vertical lines on the sidewall of 2016 Cougar 277RLSWE

[DocSavage]

Hi,
I'm considering the purchase of a Cougar 277RLSWE. It's a 2016 and been stored outside in Southern CA. The sidewall on the door side has 4 vertical lines running the length of the sidewall. They were approximately 2-3 inches wide. At first I thought it was delamination but when I ran my hand across the lines there was no indent or concavity. When I knocked on the wall there was no difference in the sound - it sounded solid.
Two concerns - First, I have never seen vertical lines like that before (I know what normal delamination looks and feels like). I can't say there was discoloration - they weren't darker like something may have come down from the roof. They just stood out, particularly when I looked from an angle.
Second, they were where the kitchen is inside the RV. I was concerned that water or some other problem may be causing them.
Any ideas?
Thanks!

[jsb5717]

First, welcome aboard! Glad you found us.

Second, pictures would help a lot. Just guessing, it sounds like it could be condensation showing up at framing locations, which is a non-issue. But without the pictures it's difficult to advise.

[dutchmensport]

If you are seeing something like this, it's perfectly OK. Every camper will do this (except aluminum sided campers with wood framing) when the inside and the outside temperatures are just right.

[DocSavage]

Thanks, guys. The photos Dutchmensport uploaded look like what I saw. Glad to hear it isn't a challenge. It was rainy and cold when I saw the RV (not your usual SoCal weather) so maybe those are the conditions Dutchmensport is reffering to.

[DocSavage]

Thanks so much - I did not see any horizontal lines but the vertical lines on your photos look exactly like what I saw. I really appreciate having that cleared up!

[jamtracy]

Originally Posted by DocSavage

Thanks so much - I did not see any horizontal lines but the vertical lines on your photos look exactly like what I saw. I really appreciate having that cleared up!

I was told by a reputable repair guy that in fact that is normal. If you didn't see those lines then you may have an issue.

[gearhead]

It is normal. The condensation/dew is forming on the sides of the trailer but not where the framing is. The trailer is oxidizing. It will get worse with time. Either you live with it or get a cleaner/wax and buff it off.

[Ccrew]

Originally Posted by gearhead

It is normal. The condensation/dew is forming on the sides of the trailer but not where the framing is. The trailer is oxidizing. It will get worse with time. Either you live with it or get a cleaner/wax and buff it off.

huh? What was pictured has nothing to do with oxidation. It's just that the surface temp is different because it has framing to absorb. Zero wrong there.

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by Ccrew

huh? What was pictured has nothing to do with oxidation. It's just that the surface temp is different because it has framing to absorb. Zero wrong there.

If it's not oxidized now, it will be.
Just my opinion.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Ccrew

huh? What was pictured has nothing to do with oxidation. It's just that the surface temp is different because it has framing to absorb. Zero wrong there.

The trailer frame is aluminum, the insulated "free space" is a different temperature. That difference in temperature causes the exterior of the trailer to "condense humidity" at a different rate, so dew will collect on the exterior surface of the trailer "heavier over the hollow aluminum structure and lighter over the insulated spaces".... That "condensation" has minerals, dirt, acids and other pollution that stick to the trailer surface "in heavier amounts" over the structural components of the sidewall.

What you see is the "buildup of solids that adhere to the trailer sidewall when the water evaporates from the dew that collects on the trailer".... It may not be "oxidation" right now, but given a few years of "mineral buildup and acid etching" and it will become an obvious issue with the trailer appearance...

What you choose to do about it (or completley ignore it) at this point will, to a great extend, determine what your trailer looks like when it's 5 or 10 years old. If you plan to keep it a couple of years and trade/sell it, the "dew marks" are of no consequence to your ownership. On the other hand, if you plan to keep it for a while, you might want to keep a good "cleaner/wax" on hand to protect your investment....

Call it "buildup, normal appearance or oxidation" they all wind up difficult to remove after several years of ownership....

