First time camper owner here. My wife and I bought a 2020 Mallard M32 Last weekend. I borrowed a friends truck to get it home because mine is in the shop being fitted for towing the camper. I have towed trailers before but never one this large. I drove the hour and a half home with the trailer no problem other than being a nervous wreck the whole way home because I had to drive the highway the first time with the camper. When I got home I had some trouble backing it in the driveway because my street is so narrow, luckily my driveway lines up with my neighbors and I was able to pull in her driveway and back straight up in to my driveway. Once I got that situated I backed up the driveway like a professional driver only to misjudge the length of the camper and back right in to my garage with the camper. I got out and inspected to find a gutter pin size hole in the back of the camper, perfectly round hole. The hole goes all the way through the outside layer. My heart sank, this brand new camper is now damaged. Please help!! I was going to buy marine grade caulk and fill in the hole but then I started hearing about delamination problems and it made me worry, should I be ok with caulk? Is fixing this an expensive fix if I were to take it to the dealer? I literally just bought it and am trying to avoid any more added expenses.
danemayer
Well-known member
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.
Sorry to hear about your mishap. Regarding delamination, you do have to prevent water intrusion, so until you get a lasting repair, make sure the hole is protected from water.
I expect some of our owners will have some advice shortly on how to repair the damage.
Sorry to hear about your mishap. Regarding delamination, you do have to prevent water intrusion, so until you get a lasting repair, make sure the hole is protected from water.
I expect some of our owners will have some advice shortly on how to repair the damage.
Bogie
Well-known member
On our first trailer, the previous owner had installed a camera on the back which was removed before we ever saw the trailer. He drilled a hole in the back for the cable. When he removed the camera, he covered the hole with a adhesive backed reflector and caulked around the edge. He added another reflector on the other side to match. Now in this case, it lined up with the marker lights at the top and it all looked normal (which is why we didn't notice it when we bought it). But regardless, it didn't leak and looked just fine.
I don't know exactly where your hole is, but using a reflector to cover it and putting one in a matching position on the opposite side likely won't look out of place. You could put several across the back in line also.
I don't know exactly where your hole is, but using a reflector to cover it and putting one in a matching position on the opposite side likely won't look out of place. You could put several across the back in line also.
