NHTSA Complaint #11495180 — 2015 SHASTA AIRFLYTE

The Shasta Airflyte trailer is clad in aluminum metal sheathing called a skin. The metal skins on the doors are held by a rubber spline molding but no screws or fasteners. The trailer door needs a decent amount of force to open/close which creates some flex so the metal skin gets loose and had popped out over the spline in a couple places. I noticed it a couple months ago but shoved it back under the spline as intended, and that seemed to fix it. The spline molding seemed to be in normal working condition, there weren’t obvious signs of wear or failure, I just think it’s a bad design and inadequate manufacturing. While I was driving down the road at maybe 40-50 mph, the bottom aluminum skin on the door ripped clear off and landed on the road. That panel is roughly 24”x30”. The upper panel skin also came loose and was flapping in the wind against the trailer until I was able to make an emergency stop and remove it. This put myself and the drivers around me at risk of flying metal obstructions on the road. I did some research and this problem has happened to other Shasta Airflyte owners but no recall has been made. The door and upper panel are available for inspection. I didn’t file a police report but might make an insurance claim, so it has not yet been inspected. There was no prior warning that the skin was loose and not securely attached. I was not driving in extreme conditions.