I think that's what Brent was addressing.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by gearhead

If it's not oxidized now, it will be.
Just my opinion.

Without proper care they'll all oxidize (sometimes even with proper care), but those lines have absolutely nothing to due with oxidation, simply the temperature variation of the non insulated hollow aluminum studs.

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

The trailer frame is aluminum, the insulated "free space" is a different temperature. That difference in temperature causes the exterior of the trailer to "condense humidity" at a different rate, so dew will collect on the exterior surface of the trailer "heavier over the hollow aluminum structure and lighter over the insulated spaces".... That "condensation" has minerals, dirt, acids and other pollution that stick to the trailer surface "in heavier amounts" over the structural components of the sidewall.

What you see is the "buildup of solids that adhere to the trailer sidewall when the water evaporates from the dew that collects on the trailer".... It may not be "oxidation" right now, but given a few years of "mineral buildup and acid etching" and it will become an obvious issue with the trailer appearance...

What you choose to do about it (or completley ignore it) at this point will, to a great extend, determine what your trailer looks like when it's 5 or 10 years old. If you plan to keep it a couple of years and trade/sell it, the "dew marks" are of no consequence to your ownership. On the other hand, if you plan to keep it for a while, you might want to keep a good "cleaner/wax" on hand to protect your investment....

Call it "buildup, normal appearance or oxidation" they all wind up difficult to remove after several years of ownership....

I think that's what Brent was addressing.

Yes sir, that's about it.
Houston is the capital of humidity. The summertime dew settles about dusk and frequently doesn't get burned off until almost noon. Trailers get broiled.
It motivated me to get a full body paint 5th. So far, so good.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by gearhead

Yes sir, that's about it.
Houston is the capital of humidity. The summertime dew settles about dusk and frequently doesn't get burned off until almost noon. Trailers get broiled.
It motivated me to get a full body paint 5th. So far, so good.

Houston, like Alexandria, LA, are both notorious for what gets "spewed into the air" and then when the dew settles or when it rains, if you ignore it, it will do a number on anything it sits on. Other places have the same issue, but not to the extent of the southeast US. When we moved to Alexandria from Marquette, MI, my daughter's bicycle was about 3 or 4 years old and as shiny as when it was new. One winter of sitting behind the carport (in the rain) and next spring, all her chrome fenders were rusted, the pedals were frozen and wouldn't spin and the paint was oxydized beyond waxing it out. One winter of "acid rain" was all it took to destroy her bike's finish.

Trailers are much the same. The dew settles on the trailer FILON over the cooler aluminum structure, when the sun comes up, it literally bakes the water out of the dew, leaving the dirt, grime, sulphur and acids that were in the dew. Just a few months of "sun baking the surface" and there's a problem that is no longer "easy to fix"...

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Houston, like Alexandria, LA, are both notorious for what gets "spewed into the air" and then when the dew settles or when it rains, if you ignore it, it will do a number on anything it sits on. Other places have the same issue, but not to the extent of the southeast US. When we moved to Alexandria from Marquette, MI, my daughter's bicycle was about 3 or 4 years old and as shiny as when it was new. One winter of sitting behind the carport (in the rain) and next spring, all her chrome fenders were rusted, the pedals were frozen and wouldn't spin and the paint was oxydized beyond waxing it out. One winter of "acid rain" was all it took to destroy her bike's finish.

Trailers are much the same. The dew settles on the trailer FILON over the cooler aluminum structure, when the sun comes up, it literally bakes the water out of the dew, leaving the dirt, grime, sulphur and acids that were in the dew. Just a few months of "sun baking the surface" and there's a problem that is no longer "easy to fix"...

I'll have to echo your and Brent's comments. We've had campers for decades but usually stayed in drier, cooler climates when traveling. A wash and wax once a year and you were good to go (RV was generally covered).

