Haulmark Review
After two years of ownership I've noticed a few unsettling defects with my trailer. The biggest problems are the cracks in the nose piece. The exterior of the trailer is mostly sheet metal, but the curved front wall is connected to the curved roof with a rounded plastic nose piece. After approximately 18 months the front passenger's side corner of the nose cracked. About 6 months later the front driver's side corner cracked.
The picture above shows the passenger's side crack from inside the trailer.
The pictures above show the passenger's side and driver's side cracks from the outside. Both cracks were simply covered over with a bead of black silicon caulk. So far the caulk has held with no leaks.
Here's the top center of the nose piece. Notice all the wrinkles. The nose does not fit well with the roof and is forced into shape with fasteners. I would theorize that this stress caused the cracks. Liberal quantities of caulk substitute precision fit and finish. After reading the fine print in the warranty I really couldn't tell if this defect would be covered or not. In any event, tearing the front of the trailer apart to replace the nose seemed like more trouble than it's worth. Nevertheless, I did contact the manufacture about this problem just as an FYI, but never heard back from them.
Here's a shot looking down the passenger's side of the roof from front to back. Again the uneven seams are concealed with gobs of caulk.
Also the entire perimeter drip edge needs to be re-caulked. When I open up the trailer it often feels humid inside. However, I haven't found any water stains that would indicate a substantial leak. It would appear that most of the exterior pieces are overlapped to shed water even in the face of failing caulk and imperfect seems.
Another problem I had was an intermittent clearance light. The light fixtures require a solid mechanical connection to the trailer to complete the electrical circuit. I found that one of the light fixture mounting screws was over tightened and stripped. Clearly these trailers are assembled with great haste and little regard to quality control. I simply replaced the fastener with a fatter screw.
I don't want to be unreasonable in my evaluation. I did buy this trailer with the understanding that it was one of the least expensive brands on the market. Weather and vibration understandably take their toll on caulk. Minor electrical problems are no big deal. The trailer has been mechanically sound (although I've only used it very lightly). The cracked nose piece is really the only defect that causes me to question my purchase.
Update: February 2008, about 30 months after purchase...
Shown above is crack number three. This one is right down the middle of the nose. Okay, now I'm getting pissed!
Another update...
I took another crack at Haulmark and they sent me a new nose. Apparently there is a known problem with the plastic composition from around the 2004 model year and the warranty on the piece was extended. The new nose (apparently made from better plastic) came complete with pre-installed, pre-wired clearance lights as well as a bag of hardware and a tube of caulk. There were no instructions. The installation may be time consuming. My caulk repairs on the old nose are holding up and I've got a lot on my "to do" list. Don't know when I'll get around to this project.