Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks: Mysterious dents

Mysterious dents

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Topic: Mysterious dents

Posted By: 1tulip
Subject: Mysterious dents
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2016 at 4:08pm

OK... this is totally weird.

We've had our Rpod for a year and a half (bought new). LOVE IT. We've gone boondocking with it quite a bit and this weekend for the first time we were at a real-live RV park. But that's beside the point.

Here's the real question:

I thought it was a shadow or trick of the light... but when I hooked up this past week, it seemed there were two indentations on the front "forehead" curvature of the pod. We live in Nevada and there are NO TREES OR BRANCHES I could have hit. It was one of those "go-figure" passing observations.

Now I brought it home and we're all unloaded, and we're beginning to see two more. They are all in a line across the front of the pod.

It was not caused by something striking the pod. There are no scratches. And again, we have nothing out here under which we can drive.

So, my thought is that this has to do with temperature extremes. Because we have a LOT of that out here in NV. The sun striking the front of the pod (it faces west in our driveway), followed by cool temperatures in the high desert (we dropped in to the 30's over the weekend) might be putting some kind of stress on the materials the pod is made of.

Does anyone have any other ideas?

It's still under warranty and I'm a little concerned about getting Forest River to believe me that I did not dent my pod. So I would very much like to hear your advice and your theories on my mystery dents.

Replies:

Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2016 at 5:20pm

It's called "oil canning"usually caused by temperature fluctuations. Non structural or leak causing.

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Posted By: bjk
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2016 at 9:55pm

I noticed a new one on mine and I got to wondering if it is due to the force of the air against the front of the pod while driving (if I was ambitious, I'd work out the math, but I'm not at the moment). Since I don't have a canopy (let alone a deflector), the airflow hits the front dead on rather than towards the top. At least mine, the impressions are directly on the front most curvature.

My first thought was that I didn't drive enough to recoup the cost of a canopy in gas savings. I'm now reconsidering on the possibility of self induced impressions on the front of my pod. As furpod stated, it isn't structural and it isn't causing leaks, it is just an annoying blemish. I see them, but I know what to look for where most everyone else won't even notice.

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2016 HRE R-179 "CapPODccino"
2011 F-150 SLX

Posted By: 1tulip
Date Posted: 06 Sep 2016 at 10:31pm

I think I better look at the pod at different times during the day and see if the dents change with the temperature. Here in NV we have, in terms of ambient temperature, a 50 degree swing during the day. If the sun shining directly on the skin of the pod, I'm sure it's much warmer than the surrounding atmosphere.

Posted By: 1tulip
Date Posted: 08 Sep 2016 at 5:36pm

Definitely getting much worse. I think it's starting to look like a bunch of small pox scars.

Posted By: Oldgeezer
Date Posted: 10 Sep 2016 at 4:28am

Ours have the same dimples in the curve on the front. Was told that it is normal from someone cant remember who.