Community Forums

TIOsToy · 05-11-2025, 02:13 PM

I started my spring walkaround and found the side of my 2021 was bowing so badly in 2 locations that it popped the trim off. Do you have any ideas on why this would happen and a cost-efficient fix? Thanks

Lault · 05-11-2025, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TIOsToy

I started my spring walkaround and found the side of my 2021 was bowing so badly in 2 locations that it popped the trim off. Do you have any ideas on why this would happen and a cost-efficient fix? Thanks

Man, that is a new one and i've been on this forum as a 9 year owner and never saw this issue not even at Entegra rallies.

brobox · 05-11-2025, 04:05 PM

That looks the sheet metal screws holding the wheel skirts on have rusted off, or pulled loose. It happened on my 14. Replaced them with stainless steel tek screws, fixed it in less than 1/2 an hour. Can't really tell by your photo it's so shiney

Lault · 05-12-2025, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

That looks the sheet metal screws holding the wheel skirts on have rusted off, or pulled loose. It happened on my 14. Replaced them with stainless steel tek screws, fixed it in less than 1/2 an hour. Can't really tell by your photo it's so shiney

Chuck, looking again at photo and I think you are correct it looks like the wheel fender skirt, that I also had screws rust and break.

Magic-carpet · 05-12-2025, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brobox

That looks the sheet metal screws holding the wheel skirts on have rusted off, or pulled loose. It happened on my 14. Replaced them with stainless steel tek screws, fixed it in less than 1/2 an hour. Can't really tell by your photo it's so shiney

I think the top hung wall panel is bowing. Look at the reflection of the vehicle in the background. Its all distorted. That angle is coming off the edge of the sidewall.

I've never seen that happen on an Entegra hung wall coach.

MRUSA14 · 05-12-2025, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magic-carpet

I think the top hung wall panel is bowing. Look at the reflection of the vehicle in the background. Its all distorted. That angle is coming off the edge of the sidewall.

I've never seen that happen on an Entegra hung wall coach.

I agree the top panel looks bowed. I would send detailed photos to Entegra and get their recommendation.

dave&ginny · 05-12-2025, 03:21 PM

That happened to my 2015 Aspire. Have someone push the wall in and at the same time put some heavy duty screws in the bottom of the wall behind the fender skirt. I think I removed the fender skirt when I did mine. It's not a hard fix.

Cincy22EC · 05-12-2025, 06:28 PM

Perhaps water intrusion causing warping/rot of the side wall? That seems like the fiberglass is going to need to be removed or accessed from underneath. I don't think that trip is suppose to be "holding" the side wall flush so pushing it back and rescrewing it is probably just masking the problem if at all. After contacting Entegra I might remove the skirt and start inspecting.

Magic-carpet · 05-13-2025, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cincy22EC

Perhaps water intrusion causing warping/rot of the side wall? That seems like the fiberglass is going to need to be removed or accessed from underneath. I don't think that trip is suppose to be "holding" the side wall flush so pushing it back and rescrewing it is probably just masking the problem if at all. After contacting Entegra I might remove the skirt and start inspecting.

There is really nothing in that outside wall that would rot. From what I remember its a solid fiberglass (maybe 1/8" thick) wall that is glued directly onto the aluminum framing.

https://www.entegracoach.com/connect...-construction/

d23haynes57 · 05-13-2025, 07:33 AM

Add enough water and road salt and aluminum will corrode. Why many RV manufacturers have stayed with steel. Water inside the wall can freeze and blow off the skin. This happens more with rigs with fiberglass insulation as once it gets wet, it stays wet. If screws are rusting and popping the material holding them is also damaged.

Steve 716 · 05-20-2025, 03:26 PM

Do you have any indication of water intrusion inside your coach or in your basement? Are any floor tiles coming up. Are the walls in any of your bays spotted? Do you have any standing water anywhere? Is there any bowing at the edges of your roof or soft spots on your roof? Is your roof caulking fully intact? Are any of your awnings coming loose? These are some of the things to look for to, if nothing else, verify or eliminate the possibility.

As the cheap screws used in RV construction come loose or fail due to rust, roof and awning screws do the same thing.

TIOsToy · 05-22-2025, 09:18 PM

Thanks everyone. No water intrusion. I removed the tire apron and had to drill out the screws that broke. Not real happy but it all went back together. Entegra should be ashamed of shortcutting on screws that will rust.

m0v1 · 05-22-2025, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TIOsToy

Thanks everyone. No water intrusion. I removed the tire apron and had to drill out the screws that broke. Not real happy but it all went back together. Entegra should be ashamed of shortcutting on screws that will rust.

You are probably not going to like this opinion, but please know I am only trying to help you.

How did you determine there was no water intrusion? There appears to be a lot of rust (especially for only 4 years old) on the top side of that trim piece where it should be mostly protected from the elements. Water was probably seeping down between the wall and insulation and pooling on it. This presence of water also created galvanic corrosion of the screws which led to their early failure when coupled with the shear force of the buckling wall.

There is warping/flexing of the fiberglass in the pic. The shadow makes me think it was deflecting more than 1/2 or 3/4 of an inch. Can you estimate or did you measure how much it was bowing out?

Looks like the 1/8th inch fiberglass skin was either not adhered well to the frame wall and/or it has heaved loose. Regardless, that strip should not be the sole mechanical fastener to keep the outer wall flat. The failed screws you replaced are probably a symptom and not the source of the real problem.

How does the same hardware on the other side look?

If it looks totally fine and in much better condition then you should strongly consider continuing the investigation and/or taking this up with Entegra while you can. It will only get worse until you figure out the source of the issue.

brobox · 05-23-2025, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TIOsToy

Thanks everyone. No water intrusion. I removed the tire apron and had to drill out the screws that broke. Not real happy but it all went back together. Entegra should be ashamed of shortcutting on screws that will rust.

They buy bulk from China and are used for everything. Many are the wrong screws for the wrong job as you just found out. The other one is sheet metal screws, because they fit the air guns, to hold the shades up mounted to wood. Sheet metal screws cut wood, not hold it when bouncing down the road. Many screws used on our coach are what the workers had in in tool belt. Pull some of the basement panels off and the 8 screws are all different sizes. Screw choice at Entegra is really lacking.