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coolmom42's avatar
coolmom42
Explorer II
Jun 10, 2018

Bulging siding when towing in crosswind?

Today we were towing through Wyoming with a significant cross wind (imagine that.:R) My travel partner was driving, and noticed in the side mirror, that a section of the metal siding strip was bulging. He pulled over, and it went back flat when we stopped.

Upon inspection, you can tell that a couple of sections of the siding have been flexed out. They are not quite perfectly flat like the rest of the siding.

This is 2 fairly short sections of siding, between the front end of the trailer and a side window.

I don't know if the crosswind had anything to do with it, but that really doesn't matter. It's never happened before, and none of the rest of the siding appears to have been flexed out. The rest of it is perfectly flat.

What is the best remedy for this?

We were thinking of sticking it back down with some Dicor or some type of adhesive. Don't know if that is the best thing to do or not. We are in the middle of a 4 week trip, so options are limited.
  • There are some videos on YouTube that should help you. I guess that you have aluminum siding and some sections are not attached properly. Remove those panels and do it right as shown on the videos, it is not as bad as you might fear.
  • All this time we thought the 65 mph max speed rating was for the tires . :S :B
  • So we are at a KOA in Hardin, MT. Manager suggested 2 options in Billings. We are going to one of them at opening time tomorrow morning. He said the siding strips are stapled on and have pulled out. He plans to re-attach them quickly with some grommeted screws like used for metal roofing. It won't be perfect, but won't look too bad, and will keep the siding on the RV! We will add caulk around the screw penetrations.

    I really suspect the crosswind had something to do with it, since this has never been a problem before.
  • coolmom42 wrote:
    So we are at a KOA in Hardin, MT. Manager suggested 2 options in Billings. We are going to one of them at opening time tomorrow morning. He said the siding strips are stapled on and have pulled out. He plans to re-attach them quickly with some grommeted screws like used for metal roofing. It won't be perfect, but won't look too bad, and will keep the siding on the RV! We will add caulk around the screw penetrations.

    I really suspect the crosswind had something to do with it, since this has never been a problem before.


    What a Redneck fix! I would pull off the offending panels and staple it right, but that's just me. A mobile repair service might be able to come to the campground and do the job correctly.
  • You may have a water leak and water damage. That is what happened to me between the front and window. After a year of the bulge, it bulged more and came apart from the front. I used duct tape for that summer, and sold after labor day.