Leaks Showing Now?

[masoncgy]

I guess I just need some help understanding this whole issue. We bought our 5th wheel last fall and while it's not new (1997 Terry 25-5D) we did view and inspect it carefully (or so we thought) 3 times before handing over the cash.

Bought it in September last year. While there were a couple of very tiny cracks in the caulking on a couple of the seams, we pushed and pressed the walls and ceiling everywhere looking for soft spots, ripples, etc. Didn't see any real visible signs of water damage, so we went ahead feeling it was solid and a good deal.

Fast forward to today. I had to go in there to get something for my wife and noticed ripples in the wall paper in 3 different corners of the trailer... one area in the back right corner about half way up the wall and then both corners of the slide out, same deal, about half way up.

So is this showing now because it's been very dry weather-wise the last month or so? It definitely wasn't showing before, we just had it out camping about 3 weeks ago and none of that was visible.

Not happy, but not much I can do other than to go around again looking for any cracks/etc and then beginning the process of repairing the panels.

[masoncgy]

I don't think we used the A/C at all that trip, wasn't that hot outside during the day and very cool evenings.

Just need to make sense of how those ripples suddenly appeared within a 3 week period. Only thing I can think of is that it has been leaking/damp inside those areas for awhile and the recent dry weather has dried out the trailer.

I did re-caulk the couple of seams that had the cracks as soon as I got it too... and that is in good shape.

[popeyemth]

Perhaps the AC condensate water got into the ceiling and down the walls?

[masoncgy]

I just don't understand how the ripples showed up so quickly in the wall panels/paper. We had it out 3 weeks ago and it was fine... and it hasn't rained around here much in a long time. I assume it's been damp in the walls since before I bought it and it's dried out now to the point the material has shrunk?

[popeyemth]

On a camper that age I'd clean/scrape as much caulk as I could ALL OVER especially the roof and reseal everything with Dicor brand caulk.
You have to accept that caulk fails and get into a routine of inspecting every inch at least every year or as you can see things go downhill fast.
Good Luck, Mike

[newman_fulltime]

Relax if small ripples its just from trailer flex wood walls they dry and move very common in those