Wow, wow, wow! That’s no bueno. My least favorite thing about an RV is that you have to constantly re-glue (caulk) to keep it from coming apart and disintegrating. One thing to consider is replacing the plywood with Azdel. It’s impervious to water so it won’t delaminate from the Filon and get moldy-at least that is my understanding. I have an older Lance that is having the same issue and it has a wood frame. I’m afraid it is not long for this world.
I wasn't aware of Azdel- that would have been a better plan. We ended up getting the oem fiberglass from Bend, so it's unfortunately too late. I'll keep that in mind for future projects (hopefully nothing like this one, though! And I'm so sorry to hear about your TC.
@@TheJoslynJourney My Azdel suggestion may not have even been feasible. An RV repair facility probably does not have the ability to bond the outer Filon (fiberglass) layer to the substrate. Getting a replacement from Host makes much more sense. That said, an earlier commenter was correct about Luan plywood. It's commonly used in the industry but it has some significant drawbacks, the main one being that it sucks up moisture like a sponge and then comes apart like...well, unfortunately you know. (So do I.) Azdel is a newer product that is soaked in a resin during manufacturing leaving it impervious to moisture. If it is laminated to the Filon correctly, it should never delaminate or deteriorate. The best manufacturers have switched away from Luan to Azdel. Maybe Host has too. They certainly should. They're not a budget manufacturer. If you're interested, search for "Azdel" on UA-cam. One of the hits will be a tour of an Alliance RV manufacturing facility. The company has had an exterior wall pulled from their production line sitting outside in the rain and snow for two years. It still looks new. It was built using Azdel. We all end up with whatever tech is available at the time our RV is built, and every RV is a collection of tradeoffs and compromises. You should enjoy your better-than-new Host for years to come.
You're right, but there are worse stories than this with new RVs. I just wished we took it back into the dealer back in 2019 when we saw the issue instead of trying to fix it ourselves. Hard lesson learned. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! I'm so sorry y'all are having to go through this. But, as a Host owner I'm glad you are documenting your process for my morbid curiosity. 🙂It's really interesting to see what the nose and sides look like within the walls.
I appreciate the comment, and honestly I'd want to see the guts as well, ha! I still am firmly in the pro Host camp after seeing the framework. Thanks for watching!
Wow! Thought you might get out of there a bit sooner, being in house and participating in the repairs. Teresa is missing that yogurt. Can’t find it around here. Good video. Hope you get finished soon.
It's just a slow process... we're getting closer, though! Yeah, that yogurt was waaay too good, ha! We hope to be out soon, though not placing bets yet!
Funny you say that. While we were at Penpac getting this fixed, I shared several other style of campers that were also there with water damage.none of them being the 2 piece versions. In our opinion, there's no real full-priof design. You just have to catch it a lot earlier than we did. It didn't help that our camper sat in Oregon for a year before we went full-time while we were getting our truck upfitted. I think that was it's downfall.
You're right. It kinda sucks now but this thing will be *better* than new once we are done. And Dan Penington and company here at Penpac have been fantastic!
Yikes. I just watched the video where you got stuck, and mentioned that your door doesn’t close. Now this. Definitely won’t be looking at a Host camper when we buy. I think I would prefer a well built wood frame unit like an old Okanagan to what you are dealing with.
Hi Bob. Thanks for watching! We think the door had a bit to do with the front cap issue, which makes sense to me. We aren't having the door issue right now, but time will tell. Host had (accidentally) skipped caulking screws in 2018, which would cause all this water leakage. They did help others who were affected, and they immediately fixed the caulk problem then upgraded the nose cap. Honestly, if we had this damage on a wood frame, it would have been totaled. We thought we fixed the leak issue back in 2019, but we obviously didn't. It's a learning process. If we could go back and purchase another truck camper, we'd still go with a Host. But you have to be comfortable too. Just food for thought...
I can’t believe all the damage this camper suffered in such a short period of time. Did you ever figure out what caused the leaks? I reseal the roof on my arctic fox every year or inspect at the very least. What a massive repair you have.
Well, it wasn't so quickly, actually. We found the leak in 2019 and thought we fixed it. But we missed key areas on our "fix" and couldn't get to the repair shop in Redmond until 2023. We honestly didn't know it was that bad until we got there!
