Has this happen to anyone?

[Les321]

this weekend (cup weekend)
We woke to a bang
And found that the back cover had completely came off and collapse on top ( see photos )
Of my daughter bed with her under it
The self tap screw had all failed see photos
After going to the local hardware shop 30 min away getting longer self tapping screws
And two drill bits (breaking one) managed to redill the holes and then screwed the longer Screws in
Putting the lid back in job was done then added a tent pole as a brace to help hold it up something I will do all the time now see last photo .
Called jayco Ballarat where I got it from they quickly came to us to make sure it was safe and followed us home
In case of any drama , in case it came off while driving home ( now that's service ) Ballarat jayco said they have not seen anything like this at all and will order a new one far us which could take a while .
This was the van second trip out since we got it in September.
I don't understand why jayco use 6mm long screw in something that's over 40 kg ,the screws (10) in all failed
Luckily no one was hurt .
I would like to know if this is a common thing for us Expanda caravan guys like us , and if this something that jayco Aust should be aware of .
Any thoughts from guys from this website will be great .
Very concerned.

 

[cruza driver]

That's a first for me

 

[The escapist]

Wow!!!

This should be a serious note for those considering mounting bike racks to their lids....

Sad part is, not the first time I’ve heard of Jayco using under sized screws

 

[chartrock]

Never seen that one before, but it sounds like great service from Ballarat Jayco. I sure hope it gets fixed properly.

 

[bigcol]

same here, I have never seen that before
and also good job by Jayco Ballarat for service for you


strange all 10 snapped at the same time, one or two maybe

going to check mine in the morning

 

[Dogger]

I have had the struts pop their mounts because the brackets holding them were not drilled into lid properly. The weight of the lid is quite heavy and was a 2 person job to get them back on. Lucky no one was hurt with your lid coming off.

 

[bigcol]

all I can say @Dogger is

W O W

something else for me to check in the morning

I know that after 6 years of heavy usage, I had to replace the 4 bolts on the 4 arms that the roof of my Flamingo was held up by
one was starting to bend, so I replaced the mild steel 4.6 bolts with 12.6 Stainless Steel Marine grade bolts

 

[Drover]

It does look like those screws have sheared off, I wonder if they were loose from the beginning ???? Great service from the mob at Ballarat that is good news but I have found a lot of undersized or loose screws when doing work on some.

 

[DaveR]

I have a thought to offer on why this happened.
It could be that the screws were over torqued when installed and lightly stretched, the side shear loading that is applied to the screws when the lid is opened was simply enough for them to fail at the time.
I'd be checking the front screws also, swap them out at the least.

 

[Les321]

Thanks guy for your replies
Dave well played sir I never thought of that
I thought if the screws were over torqued being fibreglass it would just strip the hole they where in.
My other thought was the gas struts were not doing their job ?
I will get jayco to check the front one (still under warranty) us the guy who did the back one would have done the front one in the factory .
Still luckily know one was hurt as my daughter was under it at the time.
I will put a two tent poles under the lid now on to be sure.
THATS CAMPING !

 

[DaveR]

Now that I'm on my 2nd beer and can now think more clearly.....
I suggest you look into the next size screws to replace these, a longer length is not going to help as there is a hole in place already.
Also, ask about a stronger tensile screw if possible

 

[Les321]

Thanks Dave
Will do !
I will tell jayco and also order some thought work .
Enjoy your beer and have one for me

 

[Drover]

I have never found anything overtightened on a Jayco, it usually pulls out....lol,lol.

 

[Crusty181]

Thanks guy for your replies
Dave well played sir I never thought of that
I thought if the screws were over torqued being fibreglass it would just strip the hole they where in.
My other thought was the gas struts were not doing their job ?
I will get jayco to check the front one (still under warranty) us the guy who did the back one would have done the front one in the factory .
Still luckily know one was hurt as my daughter was under it at the time.
I will put a two tent poles under the lid now on to be sure.
THATS CAMPING !

Fibreglass is incredibly strong but also brittle so its a bit of a roll of the dice. One screw may strip when the next one snaps off. Jayco often uses the right screws for the wrong application, and just when you think you have them worked out they use the wrong screws for the right application.

 

[Les321]

Just a quick update
Just heard from jayco Ballarat
They have just told me this week that they don't know when I will get the replace parts ( new lid and struts )
Till after the new year which is not good as we go on holidays from early Jan till the end of Jan .a lot of km
I hope the back lid holds out
Not happy with jayco Aust I suppose it par for the course from them.
Any advise would be great
Should I get it in writing that it's ok to travel in case it comes fling off while I'm traveling? (for insurance)
Any thoughts

 

[Drover]

Screw it back together with a bit of sikaflex to pack and stick the screws, close the lid up and tape it down with good quality 100mph tape or gaffe tape, believe me it will hold, used it on my old rig after truck hit it and have used it on damaged fridge van , held up well .

I actually doesn't take very much to shear those small screws either a bit too much body flex and they will pop or shear off.

 

[Stewscl07]

this weekend (cup weekend)
We woke to a bang
And found that the back cover had completely came off and collapse on top ( see photos )
Of my daughter bed with her under it
The self tap screw had all failed see photos
After going to the local hardware shop 30 min away getting longer self tapping screws
And two drill bits (breaking one) managed to redill the holes and then screwed the longer Screws in
Putting the lid back in job was done then added a tent pole as a brace to help hold it up something I will do all the time now see last photo .
Called jayco Ballarat where I got it from they quickly came to us to make sure it was safe and followed us home
In case of any drama , in case it came off while driving home ( now that's service ) Ballarat jayco said they have not seen anything like this at all and will order a new one far us which could take a while .
This was the van second trip out since we got it in September.
I don't understand why jayco use 6mm long screw in something that's over 40 kg ,the screws (10) in all failed
Luckily no one was hurt .
I would like to know if this is a common thing for us Expanda caravan guys like us , and if this something that jayco Aust should be aware of .
Any thoughts from guys from this website will be great .
Very concerned.

The issue I had was the screws used by Jayco to hold the lifting assembly for the the roof started to shear off. My expanda is 2010 and I purchased it 3 years ago. (as far as I know it's not been off road as it's a Tour model) I have replaced all the screws with larger gauge and better quality. The screw size they used is too light for that application. I prefer to hand screw screws or bolts in similar situations. I expect Jayco use pneumatic or electric drivers when installing fasteners, so either strip the threads or put the fasteners under too much shear loads. I'll know take out each screw holding the end covers when I open out the covers and inspect. Hope all is well with your rig?