Paint checking - What years

I can tell you what I was told. It is an issue with the walls used on coaches from about 2000 to 2008. The walls used fiberglass bonded to plywood. The bonding is failing and it happens more quickly on dark surfaces because they get hotter. The problem is that it can lift the clear coat off - this is what was happening in the dark paint areas of my coach. If the clear coat was not lifting, it would not be a big deal. I talked to a number of top paint shops. Some have sanded down the areas and repainted and have had mixed results. Sometimes the paint holds and sometimes the checking comes back. Since it is expensive to sand down the walls and repaint, it is not a good solution if there is no guarantee it will work. When I told the paint shops that Newmar will replace the sidewalls at a reduced cost (and repaint the coach) they strongly recommended that I take them up on it. I also talked to other people that have had the sidewalls replaced by Newmar and they were very happy with the work. My coach is currently at Newmar having the work done.

If the coach was kept in covered storage since it was built, the problem may never arise. I purchased the coach 3 years ago and it had been kept outside until I purchased it. I kept it in a garage but the basic damage must have been done and it still got worse when I owned it.

I am happy about having to have this done? Absolutely not. I wish I would have known that the checking would get worse and cause the clear coat to lift. I would have negotiated a cheaper price. However, we cannot replace the coach for the money we are spending to get the sidewalls replaced. We are also having other work done while the walls are off.