@@TheJoslynJourney yes, I watched more of your videos and I heard your explanation. I still believe host should have stepped up to the plate however, I understand obligations aren’t forever regarding warranty.
Agreed. I will say that when this issue was found on our camper and others, Host did offer to fix the damage and redesigned the front cap. We chose not to have it fixed since we were in Illinois and not many dealerships understand truck campers. In hindsight, we should have just shipped the camper over at the time. But in the plus side, we have the new cap design which adds more protection.
Ive been dreading this episode Im glad you found a real professional repair shop, the water damage was significant. Im about to put a deposit down on a Arctic Fox 1150, did you see any truck campers from that maker there in PenPac's yard ?
Wow what a horror story! All the best with your journey back to the road! I’ve been shopping Host but now I’m not quite so sure. I like the spaciousness but have questioned the clothing storage and the construction. It looks like even with your constant attention to seams and preventive maintenance, it still could be a problem. Thanks for your candor. You guys are real life!
It's certainly not a pretty sight. They did have roof leak issues in 2018, but they ended up updating the cap. The "chin" area is a good place to look - if thats delaminating, they may not have caught the leak. Also, check inside the rig where the front jacks mount. We knew we had some delamination due to our original issue, but I didn't realize it had still continued to leak. It's a rough brea, but she will be better than new once we're done!
@daemocd yes. Our next shop video will show it but it was lesking through the screws on the angled portion of the nose cap. We missed a few screws when we originally discovered the problem.
They don't do factory recalls, but back in 2018 and 2019, this was a hot topic on the Host owner forums. Many were able to go back to Host and get it fixed. We *thought* we fixed ours but obviously not good enough.
@@TheJoslynJourney that sucks. It was clearly caused by their lack of attention to detail during the assembly. They should be on the hook to fix it. I am really nervous now with my 2020...lol...I know you said that Host figured it out and began caulking those screws after your model year...but after seeing what they are doing to your camper and how long its taking....I really am concerned that my $65k camper (used) will eventually need a $5k plus or more (its prob way more) repair like what yours is getting. I am actually considering getting one of those lifetime warranty sprayed on armored roof coatings because of your experience. That's $4000 and they will line the truck bed with the same stuff at the same time they do the camper.
I do believe that I'll be scratching Host from my short list ... I love everything about them for the most part except the water intrusion and the price tag. For what is considered a higher end truck-camper they sure use substandard materials. There is nothing good about luan except being cheap to manufacture... I do believe that Cirrus & Lance use Azdel. Cirrus has an aluminum roof and Lance uses PVC which is better than EDPM or TPO...
Everything has pros and cons. You just have to go with what you feel is best. I don't personally believe they use substandard materials, but no manufacturer can make a rig that would meet our standards. You have to pick what's most important to you and fix/upgrade the stuff you don't like. Thanks for watching our journey to make this thing even better than new!
I had a 2017 mammoth. Zero issues. Wife wanted different bath. Ordered a 2022 cascade. Got it spring of 21. 80 nights and zero issues. Ordered the mammoth also. Host is great to work with. FWIW.
@@TheJoslynJourney I'm realistic with my expectations... I've just seen so many videos not to mention personal experience with de-lamination that I tend to want a camper made with a material that won't disintegrate as soon as a drop of water hits it 😳 There are campers that are made of such materials. Needless to say lauan is not a superior product for campers. Seeing that all campers leak at some point I'm trying to prevent the heart ache from having to do an expensive repair. I have to say that looking at the damage to your camper gave me flash backs and a PTSD flair up from my first camper 😹 which required many hours and dollars to repair. So, I'm somewhat damaged or flawed in that way 😹 I'm sure your Host will turn out just perfect at the end of the day. Thank goodness for that. 🌵 👊🏻 Hope to see you on the road soon !!
Sorry you are having these problems. I had an 18 yr old Lance that did the same thing. It took me 6 weeks to repair it myself, working on it full time. Of course I had to learn as I went along. Should turn out better after the repairs.
Wow, that's a huge project to take on yourself! We thought it would be best here since we could get the fiberglass directly from Host down the road. And our last fiberglass repair didn't quite go as planned. On the plus side, you know your rig inside and our after a fix of that magnitude! Thank for stopping by!
