Slide out skirt buckling

[laffman]

Any one else have this issue with the metal skirts on the slide outs? This side sees a lot of sun. It looks like the metal heated up and expanded with no where to go except out. Dreading the call to the dealer. They're 100 miles away. I have a seasonal campsite and don't have a truck to pull the 5ver with. Wish the dealer 10 minutes away from the campground was a GD dealer so I could call them.

 

[thompsons 369rl]

Wow. Seems like that would take a lot of expansion to do that. Is the fender skirt also as warped as it appears in the second pic?

 

[laffman]

I don't think so. I'm not at the camper right now. I think the angle of the one picture makes it look warped.

 

[G&Jcamping]

We have the EXACT same issue on both sides. We saw it when we picked up the camper and had the service tech look at it. He said at the time the skirt need to be removed and it required rivets on the underside. Everything else checked out great on our walkthrough and I could not leave the camper there to have it repaired. It was noted on the paper work and is on the 1st punch list when I take it back in next month.

 

[laffman]

It is on the other side too, just not as severe. I think it is heat related, so I wouldn't have noticed it on the PDI. We got in Nov. and temp. was in the teens when we did the walkthru.

Called the dealer. They asked for the pictures. They'll get back to me once they review them.

 

[G&Jcamping]

We did not see it the day purchased the trailer and we walked around the trailer for 3 hours.3 weeks later on PDI it was there almost exactly like yours. Keep us posted what your dealer says

 

[Trijart]

Just had both sides done for exact same thing, buckling. They removed the metal sides and reinforced the panels. they ordered new decals as well. seems to have worked, so far. The dealer said it was due to heat, especially the southwest heat where it commonly reaches the 100+ during June and July.

 

[sjegee1]

We saw ours the day we decided to buy and asked if they could fix it before we take delivery....they did! It looked perfect when we took delivery.

 

[laffman]

Still waiting to hear from the dealer. Called them once. They haven't looked at the pictures yet. If I don't get an answer from them next week I'll be calling GD. This is still under warranty and I'm not going to let the dealer stall.

Definitely heat related. Back at the campground this morning. Cooler and overcast compared to last weekend. Problem is still there but not as bad. Door side is actually flat.

 

[laffman]

Heard from the dealer. They've submitted the warranty pre-auth request to GD for the repair and decal replacement.

 

[laffman]

Got an update from the dealer. Repairs were approved by GD under warranty. Dealer received new set of decals today. That's all they were waiting on before going up to the campground for the initial inspection, which is 8/5. If it can be repaired on site, the work will be done that day. If not, the dealer will make arrangements to have it picked up at the end of the camping season so it can be repaired at the dealership. Dealer service agent got the trip for the initial inspection covered with no service call fee. Got my fingers crossed they can fix it at the campground.

 

[RetArmyMSG]

Just had both sides done for exact same thing, buckling. They removed the metal sides and reinforced the panels. they ordered new decals as well. seems to have worked, so far. The dealer said it was due to heat, especially the southwest heat where it commonly reaches the 100+ during June and July.

Art,

Did you have the work done at Holiday World in Las Cruces? The same thing is happening to mine and although I got mine from a dealer about 9hrs away, I'd like to take it to Cruces for the repairs if possible.

 

[Trijart]

Scott, yes I had it done in Las Cruces. Talk to Mr. Gallardo. We're out traveling the state right now and will be back on Sunday. I'll contact you then.

 

[laffman]

Well this has come back to haunt me again this year. After being repaired last fall under warranty, the skirts are buckling again. The method of repair, take the skirts off and remount them, seemed very inadequate at the time. Now I'm proved correct. And now I'm out of warranty. At the time, the dealer said any additional repairs would still be covered by warranty, since they performed the repair as instructed by Grand Design. As soon as I get home from my current trip, I'll be testing that claim. If the dealer gives me the runaround, I'll go to Grand Design customer support instead. These panels need to be replaced. They ripple and buckle in the summer sun.

 

[Capt Jim]

Count me in. My 379fl has just been dropped off at the dealer for the same issue. Hot weather no doubt increases this effect, but it also appears that the method of installation is the likely cause. It is possible that during assembly these panels are fastened from both ends to the middle. After staring at the side of my trailer for a while, it occurred to me that this looked just like the mistake I made some years ago while installing some odd shaped sheet metal in a race car chassis.

 

[laffman]

Jim, I think they need to punch oblong holes in these panels, like home siding. This would allow the necessary expansion and contraction. Post an update when you get it back.

 

[gws154]

Sadly, you can count me in!

 

[JCR GD]

Jim, I think they need to punch oblong holes in these panels, like home siding. This would allow the necessary expansion and contraction. Post an update when you get it back.

This is the real fix for expansion.

Mine does it too when in the sun.

 

[laffman]

Well good news from the dealer. Grand Design agreed to cover the repair, even though it's out of warranty. I was hoping they would, seeing that the repair they did last year under warranty didn't fix the issue at all. The repair actually made it worse. Last year it only popped out at one spot on each side. Now the entire panel ripples when heated.

Earliest they can get it in is the end of Sept. Just like last fall when the original repair was done, I won't be able to tell if it's fixed until next summer when the weather here in MI is warm enough to heat the panels. Hope I'm not going thru this again next year. I'll start to regret my Grand Design purchase.

Here are a few of the pictures I sent to the dealer to convince them last year's repair didn't work.

 

[offtohavasu]

I'm not sure I've seen an RV that DOESN'T do this. My buddies Jayco has it all over.