Gel Coat Cracking

[RobWNY]

On my new 5th wheel, I have an area on the nose where there are spider cracks. There is also a slight bump where the cracks are. Obviously when the manufacturer installed the nose, it came in contact with something from the back side causing this issue. You can't feel the cracks when running your fingers over them but I worry about them becoming larger as stress occurs while rolling down the road. Is this something I should get repaired under the warranty or is it cosmetic and nothing to really worry about. You can't even see the cracks from the ground. I only discovered them when I was waxing the nose. My main concerns are the cracks expanding or enlarging as stated earlier and water infiltration in the future.

[shadows4]

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.

[Learjet]

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. 😞

[RobWNY]

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.

[MFL]

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

[RobWNY]

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

[Charlie_D_]

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

[Learjet]

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

[rjsurfer]

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.

[RobWNY]

ACZL wrote:
Rob,

I think your on the right path w/ the dealer and having them look at it after LD w/e. For all tense and purposes, camping season is winding down and scheduling a date to bring "her" in is a good idea. In doing so, they can see what the problem is, contact the mfr and if possible get fixed ASAP cuz I'm sure you want to get into storage by end of Oct. One fly in the ointment tho is if you have any trips planned between LD w/e and end of Oct. But by all means, get this addressed while it's still under warranty.

Fortunately this year the LD trip is our last of the season. Normally we do a couple trips after LD but we decided not to this year because of other commitments so in that regard this works out good.

[ford_truck_guy]

Get it looked at, documented, and fixed while under warranty.... do not wait

[ACZL]

Rob,

I think your on the right path w/ the dealer and having them look at it after LD w/e. For all tense and purposes, camping season is winding down and scheduling a date to bring "her" in is a good idea. In doing so, they can see what the problem is, contact the mfr and if possible get fixed ASAP cuz I'm sure you want to get into storage by end of Oct. One fly in the ointment tho is if you have any trips planned between LD w/e and end of Oct. But by all means, get this addressed while it's still under warranty.

[Lwiddis]

Cosmetic or not, get it repaired.

[RobWNY]

I talked with the dealer. Because I have a Labor Day weekend camping trip planned, they want me to call them to set up an appointment date once I return home.

[laknox]

downtheroad wrote:
These, "cracks," may be caused by a frame problem...flexing or even a faulty weld....hopefully not.

X2! OP's rig needs to be looked at =under= the cap to see if the "bump" is the cap resting on something it's not supposed to or if something's broken loose underneath. If =that's= not addressed, the surface repair won't hold and the cracks will just reappear.

Lyle