Tonneau cover disintegration, leading to mold :/ QS10

Started by boardom, July 02, 2017, 10:16:31 AM

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boardom

Hey all,

Just curious if anyone has experienced this. We put away our QS10 last winter, not really thinking... Didn't pull the tent off for indoor storage..

Pulled it out a few weeks ago and as I was unrolling the tonneau cover, the waterproofing layer underneath it was literally flaking/disintegrating in my hands. This would have been from a 2011-12 model QS10. As you can imagine, due to this tonneau cover failure, there was water under the cover, and water inside the camper body. Minor mildew staining on the exterior of the tent, no big deal... The inside of the tent however looks like a rainbow of mold. :/

Curious if anyone has any recommendations for how to salvage the tent, as it was still in great condition. Nothings open here today so hoping to sort something out by tommorow and start repairing.

Question to Dan @ LL, or anyone who's had to go the replace vs repair route. Do you have a rough estimate of total tent replacement cost as well as tonneau cover cost. I'll be pinging my local dealer on monday, but a rough idea would help convince me whether to go wild on mold cleanup...

I can't quite recall the warranty information, but I'm assuming this isn't covered. Given that the tonneau cover had no apparent issued before we put it away, I'd be curious to understand what the expected lifespan is on this material for future reference. Also, it was the worse directly above the bunk end supports, so I would suggest this is a design failure with putting in any sort of pliable cover over these to protect the tonneau from damage.

I'd love to chat offline Dan so feel free to email me. A bit frustrated as I love this trailer, but I'll survive. Just want to get it back into action.


djmiller

Unfortunately about any vinyl when left exposed to the elements will deteriorate in time. I have had a spa that is on my deck. Because we live in Northern Indiana and the best time to use the spa is the winter I use a 6" ultra insulated spa cover.  These run around $400 - $600 a pop.  Initially I had to replace it in 3 years, the second lasted 5 and am now on the 3rd and finally got the marine grade vinyl to last longer than the wrap on the foam insulation to keep the foam from getting water logged.  My secret was to apply a vinyl protectant such as ArmorAll every couple of months in the spring, summer and fall.  Vinyl starts deteriorating as soon as it is exposed to the elements and is accelerated very rapidly when exposed to the Sun and U/V.  They don't tell you that when you buy a spa cover as they want to sell you another in a couple of years.  We do cover that in the owners manual but I know I am just as guilty of probably many others. Just skimming through owners manuals until I have a problem.

If you store your QuickSilver inside with limited exposure to UV it will probably last a long time.  If it is stored outside and you live in one of the Sunshine states such as Florida, I would recommend shielding it as much as possible from UV and if not possible covering it with a tarp.

Our Tonneau covers are now Black. They were at one time Gray.  Not quite sure what is better as Black absorbs U/V and heats up - but is contains CarbonBlack which is a natural UV stabilizer.  Gray on the other hand stays cooler but the lighter colors do not have the U/V stabilization naturally built in.  Chemicals can be added to lighter colors that add U/V stabilization but they would increase the cost of the product.   That is one reason why most Polyethylene bed liners for pick-ups are mostly black.


Many people have had very good results on removing mold and mildew from there tents using various products maybe some will chime in here.
We are not set-up to sell retail but you can get an exact cost on tent replacement by dealing directly with our current manufacturer TopStitch  http://topstitch-inc.com/.  The will sell direct.

Tonneau covers can be purchased through any livinlite dealer and the part number you will want to give them is: 204121.

-Dan




boardom

Thanks Dan..

Tried some mold and mildew cleaners without any luck. We will survive, more annoyed I can't use it then anything. ;)

Will try some oxiclean as a last resort to get the staining out and if not order another tent and cover.

Cheers