Roof bubbles

Larryh22

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Location
North Central Idaho
My new Imagine now has several large bubbles under the roof membrane. Needless to say I'm not happy about it. My dealer filed a claim for $12k to replace the roof with GD which was denied. :mad: I need to calm down before I call GD. I'm looking for any advice.
 
How large is "large"? Personally if you get approval for a new roof, I would be looking at something like RV Armor or the like, not going back with a new membrane roof, and certainly not put on by the dealer. Not unless the dealer can provide evidence he knows how to do it correctly.
 
How large are the "large" bubbles? Some bubbles are quite common. Mine had them and after the first year they are gone.
 
My new Imagine now has several large bubbles under the roof membrane. Needless to say I'm not happy about it. My dealer filed a claim for $12k to replace the roof with GD which was denied. :mad: I need to calm down before I call GD. I'm looking for any advice.

Ditto with the other responses. There could also be cross coach bubbles where the decking joints are.

The overall appearance of the roof material will change depending on the weather.
 
Roof bubble pics

The bubbles are all over the roof. Around the fans, seams, front cap and along the sides.
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The pics don't really show how big the bubbles are. I'm afraid if I step on any of them they may pop or tear!
 

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So the dealer thinks it's a problem and should be repaired, but Grand Design did not? Have you posted your pictures to Grand Design? Sometimes dealers aren't as forthcoming as they should be. Are you sure they forwarded the issue with the bubbles to Grand Design?

Personally I would not want bubbles on my roof, but I have often read that Grand Design considers some bubbling to be "normal". I think I would definitely contact them just to be sure they're aware of the bubbles on your roof.
 
My opinion only but what I am seeing in the pics is very similar to what I had. It settles down.
 
We have similar bubbling on our new reflection 27bh that we purchased last month. I emailed pictures into GD customer service and they called me back as well as emailed me and said that it was pretty normal but that they do have it documented if there is any problem in the future.
Im not too worried about it at this point, but i wanted it documented. You might want to do the same.
 
Just to add a data point, we noted bubbling on our 17MKE when we picked it up last fall. The dealer indicated it was ok, so we just kept an eye on it. This past spring we noticed the bubbling was gone and it hasn't reoccurred since then.

Jim
 
My new Imagine now has several large bubbles under the roof membrane. Needless to say I'm not happy about it. My dealer filed a claim for $12k to replace the roof with GD which was denied. :mad: I need to calm down before I call GD. I'm looking for any advice.

My trailer has the same issue and I did the same thing, GD says it is normal. Well sorry it isn't normal to me, I have an upcoming appointment with Flexarmor in greensboro nc to get the, IMO, bad roof replaced permanently.

To me it is better to get it replaced on my terms vs the middle of a trip in the rain. Of course I am planning on this being my last trailer so my upgrades are made with that in mind.
 
In my case, the dealer told me GD won't pay to fix them.

Fast forward a few months and I reached out to GD on something else and mentioned my disappointment with the roof bubbles and they said they would be covered but should go away after a few months... I forgot and now 2 years later, they never went away

After replacing all 3 fans, each now has significant membrane bubbling where the new Dicor went down... not too happy
 
Thanks for all of the replies! My dealer did open a case with Grand Design and submitted better photos than I did and was denied. I followed up with a call in which GD stated the bubbles are not a defect because the roof membrane is not comprised or leaking. I registered my complaint and told them we are not happy with this. Even if the roof is not leaking it doesn't look like it is going to last long and at the price I just paid for this trailer, I want it to out last me. haha

Oh well, we are going camping on the Oregon Coast Beverly Beach State Park for 5 nights leaving Wed 31st yay.
 
My trailer has the same issue and I did the same thing, GD says it is normal. Well sorry it isn't normal to me, I have an upcoming appointment with Flexarmor in greensboro nc to get the, IMO, bad roof replaced permanently.

To me it is better to get it replaced on my terms vs the middle of a trip in the rain. Of course I am planning on this being my last trailer so my upgrades are made with that in mind.

We put the FlexArmor on our 42 ft Solitude for less than $9000. Very satisfied.
 
How large is "large"? Personally if you get approval for a new roof, I would be looking at something like RV Armor or the like, not going back with a new membrane roof, and certainly not put on by the dealer. Not unless the dealer can provide evidence he knows how to do it correctly.
We got an rv armor roof on the last camper. We will probably replace our new reflection roof in a couple of years. Peace of mind. Never have to worry about the roof again. I hate water.
 
My trailer has the same issue and I did the same thing, GD says it is normal. Well sorry it isn't normal to me, I have an upcoming appointment with Flexarmor in greensboro nc to get the, IMO, bad roof replaced permanently.

To me it is better to get it replaced on my terms vs the middle of a trip in the rain. Of course I am planning on this being my last trailer so my upgrades are made with that in mind.
I totally agree. We had a 2017 Durango until this year. Our roof never looked like this. We had put a flex armor roof on it 2 years ago as we had had roof damage from trees and several repairs. Best thing we ever did. Double deuces in York Pa! Can’t say enough good about them. We loved it. This summer just got a new Reflection 270BN. Bubbles all over the place. Now the roof is intact so nothing to be done. We love this camper so we will be investing in another flex armor roof and not have to worry about water again! And we might as well get our money’s worth out of it.
 
Just got a new roof from GD, but flex armor is still in my future. This weekend I didn’t take any damage, but narrow roads in a state park led to hitting some branches. Looked in the rear view camera as I was going slow enough to hear the branches to see leaves falling behind me. With flex armor I wouldn’t sweat it in the least. My opinion is if you have a FW or tall Class A and only do RV resorts/parks rubber roof is fine. State Parks, COE etc, consider an alternative.
 
Totally agree. We were always worried with our previous rubber roof in state parks and we purposely downsized to be able to get into them. We Know that we have to be careful but when we put the flex armor on it will be less of a worry for sure
 

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