Experience needed: New RV delam bubble on rear wall

[Cajunwoodsman]

First time RV’er. Purchased a new TT 7 days ago. No rain since purchase. Didn’t use water systems. Noticed a 2.5 x 5 inch oval bubble on the left side of the Azdel rear panel day 6 of Ownership. Bubble height increases and decreases depending on sun exposure. The bubble can be pushed in with one finger and returns to its oval shape.

1. Is this normal?
2. What is the typical repair that should be expected from the dealer?
3. Bubble is located behind the shower wall. What else should I be in the lookout for?

[drsteve]

SoundGuy wrote:

SoundGuy wrote:
If you're the original owner then of course this will be covered under the manufacturer warranty and as I've already mentioned proper repair is replacement of the failed wall with a new one shipped from the manufacturer.

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Perhaps the best, but I do not see this happening !

Also "marrying that new back wall to the side walls, floor and roof might actually be worse.

Well I guess this needs repeating for the Doubting Thomases of the group :S - my own Coachmen dealer handles this repair with no issues at all, the new wall once installed is no different than a factory build. Not a big deal at all. :B

All dealers are not created equal. The dealer I purchased my Coachmen from has a large, well stocked service department, yet they barely managed to install an awning topper, among other failures. I would *never* trust those guys to do a major structural rebuild on my TT.

[SoundGuy]

SoundGuy wrote:
If you're the original owner then of course this will be covered under the manufacturer warranty and as I've already mentioned proper repair is replacement of the failed wall with a new one shipped from the manufacturer.

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Perhaps the best, but I do not see this happening !

Also "marrying that new back wall to the side walls, floor and roof might actually be worse.

Well I guess this needs repeating for the Doubting Thomases of the group :S - my own Coachmen dealer handles this repair with no issues at all, the new wall once installed is no different than a factory build. Not a big deal at all. :B

[theoldwizard1]

SoundGuy wrote:

If you're the original owner then of course this will be covered under the manufacturer warranty and as I've already mentioned proper repair is replacement of the failed wall with a new one shipped from the manufacturer.

Perhaps the best, but I do not see this happening !

Also "marrying that new back wall to the side walls, floor and roof might actually be worse.

[theoldwizard1]

SoundGuy wrote:

I hate to be the bearer of this news but your new Coachmen Freedom Express only uses Azdel on the side walls and none on the rear at all. If you were told otherwise you were misled.

Here are a couple of pics I took myself at my own Coachmen dealer of Freedom Express which was in the shop for a new rear wall ... different model than yours, earlier model year, but your wall won't be any different - no Azdel.

So what was the "root cause" ? Roof leak ? Inadequate glue wet out ?

Did you ask about paying the "extra" to upgrade to Azdel ? Waht the "skin" Filon or ... ?

[theoldwizard1]

Ralph Cramden wrote:
You don't mention the brand. When most claim "Azdel" what they don't bother to mention is where they used Azdel. Hardly any use it everywhere. It's a lot of marketing hype. You also said "rear wall". On a lot of trailers the rear wall is not a laminated assembly like the sidewalls but simply a layer of filon hung on a substrate.

Key words here are that the "skin" (possibly Filon ?) has delaminated from the "substrate" (Azdel ?, luan ?) The failure is likely not because of the substrate.

Ralph Cramden wrote:
If it is delam on a new rig the only true fix is having it returned to the factory for wall replacement. Anything else is a band aid fix and I for one would not accept it on a new rig.

Concur ! The sad news is, this will likely take weeks before you get your unit back from the factory !

[Ralph_Cramden]

SoundGuy wrote:

Ralph Cramden wrote:
If it is delam on a new rig the only true fix is having it returned to the factory for wall replacement. Anything else is a band aid fix and I for one would not accept it on a new rig.

No need for this trailer to go back to Coachmen, any authorized dealer can replace the wall, just as the pics I've posted illustrate. To answer the OP, correct repair is replacement of the entire wall as a unit ... sounds like a big deal but really isn't for a qualified tech.

