Cracks in GelCoat of my 2011

[stevek]

One the side next to the side access door.
This large fiberglass panel just seems to float.
Maybe that contributed to the cracks? The flexing and vibration?
Maybe the heat from the refer?
Heck if I know. I have babied my BF since purchase. Drove easy. No dirt roads.
The cracks are very minor, but I worry about the future.
I am not very happy with this and do not know what to do?
Only 3 years old..... and cracks....does not speak very highly of Born Free.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

[randallrae]

check out this link http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/011379.html

[shilohdad]

Is your coach still under warranty? If so, perhaps Born Free would pay for fixing it under warranty. In any case, I would contact Kim in customer service for help.

[jjhepkin]

I have a 2009 RSB model. It has a full body paint job. I noticed a few months ago the appearance of spider web cracking in several spots. I called Kim to discuss and he was not the least bit receptive. Said it was not unusual for the fiberglass gel coat to develop hairline cracks and it was NOT a manufacturing defect. It seems when storing a unit outside under direct sun, the heat over a period of time will degrade (my term not Kim's), the fiberglass.
Unfortunately since my unit is painted, the cracks do show more than on an unpainted coach. I was really surprised when I saw mine starting to crack and now feel "hung out to dry" and pretty helpless after talking to Kim.
I have started putting a cover on mine to see if that will help the problem of too much direct sun. I live in the denver area and it is very hard to find covered rv storage.
I guess my biggest frustration is after going through the owners literature again, I could find no mention of this problem or any warnings on how to prevent it from happening.
Good luck on yours.
john

[Dallas Baillio]

See comment below.

[Dallas Baillio]

Some years ago I sent Kim photos of a "wavy floating side" on my BF. In a telephone conversation he said that the factory's construction technique does not attach the fiberglass panels to the underlying wood. These panels are attached only at the locations where they abut another panel. This is what I recall, but it may be advisable to confirm with the factory.

I may be out of line in saying so, but aging does occur. Oh, how I wish I still had the flexibility to do deep knee bends, or run a 10 K race like I could 30 years ago.

I show signs of wear and so does my BF!

And by the way (not BTW) I have no idea what IIRC and BTDT mean. If these are text message abbreviations I believe I can say with certainty there is sufficient screen space to spell out phrases on this website. Most of us posting here are far too old in age to try to impress with our cutting edge technological knowledge.

[mockturtle]

Like Sam, I have noticed no cracks, hairline or otherwise, in the gel coat of my 2000 RB. I suspect there was a change in the gel coat process in later years.

[stevek]

Thanks everyone.
The biggest crack is appox 17 inches long.
I took a pencil and put an arrow at the top of crack, and an arrow at bottom. At bottom you can just barley see the tip. The crack goes thru the decal and has cracked the decal.
Kinda hard to see in pic, but its there.

Yes I bought my BF used. Was 1 year old, 3500 miles.
From Tony of PA. I think he posted and was a member here.
Drove it back from PA to CA. It now has 13,000 miles.
On the trip back, went to BF Factory. Met Kim. No warranty he told me.

What to do? That is the question? What to do?
Will more develop? What a pain...

[jjhepkin]

Steve

When I asked Kim what could be done to fix the cracks or stop them, he said they could not be fixed because they were in the gel coat layer of the fiberglass.
His solution was to replace the whole side fiberglass panel with a new one…..approximate cost…..$ 8,000.00.
Not too reassuring.
I hate to say it, but it does make you wonder about the born free reputation for quality!?!

It might be worth a trip to a company who works on boat fiberglass repairs. They might have a better solution.
again, good luck….not much help from Kim.
John

[stevek]

Thanks John.
Another solution I had thought about is to cut out the affected area and add something.
A window, a vent, a storage compartment? A big smiley face?
Would be cheaper than 8000 bucks and would add stability to the fiberglass panel from "floating and flexing", and more cracks developing

This 17 inch crack is directly behind the refrigerator.
Any connection? I don't know.

And yes, makes you wonder about the factory and need for improvement?

[sw23185]

[ deleted ]

[whemme]

Back in August 2010, I had a deer run across a 4 lane highway and leap into the front window on the left side of my 2002 BF 26' RSB coach. The crash did not break the window but did tear off the plastic vent assembly mounted on the rear of the window and also torn off the outside light assembly several feet behind the window. The impact with the deer also caused several stress cracks in the fiberglass between the window and the outside light assembly.

I took the coach to the Born Free factory in Humboldt, IA and their service manager Bill was able to repair the cracks. The surface area of the cracks in my case was about 2.0 sq ft in size. He was able to grind out the cracks and apply new fiberglass and gelcoat. I was advised that since the fiberglass and gelcoat would be from a new batch that the color match may be slightly off. However the results were good. Could not tell any color mismatch and can't tell by looking at the repaired area that any repair was ever done there.

Since this was a comprehensive insurance claim, the repair was paid for 100% by my Progressive Insurance policy since at that time my policy qualified for zero deductible. The insurance company paid Born Free the $609.90 repair costs.

My stress crack repairs were in a relatively small area. If your cracks are occurring over a much larger area, it may be that replacing the whole large panel may be necessary.

[sw23185]

[ deleted ]

[jjhepkin]

I guess its sort of like a toothache……hard to feel the pain unless its your mouth !?!

[bigdipper]

For what it is worth, I know a little about chemistry related to fiberglass, the mixing, moulding and such. While it is not realistic to assume the folks in Humboldt are super sophisticated in the technology, they do have a few decades experience which would count for a lot. Fiber glass and concrete have something in common. "The only concrete which has not cracked is that which hasn't been poured." In my experience, the 10 year, 70,000 mile 2001 had some gel coat cracking, mostly on curved sections front and rear. 2011 at 4 years and 50,000 miles is pristine although with full body paint, I could worry about any gel coat cracks being more obvious.
JMO,
Ralph