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riven1950's avatar
riven1950
Explorer
Nov 12, 2014

Opinions on this picture please



Ok, bought this 2007 Aerolite in 2/13. The picture, if you can tell, shows some bubbling / air pockets on the front of the camper. This is the big one now, one smaller on other side of window. There is no evidence of soft wood in the roof. No evidence of moisture on the inside ceiling or walls. It has been like this to some degree since I bought it. Depending on the weather / sun / heat it comes and goes. Seems to move around a bit but in the same general area. The window and all side and top trim is sealed tight.

Balance of walls on other three sides show no evidence of this issue. At first I was sure moisture was getting in. Now I am thinking maybe the fiberglass ( I guess that is what the skin is ) was not properly glued to the walls in that area. Wondering if anyone has seen anything like this?

Getting ready for a trip and I plan on emptying the storage bins and checking the front walls inside the storage areas for evidence of moisture.

I used the self leveling caulk to re seal the entire roof the first year and rechecked again this year. No leaks. There were some places with small cracks starting but no sign of softness that I could tell.

Opinions / advice please.

10 Replies

  • I have a similar "pattern" on the front of a 2007 terry dakota, but it is lower than the front window by about 8-12 inches and is about 6-8 in diameter. I see the bulge only in the warmth of the sun of mid summer. I am thinking mine came about from a leak in the front window but the water "trickled" down thru a joint in the substrate to the position where it could "pool" and affect the gluing. I am tempted to drill a small hole in the bubble and inject some glue and seal with sealant there after (have already done some resealing along the base of the window even though nothing was obvious (leak/hole)).

    I suspect both our problems are caused by water being forced into the lower window seal during highway travel. :-(
  • I had a Sidekick that did the very same thing. It was parked in a pole barn with the front towards the sun. I think the glue let go, there was no way water could even get to it
  • Nice day today so I cleaned out the storage areas. Front wall inside is sealed but no evidence of water damage. The bubble was almost smooth this am without sun on it. Can't see the window leaking as the metal privacy cover / shade thing is down 99% of time. Think it is delamination on that wall, maybe because it is a curved wall and gets a lot of sun. May take the window out next spring and investigate.
  • I would definitely agree with the delamination. I had it on my trailer that I just traded off and there was never any leaks. It's actually fairly common in travel trailers.
  • I would remove that fornt window to get a true look at the material under it.
    It's possible it's flexing from some structural issue or even delam from heat if the trailer has seen a lot of sun on the front of it in a hot climate.
    Hopefully you wont find any rot during your inspection.
  • Tvov's avatar
    Tvov
    Explorer II
    My front window leaked, and I had delamination similar to yours, except it was the whole panel under the window. I don't know if this is your problem, but what happened to me was:

    The leak was very difficult to figure out. The window was "fully sealed", from what myself and an experienced RV repair guy could see. What was happening was water was actually running up the outside of the bottom window seal (maybe 1/2 inch), down the window, under the window, up the inside of the inside window seal, then down the seal, under the inner trim, and then to in between the front panels to then delaminate the panels. The only reason I figured it out was because I happened to be looking at the base of the window when I noticed an air bubble make the trip under the seals. There ended up being gallons of water in between the front panels that must have accumulated over the winter.

    The RV repair guy took off the front trim and pulled up the front panel, let things dry in his shop, then glued it all back together and put everything back in place. Yes, it was expensive, and fortunately I had insurance on the TT that paid for it.

    I asked the repair guy about just removing the front window (we don't use anyways), but he didn't want to get into that project.

    Don't know if any of this helps you figure out what is going on, but good luck!
  • One good way to inspect for water leaks us to perform a pressurized leak test.
  • I would remove that front window and reseal it from the inside of the window frame.

    I found the factory had misplaced the sealing tape on the front window of our Rockwood when it was built. If I had not removed the window, i would never have found the cause of the leak.

    Removing the window is not a hard job, you should have two people to do it, one on the inside and one to catch it on the outside.

    Reseal with butyl rubber sealing tape.

    John U
  • Delam for sure....but might not be from a leak. Could also be a glue failure from the bonding process.
  • Classic delamination. I would check & reseal around that front window. Chances are at this point if there is no more water penetration it may not get any worse. Repair would be costly so I would keep things sealed up and if it doesn't get any worse I wouldn't worry about it.