TV Cabinet Reflection 220RK slide - interior lower trim covering pealing!

[Yoda]

As I was punting things away I pulled a box out from under the TV in the center slide and GOOD GRIEF - see what I found. Box shows no water damage

And all the way across the bottom to the far side
And
Its also doing this along the front bottom rail too, but only on inside and top. Note it is going up the side in the far corner and with the gap I cant see water going vertical. There is also no discoloration either.
No damage so far appears in front, and if it was water there should be. It appears the vinyl covering is spiting for some reason. I am wondering if it could be condensation as this is the slide floor, no insulation and was extended for some time. I looked at the belly, window frame, skirt trim, and fridge vent and could see no indication of water intrusion.

Thoughts - and is this considered a structural issue? GDRV-Emily @GDRV-Megan
@DaveMatthewsBand
Do you have this going on too?

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

[Cate&Rob]

Hi Keith,

Are these calcium/salt deposits on the vinyl or splits in the vinyl? Even zooming in on your pictures, I can’t tell.

Rob

[TucsonJim]

I've had a similar issue in the past, but yours looks slightly different. This material is not solid wood. It is a particle board or pressed board material and the finish is a vinyl wrap that is glued on. In my case, the "wood" shrank in our very dry Arizona air. But the vinyl did not. The result was that almost all the vinyl in the coach became badly wrinkled. Grand Design had to take the coach back since it was still under warranty and replace the cabinets.

In your case, it looks like the opposite might have occurred. It appears that the underlying "wood" has swelled and the vinyl has stretched and split. Could this be caused by excess humidity? The "wood" swells and the vinyl tears? It's certainly worth considering.

Jim

[Yoda]

Hi Keith,

Are these calcium/salt deposits on the vinyl or splits in the vinyl? Even zooming in on your pictures, I can’t tell.

Rob

No deposits. As Jim mentions the vinyl has split and is some cases the particle board is fragmenting. The humidity here does swing a lot, from very wet to bone dry. We get heavy dew and frost at times - where you can see the trailer structure on the sides.
So could this be considered a structural issue covered by warranty, or am I SOL

One puzzling question - GD is very weight concerned and every pound counts, so why are they using heavy particle board when poplar is much lighter and much stronger.

[Yoda]

I've had a similar issue in the past, but yours looks slightly different. This material is not solid wood. It is a particle board or pressed board material and the finish is a vinyl wrap that is glued on. In my case, the "wood" shrank in our very dry Arizona air. But the vinyl did not. The result was that almost all the vinyl in the coach became badly wrinkled. Grand Design had to take the coach back since it was still under warranty and replace the cabinets.

In your case, it looks like the opposite might have occurred. It appears that the underlying "wood" has swelled and the vinyl has stretched and split. Could this be caused by excess humidity? The "wood" swells and the vinyl tears? It's certainly worth considering.

Jim

Jim - wrinkled like this?

[TucsonJim]

Jim - wrinkled like this?

Exactly. Just like mine.

[Yoda]

Wondering - could it be the vinyl shrunk and then at 17 degrees the vinyl just cracked? Also if there was any moisture in the particle board it cold have froze and split. I have sent an email to GD customer service asking them to take a look. Maybe Monday or Tuesday I might get a reply.
Thanks folks

[Cate&Rob]

If "particle board" trim gets wet, it is not likely to return to its original shape as it dries out. It does not look like the trim with the split vinyl covering has changed shape . . . so, it probably didn't get wet. What caused the vinyl to shrink and crack is a good question. Cold & heat cycles probably have something to do with this but I would suspect there is a component manufacturing problem in this somewhere because this has not been widely reported.

Rob

[Yoda]

I got thinking last night. This cabinet spans more than 1/2 of the slide and is screwed to the slide floor. If in operation or travel the slide floor flexes that that wold put stress on what is essentially a wood beam across the floor. With all the bending it might cause the vinyl to crack, however I would see that on the front of the cabinet too and I am not. After things warm up today I am going to check the pantry floor and other places I can see. If this migrates to the front of the cabinet I am worried how expensive a fix this will be.

And for some reason I thought GD used hardwood frames, not just the doors. And BTW some of the hardwood doors have cracked (very small at the seams) and the Dealer said it was normal. Might take a few pictures of that too.

[Guest]

Could possibly be the way this material is being applied. Too tight and it becomes thin on the edges and cracks. Too loose and if there is any wood shrinkage it ends up with wrinkles. Humidity might be playing a role in this as well. I like the poplar idea but this may add cost.

Jim

[Yoda]

I took a few more pictures but will take me a while to resize. No issue in the pantry on the other side of the wall. Also there is no sign of water behind the wall in the TV cabinet area - just construction dust.

[Yoda]

OK -the next few photos are of the TV bay that sit behind the above photos. There are no signs of water ever being there.


Note that the base of the luan backing board, floor, or trailer wall show no water damage.

[Yoda]

Now for the inside of the pantry that is directly next to the TV cabinet.
While no damage on the side, the front center lower member has a bit of vinyl damage center on lower cross member. Also note one pocket screw is missing.

[Yoda]

I also got some better pictures of inside the lower cabinet that is in front of the TV bay. These are the back side of lower front bottom rail.
Now in the second and third pictures there is what looks like a crushed area. It not - just an optical illusion. I actually went back out to the trailer to feel and its the vinyl bunched up.

[Yoda]

Last pictures are of cabinet seams coming apart. I had asked the dealer to check these during the one year punch list I gave them and was told it was a non issue and normal.
This is the lower right corner of the sink cabinet. Seam is warping (wonder if they forgot another pocket screw) and note the rounded corner is split - far right. I also see that Emma - my German Shepard left a little hair around.
Here is the left side of same sink cabinet. There is evidence that someone tried to use a colored wax pencil to cover it up - great color match don't you think?

Now for the big one on the bottom of the cabinet above the stove.


Well enough pictures. Hopefully GD will contact me about this and possible let me know here of what up?
Thanks Folks

On edit - one good thing is I learned a lot of new things about my camera