reason to check your roof

[maltruck8]

Went on the roof yesterday to check things out. The trim strip that covers the front cap joint with the rubber roof was raised up. If we had pulled trailer at highway speeds the wind would get under the rubber roof and blow it up. What we found was that the screw in the end of the aluminum strip was twisted off and the only thing that had been holding it down was the caulking. More (quality) workmanship at Double Tree factory. NOT. Kent at DT told me to use a couple of 2" screws and screw it down and caulk it. Wish I had taken pictures to add to my webshots for show and tell, like the ones of the wheel alignment. Jim

[5thwheeler]

I've seen this on almost every other brand - frustrating. The issue isn't really the fault of doubletree as much as it is the company that makes the molding. It just doesn't hold up to the elements and shrinks over time. A more durable molding needs to be used.

[Gemstone]

I've seen this on almost every other brand - frustrating. The issue isn't really the fault of doubletree as much as it is the company that makes the molding. It just doesn't hold up to the elements and shrinks over time. A more durable molding needs to be used.

I beg to differ with this explanation, and Doubletree will back me up. This has nothing to do with moulding. My front cap seperated from the roof by as much as 3/4", all the way across, either due to a bad batch of screws, or an over zealous installer who over torqued all but two of the screws. DT never owned up, but authorized mobile warranty repair, sending caulk and longer screws. I now have a mess on the roof due to a jack leg RV repairman who did the best he could with zero help from DT Engineering. Send me your e-mail address and I'll send photo's of the roof and sheared screws.

Regards
Gemstone

[Motor31]

This has been a problem with the DT units for some time. It even shows up with a brand new unit that had caulk over screws where the heads were twisted off. That means the assembler knew the screw heads were gone and just caulked it over. That's NOT a problem with shrinking trim.

In my rig DT used screws that were too small either too short or not sufficient diameter (strength) for the application as well as too few of them and it required multiple repairs after delivery to take care of it. I'm still finding situations with poor choices in hardware selection. A good example in the 38 is the door slide center track at the roof. They used machine screws and standard nuts with no lock washers. Since the screws are mounted head down and there is nothing to keep the nut from loosening, the screws fall out of the track attachment. I've since gone to the hardware store and purchased nylock nuts for pennies more than the standard and re secured the track mechanism.

[bstark]

Maltruck8: You didn't specify whether it was the ends of the trim that comes up the side of the trailer and are bent over the roof cap. If so, now that you've screwed them down tight, keep an eye on the side trim immediately adjacent to the rear scare lights as the natural tendancy for that metal to want to return to it's straight state will also (when caulk warms up in southern heat) start to bow away from the trailer if some of those heads were over-torqued and broken as well, mine is doing that right now.

[maltruck8]

I will have to keep a close watch on both ends. The one I found sticking up was the front of the trailer where it comes up the side and is bent over onto the roof. They had made a joint about 1 foot from the curb side. The short end is the one that is the problem. It only had 2 screws to begin with and the end one was twisted off.
If you look at my webshots you can see how well the wheels were aligned from the dealer when I took delivery on it. It took me nine weeks to get it right. I had to take it to an alignment shop at my own expense to prove that there was a problem. At least DT did reimburse me for the out of pocket expense. We are not real happy with Tom Peck at DT, or the quality of the workmanship of our Mobile Suites.

[bstark]

Jim: Yep that's the same problem I posted about with a pic included under title "Wandering Roof Trim" December 12th 2005.

It can take quite a while to reset the torque on those screw guns. :lol:

[maltruck8]

Bruce, I went back and read your post on this from 05, couldn't find the pictures. But I know what they look like. Sure hope others will check before they loose a roof going down the road. Kent at DT told me to use 2" screws.

[bstark]

Jim: Are you logged in while just reading posts as well? The pic's won't show unless you're logged in. I added a few addtitional screws to the curved corners as well. I went to Stainless Oval heads in #10 size to give me a little extra strength while using the stainless screws as they are softer.

[maltruck8]

Thanks, Bruce, I guess I have learned something again. I will start logging in so I will see pictures. Most of the time I just read and only login when I want to post. Thanks, Jim