DD moved to FL so bought a new trailer and started coming down here just S of Tallahassee. I did the same old routine on the RV but I could tell something was going on with the finish because it wouldn't polish up and give that deep, clear look. By year 3 it was what I thought "oxidized" and I had to start buffing it out. Further checking and it is whatever is in the air here. Don't know if it's salt, acid rain (LOTS of rain) or what but it's in the air. Got here this trip and within 2 weeks I could run my fingers across the finish (washed and waxed just before leaving) and some sort of deposit was being left on the surface. We now have a mobile service wash and wax the trailer twice during the 5 mos. we are here to hopefully delay the day I have to get out that heavy buffer and start doing that routine again. But there certainly is something to the thought that "something" different is in the air here and it is very destructive to an RV finish as well as other things.

[gearhead]

Yes Houston has plenty of "things" in the air. We are about 15 miles due north of the Galveston/Trinity Bay system. With a prevailing summertime south breeze we get clobbered with high humidity off the bay. No telling how much salt is in the air. Then about August we will get a southwest breeze out of south Texas & Mexico that usually jacks the max temps to near 100F and carries all the pollution from Houston's "refinery row". It is heck on anything outside.
Like my old daddy used to say: "nobody comes to Houston for the scenery or the weather; they come for a J O B". Still true.
I have spent a week looking for an escape next July from this living Hell. So desparate I even considered Alpine Texas. Jeez I don't want to drive to Montana. Might just hunker down.

[gearhead]

Danny the best thing I found to remove whatever it is was 3M Marine Restorer and Wax, and unfortunately a Porter Cable random orbit. That thing gets heavy.
How did those new brakes work on I-10?

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by gearhead

Danny the best thing I found to remove whatever it is was 3M Marine Restorer and Wax, and unfortunately a Porter Cable random orbit. That thing gets heavy.
How did those new brakes work on I-10?

Yep, I have that Porter Cable buffer and some 3M at the barn which I had to use on the last trailer. Thankfully this one is still doing good but looks like I'll be either washing/waxing myself every time I look up or paying someone (I pay while here in FL).

Brakes are fantastic. In fact they were TOO fantastic coming down. They are adjusted too high and I need to adjust before leaving. As usual on this trip some yahoo tried to play kamikaze in Hattiesburg and I had to hit the brakes hard. All the years past with that situation it was normal RV stuff - hit the brakes and pray you don't rear end the guy. In this case he cut around me to pass, cut me off right in front of the front bumper then hauled his little car down hard to stop for......a yellow light. Prior to disc brakes he would have been rear ended and pushed right thru that yellow light. This time I hit the brakes but never expected the trailer to yank my truck back while the trailer tires howled and the smoke billowed....stopping about a foot off the rear of his "little" car....big truck bumper about ready to plow into his back window.. So yes, I'm VERY pleased with them.

[gearhead]

^^Great! I love 'em too.
edit add: about a month ago I was within a snap of my fingers of having a RV carport built in our back yard. Adding up all my junk...5th wheel, cabover, utility trailer, and john boat, I came up with 24ft X 50ft X 14ft high sides. The price just kept climbing...a concrete "footer" to set it on and more caliche to park on. I got sticker shock and backed away from it.
I bet at some point I talk to that salesman again.

[JRTJH]

Our second pole barn is 2/3 the size of the first one and cost us about 50% more than the first one. This fall I got quotes to add a lean-to on the back of the smaller pole barn. The lean-to would have (note WOULD have) cost more than building the entire structure cost when we put it up. Talking with the contractor, the going price of a pole barn with gravel floor and no electrical work is about 3 times what it was in 2014 when we built that one. Our cost back then was around $15k, today it's over $40k for the same building. YIKES !!!

The way prices are going, seems that every day you delay, the price goes up.

[gearhead]

Yeah John I've been pricing these "carports" for a few years. Price is going up, up, up. Betty says she's tired of hearing it, just do it.