Gel Coat Cracking

My 2018 Cougar has some delamination going on with the fully fiberglass cap. Looks like they screwed up the resin mix somehow. There are raised areas or bumps in a few places, very hard to press them down.

They had the nerve to say it could be due to water damage from a bad roof seal !

The darn cap is 100% fiberglass, you could throw it in a lake for a month without hurting it.

I'm trying to get a completely new cap from Keystone, my fear is, sure they can grind down the blisters and do a good job repainting it but I'll guarantee you more bumps will appear later on down the road. And we will be playing wack-a-mole for the life of the camper.

Reminds me of the time I had an old sailboat, it had blisters on the bottom of the hull. I spent 3 weekends with and angle grinder eliminating them. Then had to lay another layer of fiberglass cloth with a barrier coat, fun times.

Ron W.

When I had cracks like that on my last TT it was the front cap flex (caving in) from the wind pressure.

is this a full body paint that the cracks are on?

Charlie D. wrote:
is this a full body paint that the cracks are on?

It's on the nose piece of my 5th wheel just below the graphics where the arrow is in this photo. I don't know what you mean by full body paint. The protruding bump is in the nose piece itself and the cracks are are in the Gel Coat

I have a few hairline cracks in the front gelcoat around the clearance lights, and a little in one spot where the cap meets the roof. It was like this when purchased new 8/12. I am not worried about mine, and it hasn't worsened at all over the years.

If you have a protruding bump in the cap, where cracks are, there could be an issue underneath. In any case, I'd bring to dealers attention, and contact manufacturer myself, to see what they have to say.

Jerry

MFL wrote:
I have a few hairline cracks in the front gelcoat around the clearance lights, and a little in one spot where the cap meets the roof. It was like this when purchased new 8/12. I am not worried about mine, and it hasn't worsened at all over the years.

If you have a protruding bump in the cap, where cracks are, there could be an issue underneath. In any case, I'd bring to dealers attention, and contact manufacturer myself, to see what they have to say.

Jerry

The dealer said repair would be covered under warranty so I'm going to have them do whatever they think is necessary. There are actually two areas where I have found spider cracks and both have the protruding bumps. After our Labor Day camping trip I'll be making an appointment. I'm hoping the bumps turn out to be nothing to worry about.

have some one look at the trailer going down the road from the back seat and see if the front cap is flexing...I see everyone decided to ignore my actual experience with this type of problem. :(

I would winterize before taking to the dealer. No telling how long they will have it. Better safe than sorry. Good luck with the repair.