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Old 02-04-2013, 10:33 AM   #1
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Comment moved to post #16
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Old 06-02-2014, 11:35 PM   #2
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Siding bulging out

Hey all, just purchased a 2014 Z-1 271bh less than a month ago. Took it on one trip to Charlotte to watch the race a week ago, only minor issues. Brought it back and parked it in our driveway for a week. Cleaned it inside and out which included washing it and never noticed anything unusual on the siding. Took it down to Camping World today to get the minor issues fixed and my wife noticed a huge (about 3 foot long by one foot high) bulge in the metal siding on the driver side of the trailer up by the front. This had to have happened during the transport down to the dealer. Camping world took pictures and sent them to Crossroads for warranty approval and of course Crossroads tried to get out of it because it was 'exterior damage'. Luckily I had a good service rep at Camping World who immediately told them that the damage was bulging out, not bent in and this was in no way caused by me hitting something. I wish I had a picture to post on here for you all to see, but I don't currently. Basically, the metal had bulged to the point where the lower piece which normally fits underneath the upper section was completely out so that its top edge and the bottom edge of the upper piece were butted up on each other. The worker who was fixing the other issues with the trailer attempted to push it back in. All this did was lower the bulge slightly while putting a kink in the metal closer to the front of the unit.

My question is has anyone experienced this and does this sound like the metal piece is just cut too long and pushing out when the trailer shifts during transport, or does this sound like it could be frame issues?

I will add that it bulged out again as I was returning home with it. It looked pretty big in my truck mirror, but once I got the trailer home and leveled/stabilized, it reduced in size again.
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Old 06-03-2014, 12:11 AM   #3
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I'll also add that this obviously didn't happen during our trip to Charlotte which was roughly 4.5 hours one way (much longer than our trip to the dealer today). If it is a longer than usual piece of metal which is what the service rep said it could be, wouldn't it have bulged out during that trip as well?
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Old 06-03-2014, 12:36 AM   #4
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It's surprising how much these trailers flex when they build them to reduce weight. They used to weld the aluminum studs and now they glue and screw them. Could be one of the studs flexed, broke away and pushed out the wall. Really hard to tell without pictures. Sounds like your dealer is on it so that is a good thing. They should be able to uncover the problem once they open it up to fix it. Let us know what they find out.
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Old 06-03-2014, 12:43 AM   #5
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Will do. I cannot get it back to the shop until the beginning of July as we have had a trip to PA planned for months now that this TT is the centerpiece of. I will let you all know as soon as I find out. The repairs are going to be a bit extensive as they have to pull off all the siding on half of the driver side of the trailer since the bulge is at the top and the pieces fit underneath of each other. Dealer told me two week for repairs...I'm not holding my breath....

This is just a little unnerving though as the unit is brand new and hasn't even seen more than 4 days of use yet. I'm also a bit worried about how it will hold up with this problem with a 1600 mile round trip coming up in two weeks. Any ideas on how to keep rain out if the bulge comes out beyond me being able to push it back in? I don't want this to cause a bunch more issues before we can get it back in the shop.
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Old 06-03-2014, 06:21 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by Greg Z-1 View Post
. I'm also a bit worried about how it will hold up with this problem with a 1600 mile round trip coming up in two weeks. Any ideas on how to keep rain out if the bulge comes out beyond me being able to push it back in? I don't want this to cause a bunch more issues before we can get it back in the shop.
If it has bulged and separated to the point of water intrusion you may want to rethink your trip. I can see it now...but sir...you towed and camped in the rain with it before we could fix it.
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Old 06-03-2014, 06:37 AM   #7
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Tim is echoing my thoughts. I totally agree with his thinking on your issue.
You know there is a problem, your dealer knows there is a problem, AND CR knows it. If your rig deteriorates further because you continue to use it and don't get it in for repair, they might tell you it has turned into neglect.
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Old 06-03-2014, 10:17 AM   #8
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We have a Zinger...and while siding doesn't bulge, you can definitely see the waves where the studs are.

The Z-1 is wood-framed, so it flexes a bit more. If you crank the #$%^ out of the stabilizers, you can flex the frame enough that doors won't open, etc.

