exterior wall bubble

I have a 30lsbs and recently found a bubble or buldge in the slide out between the two fridge vents. I see no evidence of a water leak so I beleive the cause to be the heat and humidity from the fridge. Anyone else seen this. I am trying to have Mr. Batts assist me in having this issue resolved but he wants me to bring it 700 miles to have it repaired.

First of all,

I had a bubble in my back sidewall and I could also not find any evidence of where the water was getting in there. Is your fridge drain coming out the lower vent like it is supposed to? Maybe it is getting dampness on the inside of the wall like you suggested??

Sounds like the dreaded delamination that others, me included, have experienced. The only sure fix is to replace the entire side, or it just continues to spread. My bubble started out small and just continued to spread with the summer heat, as the glues let go I assume. Mine was out of warranty, but FR stepped up to the plate. I had to pay a transporter to haul my rig to Indiana, but it was worth it in the long run. FR replace both sides and the front under the cap. They also replaced all the access doors and anything else that was attached to the sides that were affected. My camper looked like brand new when I recieved it back this winter. I will admit it was kind of a pain in the arse, but is was better than the alternative and that was a camper that had major issues. Drop me a message if you have any other questions.

Welcome to the forum. What year is your camper?

thanks for the nice welcome everyone. My unit is a 2009 wildcat 30lsbs looks like a new unit (it is) but it is a shame to have a bubble in between the fridge vents. Condensation hose is sticking out of the lower vent as it should. Love the camper and layout . How much do you think it would cost to have a transporter deliver the unit? I dont think that should have to be an option. Extended warranty does not mean anything and the dealer is out of business.
Looks like I just might have to get out of rving or buy a montana and get the red carpet treatment.

We thought we had a bubble. FR's short screw problem got us. Anyway my service manager said the same thing. If it is a bubble it cheaper in the long run to buy a new trailer if no warranty will cover it.

maestro, to the forum. Nice to have you here. Sorry about the bulge. We hope you find the answer and a not-too-expensive solution.

Carpe Diem,

Ours is a 2007 also, and we've had a couple minor delamination areas. We think we have them fixed (beyond getting worse). The bulge in one area and a slight rippling in another are still there. It's disturbing to read that it will continue to spread. If ours does, then it might have to be "bye, bye, Wildcat."

Tater

The floor plan on mine can be found on no other trailer. This makes no other trailer exceptable so far. The only floor plan close is a Bus. There was a Bus that was great but it was discontinued. So close as close we get. Anyway if the place the dealer fixed does go south it looks like hotel rooms for us.

Scruffy,
If FR hadn't stepped up to the plate, I was going to try your fix, or trade it in and take the hit. Way to expensive to have it replaced on my own. Talked to a fiberglass repair shop and they didn't have an answer, because it isn't the same. These campers are made with a siding called filon. It is the outer layer that lets loose when it delaminates.....usually it just keeps spreading. If it would have been a small area, say near a window or an opening, I would have tried to fix it myself by attempting to squeeze glue into the separation and clamping it together. In my case all three sides started out as small blisters and eventually grew into larger pockets. FR's fix was to completely replace all three sides....it looks like brand new now.

As far as transport costs it varied. My dealer used his private transport to get mine from South Dakota to Indiana....about 650 miles one way. He charged me $1100 round trip, which was a favor, because most transporters wanted between $900 and $1000 one way. If my dealer wouldn't have helped me out, I was going to pay for one way transportation and drive the other leg myself with a little sight seeing on the way. In my case it all worked out! If you find a transporter to help you out, make sure they are bonded and insured. Good luck!

So they do not use fiberglass. Never heard of filon. Great to see U got some help.

Yes it is fiberglass, but not in your traditional sense, say like a boat with a gel coat. Therefore most body shops won't work on it, because they could never get the patch to match....at least that is what I was told. Easiest fix is to replace the whole sheet of siding.

I am surprised. Interesting. About 4 years ago some idiot ran a tree limb down the side of his trailer. Nice big gash. They patched it and you could not tell where the 5 foot long stupid stunt was done.

I have found a a 1 foot bubble under the window onone of our slides. My dealer is suppose to be getting in contact with Forrest River about this . I hope this is not going to start being an on going problem . I have the double pane windows and hope this is not the cause . Jim

jim&dianne
fortunately you are not located far from the factory so you should not have an issue getting your rv repaired. Rod Batts is the man to speak to as he is trying to help me in my delamination dilemma.
Good luck and hope all turns out fine for you.

Good luck trying to get your delamination issue fixed if it is out of warranty. I went round and round with FR to no avail. I will never buy another one that's for sure. They know its a manufacturer defect but will not do anything about it.

I agree with you. I have spoken to mr. batts and he has agreed to assist me if I get a couple of estimates locally but i dont know what he means by assist. I think at this point I will have it repaired and just sell it and get out of camping. It is a shame because we do enjoy it most of the time but there is usually an issue that pops up.

That not good for the rep.

update on the delamination delema: I recieved an estimate for the repairs of the exterior wall at a local repair shop for $1,880 not counting the cost of decals. I emailed mr. Batts the estimate and his reply was that they would be happy to assist me in paying half of the bill and supply the needed decals. I was not happy with his reply but not surprised either. I have coctacted the insurance company now which is investigating the claim. They are waiting on the adjusters opinion on if it is a defect or a water leak caused by something else.

Unfortunately I don't have anything better to tell you. FR replaced the superslide side entire skin of my 08 32Qbbs in early 2010. I was only out the time and fuel to take it to Elkhart. The worse is the other side is doing the same thing almost in the same location just below the window up front on the entry side. Already contacted Rod batts and he has asked for pics. After reading all the comments after getting it fixed it sounds as if i should look for a different RV.

Just noticed mine is delaminated on the back drivers side of the cat. The last foot of the sidewall from the top to the bottom.

That's one of the places where we have delamination.... ours wasn't a foot wide or go down to the bottom, though. We're hoping Scruffy fixed it enough to keep it from getting any worse. The water that drips from the A/C seems to go right to that corner, so in addition to pulling the skin out a bit and gluing and clamping, he also put a lot of caulk on that corner of the roof. There are some pictures in the picasa photo album in our signature - in the section called Wildcat Repairs, if you'd like to look.

Tater