I have an Lance 850 2019' that is showing this exact issue. My nose has the big molded cap. Thought I had it all sealed up and am noticing the belly in the cabover area on passenger side. If I may ask, did your Lance have the molded cap in the nose area? Was the structure wood or aluminum? Was there luan bonded to the filon? Contemplating renting a pole barn next spring and starting in on this project.
Is this under warranty? There are some real design and structural flaws here you mentioned Host has since addressed in newer models that lead to all these problems with your camper. I hope they are covering the repairs
Host has a 1 year warranty. None of this is covered, unfortunately. They continuously improve the designs, but ours was instigated by the water damage. The original design probably would have been ok without the water. In comparison, other campers don't even use aluminum, so we could be worse off. Luckily, everything so far is fixable. Just frustrating.
Screws not caulked on the nose cap and the vertical rails on the nose cap. As soon as Host found out, they corrected the issue. Others were able to take it back in to get fixed. Also a new roof design.
No. They recommended to bring the camper back to Bend, OR but we couldn't get there due to our jobs. We let it go past the warranty. We *thought* we fixed it, but in the midwest its pretty humid and it looks like it never dried out (or we didnt catch all of the leaks). While the initial part was Host's fault, the latter part was ours.
Wow, wow, wow! That’s no bueno. My least favorite thing about an RV is that you have to constantly re-glue (caulk) to keep it from coming apart and disintegrating. One thing to consider is replacing the plywood with Azdel. It’s impervious to water so it won’t delaminate from the Filon and get moldy-at least that is my understanding. I have an older Lance that is having the same issue and it has a wood frame. I’m afraid it is not long for this world.
I wasn't aware of Azdel- that would have been a better plan. We ended up getting the oem fiberglass from Bend, so it's unfortunately too late. I'll keep that in mind for future projects (hopefully nothing like this one, though! And I'm so sorry to hear about your TC.
@@TheJoslynJourney My Azdel suggestion may not have even been feasible. An RV repair facility probably does not have the ability to bond the outer Filon (fiberglass) layer to the substrate. Getting a replacement from Host makes much more sense. That said, an earlier commenter was correct about Luan plywood. It's commonly used in the industry but it has some significant drawbacks, the main one being that it sucks up moisture like a sponge and then comes apart like...well, unfortunately you know. (So do I.) Azdel is a newer product that is soaked in a resin during manufacturing leaving it impervious to moisture. If it is laminated to the Filon correctly, it should never delaminate or deteriorate. The best manufacturers have switched away from Luan to Azdel. Maybe Host has too. They certainly should. They're not a budget manufacturer.
If you're interested, search for "Azdel" on UA-cam. One of the hits will be a tour of an Alliance RV manufacturing facility. The company has had an exterior wall pulled from their production line sitting outside in the rain and snow for two years. It still looks new. It was built using Azdel.
We all end up with whatever tech is available at the time our RV is built, and every RV is a collection of tradeoffs and compromises. You should enjoy your better-than-new Host for years to come.
Should have never happened ! Best of luck on a successful repair.
You're right, but there are worse stories than this with new RVs. I just wished we took it back into the dealer back in 2019 when we saw the issue instead of trying to fix it ourselves. Hard lesson learned. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow! I'm so sorry y'all are having to go through this. But, as a Host owner I'm glad you are documenting your process for my morbid curiosity. 🙂It's really interesting to see what the nose and sides look like within the walls.
I appreciate the comment, and honestly I'd want to see the guts as well, ha! I still am firmly in the pro Host camp after seeing the framework. Thanks for watching!
Wow! Thought you might get out of there a bit sooner, being in house and participating in the repairs. Teresa is missing that yogurt. Can’t find it around here. Good video. Hope you get finished soon.
It's just a slow process... we're getting closer, though! Yeah, that yogurt was waaay too good, ha! We hope to be out soon, though not placing bets yet!
O My Gosh, this is horrible and I’m so sorry you have to go through this. This is an excellent case for the 2 piece fiber glass campers.
Funny you say that. While we were at Penpac getting this fixed, I shared several other style of campers that were also there with water damage.none of them being the 2 piece versions. In our opinion, there's no real full-priof design. You just have to catch it a lot earlier than we did. It didn't help that our camper sat in Oregon for a year before we went full-time while we were getting our truck upfitted. I think that was it's downfall.
Holly moley looks like it’s coming along nicely can’t believe u have been there a month how long till it’s finally finished
I'm still figuring that out. We are still here (videos are several weeks behind real time). Keeping fingers crossed for sometime this month!