Good that they are on the problem. Bonus with wood frame is they CAN take it apart. Typically with aluminum/fiberglass, whole wall must get replaced.
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Old 06-03-2014, 10:50 AM   #9
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It's surprising how much these trailers flex when they build them to reduce weight. They used to weld the aluminum studs and now they glue and screw them.
I believe it's the opposite, they now weld them.
Anybody know for sure???
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Old 06-03-2014, 11:29 AM   #10
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I can't swear to it, but I was under the impression they switched from welded to screwed and glued.
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Old 06-03-2014, 11:39 AM   #11
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I can't swear to it, but I was under the impression they switched from welded to to screwed and glued.
Glue work on Alum?
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Old 06-03-2014, 11:41 AM   #12
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I have no idea. That is the terminology that was used.
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Old 06-03-2014, 11:42 AM   #13
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Tim is echoing my thoughts. I totally agree with his thinking on your issue.
You know there is a problem, your dealer knows there is a problem, AND CR knows it. If your rig deteriorates further because you continue to use it and don't get it in for repair, they might tell you it has turned into neglect.
"Due Diligence" is the word you hear sometimes used by insurance companies when they feel you could have prevented further damage.
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Old 06-03-2014, 11:46 AM   #14
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Glue work on Alum?
Certain types of structural adhesives are designed for it. Shouldn't actually call it glue.
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Old 06-03-2014, 06:45 PM   #15
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My question is has anyone experienced this and does this sound like the metal piece is just cut too long and pushing out when the trailer shifts during transport, or does this sound like it could be frame issues?

I will add that it bulged out again as I was returning home with it. It looked pretty big in my truck mirror, but once I got the trailer home and leveled/stabilized, it reduced in size again.
This is not a frame issue and I really doubt the sheet metal is too long. Instead, the staples holding the sheet probably missed hitting the studs and just went thru the lauan paneling. Then, wind pressure while towing has caused the panel to be sucked out of place. The tech just pushed the staples back into the lauan, but the wind pulled them out again. A temporary fix is to use clear silicone caulk along the horizontal seam between panels, this may hold well enough, depends on wind and towing speed. But don't do this unless CR has already agreed to a proper repair and they approve of this temporary fix.

I had this problem on a unit many years ago, it was out of warranty and the silicone caulk worked until I sold the trailer.
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Old 06-03-2014, 07:18 PM   #16
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Hunter11: As far as I know the walls, studs, roof and floor have not changed they are still all aluminum they just went from screwed and glued to welded for cost savings. So by omitting "Gorilla Cage" from the new units mean the welded is less strong, who knows. ]
Pulled this from his previous post
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Old 06-03-2014, 07:56 PM   #17
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I can't swear to it, but I was under the impression they switched from welded to screwed and glued.
Lloyd, look at the bedroom floor joists from the storage compartment, yours and mine are glued and screwed, there are steel angle plates at the corners. Newer units are apparently welded instead, not sure of the date of the change and I have not seen one personally. A friend in a nearby site has a 2013 Redwood, maybe I'll take a closer look at it this week.
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Old 06-03-2014, 08:45 PM   #18
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I need to check mine. I am probably backwards on that because I think mine is welded and it's a 2013 model. I know it was changed at some point, just not sure which way they went the other way. I just knowing read it on here some time ago.
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Old 06-04-2014, 07:10 AM   #19
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Lloyd, look at the bedroom floor joists from the storage compartment, yours and mine are glued and screwed, there are steel angle plates at the corners. Newer units are apparently welded instead, not sure of the date of the change and I have not seen one personally. A friend in a nearby site has a 2013 Redwood, maybe I'll take a closer look at it this week.

Larry, I insulated under the bedroom floor. It's all covered up.
So I'm going to take your word for it.
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Old 08-14-2014, 01:45 PM   #20
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Hey guys, just wanted to update...

After sending what seemed like a million different pictures to dealer AND crossroads (they obviously wanted to rule out exterior damage caused by me) I finally got them to authorize the repairs. Dealer is currently putting in the order for the mesa metal siding and once they get that in, they can pull the wall apart and fix that too.

On a side note, the unit is going down to dealer much earlier than expected (tomorrow) because I had a bout with some turkey and black vultures and lost. They decided that the top of my unit was a nice place to spend the night and while they were up there, picked apart the rubber roof with their beaks and talons. That is thankfully covered under the insurance policy but will require a six grand roof replacement. Needless to say, before I get my RV back (who knows how long that will be) there will be a structure to park it under.
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