Travel Trailer showing signs of potential problems ...

[zul]

Or are these REAL problems??

We just bought our first trailer (23ft Trail Cruiser by R-Vision), finished 2 great trips and now we are trying to figure out if 'THE SKY IS FALLING' or if we just need to maintain this thing properly ... so here goes the delemas:

1. Tiny bubbles, front and rear panels ... delamination? You can only see the slight waves in certain light (thanks to my very good eyesight). For example, other people can't see the waves at all, but I can (sometimes). Just starting to delam?? Everything looks to be caulked up really well. No problem ... Start of problem or Panic time?

2. Roof material: Coming up on the side rails. Not cracking or peeling but it is separating up from the ply-wood roof on the edges/rails. Upon touch, it leaves a chalky substance on my fingers. Is this the roof material failing or left over gunk from prior sealent/care? Should the material coming up / chalky stuff cause panic and expensive rubber roof replacement? Or can someone suggest a product to coat / seal and UV protect?

3. Soft spot in the floor running from the sink to dinette seat (6 inches by 3 feet). Yes, I've seen the floor issues in forum searching ... Can this be a small problem that will stay put or will the soft spot grow into a monster?

Right now, there are no leaks or signs of leaks inside or underneath. However, I don't want to think everything is AOK if we can prevent future problems.

We've looked over the woes of R-Vision and still feel good about spending $6800 on a 2005 trailer where 'everything works' and looks really nice. Or maybe the sky IS falling ... hmmm.

Thx for helping!!


zul

2005 Trail Cruiser QB23

[Farm_Camp]

zul wrote:

Farm Camp wrote:
Pic Clicky

Is that the seem where the roof meets the sidewall?

.

Yes. Most of the rubber roof top tucks into the sidewall rail pretty well. This is one spot (about 3-4 inches long) where it is coming out a bit.

Basic Silicon caulk? Some sites say to not use Silicon only special RV Roof caulk. Is there something at a regular ACE or off to a special RV shop?

Yah. Others I'm sure will be along shortly with better advise than I can give you. I'm not sure if you could just loosen the side rail or remove it and tuck the roof material back under, seal it with some butyl tape ( I think they call it) and replace the rail with the rubber tucked away again. Hopefully water has not already got up under there and swelled or rotted the sub roof.

[hvac]

When I read this it just ticks me off, another taken in by traditional rv construction. I feel your pain, let it be known if any wood is used in your rig, in anyway, then this WILL HAPPEN.

Even Airstream has a huge problem with soft floors. Its time for a revolution in the industry to combat such poor construction methods. Alternatives are in place and no need to reinvent the wheel.

[zul]

Farm Camp wrote:
Pic Clicky

Is that the seem where the roof meets the sidewall?

.

Yes. Most of the rubber roof top tucks into the sidewall rail pretty well. This is one spot (about 3-4 inches long) where it is coming out a bit.

Basic Silicon caulk? Some sites say to not use Silicon only special RV Roof caulk. Is there something at a regular ACE or off to a special RV shop?

[zul]

pic:

[Farm_Camp]

Pic Clicky

First off- Welcome!

That caulking around that vent really looks gone. I'd for sure be replacing it.

Is that the seem where the roof meets the sidewall? In both cases it would appear that both of these areas could allow water in and cause you damage.

I'm still a noob but both of those look to be needing some tlc. I wish I knew for sure what type of roof you have. You may only need to go over that vent caulking with a wider seem of self leveling sealant. But - to my eye - those cracks look large and inviting places for water to get in, freeze in winter, and work its way into the structure.

[zul]

Pix Here ...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danafamily/

[zul]

Thanks for the replys ... It does look like one of the clearence lights is the culprit for the beginnings of the rear panel delam. Is there a type of caulk that is suggested?

The rooftop seems pretty well caulked in most areas like around the vents and antennas. Cannot see under the AC unit, no way of telling what that looks like but clean from what I can see.

The roof top where it meets the front end cap has been caulked including the screw heads. If there was some delam happening to the front end cap and the previous owner cualked it tight, does that end the problem considering that the delam bubble is so minimal??

I'll attempt to put up a pic, not sure if I can ...

[BarneyS]

Don't overlook clearance lights as potential leak spots.
Barney

[westend]

You will never know if water is going where it shouldn't be without a pressurized leak test.
Not all problems are either benign or terminal, there are many that are easy to resolve. In my little universe, there are none that can't be fixed.

If you can take the time to get some pictures of the suspect spots onto the Forum, you will get better guidance.

[gmw_photos]

I don't know if the sky is falling, but if it were mine, I would definitely address the issues. Not sure what to say about the potential delamination, it's pretty hard for us to say just from a verbal description. You might have a reputable repair shop look at it and give their opinion.
As for the floor being soft, that is a problem, and you need to find where the water is coming from. Is it a leak where rainwater is getting in ? Is it from a plumbing leak ? Or has the under belly been very wet to the point it has rotted thru from the bottom ? What ever it is, the source of the water needs to be figured out and solved, then the floor repair done.
I would inspect the roof very carefully.... inch by inch to see if there are places where it is allowing water in.

[Double_Haul]

I am no expert but here goes
1. Sounds normal
2. Chalking is normal oxidation if it is a rubber roof. I would only clean twice a year and no treatment. I cleaned and treated with Protect All and my roof was showing black and had to be coated in 8 years, I think the treating may have accelerated the aging. It sure didn't help.
3. Needs to be addressed as soon as possible. It will not go away. I would take something like a screw driver handle and tap the floor to see if it is rotted or just a normal sub structure issue. Normal should give you a sharp solid sound and a good bounce. If rotted it will be a soft thud. Find the leak and fix it. Remove and replace rotted wood or coat with "git rot" if still somewhat solid. Dry rot doesn't need much of a moisture content to continue to spread. Search "fleetwood wheel well" on this site if you want see my little floor project. It can be done just takes a lot of labor.