RV Exterior/Interior Protection - ECP Platinum Ultimate Plus - Worth the Price?

[mmazur7973]

Hello all, about to enter the world of 5th wheel ownership

Wondering if anyone has any thoughts about buying a warranty coverage against the exterior (weather fading, tree sap, bugs, UV damage, etc.) and interior (Rips, tears, punctures, beverage stains, fading, discolorations, etc.)

Dealer has offered me a deal, but aside from the cost - more importantly does it work? 5 yrs. is a long time to help protect against the elements (human and otherwise)

Does it void any manufacture warranties?

Would also be interested to hear from a Grand Design employee on why they don't make this product part of the trailer build - assuming that the product works?

[GaryBro]

I had it done to mine at a cost of about $2k. At the time, I couldn't see waxing the trailer or putting some other protectant on it, so I caved in. Figured if it did protect a little, that would be good. We've had it for 7 months now and it washes easily, but bugs do NOT just rinse off like they told me. Heck, I have a hard time getting them off with a soft car wash brush (a dish scrubber does work). It will be interesting to see how it cleans up in another six months. Will not do this again should we ever get another camper (really love our 374TH)

[Aridon]

High profit, low value.

[Paul & Deb]

I don't believe it's worth a thing. I purchased it on my last 5th wheel and when, after 1 year, the gray front cap faded they basically tried to wax it and of course that lasted about one wash it was back and they said tough luck.

[GENESIS]

Probably should be a separate thread, but there's something that us owners need to understand about the exterior of our RV's.

Until I went through the factory's laminating division, I assumed that the fiberglass exterior skin was like your typical fiberglass boat - i.e. the exterior color of the RV (with the exception of units that are painted) was a gelcoat. NOT SO! What you are looking at is a thin sheet of fiberglass that has the color impregnated into it. Why is that important? Because, unlike a boats' gelcoat, the RV's skin color is relatively thin. A typical boat's gelcoat is probably 5 times the thickness of our RV's outer fiberglass skin and you have to penetrate the gelcoat on a boat in order to get to the first layer of fiberglass.

So why is that a big deal? To me it's a very big deal because I cannot treat the exterior of my RV like I have on gelcoated fiberglass boats. On a boat, it's no big deal to use a machine to cut, polish and buff the gelcoat. On my RV, I'd be very leery of doing that for fear of burning thru the fiberglass. And though I have no proof, I suspect that it's because of this difference in manufacturing, that typical boat/marine products don't respond as well on our RV's as on boats.

Tom

[mmazur7973]

thank you all for the feedback

[kakukou]

I have gone through a hard time in selecting proper cleaning tools. Some friends told me a dish scrubber can be workable. I want to have more different tools. Any other advice?

[TangleMan]

In my opinion the best thing to use for removing bugs from the front cap is a soft cloth and very warm water. I owned airplanes for many years and pilots are very fussy about cleaning the bugs off their plexiglas canopies. Without warm water the hard shell components on bugs tend to scratch the plastic when they're rubbed around. I always carrried a thermos of warm water especially for removing bug bodies. Once the bugs are removed you can polish things up with whatever cleaner or wax you prefer.

[jniemczycki]

Hello,

I am just a lowly detailer from Detroit that has been doing many many RV's over the years.... We have developed a Ceramic Carbide based coating that is remarkably strong and lasts a very long time. Also this product is backed by a very strong warranty. No longer are the days of screw you leave. THIS IS A REAL WARRANTY. I am not saying that the bugs will just rinse off because we all know thats crap. however with a mild All Purpose Cleaner and a wash they wash right away leaving you an RV with an as new shine for years to come. Its been a long 6 years creating this and we are planning on putting this product into as many Rv dealers as we can because the your investment deserves great protection.


I understand that the investment in a new RV is quite high so we created this just to protect just that. This isn't some crap glass coat or short time wax. this is a strong long lasting product that with simple washing will stay for years. it is a 5 year warranty product that is renewable..... so in 5 years we expect the product to perform on a high enough level that you will be excited to get a reload to protect for the next 5.

any questions please feel free to ask

Joe The Detailer

[fldiver]

Its a rip-off with cars, BMW offered a similar exterior / interior surface protection package at a price that was simply pathetic to consider for a split second so when something similar was offered to us to protect the surfaces of our new RV we simply passed. I have a nice tall / very safe step ladder and a big front drive way to park the RV for its yearly cleaning and waxing and 3M Scotch Guard fabric spray is plentiful at the neighborhood Home Depot.