Wall bubbling/ceiling marks/sources, severity?

OK, when I go in December to check out my prospective 1991 M26 I think I know what to look for regarding the exterior wood issue thanks to your comments.

Here are a couple more issues (my wife saw the unit last month, I was not along)

She said one spot in the wall had a small area of peculiar bubbling, like the interior had puckered away from what was underneath.  Reading over some old posts here I saw a couple along the same lines.

Is this something to worry about?  How would one fix such a thing if one could?  What causes it?  Etc.

One other thing the Mrs. said she saw, was the spot of the rear ceiling where one clamshell must rest on another, she said she saw some pretty obvious wear patches from the shells rubbing together.

Again, is this a big deal or no big deal?  Anything to be done about it?

Thanks again.  The more I think about it the chance to get a trailer this light and roomy for $7,600-$8,000 is pretty sweet.

I just want some confidence it will still be great for years to come, a 1991 is pretty old.

[Bill]

My wife said one spot in the wall had a small area of peculiar bubbling, like the interior had puckered away from what was underneath. Reading over some old posts here I saw a couple along the same lines. Is this something to worry about? How would one fix such a thing if one could?

As shown on the Trail Manor web site, the wall/roof construction is a sandwich of 3" foam with a textured aluminum sheet glued onto each side.  It is strong and lightweight. However, the aluminum expands with temperature at a slightly different rate from the foam, so occasionally the glue bond lets go.  I can't imagine that this is a real structural problem (as opposed to an appearance problem), so my inclination would be to overlook it if it is small as you describe.  Of course, if you had a couple square feet of de-bonded area, I would worry - but I've never heard of that.

One other thing the Mrs. said she saw, was the spot of the rear ceiling where one clamshell must rest on another, she said she saw some pretty obvious wear patches from the shells rubbing together. Again, is this a big deal or no big deal? Anything to be done about it?

This is common, not a big deal, and I don't think there is anything to be done about it.  It is a natural result of the shells moving slightly as you travel.  We have it in ours, and I wish we didn't, but we have learned to live with it.  You could repaint, but I think it would look worse than the rub area, and of course the new paint would immediately begin to rub.  I guess you could tape some sort of plastic sheet to the ceiling to take the wear while you are on the road - but what a pain!  I think the consensus of the group is that rubbing from the soft seals can't hurt the aluminum, so it is OK to accept it.  Of course, keeping the seals clean, getting the grit off, will slow the effect.

Hope this helps

Bill

Thank you.  My wife has seen this used unit once and we are both going back in Mid December.

It is at a dealer quite far away but is right on the way to her daughters house.

Now I think I'm ready to look at it in an informed manner.

Just a minor correction to Bill's excellent advice and comments... the walls & roof are made of a 1" thick "sandwich" of aluminum skin with foam inbetween.  It is the floor that is 3" thick.

Concerning the "rubbing" issue where the clam shells meet when folded and when open...

TM now installs plastic strips on the outside walls and roof of the back roof section, where the front section meets the back when closed, so the rubbing action while traveling does not rub the outside walls and roof. I plan to order the same strips for the inside to eliminate any possibility of wear. I need to check, but I think there are two seams inside where this might be needed. The center main seal area aft of the air cond and a strip further forward where the outside of the back shell rubs the inside of the front shell when closed. This should work nicely as long as it doesn't negatively impact opening and closing action due to a tighter seal. Any thoughts?

Wade