Thursday 8/16
Call from PA GM, Bill Dewey, trailer was delivered to local dealer, Trailer Corner, with a torn
roof. The dealership brought the trailer to the plant to have the roof put back on.
Bill Dewey called the warranty director, Bill Gallagher, to explain the situation. They both
determined that the proper course of action would be to put a new roof on the trailer for the
customer. Bill Dewey did not identify the trailer specifics to Bill Gallagher at that time.
Ryan Rahimpour, Safety Defects Engineer from NHTSA, called Bill Gallagher inquiring about a
roof that had separated from the trailer. He stated that the customer had called NHTSA with a
complaint. It was determined that the trailer Ryan had called about was the same trailer that
Bill Dewey had called about in the morning.
Ryan told Bill Gallagher that the retail customer had complained that there were no screws in
the roof. Bill assured him that this was not standard practice and would investigate the issue
and respond to Ryan with a report on the trailer in question. VIN: 53BLTEB27KA043426 Model:
APCH85X26TE3
In the investigation of the trailer, multiple issues were discovered:
1. There were at least two times that the trailer was jackknifed to the point that the
front stone guard was damaged. (1a-1b) The stone guard showed damage to both
the road side and curbside of the A-frame. This type of damage occurs when the
tow vehicle’s bumper contacts the front of the trailer in either a sharp turn going
forward or when the trailer is being backed and it is maneuvered into an extreme
angle with the tow vehicle.
2. The bar locks were damaged to the point that they would not hold the rear ramp
door shut properly. (2a) This usually occurs when the load inside the trailer comes
loose and impacts the door. The customer admitted to Bill Dewey that their ATV
(2b) had, in fact, hit the rear ramp door causing the damage.
3. There is damage to the bottom trim and skin on the side of the trailer as well,
apparently from an impact. (3a)
4. The roof did peel from the front to the back approximately three quarters of the way
back. (4a)
The best practice for the roof installation would include the application of two sided butyl tape
around the top of the frame, followed by rolling the roofing aluminum over the top of the tape.
Screws are then applied around the perimeter using a six inch pattern. The top side trim is
applied and the top lip will extend over the roofing aluminum. The top side trim is attached
with screws to the side of the trailer. Self leveling roof sealant is then applied and spread to a

smooth finish using a card. When the roof is applied in this manner, there should be no issues
with normal use of the trailer.
The best practices were followed with this trailer with the exception of one step. The screws
were not applied in the prescribed six inch pattern; they were further apart at about twenty
inches. (5a) Under normal operating conditions this should have been adequate to maintain
the roof, but with the abuse the trailer had experienced, additional stresses were placed on the
entire structure of the trailer that could have contributed to the separation of the roof.
A new roof has been applied to the trailer using the best practice. Since there was a safety
concern due to the damaged bar locks on the ramp door, both bar locks were replaced. The
customer picked his trailer up from the manufacturing plant on Monday 8/20/2018 and was
satisfied with the repairs.
After investigating warranty claims for the last year, LOOK Trailers has had two roofs separate
to the same extent as this trailer. The procedures for attaching the roof have been reviewed
and as long as the best practices procedure is followed there should be no issues with the roofs
due to application. Modifications or abuse to the trailers are out of the control of the
manufacturer and can contribute to roof separation even when the best practices procedures
are followed. LOOK trailers will continue to monitor the warranty claims and submit reports to
NHTSA as we have in the past.

Photo Appendix:
1a.

1b.

2a.

2b.

3a.

4a.

5a.