Mannyjt
Advanced Member
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2023
- Messages
- 45
Hello GDRV folks!
I've been vacuuming up everything I can on this forum for days now and massively appreciate all the insight yall share. After reading around for a while I'd like to ask a few questions of my own.
I'm looking for some help gauging how we approach some of our break in period woes and and advice on which are serious or not.
We picked up a 2023 150 series 280RS this winter and got it out for the first time this past weekend. (Un)luckily it rained the whole time and showed us where the leaks are.
First up: Bathroom skylight. This one seems to be a common failure. There was some water in the shower that got through and a trip up to the roof shows significant moisture inside the exterior housing of the skylight. Per the dealers advice (why I was talking to them I'll get to) I got some sealant and went around all of the existing sealer to try and plug the ingress point. I suspect its the commonly reported cracked cover failure as the sealant seemed well applied. My concern here is water in the insulation and wood, but I also see some sort of liner that may keep it contained. Short of pulling it off I can't verify that myself.

Recliner/Dinette Slideout:
While relaxing on the couch we heard water suddenly hit the floor and thought Oh no! The dog! Thankfully they were both snoozing on the bed. Not so thankfully there was a near constant stream of water coming through the top center of window behind the recliners.. naturally directly onto the 110vac outlet. Using some wet applicable sealant I put a bead across the edge where the slide roof meets the upright flashing, where the black liner? That extends 3-4" inward from there was and across the top edge of the window. All looked like they had gaps. Im a little uncertain if sealing that liner down was a good idea and now I wish I had a photo.
Some other things we've run into are a front door that doesn't like to stay shut unless you set the deadbolt. Its bowed outward at the middle. It almost seems like someone was aware of this as the strike plate is already maxed towards the inside on the screw slots.
We are also outright missing 2/3 hinge pins on the outdoor kitchen door (which they had to have known it was open for the walkaround and we stupidly didn't try to shut it, similar to the front door) I measured the one thats wedged out on side (not making contact with inner hinge half at all) at about 5.25mm dia and bought some expanding roll pins Im going to try to use to temp fix it.

There's a multitude of other little things to fix, but theyre just little things that can be nabbed with time and a trip to Ace Hardware.
I'm a little bummed as I see so many report they had a couple minor issues and then nothing for years.. and others report they started out like this and it never improved in terms of how much is breaking.
Last Friday I took it up to the dealer to have some items installed we made warranty claims on at delivery. I had been assured that was a same day appointment and that they could take a peak at the outdoor kitchen door, skylight leak, and front door that we had noted when visiting it in storage. I took the day off work, rescheduled a crew I manage and got it there only to find their idea of same day is leave it 3 weeks.... As we had a booking that night it was a no go for me. Why on earth it has to wait 3 weeks to get in to a bay when the appointment was made 3.5 weeks earlier is beyond me. I even schedule and manage field service of machinery so it's not like Im unfamiliar with service scheduling issues.. but I digress.
My problem now is that the camping season in Michigan is very short, bookings are limited and my schedule is a field service one so hectic at best. What that means for us is having to pounce on the opportunities we get and bail out with the camper. I don't want to lose whats almost 1/5th of the season with it sitting at the dealer before it even gets looked at. If at all possible I'd like to fix what I can and save everything up til the offseason. They can take as long as they want during the winter months, matters not to me. I do machinery repair and we built a house with a stick builder so I'm fairly handy and used to repairs.
So this brings me to my questions:
*How much of an immediate issue are the leaks? Do they need to have the components ripped off and the stuff behind them dried out RIGHT now? Or is sealing them and putting a ton of moisture absorber in the camper for now OK?
*Does anyone know where to get those hinge pins? Do I have to call GD?
*Any advice on adjusting the door? If its bowed am I going to need a replacement?
Thanks in advance for your input!
Bonus rig and puppy pic:

I've been vacuuming up everything I can on this forum for days now and massively appreciate all the insight yall share. After reading around for a while I'd like to ask a few questions of my own.
I'm looking for some help gauging how we approach some of our break in period woes and and advice on which are serious or not.
We picked up a 2023 150 series 280RS this winter and got it out for the first time this past weekend. (Un)luckily it rained the whole time and showed us where the leaks are.
First up: Bathroom skylight. This one seems to be a common failure. There was some water in the shower that got through and a trip up to the roof shows significant moisture inside the exterior housing of the skylight. Per the dealers advice (why I was talking to them I'll get to) I got some sealant and went around all of the existing sealer to try and plug the ingress point. I suspect its the commonly reported cracked cover failure as the sealant seemed well applied. My concern here is water in the insulation and wood, but I also see some sort of liner that may keep it contained. Short of pulling it off I can't verify that myself.

Recliner/Dinette Slideout:
While relaxing on the couch we heard water suddenly hit the floor and thought Oh no! The dog! Thankfully they were both snoozing on the bed. Not so thankfully there was a near constant stream of water coming through the top center of window behind the recliners.. naturally directly onto the 110vac outlet. Using some wet applicable sealant I put a bead across the edge where the slide roof meets the upright flashing, where the black liner? That extends 3-4" inward from there was and across the top edge of the window. All looked like they had gaps. Im a little uncertain if sealing that liner down was a good idea and now I wish I had a photo.
Some other things we've run into are a front door that doesn't like to stay shut unless you set the deadbolt. Its bowed outward at the middle. It almost seems like someone was aware of this as the strike plate is already maxed towards the inside on the screw slots.
We are also outright missing 2/3 hinge pins on the outdoor kitchen door (which they had to have known it was open for the walkaround and we stupidly didn't try to shut it, similar to the front door) I measured the one thats wedged out on side (not making contact with inner hinge half at all) at about 5.25mm dia and bought some expanding roll pins Im going to try to use to temp fix it.

There's a multitude of other little things to fix, but theyre just little things that can be nabbed with time and a trip to Ace Hardware.
I'm a little bummed as I see so many report they had a couple minor issues and then nothing for years.. and others report they started out like this and it never improved in terms of how much is breaking.
Last Friday I took it up to the dealer to have some items installed we made warranty claims on at delivery. I had been assured that was a same day appointment and that they could take a peak at the outdoor kitchen door, skylight leak, and front door that we had noted when visiting it in storage. I took the day off work, rescheduled a crew I manage and got it there only to find their idea of same day is leave it 3 weeks.... As we had a booking that night it was a no go for me. Why on earth it has to wait 3 weeks to get in to a bay when the appointment was made 3.5 weeks earlier is beyond me. I even schedule and manage field service of machinery so it's not like Im unfamiliar with service scheduling issues.. but I digress.
My problem now is that the camping season in Michigan is very short, bookings are limited and my schedule is a field service one so hectic at best. What that means for us is having to pounce on the opportunities we get and bail out with the camper. I don't want to lose whats almost 1/5th of the season with it sitting at the dealer before it even gets looked at. If at all possible I'd like to fix what I can and save everything up til the offseason. They can take as long as they want during the winter months, matters not to me. I do machinery repair and we built a house with a stick builder so I'm fairly handy and used to repairs.
So this brings me to my questions:
*How much of an immediate issue are the leaks? Do they need to have the components ripped off and the stuff behind them dried out RIGHT now? Or is sealing them and putting a ton of moisture absorber in the camper for now OK?
*Does anyone know where to get those hinge pins? Do I have to call GD?
*Any advice on adjusting the door? If its bowed am I going to need a replacement?
Thanks in advance for your input!
Bonus rig and puppy pic:
