoted this fix a couple years back.

[Jim_HiTek]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

It is really a matter of preference on whether you redesign to drill for screws, or redesign the bracket for support using a stronger epoxy ( JB Weld) Both can work. In my case, I couldn't foresee drilling holes on the front of my new RV. The $570 I spent was a non issue given what the WBGO authorized Dealer fix would have cost, and given that their solution was simply a repeat of materials, and what was done at factory. That piece or one of them could theoretically fall off every year

My bonus was it was how I met my Mobile Tech. Since that job he has been my go to guy and comes to the house to check on things and he only charges when / if something needs to be done. I like him so much I struggle to find things that need to be done that I know I can't do just to run work his way

FWIW, I have not been back to the local Dealer since they quoted this fix a couple years back.

That's great you found a mobile tech like that one. How 'bout having him give your air brakes the once over? That is if you plan on snowbirding this winter to go see the full eclipse in Mazatlan. There is a long procedure for testing them that I groan about whenever I read it. Not something I want to do. Oh, and it's almost winter so you could have him do a roof inspection.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Jim_HiTek

That's great you found a mobile tech like that one. How 'bout having him give your air brakes the once over? That is if you plan on snowbirding this winter to go see the full eclipse in Mazatlan. There is a long procedure for testing them that I groan about whenever I read it. Not something I want to do. Oh, and it's almost winter so you could have him do a roof inspection.

I don't have air brakes or air system. Not sure if that is good or bad.

Yes, I have a Gem of a Mobile Tech. Last repair or service call at a WBGO dealer was to find a random electrical issue with my Kwikee Steps when still under warranty. I had diagnosed fully with Kwikee who insisted it was a WBGO coach issue under warranty; but the dealer said they could NOT replicate the issue despite having for about a month, it had been occurring for me on average twice a week. Then they charged me the minimum check out fee despite fixing nothing. A fter me trying to put up a polite fight, they agreed that if I could get proof of the problem I could bring it back and they would not only repair with no charge, but give me my money back. The very next day, it happened again and videotaped it and sent it in. Crickets, they never responded Now with the Mobile tech, I no longer have to drive the 1hr 10 min trip one way, and then the 2-4 week wait to repeat only to learn that it is still not fixed.

I got a few projects going on now, but maybe one day for a future thread we can talk about "other items" not normally discussed to have checked on a RV. Thanks for your input

[Zfbradley]

We have a 2018 Forza 34T-DP and with in 1 moth of ownership the curbside front hood bracket dislodged and luckily wedged itself in between the headlamp
Wiring and a frame bracket.

So lucky it did not completely fall through, as it could have blown out one of my tires or into a window of a vehicle behind me. I contacted Winnebago Customer Support and reported the issues and still nothing! I will be goi g by the factory this fall and will be making them fix it.

This absolutely needs to be a recall, I have hea
Rd form many owners at several rallies that have experienced the same issue. This should be classified a “Life Safety” . But hopefully Winnebago does not put some stupid fix like they did for my compartment doors just randomly opening up while driving down the road. The fix for that was so stupid, I just fixed it myself.

One would think after buying a 200K coach that you would get better treatment?
Zack

[Jim_HiTek]

Originally Posted by Zfbradley

We have a 2018 Forza 34T-DP and with in 1 moth of ownership the curbside front hood bracket dislodged and luckily wedged itself in between the headlamp

<Snip>

One would think after buying a 200K coach that you would get better treatment?
Zack

They have been using the epoxy method for many decades and they say that for it to fail happens so seldom that a recall isn't needed.

That may be the case just based on my reading stories about it here and on the other 2 of the big 3 RV forums over the last 20 years. What it seems is that parts actually falling off the RV is not that common. Breaking free, yes, falling off, no. So harming your RV by falling and puncturing a tire an damaging your RV or causing an accident to following vehicles doesn't seem that common. I have read of people losing brackets that fall off on the freeway though. Not very often. Twice I think over the years.

The reason it doesn't seem common is that the brackets themselves are screwed to the metal framework of the RV chassis and the lightweight fiberglass body part is epoxied to the bracket. And generally, what I see is that the epoxy on only one side of the frame attachment breaks free. So nothing falls, typically. (From personal experience, reading the forums, fireside chats with other RV'ers, and from observations of friends RVs).

People that are very concerned about it should contact the NTSB:

"Consumers who experience a vehicle issue that could be a safety defect are encouraged to file a complaint with NHTSA. Complaints can be filed through NHTSA.gov or by calling NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236."

Personally, I wouldn't repair an RV bracket using the same method that failed the first time so I would just fix it with screws.

[Americanrascal]

Mine (both sides) broke loose on an east coast to west coast trip about 5 years ago. I was able to clamp and tape the hood until I got to Forrest City for repairs at the factory. They simply ground the old epoxy off the hinge and the body then reapplied a new epoxy. Its held well now for 5 years with no drilling or bolting necessary. I keep an eye on the set up and carry clamps for a temporary fix in case we run into the problem once again

[DCMac]

Wow - timely post! Ours fell out a couple of months ago while I was self-leveling the coach. DW was standing at the right front when it fell out. I thank God it didn't fall off while we were going down the Interstate, could do serious damage to tires. Took weeks and multiple emails with photos to various dealers and Ford heavy truck service centers to find it's a Winnebago problem...that Winnebago takes no responsibility for. Official fix from Winnebago: told me to clean it off and stick it back on with some epoxy.

Once again, another problem with the Winnebago and no help from Winnebago.

[dkoldman]

Few points on this thread.

1. Our passenger side fell out while we were driving. Bracket and the piece that is was in epoxy, both on passenger side.

2. My biggest issue was given how frequently this happens, that I had owned by a RV a few years before I knew about the potential to be a problem

3. When I lost the passenger side parts, I checked the driver side and while it was okay, you could see where the vibration over time will work against the epoxy and eventually shear it off.

4. I was proud of what WBGO did because my dealer wanted $1,200 to fix just one side WBGO sent me the two parts lost as goodwill. No damage was done and I am sure I lost the parts driving from Houston to Dallas.

5. I had my Mobile tech fabricate additional brackets to support the OEM bracket so it mechanically could not move to vibrate to shear. There may be a number of ways to fix the problem, but using the OEM Process to repair is insanity if not outright madness.

This is post of what I did, https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ml#post3921622 I check the brackets all the time and they are solid. I crow by WBGO as far as what my RV has been to me over 4 years; and how they have treated me when I called them. They always took care of me or told me a sound action plan to get me back on my way. I would be scared to death to buy another RV from another MFG. But I do think they should redesign these brackets. I sent them what my Mobile Tech did. At a minimum; as it may not rise to be a recall they should have a Service Bulletin so every owner knows to check at least twice a year like changing oil.

[mff3429]

Same thing happened to me with my 2019 Vista LX. Passenger side. Just fell off somewhere. I recall parts were a little over $100.00 and the repair shop installed them for about $100 or so when I had it in for service. They checked out the driver's side also and reapplied some epoxy. Someday I may install some bolts.

[lawnarjax]

When we purchased our 2017 Vista the passenger side bracket was in the aft cargo compartment. I had to do some looking around to figure out where it came from. I Attempted to the reattach using adhesive however it did not work. Took advice from other owners and got some stainless button top hardware and nylon nuts and drilled some holes, took less than an hour and they will fall off long after I am gone. Save yourself some worry and mechanically attach them. Don't look around too much behind the cap because you will be shocked to see how much stuff is glued on.