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80mph gusts wind ..ripped off half roof

Jackutah
Explorer
Explorer
A couple days ago Utah was hit with winds steady at 40-50 and gusts up to 80mph... during that time the wind side edge of my roof on my 1993 itasca sunrise began to peell back... after a few minutes it peeled back to the ac unit..which held strong and the remaining roof stayed ... it of course began to rain and I was able to secure the bathroom vent to hold it down to vlose off some of rain and snon.. finally got a large tarp ...after wind slowed... and got on roof..which seemed to be strong..

Questions..called insurance..progressive.. and was told they would start a claim but that it is probably a maintanance issue and wont be covered...am I gonna get denied?


What advice on handling insurance or if denied. On getting it looked at.n. and possibly repaired
I live in Utah ....between Provo and SLC.. i just retired last Sept and bought this from private seller..runs great and i love it and would hate to have wasted the money....

Thanks for any advise...ideas n. Or help with trying to save my first and probably only RV...

Retired on basic income so buying new one is not option...
Jack in a box
Winn itasca sunrise 1993
113 REPLIES 113

Tntman
Explorer
Explorer
Dear Jack
You have some good information here. My take, use all the free resources at your disposal before hiring an attorney. I would send all the info to the man in the home office AND contact the State insurance dept. Do both as the state moves kinda slow.
Recently I received a quote of $5200 to coat the roof of my 38 foot motorhome, the coating would be a quarter inch thick guaranted for life.
Here is a phone number for RV Roofing Solutions 888-847-7010, they can give you an idea of cost and if they can spray over the wood and the fiberglas left on the roof.
Personally I think you have a good case and you need to pursue the free options first. An attorney would cost you more than the repair. Anyway wishing you good luck!
ALL WHO WANDER ARE NOT LOST,
Mike, Jill and our dog Goshe
Our Booger dog is with us in a custom urn, miss ya Boogs
2003 Tiffin Phaeton, Roadmaster tow products, 2016 Jeep Cherokee
Good Sam, SKP, FMCA F292654

msmith1199
Explorer
Explorer
Is the OP still around? Unless I missed it, I don't see where he told us the final outcome on his claim with Progressive?

2021 Nexus Viper 27V. Class B+


2019 Ford Ranger 4x4

fpresto
Explorer
Explorer
A buddy of mine, who lives in Richmond, VA, had his Winnie roof peel off in a storm a few weeks ago. It was an older unit. His insurance covered it. It is in the shop right now. I don't know the insurance company he uses.
USN Retired
2016 Tiffin Allegro 32 SA

Mile_High
Explorer
Explorer
Belgique wrote:
The roof on my Winnie peeled off last Nov from a near miss tornado. Progressive was superb. No Hassle. $12K. Replaced with a rubber roof - better than new.
Not better than new if it's rubber.
2013 Winnebago Itasca Meridian 42E
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara Towed

Belgique
Explorer
Explorer
The roof on my Winnie peeled off last Nov from a near miss tornado. Progressive was superb. No Hassle. $12K. Replaced with a rubber roof - better than new.
Hickory, NC
2007 Fleetwood Discovery 40X

Klueck
Explorer
Explorer
I am interested to know if he ever got an actual denial letter. When I was a claim adjuster and denied something it was mandatory that a denial letter was sent out. You cannot just deny a claim for no reason. Progressive treated us very very well when our fiver was destroyed in Hurricane Irma. This doesn't sound like Progressive at all.

soren
Explorer
Explorer
Jim@HiTek wrote:
Although this is a year old thread, it's important that owners are aware of a major fiberglass roof weakness. Winnebago roofs are notorious for having the roof peel back in strong winds, and it has happened to Winnie's sitting on dealers lots right after delivery from the factory as well as aged Winnies. Their roof to sidewall attachment method simply isn't good engineering practice and yet it seems they don't want to give it up, or improve factory inspection, preferring to insist it's the owner's lack of maintenance that causes it, or to even deny it happens. Roof peelback in windstorms or on the freeway has been happening to Winnie's since they invented the attachment method.

Not being a big fan of hard work on a rooftop, I opted to protect my roof with a DIY solution before the rig gets caught in a windstorm. And the best solution I've found is using 2" wide Eternabond tape along the edges. Here's my blog post about it: Fiberglass roof...



Sorry, but having owned two older Winnies so far, I just don't believe a lot of your claims. As the scientific community likes to say, "the plural of anecdote is NOT evidence". The fact that a small number of any product has issues, clearly does not make that product "notorious". I have seen issues with older Winnies, and peeling roofs, on several occasions. Far less that a 1/10 of one percent of all Winnie products I have observed in use, BTW. Oddly enough, a quick view of a rig with a peeling roof, from 30' away, typically makes it quite clear that the roof is just one of many issues on a coach that clearly been abused, and neglected.

