Cracked fiberglass - Event Date: 10 Jun 2015

Hello to all,
My wife and I purchased a used 2013 178 at the end of the 2013 camping season. A hairline crack has developed in the fiberglass since our purchase. It runs horizontally from the left side across the front at approximately chest height of the camper.  It is approximately three feet in length. It appears to be caused by a stuctural cross member that created a slight bulge in the curvature of the fiberglass. It's as though the fiber glass is supported by the corner if the cross member rather than the wider flat surface.  This appears to have applied undue stress at that point causing the crack. I noticed there is a similar bulge on the rear of the camper and probably is only a matter of time before a crack develops there as well.
 I'm wondering what the factory warranty is on the skin and what are my options for repair short of replacing the entire shell? Also I'm curious if anyone else notices the outline of these cross members or has experienced any other cracks? Any information would be appreciated.

Markie

I would contact your dealer and have them submit a claim to FR, even though you are out of warranty.  It sounds like a basic construction defect that FR would take care of.

   I would agree with Doug in that Rorest River may fix it. We live in a warm climate I wonder if we had lived in a colder climate when we owned our 171 the cold weather would have cracked ours. The picture of the back of your r-pod looks like the crease we had on ours.

We had some cracks repaired by/at FR a couple years ago. It's a pretty easy process, took about 4 hours. I would think any RV dealership with a repair shop could do it.

I,m not sure what the process is to repair the fiberglass so even if the shell is repaired rather simply I'm concerned that if the cross member is not moved to the proper position the shell will crack again.

Markie