Our First Clue
NOTE: As you read this, keep in mind that this is a brand new camper... not previously owned (used).

Thursday afternoon October 5, 2006 we left Dennis Trailer Sales with our new Lance 915 mounted on the back of our 1999 F350 dually.  Those folks are great!  They had installed the Happi-Jack tie-downs, the Air Lift air "springs" and an air conditioner (in the camper) in a single day.  We were pretty happy because we had to leave for our granddaughter's 4th birthday party in about 36 hours.  Within 30 minutes of pulling out of the dealership we were headed back.  The right turn signal didn't work.  Once again, Charlie & Jerry were great!  After removing the holding tank shroud, they traced the problem to a faulty wiring harness plug/socket connection.  They didn't have one in stock so I convinced them to cut out the plug & socket and splice the wires again.  It was obvious that the plug was only for the convenience of assembling the unit during the manufacturing process.  A little more than an hour later I was headed home, once again a "happy camper".   We spent the rest of the evening packing.  I wish now that I had waited until daylight to pack the compartment that is meant to house a small generator.
Bigger Problems
We were rolling east bound through western New York the next day when we ran into a 100 mile stretch of torrential rain.  That slowed us down a bit and when we finally got through it we decided to stop for some dinner.  When I opened the door to the camper I discovered water all down the inside of the door and on the screen door.  Great!  My first thought was that the weather stripping around the door had leaked.  Then I noticed that the area above the top window wasn't wet nor was the area to the sides of the windows.  It was then pretty obvious that the seals around the  door windows had leaked... a lot!
Click on any image for a larger view.

When I opened the generator compartment to get a roll of paper towel I had placed in there the night before, I discovered that it was sopping wet!  Great!  Now I had yet another leak to deal with.  As with the cabin door, I wrongly assumed that it was the weather stripping around the compartment door that was leaking.  Wrong... I'll get to that futher down the page.

A stop at the next Wal*Mart provided weather stripping, caulk, caulking gun, steel wool & paper towel for the repairs.  I went through two rolls of paper towel and half of a roll of toilet tissue drying everything off, then scrubbed the areas to be caulked with steel wool before applying the caulk.

After fixing the cabin door window leaks I turned my attention to the compartment door and added thin closed-cell weather stripping to the existing weather stripping.  I had to make some adjustments to the latch, but when I got done it was a very tight seal.

Back on the road, we ran into more rain.  After about 50 miles or so, I decided to stop and check my repairs.  The cabin door was dry inside and I was sure the compartment door was well sealed, but when I opened the compartment it was soaked again!  This time I did what I should have done before I even left the dealership and examined the compartment seams.  It didn't take long to find the problem.  One of the "special features" of the Lance 915 is a "fishing rod compartment" that runs along the outside of the camper on the passenger side.  It's position is just inside the pickup bed rail.  It is accessible only from inside the generator compartment.  As you can see in the pictures below, the Lance folks didn't caulk the joint between the plastic "fishing rod compartment" and the generator compartment.  They didn't cut the opening square either which points to the quality of Lance workmanship.
This is the way it came from the factory.
Click on any image for a larger view.

After the gap was sealed.

  I accept part of the responsibility for this problem because I failed to notice the crack between the plastic "fishing rod" compartment and the generator compartment.  It was dark  when I packed the genertor compartment with things other than a generator.  When we buy our next pickup camper (Not a Lance!) with a slide-out, I'll be sure to check every square inch of the thing before I leave the dealership.

After caulking the leaks, I thought our troubles were behind us.  Wrong.  I wasn't thinking deeply enough or something.
The Biggest Problem... so far.
While in North Carolina for the birth of our first grandson, I decided to wash the camper.  Imagine my surprise when the paint started coming off!  When I got my glasses on and took a closer look, I found that the paint was coming off because that's all that was left in those spots.  The aluminum had corroded from the inside out leaving only the paint.  Great!  What wasn't obvious to me in the fall of 2006 was obvious to me now in February of 2009.  Water had been trapped inside the wall of the camper from the compartment leak.

It is March in Michigan now, so pretty soon it will be warm enough for me to work on this problem.

Door corrosion will probably be next depending on how tightly the foam insulation is bonded to the panels.  Great!

By the way, I replaced all of the lag bolts that fasten the jack brackets to the camper with stainless steel lag bolts.  The originals were rusting after only a year in our possession.  Another indication of how badly Lance quality has slipped.

No Help From Lance... not even a response!
Lance hasn't answered my e-mails and my personal limit for waiting "on hold" after being shuffled through an automated answering service is one time for 15 minutes.

I know everything is out of warrantee and I don't expect any financial help or repair services from Lance.  I just want to know what to expect when I tear into the side of the camper and where I can get replacement materials for the repairs that are needed.

I guess I could drive out to see them or write a letter to the president if I can find out who he/she is.  That would probably be a waste of 41 cents, but maybe I'll give it a try just to see what happens.
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