Would These Roof Bubbles Prevent You From Buying This Rig?

[MrGriz]

We are in the process of buying our first 5th wheel and have narrowed it down to the 303RLS or possibly the 29RS, likely a model year between 2017 and 2020. We went and looked at a 2018 303RLS recently and absolutely loved the trailer. The interior and exterior were in great shape and appeared well cared for. Then... I climbed up to look at the roof and saw the bubbles in the attached pictures. That's when the owner told me that the roof had been hit by a fallen tree branch in a storm and was replaced three years ago. I don't like the looks of the bubbling going on, but have also read that some of this is "normal" or "typical". There are absolutely no signs of water damage or staining anywhere that I can see inside the trailer or out. How worried about this should I be? Does this look like something that would necessitate replacing the roof?

If the rest of the trailer wasn't in such good shape, I would easily move on and look for others, but this one is otherwise very nice and fairly close to home.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

People have posted some of the responses from Grand Design when queried about roof bubbles. Grand Design has, reportedly, replied that the bubbles were normal, and would flatten out over time. Obviously these have not flattened out in 3 years, so, IMO, it would likely be because the material isn't glued down tightly at those spots. Maybe not an issue, but there are lots of trailers out there, and I might continue looking. But that's just me.

 

[Riverbug]

Just MHO, if there aren't signs of water damage on the roof along the edges, no soft spots are a cause for concern, those bubbles would not deter me. Has the trailer been sitting in a location since the roof was replaced? If not, and they been towing it normally for that duration and those bubbles haven't worsened, then it wouldn't deter me. If it's been sitting in the same location so hasn't had wind from the road buffeting it, then maybe pause. There have been lots of people with worse bubbling issues straight from the factory. If this was repaired immediate after the branch damaged the last roof and before water intrusion had a chance to damage things and I really, really liked the unit, that wouldn't be the nail in the coffin for me if what we see in the pics are the totality of the concern. Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[Butcher]

My 2020 29RS has them and have not changed in the couple years we have owned it. It certainly does not look right, but I don't look at it often and they have not got worse.

 

[Soundsailor]

My coach has a few roof bubbles, but no leaks or problems so far. Those bubbles would not stop me from buying a coach that I was happy with otherwise.

 

[txloser]

My last two trailers had some similar spots. They were never a problem. As long as it doesn’t look like my current Solitide, I’d say it’s ok. And no signs of water intrusion obviously.