I've been considering buying a five or six year old smaller fifth wheel and looked at two nice ones yesterday that had a spongy feel on the outside rear wall. One was a 2013 Wildcat and the other was a 2015 Cougar. Both were 30 footers with a large rear window and below the window the fiberglass exterior would flex in and out when I pushed on it. Both sides of the window and above it and the rest of the walls felt firm and looked good. They were at two different dealers and the salesman at both told me that was fairly common on these models with large rear windows. Anyone had any experience with this that can give me some advice? Thanks

I know those walls are typically of a "hung" variety, but I don't think they should be any different firmness than the side walls! I may be wrong, but I would suspect a small amount of water intrusion from the window or roof has made it spongy. Other potential issue is the wall materials have delaminated due to glue/adhesive failure. Not sure I would proceed much further without an independant inspection. Buying an rv with a leak or delamination puts your investment in jeopardy.

Thats normal for a non bonded wall. The only things holding the outer layer to the 5er are the window, perimeter trim and lights. Or whatever else penetrates the wall.

The window has probably leaked. Also check the roof especially around the corners and ladder area. Check under the slides for soft or crunchy areas when you push up. Very common at the ends. Sometimes they leak and dry out and leave raised/bumpy crunchy areas.

goducks10 wrote:Thats normal for a non bonded wall. The only things holding the outer layer to the 5er are the window, perimeter trim and lights. Or whatever else penetrates the wall.Yes, many FWs with bonded firm sidewalls, do not have the same across the back. You can press on the inside back wall, and likely feel more give, than at the sidewalls. If no sign of water intrusion around rear window, inside or out, the units mentioned should not be a problem.Jerry

Exterior rear wall feels spongy | Good Sam Community

SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Mar 29, 2019
Delam or not, it needs an independent inspection anyway. Stealers all lie to sell. Common knowledge.
newman_fulltime
Explorer II
Mar 29, 2019
Back walls are just hung there's no glueing. If you want the spongy gone its not hard to take the back off and glue it
jimmy16x
Explorer
Apr 01, 2019
Thanks for the replies. I'm going to check more units that are similar and see if most of them seem the same. No signs of leaks or water damage anywhere and it really feels like the outside fiberglass panel is just attached around the window and the outside edges which causes it to flex in and out a little near the middle.
Learjet
Explorer
Apr 02, 2019
WOW! lots of bad advice...IF it's a hung wall...ie. Wildcat that is normal. Geeze :(
tartan_camper
Explorer
Apr 02, 2019
Our former rear kitchen Copper Canyon had "flimsy" walls in the back - it was hung insulation, not foam laminated to the fiberglass wall. Our Grand Design Reflection is laminated foam all the way around. There is no wave showing on the rear wall like the Copper Canyon.
mtofell1
Explorer
Apr 05, 2019
I can tell you my 2016 Keystone Hideout's back wall feels very different than the side walls. I noticed it the first time I looked at it when it was new on the dealer's lot. There always could be damage but if the whole thing feels consistently soft across the back it's likely just the way it's built.

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Exterior rear wall feels spongy

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