2013 Livin Lite VRV

Started by ajones, March 06, 2017, 09:19:20 AM

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ajones

Hello all,  I have a 2013 VRV (M#8522) that I purchased new in early 2014. So far ownership has been a pain in the butt. I had to have the entire rear entry door replaced in the first year(under warranty) because it started blistering under the aluminum skin. Now, corrosion is starting to blister the door and the drop down tent bed doors. This seems to be limited to doors only. As I understand, Challenger door is who made all of the doors. As you can imagine it looks pretty bad. Some of the blisters have burst through the skin with the corrosion showing through. I emailed LL a couple of weeks ago and got no response and was wondering about everyone's  experience with service. In the first instance two years ago,  I got immediate service, but it seems things have changed. By what I have been reading on line LivinLite service seems to have been "depreciated". I've had other minor nagging problems aside from the doors, but the doors are a serious one that effects the value and looks.

Has anyone else experienced this problem with the corrosion, especially in the doors?
Anyone have any thoughts on the service issue? I thought I would check here before starting to hit the RV forums with this problem.


Thanks, Alan Jones - Tennessee

As a footnote, my VRV is parked indoors when not in use. It has only been near the ocean once and that was only three days.
It has only 5200 tow miles on it and gets babied.

djmiller

Quote from: ajones on March 06, 2017, 09:19:20 AM
Hello all,  I have a 2013 VRV (M#8522) that I purchased new in early 2014. So far ownership has been a pain in the butt. I had to have the entire rear entry door replaced in the first year(under warranty) because it started blistering under the aluminum skin. Now, corrosion is starting to blister the door and the drop down tent bed doors. This seems to be limited to doors only. As I understand, Challenger door is who made all of the doors. As you can imagine it looks pretty bad. Some of the blisters have burst through the skin with the corrosion showing through. I emailed LL a couple of weeks ago and got no response and was wondering about everyone's  experience with service. In the first instance two years ago,  I got immediate service, but it seems things have changed. By what I have been reading on line LivinLite service seems to have been "depreciated". I've had other minor nagging problems aside from the doors, but the doors are a serious one that effects the value and looks.

Has anyone else experienced this problem with the corrosion, especially in the doors?
Anyone have any thoughts on the service issue? I thought I would check here before starting to hit the RV forums with this problem.


Thanks, Alan Jones - Tennessee

As a footnote, my VRV is parked indoors when not in use. It has only been near the ocean once and that was only three days.
It has only 5200 tow miles on it and gets babied.

Hello Alan,

The contact us form on the website will go to sales and get routed from there.  With so many shows going on it could have been missed. Otherwise I am wondering what email address you had sent to?
I also just set you a PM.

- Dan



ajones

#2
Dan, thanks for responding ! :) 
Should I post these as attachments or do you want me to email them to your?

And  yes, I have two queen tips outs!

Alan

djsamuel

Please post any information regarding this.  My 2013 Camplite 21BHS is getting the same blistering along the bottom painted area of the main entrance door as well as one of the cargo doors.

Thanks,

Doug
2013 Camplite 21BHS

ajones

Doug, here is what my door looks like. Tip downs aren't real bad yet, but that's the way the man door started. In tip down closeups note the corrosion starting to seep out between the aluminum skin and the trim. It's in there working because i can wipe it down and it re-appears.

Alan

djsamuel

Thanks Alan.  This looks very similar to what I'm seeing, especially along the trim edges of my cargo door.  My main entrance door is nowhere as extensive as what you are experiencing, but I'm sure it is progressing.

Thanks for posting.

Doug
2013 Camplite 21BHS

DavidM

Doug and Alan:

That corrosion is exactly like what you see on boats that use painted aluminum window frames, but ony after many years in salt water. Aluminum requires special surface preparation for paint to adhere and avoid this type of corrosion. I suspect that there is no easy fix. Patches will cover it up temporarily but if the original surface prep wasn't done right, it will come back.

I suspect that the only permanent fix is to remove all of the paint down to bare metal and start over.

David

ajones

David,
I'm not sure that removing the paint would fix it entirely because the thin aluminum skins have bulges, pits and blisters (stretched). I would think the only way would be to remove the aluminum skins and re-mediate the surface under them and then apply new skins. The body of the VRV is prefect so it tells me the process failure was at the manufacturing level on the doors. Challenger failed here. I'm heading out to Utah of a month stay in May and would really like to get her fixed up before then. I just shudder when I look at that door  :'( . It makes an otherwise great looking rig look like the stuff I leave at the dumping station ;)
Thanks for your input,
Alan

DavidM

You might be surprised at how good the underlying aluminum is. I just finished repainting the window frame on my boat that looked about the same. After I scraped off all of the old paint and corrosion, it was pretty smooth. Smooth enough that spray on aluminum etchant primer filled it in smoothly.

But it would be very, very labor intensive and I agree that new painted panels (with proper surface preparation) is probably a better solution.

David

gerry

That is hideous. Some of the bubbles are obviously not near nicks or scrapes in the finish coat. Never would have suspected this could happen.

gerry

Makes me wonder how Airstream can pull things of so well.

rebar

If the livin lite or challenger actually replaced these doors under warranty, I might have considered a Livin Lite Quicksilver VRV..   But from what I'm reading, they both hung the owners out to dry, and I'm back looking at a featherlite..

livin lite..  You better get a handle on this and take care of your customers because they demand a ALL aluminum trailer which doesn't hold water and corrode from the inside out. 

Stevepro172

I to have a 2013 VRV 8x22 with twin tip out.  The rear door is starting to show this but my one bunk is really getting bad at the seam and white power is coming out of it now.  I have no faith in my dealer in my dealer to fix it.  Does anyone know how easy/hard it is to remove the "skin" from the bunk and fix the underlying problem?  Any tips/advice for me as well?

thanks
Steve

David C

Hi Steve.   I have the same problem.  I would appreciate you letting me know what you decided to dol

[email protected]

Ihave a 2013 quicksilver toy hauler with corrosion on the rear ramp/door and side door,  I ripped open the side door and found that the aluminum exterior was laminated to plywood. In my case the plywood was wet. Thus the corrosion.