Bubbles in sidewalls

I have a question for the group. I'll start with my current RV. I have a 2012 Big Country 3650RL that my wife and I absolutely love. The only real issue that I have with my current trailer is there are a few bubbles that have appeared in my sidewalls that concern me. From what I've read, it is either caused by water damage or the lamination coming loose. I thought about trading it in for a new one, so I went today and looked at a new Big Country 4010RD and love the floor plan......BUT..... the brand new one has a small bubble in it on the door side about halfway down the side. That was so disappointing that I'm not sure I would want to buy another Big Country or even a Heartland product. What are your thoughts on this? Is it something that can be repaired? I really like the unit I have but am very concerned about keeping it.

Thanks for you opinions........

For me, tires alone would not warrant getting rid of your coach as it is only 4 years old and by your own statement you both love it. If these are the same tires when purchased new, you have 4 years on them. The price of tires will be considerably less than the economical hit you will take when pulling a new rv off a dealers lot. The quality of tires is, and will probably always be an issue for all of us. I would not find bad tires and a bubble persuasive enough to make me question Heartland's quality. For everyone it's different, but I'm just not seeing it, no offense.

He is talking about delam of the side walls of his rig, not tires.

All RV's need maintenance. The number one item is the caulking. At least four times a year you need to go over every inch an touch up the caulking. If not water will get in and flow down. When the sun hits it it will cause a delamination. The water intrusion can be from a window, roof, trim, mounting screws, etc.. Have you check and touched up the caulking on you fifth wheel? I live in California and find small half inch to three inch sections that I need to touch up almost each time I go over my fifth wheel.

mlpeloquin said:

All RV's need maintenance. The number one item is the caulking. At least four times a year you need to go over every inch an touch up the caulking. If not water will get in and flow down. When the sun hits it it will cause a delamination. The water intrusion can be from a window, roof, trim, mounting screws, etc.. Have you check and touched up the caulking on you fifth wheel? I live in California and find small half inch to three inch sections that I need to touch up almost each time I go over my fifth wheel.

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Might seem like a dumb question, so it probably is. What type of caulk do you use? I'm thinking of a top grade silicone, but is there anything better?

The best to use is Dicor Self-Leveling for the roof and Dicor non-self leveling for everything else. Silcone is not compatable with the rubber roof and neither is any caulk containing petroleum products. You can find the Dicor caulk at RV Supply stores. There are others but Dicor is the standard.

My sincere apologies guys, I misread.

From personal experience I can say any opening made in the sidewall, refer grills, speakers, lights, windows, doors, compartment doors, don't forget the front, caulk or at least check all sidewall cuts and caulk them. The factory usually does it, but I found that my refer and speaker cuts weren't, the W/D wasn't and this season with heavy driving rain in Florida we have some delam under our dryer vent. I pulled and and there wasn't any caulking by the factory or washer/dryer installer who cut through the wall. I blame myself for not checking the vent. Definitely not going to get rid of the trailer because of it but someone on this forum warned me - water is a trailer's worse enemy.

Hi outkatn,

I went today and looked at a new Big Country 4010RD and love the floor plan......BUT..... the brand new one has a small bubble in it on the door side about halfway down the side.

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Water is usually the cause and of course there are many unknowns. Could there have been a caulking miss at the factory? Has this new unit sat on the dealer lot for a year without any maintenance? Is the small bubble actually delamination or something else? Could there be a defect in the sidewall material?

Delamination is the exception, not the rule. A body shop should be able to repair the damaged area after the cause is identified and fixed.

Hey guys. Thanks for your responses. I haven't looked over my caulking in a while, so I do need to do that. I did take my camper back to the dealer about 6 months after buying it because I was on the roof and noticed the caulking where the front cap meets the roof had a crack in it all the way across the top. The dealer recaulked the front cap.

So here is another question. If everything that needs re caulked is fixed, will the delam get worse? or will it stay the same? I would be fine with keeping the unit we have because we both love it, but if it is going to get worse, I'm getting out now before the resale value drops significantly.

I went back to look at the new one again yesterday and asked the salesman about the bubble. He said they have talked to Heartland about it and don't know what has caused it other than the adhesive that was sprayed on during the wall construction at the factory either missed the spot or just didn't bond. He said if you look at it in the morning, the bubble is not there, but in the heat of the day, the bubble appears. He said that it will not get worse, but I'm not sure that I buy that. He did seem more knowledgeable than the first guy I talked to, but I wasn't impressed with the product knowledge of the salespeople that camping world had.

I don't know about having to recaulk four times a year, but you do need to get on the roof to both clean it and inspect it regularly. And there are some with older rigs that have foregone the caulking in favor of covering the seams with 4" Eternabond tape. Since my rig is getting long in the tooth, I may go that route, as well. But so far, no seam leaks and the caulking is intact (I redid it all 2 years ago).

outkatn said:

...but I wasn't impressed with the product knowledge of the salespeople that camping world had.

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Most people aren't!

Camping World does not have the greatest reputation when it comes to sales and service.

They are great for buying supplies, though!

JohnD said:

Most people aren't!

Camping World does not have the greatest reputation when it comes to sales and service.

They are great for buying supplies, though!

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Which is likely why they are struggling financially. In my area, they bought a two location dealership a few years back. Recently, they returned the locations to the original owner because they could not meet their obligations to him.

These folks have mega stores all over the country - makes you wonder how they can afford that inventory.