Truck Conversion & Toterhome Community - View Single Post

cjc · 12-02-2007, 12:51 PM

I'm glad to see that this forum is open again because at least it provides us with an opportunity to let others know about our experiences with this end of the RV industry. I have an 03 Showhauler garage coach that was built on a new Columbia chassis and I've got several posts on here in regard to the truck conversion experiment. Some are good, but most reflect the experiences I've had and are mostly negative. I contacted Showhauler and spoke with Chad about a problem that had been reoccuring since the motorhome was less than a year old. The aluminum skins do not stick to the frame and each other with this double sided 3M tape. That stuff was made to hold lightweight trim pieces and nameplates on vehicles not aluminum skins. I had my rig back and forth to Showhauler a number of times to have this repaired, but of course there is no true repair when faulty manufacturing processes were used in the first place. My rig is now 4 years old and the aluminum skins have popped open in various places all over the place with no rhyme or reason. I last contacted Chad over six months ago by phone, email, snail mail and also sent pictures. The last time I spoke with him, I was told that Kerm (owner of Showhauler) hadn't had a chance to take a look at anything. At the same time, they were also informed and sent pictures of my roof. Before leaving on a trip this summer, I pulled my truck outside. It's normally garaged 24/7 at my home. It rained that day and it had leaks in several places. Upon examination of the roof after the pooled water dried off, I found numerous holes in the aluminum. These holes were all located in the areas where water regularly pools on the roof because theses morons build the roof FLAT. The holes were different sizes from the size of a pencil eraser down to a little larger than pinholes and there were alot of them. So now I'm left with a motorhome where the exterior walls are delaminating, and the roof has failed due to poor design and material usage. Is there anything that I could have done to prevent this from happening and does anybody think that a motorhome roof that lasts less than 4 years is simple wear and tear and should be expected? I don't think so that's why I'm warning everybody who reads this to beware of Showhauler and any other manufacturers who use a bare, flat aluminum roof and adhear the exterior walls with tape. These systems don't work. Look around and see if you see any late model motorhomes with a flat roof. They all have a crown built in. The last motorhomes that had aluminum exterior walls were ones made by Safari and Holiday Rambler years ago and the aluminum was run horizontally and secured with rivets. I'll also tell you what the "factory" fix is for loose exterior walls-they squirt some polyurethane sealant/glue in and hope that it holds. Forget about them putting new tape on. Well, that didn't work in the first place anyway, so what the hell! While I had Chad on the phone I also told him about the corrosion that is eating away at the aluminum pieces that cover the last steel framing member on the end of the rig. Apparently, water gets in behind the aluminum, can't drain and eventually corrodes the that end cover piece. I spent over $20,000 for a full paint job on this rig and the paint is lifting in these areas. Gee, wonder why I haven't received any phone calls from Showhauler? Maybe because they just hope I'll go away. They all seem like your best friend, but watch out. They don't want to know you after the warranty is up even if it was stuff that they tried to fix and failed while still under warranty. I've read stories in various motorhome magazines where the manufacturer stood behind their product many years after the warranty expired and major problems developed that never should, but forget it with Showhauler. Good luck to the rest of you.

12-02-2007, 12:51 PM	#1
cjc Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Cape Coral, Florida, USA Posts: 53	I'm glad to see that this forum is open again because at least it provides us with an opportunity to let others know about our experiences with this end of the RV industry. I have an 03 Showhauler garage coach that was built on a new Columbia chassis and I've got several posts on here in regard to the truck conversion experiment. Some are good, but most reflect the experiences I've had and are mostly negative. I contacted Showhauler and spoke with Chad about a problem that had been reoccuring since the motorhome was less than a year old. The aluminum skins do not stick to the frame and each other with this double sided 3M tape. That stuff was made to hold lightweight trim pieces and nameplates on vehicles not aluminum skins. I had my rig back and forth to Showhauler a number of times to have this repaired, but of course there is no true repair when faulty manufacturing processes were used in the first place. My rig is now 4 years old and the aluminum skins have popped open in various places all over the place with no rhyme or reason. I last contacted Chad over six months ago by phone, email, snail mail and also sent pictures. The last time I spoke with him, I was told that Kerm (owner of Showhauler) hadn't had a chance to take a look at anything. At the same time, they were also informed and sent pictures of my roof. Before leaving on a trip this summer, I pulled my truck outside. It's normally garaged 24/7 at my home. It rained that day and it had leaks in several places. Upon examination of the roof after the pooled water dried off, I found numerous holes in the aluminum. These holes were all located in the areas where water regularly pools on the roof because theses morons build the roof FLAT. The holes were different sizes from the size of a pencil eraser down to a little larger than pinholes and there were alot of them. So now I'm left with a motorhome where the exterior walls are delaminating, and the roof has failed due to poor design and material usage. Is there anything that I could have done to prevent this from happening and does anybody think that a motorhome roof that lasts less than 4 years is simple wear and tear and should be expected? I don't think so that's why I'm warning everybody who reads this to beware of Showhauler and any other manufacturers who use a bare, flat aluminum roof and adhear the exterior walls with tape. These systems don't work. Look around and see if you see any late model motorhomes with a flat roof. They all have a crown built in. The last motorhomes that had aluminum exterior walls were ones made by Safari and Holiday Rambler years ago and the aluminum was run horizontally and secured with rivets. I'll also tell you what the "factory" fix is for loose exterior walls-they squirt some polyurethane sealant/glue in and hope that it holds. Forget about them putting new tape on. Well, that didn't work in the first place anyway, so what the hell! While I had Chad on the phone I also told him about the corrosion that is eating away at the aluminum pieces that cover the last steel framing member on the end of the rig. Apparently, water gets in behind the aluminum, can't drain and eventually corrodes the that end cover piece. I spent over $20,000 for a full paint job on this rig and the paint is lifting in these areas. Gee, wonder why I haven't received any phone calls from Showhauler? Maybe because they just hope I'll go away. They all seem like your best friend, but watch out. They don't want to know you after the warranty is up even if it was stuff that they tried to fix and failed while still under warranty. I've read stories in various motorhome magazines where the manufacturer stood behind their product many years after the warranty expired and major problems developed that never should, but forget it with Showhauler. Good luck to the rest of you.