Qualified tech? At most of the dealers around here the techs are lucky if they know what end of a screwdriver is the business end, and the dealers have a 24/365 help wanted shingle out. On a rig a few months old there is no way I'd let some hack dealer replace anything like that. Over on the brand specific boards returning units to the factory for such repairs is fairly common.

[Cajunwoodsman]

Thread title changed. Thanks to all for providing your input.

[SoundGuy]

Cajunwoodsman wrote:
Soundguy, thanks for the great info and pics. I wasn’t mislead, just not completely informed. A thread and discussion like this may help someone in the future.

Since the rear wall on your new Coachmen Freedom Express 231RBDS is not Azdel you might want to change your thread title - to perhaps help someone in the future. 😉

[SoundGuy]

Cajunwoodsman wrote:
It was sold as a new not used 2018 TT from the dealer. RV was delivered to dealer Jan 2018 and purchased by me 8 days ago.

Completely expect the manufacturer warranty to cover it. But don’t know what to expect in terms of type of repair and time of repair.

If you're the original owner then of course this will be covered under the manufacturer warranty and as I've already mentioned proper repair is replacement of the failed wall with a new one shipped from the manufacturer. Once the dealer's service manager inspects the unit and agrees the wall has failed the next step is for him to send a warranty request for repair, including pics, to Coachmen. Once approved, any wait will be for the replacement wall to be ordered, processed, and shipped from Coachmen to the dealer. In the meantime go enjoy the camper and just bring it in when the dealer's service manager says he needs the trailer for repair. Actual repair can be done in a few hours - my own dealer only keeps the trailer in the shop overnight to allow any adhesive to fully set before pulling the finished unit out of the shop. It's just not that big of a deal.

[SoundGuy]

Ralph Cramden wrote:
If it is delam on a new rig the only true fix is having it returned to the factory for wall replacement. Anything else is a band aid fix and I for one would not accept it on a new rig.

No need for this trailer to go back to Coachmen, any authorized dealer can replace the wall, just as the pics I've posted illustrate. To answer the OP, correct repair is replacement of the entire wall as a unit ... sounds like a big deal but really isn't for a qualified tech.

[Cajunwoodsman]

Soundguy, thanks for the great info and pics. I wasn’t mislead, just not completely informed. A thread and discussion like this may help someone in the future.

[SoundGuy]

Cajunwoodsman wrote:
I tried not to post the brand but didn’t realize it made a difference. This new TT is a 2018 Coachmen Freedom Express 231RBDS.

I hate to be the bearer of this news but your new Coachmen Freedom Express only uses Azdel on the side walls and none on the rear at all. If you were told otherwise you were misled.

Here are a couple of pics I took myself at my own Coachmen dealer of Freedom Express which was in the shop for a new rear wall ... different model than yours, earlier model year, but your wall won't be any different - no Azdel.

[Cajunwoodsman]

Bobndot, thanks for the response. Very thorough. You’re right, it’s not ideal, but I hope the manufacturer will make it right. I did email the manufacturer service rep the same day I notified the dealer as a matter of record. No response yet, but hopeful and will call if 72 hours goes by without a response.

Sure, having to wait for repair is disheartening, but we saved for 3 years while serving overseas for this layout and put faith in this brand. Now back in the states, sure we’d hope to spend a couple of weeks this summer seeing some cool sites, but waiting a little longer for something we’d like to keep for the long haul is not always a bad thing.

[Cajunwoodsman]

I tried not to post the brand but didn’t realize it made a difference. This new TT is a 2018 Coachmen Freedom Express 231RBDS. The rear wall is the aft end of the rig and not a sidewall. The aft wall does not appear to have waves when looking at an angle, only the bubble. The shower is the only item opposite the wall of the bubble. I’d be grateful to know if the aft wall of this coach is not made with the same material as the sidewalls for this brand/model.