What is this on my wall?

[KRSmitty]

Originally Posted by CZNEDY

That is a sign of water. The glue behind the wallpaper creates little bumps when water gets into the walls. Check your roof seals and any windows in the area

Yes...had the same problem with my 5er. They had to replace the whole rear wall (insurance claim). Within 6 months started happening again. Never did see any water though. Traded it in on a new one.

[rollscanardly]

Rich

[PenJoe]

If these do turn out to be carpenter ants as the picture of the wall strongly suggests, and you keep the RV at home, you may also want to check your sticks and bricks. These ants have a tendency to set up colonies in proximity to the main nest. At least treat the perimeter.

[BruceFR3]

I retired as a Building Science Consultant. You definitely have water intrusion in the wall system. Most Wall paper products are vapor barriers, that means they don’t breath. Water moisture can't escape from the wall system.
Permeance is the moisture transmission rate of the membrane. It is a performance test and is stated in perms. Lower numbers indicate better performance.
Permeability is another term used to describe moisture transmission of a material. It is a theoretical number calculated by multiplying permeance by thickness of the polymer. It is reported in perm inches.
Mold right now is your biggest problem. Mold starts to grow very fast and can be harmful especially to children, older adults and pets. From one picture it looks like Black Mold has already started to grow.

[Dpelaez]

Yes, I already stated the cause was water damage. The carpenter ants will not migrate to that area if there was no moisture to draw them. So in conclusion you have 3 problems.

1 Moisture penetrating the substrate
2 carpenter ant infestation
3 Mold

The solution is always find the source first. Where is the water getting in ? Fix that , fix the damage, kill the ants and test for mold. PS: Don't get a HD mold test kit. They don't work. I am a hygienist and air quality testing and mold protocols are what I do. You need to find a local hygienist. or Mold Assessor. A professional who's licensed will know how to test and remedy any presence of mold.

[Kchamp40]

Originally Posted by ENGINEER

Have you notified Forest River? Since it's a 2018, warranty claim is important. What is your dealer doing for you? You have rot behind the wall boards and ant infestation....water intrusion is to blame...have you ever visited Elkhart IN? Might be the fastest solution if you are close to the end of warranty! keep folks posted....

Funny thing, found another owner of same make model and year with same problem and both our units came from same dealer. [emoji848] An RV tech (not at dealership) mentioned we might be driving it to Elkhart.


We are days outside 1 yr warranty so we are proceeding carefully. My proof this issue occurred prior to 1 year is inside that wall. I have no confidence in the dealership because they failed to correctly attach plumbing under bathroom sink. It was just sloppy work. The dealerships lot is all white shells and the white dust foot tracks in our rig was appalling. They could have at least swept up their mess before returning it to us. So I don’t want them touching my RV.

We have taken a few actions to document and gather evidence and got news today, so we are ready to call FR tomorrow.

I’ll keep ya posted when we leave for Indiana [emoji41]

[Kchamp40]

Originally Posted by DouglasReid

Get a report from the exterminator and get it to FR. IF it was there from the factory they should cover it under warranty.

Yes thanks!

[Texas]

Originally Posted by Kchamp40

This is the bugs coming out of wall. Attachment 173756Attachment 173757

If I had an insect problem I would use Wisdom TC from Tractor Supply Company. I would spray the outside from top to bottom including the underside and interior. I also carry this in a hand sprayer to use on the ground at campsites where ants are a problem. I spray hoses, cables, tires, etc. Anything touching the ground.

[Kchamp40]

Originally Posted by BruceFR3

I retired as a Building Science Consultant. You definitely have water intrusion in the wall system. Most Wall paper products are vapor barriers, that means they don’t breath. Water moisture can't escape from the wall system.

Permeance is the moisture transmission rate of the membrane. It is a performance test and is stated in perms. Lower numbers indicate better performance.

Permeability is another term used to describe moisture transmission of a material. It is a theoretical number calculated by multiplying permeance by thickness of the polymer. It is reported in perm inches.

Mold right now is your biggest problem. Mold starts to grow very fast and can be harmful especially to children, older adults and pets. From one picture it looks like Black Mold has already started to grow.

Thank you so much! I never thought of mold!

[LisaLeighG]

Perhaps the ants are feasting on the glue?

[Kchamp40]

Originally Posted by Kchamp40

Has anyone seen anything like this? The wallpaper design makes it hard to see and you can only see in certain light. This is located on the rear wall of RV. It looks grainy like sand and is tough but you can’t remove it. It’s hard and behind wallpaper. Thanks!

Katie & Frank
2018 Forester “The Note”
Attachment 173738Attachment 173739

Update 6-8-18
We spoke with FR today and I cannot even begin to tell everyone the outstanding customer service they provided. They assured us everything will be addressed and put us on a priority status and were willing to take the rig today but since it’s a 6 hour round trip drive to where we need to bring it we will go Tuesday. We are feeling relieved at this point since we are a week outside our 1 year warranty and were told our issue began sometime ago.

[woodyrock1]

That's good news. Best of luck.