paneling problems - Hi-Lo camper travel trailer forum

melkern53 · 07-10-2010, 09:03 AM

I have a 2007 Hi-Lo Towlite that has bubbles in the paneling. These are on the upper part of the camper.
Any ideas on what causes this, and also how I go about fixing it.

JackandJanet · 07-10-2010, 11:21 AM

Unfortunately, the "veneer" is just "plastic wallpaper". There was probably moisture or just an air bubble trapped there when it was applied. I wonder if you could prick a small hole it in with a pin to release the pressure, then press it back into place. Possibly a heat gun or hair dryer might "set" it then?

- Jack

melkern53 · 07-10-2010, 07:54 PM

Talked with the dealer that sold us the camper, showed him pictures he said it is moisture. For $11,000.00 he will repanel the camper. That sound rather expencensive. Any ideas of a cheaper fix would be helpful.

Tony · 07-12-2010, 12:40 PM

Wow!! $11,000 - for the whole camper? Might be better to trade for a different camper. '07 being that new sounds like a factory problem.
We have a similar problem with our '06 and it was mostly around the large
kitchen window from the bottom of the window, down. I peeled off the wallpaper and it dried up real quick, but may have to take out the window
and check it out completely. I re-caulked the outside of the window where
it looked like it could've been the problem. I called the factory about wallpaper and he said that the panelling comes in already with the wall covering on it. So we've used some border to go over some of the area
and I bought some of that commercial rubber baseboard from Home Depot
and cut and placed it under and around the window to cover that area up.
Looks like a backsplash - being a kitchen and all - might be an improvement
actually. As long as there is no more water/moisture getting in.

melkern53 · 07-16-2010, 09:31 PM

Talked to the dealer again, he says the problem is called wicking.
His other sugestion was to sand vinyl wallpaer, seal and reaply wallpaper.
Now with Hi-Lo closed, does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can get something that might match the walls I now have.
Unfortunatly the dealer we had is of no help at all.
When I asked him about Hi-Lo closing he asked me where I heard that because he was unaware of their closing. I did e-mail him a copy of the article from RV Business. He has not responded to my e-mail.

wvjeepr · 07-17-2010, 10:47 PM

How about using plastic backsplash for behind the sink and counter. This is available at home centers. If you contact a home trailer dealer you prob can purchase the wall covering I think they are used in house trailers too.

Harry

skmwalden · 07-18-2010, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melkern53

Any ideas on what causes this, and also how I go about fixing it.

melkern53 ... I will relay my story for what it's worth. Your issue may be totally unrelated to the problem I had.

I bought a new 2708-T unit (off of eBay) from a dealer up in Indiana. When I went to pick it up, I noticed that there were several spots in the top half of the unit where a "prickling" effect was showing through the paneling. It was almost like grains of sand were expanding and pushing into the back side of the wallpaper making it "prick out" on the inside surface. I was getting a pretty good deal on the unit so I decided to take a gamble that Hi-Lo would fix it, had it documented by the dealer and took ownership. I then called Tom Stacey at Hi-Lo and described what I was seeing and he seemed to recognize pretty quick what I was talking about like he had seen it before. I thought it was a water leak problem but here is what he told me. The end result was that I took my unit up to Greg at JR Enterprises and Hi-Lo paid to fix it under warranty (that was back in 2009 in the good old days).

Tom said that Hi-Lo had received a bad shipment of paneling from a manufacturer in China that had a "high salt" content in the plywood that they used to make the paneling. The salt crystals would later start to expand which was pushing through the wallpaper on the inside. This matched up with what seemed to be happening so I took his explanation at face value and moved on. Like I said, they fixed the unit by replacing two (2) sections of plywood on one side of the top and life was good.

Here are a few pictures of the paneling before it was fixed. You have to look closely to see it.

That's my story and I am sticking to it!

melkern53 · 07-18-2010, 02:52 PM

Thank-You for posting your pictures. If I didn't know for sure I would think you took pictures of my camper. This is exactly the problem I am having with my camper. But when I tried to get the dealer support me on the issue that it was a factory problem. He would not file a claim on our behalf. This was in 2007, on one wall, either the dealer or Hi-Lo fixed it, at that time it was one wall, now it is on three or more differt spots in camper.
When I sent pictures to Tom Stacy in June 2010 his reply was "sorry you are having problems, but your camper is 3 years old and Hi-Lo has a one year warranty.

nickeldoor · 08-17-2010, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melkern53

i have a 2007 hi-lo towlite that has bubbles in the paneling. These are on the upper part of the camper.
Any ideas on what causes this, and also how i go about fixing it.

i fixed my cabinet doors with thin roll cork.cheap and looks good.

2807C · 08-19-2010, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by melkern53

I have a 2007 Hi-Lo Towlite that has bubbles in the paneling. These are on the upper part of the camper.
Any ideas on what causes this, and also how I go about fixing it.

I also had bubbles in my paneling. The factory said they did not know the cause but that it could be overlaid with another panel.
J&R Repair (that handled Hi-Lo parts for the factory before they closed) did the repair. They overlaid the 2 sections of wall (from front corner to the cabinet and from the rear corner to a wooden strip) with a new panel with the same color and design as the reast of the walls. Their email is jrrepair@centurylink.net and their web site is JR REPAIR They are located at 145 W, Elm St. Butler, Ohio 44822 (in the first Hi-Lo factory building). Hope this information is useful to you.

Harley D · 12-04-2010, 08:24 PM

Hi, I am a new member and my husband & I just purchased a 1996 Funlite 24' hi lo.
We are remodeling the inside, in the bathroom around the shower and on the two wall by the sink and stove and a little strip behind the sink/counter area we are putting up counter material, like wilsonart. It is a flexable laminate and you can get it in many colors and styles. We went to a counter shop and got enough pieces to do the job for free!
Harley D