Yahoo Message Number: 80756 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/80756)
Our 2001 Intrigue has some corrosion in our door. Not in the frame but mainly in the bottom panel. 5-6 areas about the size of a dime. A couple more the size of a nickle. No big deal but it's ugly to look at and will need fixing at some stage. The plastic cover on our outside fridge vent is also in need of a repair due to the paint starting to flake away.
So how much would one expect to pay for these two items to be repaired? Stripped, cleaned and repainted.
I have an estimate from a paint shop for $2400.00. Seems a lot but then I may be out of touch!!!
Bruce
2001 Intrigue #11278
Yahoo Message Number: 80758 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/80758)
Bruce had paint work on 1999 intrigue..but they wound not do entrance door..said corrosion was caused by moisture getting into door..could be window seal, door lock ..door latch...if painted would be back within a year...told tofind leak or new dood..would smoke test door for leak and paint but very enpensive rich k 99intrigue #10739
Yahoo Message Number: 80759 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/80759)
Bruce, I don't know about the door but during discussions with other coach owners, it appears that painting the refer cover will run around $300 to $500 depending on the graphics. Totally outrageous.
Don
'02 Intrigue #11427
Yahoo Message Number: 80774 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/80774)
We owned a 2000 Intrigue (11066) with door corrosion. According to CC techs at the time, the cause was not moisture per se but rather electrolysis between the steel door skin and the aluminum trim. This is a frequent finding when dissimilar metals are placed next to each other including aluminum cylinder heads and cast iron engine blocks. A leaking head gasket is a different problem but it's the same cause; electrons will travel across the connection between the two metals and take one of them with them. In this case the steel/iron. Special non-conductive head gaskets have been developed to reduce this problem but if two different metals of the right (wrong?) types and near each other they will try to adjust their environment leading to corrosion. Attempting to repair the door by cleaning out the corrosion and using, say, a body filler will not solve the problem. The dissimilar metals are still there and corrosion will return.
Our rig was permanently fixed by replacing the door skin with a thin, solid fiberglass sheet made just for RVs and boats. This removes one of the dissimilar metals and the source of the electrolysis. If you want to believe the moisture alone is the cause the fiberglass won't corrode either way. In fact, water may speed it along but to permanently solve the problem you need to remove the cause. Once it starts it is about impossible to stop except through removing the cause. Why CC built these doors this way is a good question given the quality of everything else. Our Inspire uses Aluminum for the almost everything in the door and at 8 years no corrosion/electrolysis is present.
If you consider they have to remove the door, disassemble it, replace the door skin, reassemble, reinstall plus paint to match, several hundred dollars is not out of the ballpark - assuming they use a fix that solves the problem permanently. If not and you keep the rig, you'll be back in a few years. When ours was repaired using fiberglass sheeting to replace the metal soor skin it looked perfect and as good or better than the original. The materials are peanuts, it's the labor that costs so much.
This was done at Lazy Days in the Tampa. FL area over 8 years ago. Any RV repair shop that does body/paint should be able to do this work.
We also owned a 1975 Winnebago Indian. The manufacturer used aluminum and steel in numerous places and as we owned that rig a long time electrolysis damage was in several areas. We are therefore more familiar with the problem than we would like to be. ;-)
Bob (rthandren@...)
'05 Inspire 51178
Yahoo Message Number: 80777 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/80777)
From my years of boating I learned that moisture (especially salt laden) provides the path for the two disimilar metals to corrode.
John
05 Inspire
#51399
Yahoo Message Number: 80784 (http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Country-Coach-Owners/conversations/messages/80784)
Hi Bruce,
I had the corrosion that you have and the repair is to replace the metal panel with a poly panel. Before CC went into bankruptcy they had kits to replace the metal panel. Mine was replace by "The Paint Department" in 2006. CC provided the kit for the shipping charge. I don't know if there are any kits still around. The frig vent cover is a continuing problem, paint does not stick to the plastic very well.
If you paint the existing aluminum main door panel it will corrode again down the road, according to the experts.
Jack Allure 30076