I don't know about you folks, but I have had a rampant surge in camper owners needing their graphic replaced on their units. This ranges from 1997 Jayflights to 2005 Phaetons to 2007 Montanas. Are the dealer graphics just crummy vinyl or is there something missing on my end on how these units are kept? Each of these that have come in during the past 3 months have been stored indoors and are meticulously kept. I have also seen this issue on units that sit outside their entire lives and have never been maintained.
Having owned 7 campers in the past 5 years, I have not seen this issue on the brand that we buy except for some tree damage on one of the units which I replaced the decals (amongst many other items.)
Posted by Glenn Taylor (Member # 162) on :
It sound like the same issue a client of mine had a couple years ago with a Phaeton. The material felt like calendared vinyl but the decal wasn't peeling like traditional calendared vinyl normally does. It was cracked and the faded print was crazed and not laminated.
The only calendared that I've seen do that was some Flexmark by Flexcon that had a very aggressive adhesive.
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
When the bean counters insist on going to the low bidder ....
Posted by Joy Kjer (Member # 3026) on :
I was just camping in Colorado this past weekend and noticed a lot of peeling graphics on the campers. Like Si said, the low bidder gets the job and quality suffers. I always specify what kind of vinyl I will be using so that they can force the cheapies to reveal what they will be using. At least that way they aren't comparing oranges to apples.
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
I designed for a couple companies that specialize in OEM RV and boat graphics. Even though price was a factor, every manufacturer insisted on a five year warranty on graphics. This was the reason these were limited to screenprinted vinyl until fairly recently. With the exception of the Gerber Edge, printers couldn't meet that requirement.
The warranty meant only high performance vinyl was used.
So, I would think they could get the vinyl replaced under warranty, if the unit is under five years old, particularly the Jayco, which was one of our customers. Anything before 2007 is going to be out of warranty.
In 7 years in the industry, I may have worked on half a dozen warranty jobs.
[ July 18, 2012, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: Don Coplen ]
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
Oh, and to what Si posted, even low bidders have to meet the manufacturers specs and warranty. There are only five or six companies in the country that do this, and contracts are often over a million dollars a year. So, cutting corners on quality can put a company out of the graphics business in a heartbeat.
Posted by Nikki Goral (Member # 7844) on :
My client's have contacted the manufacturer in the past for warranty, but each have asked if the same material will be used, and of course the reply was "yes, our stock inventory of decals." In each case, my client has asked why would they want "crap" (nice phrase) to go back on when in 5 years (or less)it will do the same thing? I have the Montana coming in Friday to get a 3M print laid out for the front. I was just wondering if it were specific manufacturers. We have a Keystone Outback (on our 5th one) and have had units back to 99 (all used-some stored inside and some not) and never had any decal issues.
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
Nature happens Nikki.
Some of the campers you mention are between 7 and 17 years old. No, they aren't being exposed to sunlight when not being used, but they are when they hit the roads along with road salts in the northern states, sea salt in the air near the oceans, extreme heat in the southwest....catch my drift. There are a lot of variables as to why things wear out...especially vehicle graphics.
Even the ones who have been kept meticulously eventually succumb to good old fashioned oxidization. That will make the vinyl appear chaulky, become brittle and the adhesive will eventually let go around the edges. I doubt any one manufacturer has any advantage over another once Father Time has his way with them.
Rapid
Posted by Lori Wilcox (Member # 8042) on :
I've seen some units at our dealership that are peeling before they've even been purchased and removed from the lot.
I can't believe a company would let their own brand be on display with logos curling and cracking in such a short time. It doesn't say much for the workmanship of the rest of the RV if the exterior looks so terrible. We live in northern Alberta and don't get as intense heat and sun and it's still happening here.
Posted by Nikki Goral (Member # 7844) on :
That is the problem with a few of my latest ones, Lori. The Montana that came in Friday was only 18 months old! Came off the lot new... I had a Raptor two weeks ago, new off the lot, decals peeling already.
Ray, with our weather here, these units wear out by the time they are 10 years old! Then they become hunting shacks and no one cares about the decals then...most of them get painted camo!
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
Montana and Raptor are both made by the same company. That could be a clue.
One would think that with the price of fuel being what it is, the companies would do everything they can to improve their quality, not cut corners. The market has to be making competition tough.
Maybe they're doing their graphics in house, like Winnebago does? I checked out the Montana online, and that's one butt-ugly graphics package, for sure...even by RV standards.
[ July 24, 2012, 07:51 AM: Message edited by: Don Coplen ]
