Sidewall POP's all over entire wall

Izzyblueye · 03-02-2008, 07:42 AM

We have a mild day here in Ohio today. So I went out and walked around the coach and checked every thing. To my dismay I find I have "POP's in my passenger side sidewalls from the top to the bottom of the coach. They about the circumference of a lead pencil eraser and are every where. I had a few of these in 2003, Winnebago repaired them in a body shop. Now they are all over the side walls. No body shop is going to repair these. In fact the original repaired POP's are back. Looks like I will be talking to Winnebago. They obviously had a shipment of defective sidewall panels. Now will we get relief, we will see. The coach is not salable the way it is and with only 25000 miles on it.
Has any one else had this problem? I re-call there has been discussions on it in the past and will do a search.

Izzyblueye · 03-02-2008, 07:42 AM

We have a mild day here in Ohio today. So I went out and walked around the coach and checked every thing. To my dismay I find I have "POP's in my passenger side sidewalls from the top to the bottom of the coach. They about the circumference of a lead pencil eraser and are every where. I had a few of these in 2003, Winnebago repaired them in a body shop. Now they are all over the side walls. No body shop is going to repair these. In fact the original repaired POP's are back. Looks like I will be talking to Winnebago. They obviously had a shipment of defective sidewall panels. Now will we get relief, we will see. The coach is not salable the way it is and with only 25000 miles on it.
Has any one else had this problem? I re-call there has been discussions on it in the past and will do a search.

John_Canfield · 03-02-2008, 08:47 AM

On one of our visits to the factory a couple of years ago, there was an Adventurer in for complete sidewall replacements due to gel coat and/or fiberglass pops. Even though the coach was way out of warranty, Winnie agreed to replace his sidewalls if he agreed to have the work done when factory service was slow (fall/winter/etc) and if he would leave the coach with them.

Hopefully Winnie will make the same deal with yours.

The unknown factor with the economy dramatically slowing down and RV sales way off, is that you might have a harder time attempting to get expensive good-will repairs made.

Best of luck!

Petro · 03-02-2008, 08:47 AM

Homer;

I am sorry to hear of your problems. I assume your coach is stored outside. Freezing moisture can cause lots of problems. Have you been inspecting your joints where the roof meets the side wall. I believe Winni wants these checked every 6 months if I remember correctly. Many of us addressed the problem by using Eternabond. Do a search for Eternabond on this site and you should get lots of posts. Unfortunately this will not solve your immediate problem.

Good Luck;
Don

Izzyblueye · 03-02-2008, 09:01 AM

PETRO: Thank you, I have been eternabonded since the coach was new. These POP's are something inherent in the sidewall panels, it seems to be prevalent during a period of time in 2000-2001. There is no evidence of delamination, but I am sure this could happen with many more of them.

Izzyblueye · 03-02-2008, 09:05 AM

John: Thanks for the information. This is the second time for my coach and I must pursue this to a resolution. Otherwise, I might as well salvage the coach. I trust they will stand behind their product.

alex · 03-02-2008, 02:53 PM

I had the same problem. Since the sidewalls were replaced by Winnebago at the factory, they haven't reappeared. The problem was a bad batch of fiberglass not leakage. See

http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2486094452/m/...891094242#2891094242

http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2486094452/m/...451080142#1451080142

alex

Norm3206 · 03-02-2008, 07:26 PM

I purchased a used 2001 Itasca 35U in New York state last spring. It had a large number of "pops" as you describe. I wasn't aware of the common problem at the time and had a repair done at a local body shop that was repairing a couple dents and scrapes at the same time. The body shop owner said he thought it looked like moisture damage. My rig is in storage for the winter and it'll be interesting to see if the problem re-occurs. I will be very interested to hear the results of your efforts with Winnie.

Izzyblueye · 03-04-2008, 04:36 AM

I contacted Winnebago yesterday concerning these POP's. Bryan Funke is apparently not going to be at the plant for several weeks. He has handled this problem previously. However, I have been asked to send pictures of POP's, which I will do as soon as it quits raining. Would like to hear from anyone that has been through this before.

jimandsue60 · 03-04-2008, 06:41 AM

Homer, although Bryan is not at the factory he is still reading his emails. And possibly these threads.

Jim

Izzyblueye · 03-04-2008, 04:27 PM

JIMANDSUE60: I certainly hope he is, as he and I have had a lot of conversation and he knows much of the details of previous problems I have had with this Pop's dilema. I am assuming he is still with Winnebago Inc.

John_Canfield · 03-05-2008, 03:41 AM

Bryan is on medical leave from Winnie. He was having back problems and I'm assuming (big assumption) he is on medical leave due to this problem.

Izzyblueye · 03-05-2008, 04:30 AM

JOHN CANFIELD: Thanks John for the input. Hope he fares well. I must admit, I was curious as to what might keep him out of the office for weeks. Bryan has always been just great to work with. Now to press on with my problem. Thanks again.

jimandsue60 · 03-05-2008, 05:00 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by John_Canfield:
Bryan is on medical leave from Winnie. He was having back problems and I'm assuming (big assumption) he is on medical leave due to this problem. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

John, your assumption is correct.

Jim