Full Version : Fiberglass worming
etncc >>Ask a Dealer >>Fiberglass worming


clarkfamily- 07-03-2007
Does anyone now about a problem by this name? I have a 07 Flagstaff 831 that has this problem. The dealer called the factory and they want it back there to make the repair, The dealer I purchased from said they would probaly replace the sides on my camper i was wondering if that could cause a problem down the road? See I took the camper back to the dealer within the first week of ownership and not only that but I pointed out to the salesman when i purchased it and they where just under the decals at that time and he said OH, that just needs the decals replaced and that i could bring it back in, because we where headed on a 7 day trip the day I took delivery. It looks like the fiberglass is bubbling up. sad.gif Thanks for any info.

willy3486- 07-03-2007
I have done some fiberglass work but I am not a expert. I wonder if they did not mix the epoxy to the proper percentage. What I have done usually is half and half. Another thing I have noticed if you do not get enough of the epoxy in the mat it will do as you said. I have had it to bubble in the past doing bodywork.The trick I have found out is to have the fiberglass mat saturated with epoxy. My guess is the fiberglass mat may not have had enough epoxy. Either way I would have them to fix it now under warranty. You don't want to have to buy siding for a trailer, trust me. I checked on the prices and its not cheap.

StarVol- 07-05-2007
Some call it worming some call it frog skin, I call it a pain in the woohoo.

I went through this on a unit i bought from Gulf Stream. what happen the manf of the fiberglass got to much moisture in the mixture and when it got to a certain temp outside then it would boil the moisture and cause the bubble or worming
to happen. Most took place under the decals because this is where the heat happen to be the hottest. Most decals has some metal flakes in it and it would cause the fiberglass to heat up first. Most factories wanted to sand down the bubbles in the fiberglass and fill the paint in and stick new decal over it. Problems was then the worming started outside the decals and never did look right. True way to fix it is to repair it like a damage in the fiberglass cut our the part and fill in from the back to the top and then blend in the paint. What I did on mine was sell it as a discount to the customer and they were happy the factory was happy and I then became happy. The factory figured the cost it would take to get me happy and found out it was much cheaper to give the retail customer a discount. It is more of a appearance problem then a structure problem right now.
Not sure what it will be like ten years down the road. Mine had about 6 places in it under the decals and one place out from the decal. Each about 2 inches in length.

I know our products carry a two year warranty on the fiberglass. National RV Class A run into the same problem with a gel coat finish fiberglass and had to replace several of them.

Hope this helps.


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