So sorry you have to go through this, but in the end, you will have peace of mind, that it is done right!
You're right. It kinda sucks now but this thing will be *better* than new once we are done. And Dan Penington and company here at Penpac have been fantastic!
Yikes. I just watched the video where you got stuck, and mentioned that your door doesn’t close. Now this. Definitely won’t be looking at a Host camper when we buy.
I think I would prefer a well built wood frame unit like an old Okanagan to what you are dealing with.
Hi Bob. Thanks for watching! We think the door had a bit to do with the front cap issue, which makes sense to me. We aren't having the door issue right now, but time will tell. Host had (accidentally) skipped caulking screws in 2018, which would cause all this water leakage. They did help others who were affected, and they immediately fixed the caulk problem then upgraded the nose cap. Honestly, if we had this damage on a wood frame, it would have been totaled. We thought we fixed the leak issue back in 2019, but we obviously didn't. It's a learning process. If we could go back and purchase another truck camper, we'd still go with a Host. But you have to be comfortable too. Just food for thought...
On the plus side, you know we will share everything- both good and bad on these truck campers! It's best to have the most information going in!
I can’t believe all the damage this camper suffered in such a short period of time. Did you ever figure out what caused the leaks? I reseal the roof on my arctic fox every year or inspect at the very least. What a massive repair you have.
Well, it wasn't so quickly, actually. We found the leak in 2019 and thought we fixed it. But we missed key areas on our "fix" and couldn't get to the repair shop in Redmond until 2023. We honestly didn't know it was that bad until we got there!
@@TheJoslynJourney yes, I watched more of your videos and I heard your explanation. I still believe host should have stepped up to the plate however, I understand obligations aren’t forever regarding warranty.
Agreed. I will say that when this issue was found on our camper and others, Host did offer to fix the damage and redesigned the front cap. We chose not to have it fixed since we were in Illinois and not many dealerships understand truck campers. In hindsight, we should have just shipped the camper over at the time. But in the plus side, we have the new cap design which adds more protection.
Ive been dreading this episode
Im glad you found a real professional repair shop, the water damage was significant.
Im about to put a deposit down on a Arctic Fox 1150, did you see any truck campers from that maker there in PenPac's yard ?
So have we! Not a fun sight. But we're getting there. Slowly....
Penpac doesn't have any Arctic Foxes, just a Bigfoot (which didnt fare well).
Wow guys! Good that it's finally getting fixed. You'll love your camper even more after this!
I totally agree, Mark! Things are steadily getting better, but we will be thrilled to leave with everything working better than new!
Wow what a horror story! All the best with your journey back to the road! I’ve been shopping Host but now I’m not quite so sure. I like the spaciousness but have questioned the clothing storage and the construction. It looks like even with your constant attention to seams and preventive maintenance, it still could be a problem. Thanks for your candor. You guys are real life!
It's certainly not a pretty sight. They did have roof leak issues in 2018, but they ended up updating the cap. The "chin" area is a good place to look - if thats delaminating, they may not have caught the leak. Also, check inside the rig where the front jacks mount. We knew we had some delamination due to our original issue, but I didn't realize it had still continued to leak. It's a rough brea, but she will be better than new once we're done!
Gosh sorry for all your going through with your RV hope all goes well.
Thanks for the comment. We're hanging in there! Not fun, but trying to focus on the progress right now.
It is a lot work...I hope you guys are OK!
It is. We're making it do so far! It's obviously a long process....
@@TheJoslynJourney Have you discovered where/how the water was getting in?
@daemocd yes. Our next shop video will show it but it was lesking through the screws on the angled portion of the nose cap. We missed a few screws when we originally discovered the problem.
thanks for sharing this bad news, I hope the bill is not too high and I hope they REBUILD it stronger/better in every way
Thanks for watching. I'm hoping for the same things! 🤞
OMG! Please tell me this was a factory recall repair!
They don't do factory recalls, but back in 2018 and 2019, this was a hot topic on the Host owner forums. Many were able to go back to Host and get it fixed. We *thought* we fixed ours but obviously not good enough.
