Looking at this TT....think it's got delamination. HELP!

[imq707s]

I found a really nice 2011 Crossroads Zinger 19RDS for sale locally. I had another post on here showing a picture of it and someone posted that it looks like the front might have some delamination issues. I called the owner and asked them about it, and they said that yes....it's a little puffy in the front and you feel that it's not flat in a few spots. The rest of the trailer looks perfect, but that part really worries me.

Is this something I could fix, if I got the trailer cheap enough? For only being 5 years old....it really makes me doubt the quality of TT's in general. I'm a do-it-yourself kind of guy....should I buy this trailer cheap and fix it myself....or just run like crazy?

Right now I can get it for $7,500...but I haven't really pressed the delamination issue yet...but I'm going to.

Any advice would be a huge help.








This is the one I'm getting ready to buy......

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb241/iqraceworks/WP_20160605_10_15_13_Pro_zpsu67liswr.jpg

[jarata1]

its your money

[downtheroad]

Agree with BarneyS above.
VERY unusual design. Over the years we have looked at many thousands of trailers coast to coast in campgrounds...never seen a "roof wrapped" front cap.

Rocks, road smudge, oil, tar, bugs on a rubber front cap....I'm not thinking this is a good set up.

But, good luck with it.

[BarneyS]

I wonder how that rubber on the front wall would hold up driving down the freeway with stones and whatever hitting it at speed. The rubber sheeting used on the roofs is very thin and can be punctured easily. I would not want a trailer with a rubber roof material on the front of it.
Barney

[westend]

How did the clearance lights look, weep holes pointed down, nice and sealed?

[campincandice]

I suspect the front is a hung wall, not laminated. Lots of trailers are made that way, and they may get a little wavy over time. To your point - it was never glued in the first place.

[imq707s]

Yes, I got up on the roof. No bubbling up on top....nice and smooth.

[budwich]

I hope you had a ladder and climbed up on the roof to inspect how the rubber is "tacked" to the roof. Unlike what you have been "told" about the front, the roof should show NO signs of the rubber "bubbling" especially along the "lead edge" where the front meets the roof line. I would think that the "design" that they indicate for the front rubber may pose an issue in terms of "aerodynamics" causing the roof portion to loosen and lift eventually (if it hasn't already) as the front gets "pushed" by the air flow coming at it and then the roof line needing to be held in place as the air moves over the top.

[imq707s]

Yes, I agree...very strange. Maybe since it was a special option....they did if that way?

[SoundGuy]

imq707s wrote:
It turns out that Zinger just extended the rubber roof material all the way down the front of the camper...no seams at all, one continuous piece all the way down.

What am I missing?

I suppose anything is possible but that's the oddest explanation. :@ There are some smaller trailers with a fiberglass front wall that wraps up to become the roof and then back down to become the rear wall BUT I've never heard of EPDM rubber being applied to a trailer's front wall. :h

[imq707s]

Retired JSO wrote:
Your mind is already made up so why bother to ask. You will regret it if that is what we think it is.

No...my mind was not made up. When I drove out there during lunch to check it out again, I was fully prepared to walk away and tell the guy I didn't want to mess with delamination.......but after I inspected everything with a fine toothed comb, and saw in the manual where it talked about the wrinkling of the rubber front of the trailer....now I feel like its not going to be a problem.

The front of the trailer is the same rubber material as the roof.....all one bug piece, no seams up top between where the roof starts and the nose ends.

[imq707s]

Well I drove out to look at the camper during my lunch break. It turns out that Zinger just extended the rubber roof material all the way down the front of the camper...no seams at all, one continuous piece all the way down. The entire front of the trailer above the aluminum is loose feeling.....its like they never glued it down and only attached around the perimeter. I looked inside under the bed (very front of the trailer), and everything is perfect.

The floor is solid, the wall is solid, underneath the front is great, everything looks fine. I don't see any bad seals, and the fiberglass sides show no signs of delamination at all.

The owner also told me that when he first bought the trailer the dealer said that the front could wrinkle over time as the material heated and contracted....he even showed me where it talks about it in the manual. Apparently the owner paid extra for this upgrade...the standard zinger 19rfs's are all sheet metal.

Although it looks odd....there is nothing really scaring me about this now. Being that its basically the rubber roof material carried down the front, that takes away any delamination fears. Everything is solid, and I can't find a single sign of water damage


What am I missing?

[Retired_JSO]

Your mind is already made up so why bother to ask. You will regret it if that is what we think it is.

[jarata1]

You sound like your going to take the chance

[SoundGuy]

rexlion wrote:
If you buy this one, you should go into it with the idea that it's a throwaway. Have all the seams sealed, but figure that it might only hold together 3 or 4 years before you need to basically junk it. Then if it holds up better than you expected, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The Catch-22 though is that if this delamination is the result of water leakage the interior will not only have started to rot but could likely have begun to mold & mildew. Visual delamination is one thing but if there's any chance of mold that would be reason enough to steer clear of this one.