In other words, "oh look, it's a twenty year old Winny that looks like it a mobile meth lab, and has the sheet beat out of it. But the roof is peeling due to the crappy Winny design, NOT from ignoring all maintenance for the last decade, right?"


As for you claim that it even happens in dealer lots to new units, absent printed proof from a reliable source, I'm not buying it.

Finally, In travelling hundreds of thousands of miles in RVs over the last two decades, I have seen exactly zero peeling roofs on any class A, while it was rolling down the highway. When it comes to travel trailer and 5ths, I have seen rubber roofs that had air forced under them and were inflated like balloons, literally too many times to count. I have owned two obsessively maintained trailers that suffered roof leaks, and my two Winnies were/are as dry as a ghost fart. Strictly anecdotal indeed, but it has lead me to conclude that I'll take a glass roof over rubber, any time.

Stormy_Eyes
Explorer
Explorer
Jim@HiTek wrote:
it has happened to Winnie's sitting on dealers lots right after delivery from the factory as well as aged Winnies.

Wow, yours is the first reference I have seen roof peeling on brand new Winnie's on dealer lots. When and where did that happen?

Jim
Explorer
Explorer
Although this is a year old thread, it's important that owners are aware of a major fiberglass roof weakness. Winnebago roofs are notorious for having the roof peel back in strong winds, and it has happened to Winnie's sitting on dealers lots right after delivery from the factory as well as aged Winnies. Their roof to sidewall attachment method simply isn't good engineering practice and yet it seems they don't want to give it up, or improve factory inspection, preferring to insist it's the owner's lack of maintenance that causes it, or to even deny it happens. Roof peelback in windstorms or on the freeway has been happening to Winnie's since they invented the attachment method.

Not being a big fan of hard work on a rooftop, I opted to protect my roof with a DIY solution before the rig gets caught in a windstorm. And the best solution I've found is using 2" wide Eternabond tape along the edges. Here's my blog post about it: Fiberglass roof...
Jim@HiTek
Have shop, will travel!
Visit my travel & RV repair blog site. Subscribe for emailed updates.
Winnebago Journey, '02
Cat 330HP Diesel, 36.5', two slides.

Rwake901
Explorer
Explorer
No doubt it's time to get an attorney involved. You paid your insurance premiums and now it's time for your insurance company to pay. I wouldn't give up on that. At least go talk to an attorney and see what he thinks. I think it's BS that an insurance company can just pick and choose what they want to pay for. You insured your motorhome for things like this now their backing out, that's not right. If they wasn't going to cover your roof they should have said that before they took your money.

Snomas
Explorer
Explorer
We got hit by high winds and hail several years ago in Colorado. The insurance co. had to replace my roof, both a/c's and repaint 2 sides of the MH. My body shop owner contacted our agent and went to bat for us. It cost 28K for all the work and they paid w/out questions. Of course the MH had a value of more than that so they had to repair it. Good luck w/ your problem.
2006 WINNEBAGO ASPECT 29H Ford E450 Super Duty
2018 F150 Lariat Crew Cab, Coyote 5.0 L RWD

D_E_Bishop
Explorer
Explorer
There are too many pages to read through and too many side issues not really related to this problem. If your rig is like mine and has a fiberglass roof, I think you may find there is a major maintenance requirement in order to keep the warranty in effect. If you have the same requirement I do, then removal and replacement of the roof edge caulking is mandatory every two years. Kind of shocked me but it is in black and white in the maintenance requirements.
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to go". R. L. Stevenson

David Bishop
2002 Winnebago Adventurer 32V
2009 GMC Canyon
Roadmaster 5000
BrakeBuddy Classic II

BobGed
Explorer
Explorer
Great outcome. Here's a CLICKY to your site
2017 Tiffin Phaeton 40QBH
2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited

CoachPotato
Explorer
Explorer
While this is a pretty stale thread, it was very timely for me as I just went through this same issue - and was pleased that my insurance company chose to cover my claim.

Briefly, as I drove through the Cajon Pass on I-15, somewhere between there and San Berdoo, I was caught in cross winds to 60 MPH. Suddenly the racket from above forced me to pull over. I climbed onto the roof and discovered much of the fiberglass coating had broken loose and was whipping into the winds which were recorded to 60 MPH.

When the (Progressive) adjuster inspected my coach he made it clear that they decline 90% of such claims - something that was not pleasant to hear. I emailed the claims handler with documented report of the winds that day in the area I traversed, proving the winds were recorded to 60 MPH. I also pointed out that they knew the history of such fiberglass coating on roofs, that when I bought the comprehensive insurance they could have inspected my coach, they could have advised me of their history of claims on such roofs, but they did not; they simply accepted my money and issued the policy. Yes, it was a veiled threat, I suppose, making my case pretty clear.

They did agree to pay my claim which totaled over $10,000. My deductible was $625. I chose a rubber roof replacement which was completed just this week at Smooth As Glass fiberglass repair in Riverbank, CA.

The more complete story and photos are on my website, here