@@TheJoslynJourney that sucks. It was clearly caused by their lack of attention to detail during the assembly. They should be on the hook to fix it. I am really nervous now with my 2020...lol...I know you said that Host figured it out and began caulking those screws after your model year...but after seeing what they are doing to your camper and how long its taking....I really am concerned that my $65k camper (used) will eventually need a $5k plus or more (its prob way more) repair like what yours is getting. I am actually considering getting one of those lifetime warranty sprayed on armored roof coatings because of your experience. That's $4000 and they will line the truck bed with the same stuff at the same time they do the camper.
I do believe that I'll be scratching Host from my short list ... I love everything about them for the most part except the water intrusion and the price tag. For what is considered a higher end truck-camper they sure use substandard materials. There is nothing good about luan except being cheap to manufacture... I do believe that Cirrus & Lance use Azdel. Cirrus has an aluminum roof and Lance uses PVC which is better than EDPM or TPO...
Everything has pros and cons. You just have to go with what you feel is best. I don't personally believe they use substandard materials, but no manufacturer can make a rig that would meet our standards. You have to pick what's most important to you and fix/upgrade the stuff you don't like. Thanks for watching our journey to make this thing even better than new!
I had a 2017 mammoth. Zero issues. Wife wanted different bath. Ordered a 2022 cascade. Got it spring of 21. 80 nights and zero issues. Ordered the mammoth also. Host is great to work with. FWIW.
I would also recommend to go on owners forums for any rig you are considering. There is no such thing as a rig that doesn't have problems.
@@TheJoslynJourney I'm realistic with my expectations... I've just seen so many videos not to mention personal experience with de-lamination that I tend to want a camper made with a material that won't disintegrate as soon as a drop of water hits it 😳 There are campers that are made of such materials. Needless to say lauan is not a superior product for campers. Seeing that all campers leak at some point I'm trying to prevent the heart ache from having to do an expensive repair. I have to say that looking at the damage to your camper gave me flash backs and a PTSD flair up from my first camper 😹 which required many hours and dollars to repair. So, I'm somewhat damaged or flawed in that way 😹 I'm sure your Host will turn out just perfect at the end of the day. Thank goodness for that. 🌵 👊🏻 Hope to see you on the road soon !!
Sorry you are having these problems. I had an 18 yr old Lance that did the same thing. It took me 6 weeks to repair it myself, working on it full time. Of course I had to learn as I went along. Should turn out better after the repairs.
Wow, that's a huge project to take on yourself! We thought it would be best here since we could get the fiberglass directly from Host down the road. And our last fiberglass repair didn't quite go as planned. On the plus side, you know your rig inside and our after a fix of that magnitude! Thank for stopping by!
I have an Lance 850 2019' that is showing this exact issue. My nose has the big molded cap. Thought I had it all sealed up and am noticing the belly in the cabover area on passenger side. If I may ask, did your Lance have the molded cap in the nose area? Was the structure wood or aluminum? Was there luan bonded to the filon?
Contemplating renting a pole barn next spring and starting in on this project.
Sorry to hear about your water damage... That is horrible... I have a Host... 😒
It's certainly not fun, but checking your nose cap screws to verify they are sealed will help alleviate fears of yours doing the same.
Is this under warranty? There are some real design and structural flaws here you mentioned Host has since addressed in newer models that lead to all these problems with your camper. I hope they are covering the repairs
Host has a 1 year warranty. None of this is covered, unfortunately. They continuously improve the designs, but ours was instigated by the water damage. The original design probably would have been ok without the water. In comparison, other campers don't even use aluminum, so we could be worse off. Luckily, everything so far is fixable. Just frustrating.
What caused this issue?
Screws not caulked on the nose cap and the vertical rails on the nose cap. As soon as Host found out, they corrected the issue. Others were able to take it back in to get fixed. Also a new roof design.
So sorry about the water damage. Very extensive. Did you try to an insurance claim on your rig?
No I haven't, but I'm going to have to check and see if that's even possible with my coverage.
that is the kind of food i give to my dog.
Wow, your dog eats pretty well!
BARTENDER ! I'll have another .
😆😆😆
This is so disappointing to see. Have you considered legal action against Host?
No. They recommended to bring the camper back to Bend, OR but we couldn't get there due to our jobs. We let it go past the warranty. We *thought* we fixed it, but in the midwest its pretty humid and it looks like it never dried out (or we didnt catch all of the leaks). While the initial part was Host's fault, the latter part was ours.