Tires ate thru wheel well

[DAVSCH]

ATTENTION 2019 (Maybe all) Sport 22 foot owners!!!! The plastic wheel wells deform real easy!!!! I think my insulation pushed the wheel well right into the tire. The tire ate all the way through the wheel well at the contact point. I now have an 8 inch arc cut through the plastic wheel well. The only way I found it was by getting my head under the trailer and eyeballing up through the gap between the tire and the wheel well. I had no indication this was going on. I could not see it from the outside of the trailer. I only have 1900 miles on the trailer, all on hard top roads. No off roading. This is going to be a major repair!!! I can’t see any way to remove it except by separating the shell from the trailer frame. Like I said....check yours now!!!! This is a major incursion point for water to get into the trailer!!!!! I’m deadlined until this is fixed. ☹️🤬[emoji35]

[John&Vicki]

That’s really lousy, I can feel your pain. Keep us posted as things move along. There are many experts here who might have recommendations regarding repair.

[az-streamer]

Any chance of pics?

Could this be a result of a suspension failure?

Did it happen on both sides?

Do you know the gross weight of your Sport?

[DAVSCH]

Originally Posted by az-streamer

Any chance of pics?



Could this be a result of a suspension failure?



Did it happen on both sides?



Do you know the gross weight of your Sport?

Pics to come. Getting ready to pull that tire. Suspension is good, camper is not leaning. The passenger side wheel well cover is deformed a little and there may be a scuff on it from the tire as well. Trailer weight is 4500lbs. As far as I can determine, either the well-molding was torqued on installation and deformed it or something is pushing it from the inside. Unfortunately, I have to remove the microwave to MAYBE be able to look at the backside. All of the kitchen cabinetry engulfs the wheel well on the inside of the camper. I think it’s all going to have to be pulled out, shell lifted, and then the wheel well shell be replaced. Ugly for just a $200 piece of molded plastic.

[pcskier]

This sounds really off and I imagine a warranty issue. Unless you were carrying 10,000 lbs of rocks inside!

[DAVSCH]

[GMFL]

Never seen anything like it? What about the wheel bearing... if it was bad it would cause the wheel to [——\

[DAVSCH]

This is what I found after I pulled the tire. That’s single sided sticky foam rubber plate on the other side of the hole. Maybe it was holding the plastic away from the tire off the assembly line??? I don’t know. Anyway, temp fix by taking some Gorilla tape and pushing inward while I applied it. It’s given me about 3/4 of an inch of clearance for now. Off to the dealer for repairs this week. [emoji53] I think a trip to Jackson Center is in my immediate future.

[DAVSCH]

Originally Posted by GMFL

Never seen anything like it? What about the wheel bearing... if it was bad it would cause the wheel to [——\

Good idea, but the plastic pops in and out. When it’s in, the well looks normal. As soon as I let go of the plastic it pops out against the tire.

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by DAVSCH

Good idea, but the plastic pops in and out. When it’s in, the well looks normal. As soon as I let go of the plastic it pops out against the tire.

That sounds like it was a badly formed well from the factory then.

[J. Morgan]

One thing I can say almost for certain is that Airstream wont separate the shell to fix that, and nor should they.

I sure as heII wouldn't want to see it done that way if it was my trailer.

They'll patch it and/or back the hole using a type of bonding agent.

[az-streamer]

I’M guessing you already checked th other wheel wells for similar damage.

Was there any damage or wear marks on the other tire(s)?

[DAVSCH]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

One thing I can say almost for certain is that Airstream wont separate the shell to fix that, and nor should they.

I sure as heII wouldn't want to see it done that way if it was my trailer.

They'll patch it and/or back the hole using a type of bonding agent.

I hope so. My only worry is the plastic was torqued out of alignment while they mounted it. Unless they release the torque-induced bending, it’ll do this over and over again.

[DAVSCH]

Originally Posted by az-streamer

I’M guessing you already checked th other wheel wells for similar damage.



Was there any damage or wear marks on the other tire(s)?

There doesn’t appear to be any scuffing in the other wheel well, but the plastic well liner is beginning to deform as well.

[DAVSCH]

Originally Posted by DAVSCH

ATTENTION 2019 (Maybe all) Sport 22 foot owners!!!! The plastic wheel wells deform real easy!!!! I think my insulation pushed the wheel well right into the tire. The tire ate all the way through the wheel well at the contact point. I now have an 8 inch arc cut through the plastic wheel well. The only way I found it was by getting my head under the trailer and eyeballing up through the gap between the tire and the wheel well. I had no indication this was going on. I could not see it from the outside of the trailer. I only have 1900 miles on the trailer, all on hard top roads. No off roading. This is going to be a major repair!!! I can’t see any way to remove it except by separating the shell from the trailer frame. Like I said....check yours now!!!! This is a major incursion point for water to get into the trailer!!!!! I’m deadlined until this is fixed. ☹️🤬[emoji35]

OK. Analysis of the situation has been done by yours truly. It appears someone thought that double-sided sticky foam pads would hold thick plastic wheel well plastic forever. Maybe it will if the plastic is perfectly flat and doesn’t warp with time and weather. I happen to know, in the automotive industry, they use metal screws with big flat washers to hold wheel well plastic liners in place, not double-sided foam rubber. I see an engineering design problem here. My question is to the forum, has anyone else looked to see if their plastic wheel well liners are warping? With it rubbing against the tire, causing friction on the tires, this could be a NTSB issue. Thoughts anyone, similar happenings on your plastic-lined wheel wells?

[tbashin]

I'd cut out the bad area and a little more and bend a piece of aluminum and rivet it in.

[r carl]

Call airstream..

[panamerican]

Originally Posted by tbashin

I'd cut out the bad area and a little more and bend a piece of aluminum and rivet it in.

I would do nothing. It's a 2019, it's Airstream's problem and I'd be looking for more than just a simple patch.

As far as I can tell, there is no way to simply attach a patch to the outside. The wheel and the outer well are already touching, and so putting a patch on the outside is just going to do this all over again. Now, cutting it open and putting a big patch from the inside could work, with enough sealant, but if it were me, I'd want a proper fix/replacement. From the sound of it both wells are exhibiting some degree of the issue.

Looking closely at the pic, I notice the bottom lip extends beyond the frame, not a lot, but apparently enough.

[J. Morgan]

Sorry, but anyone recommending tearing the trailer completely apart to fix a plastic wheel well isn't really thinking the issue through.

Doing that would almost certainly introduce more issues than it would solve.

I'm about sure that Airstream has a good fix that's like a million times less invasive than that.

If they don't then I have no respect for their ingenuity at all.

When I switched to 225 tires, I burned a couple of wheel wells like that. If I were going to fix it, and maybe someday I might, I wont be taking the shell off of my trailer to do so. I'll come up with an easier way that will serve the exact same purpose.

[tbashin]

Originally Posted by panamerican

I would do nothing. It's a 2019, it's Airstream's problem and I'd be looking for more than just a simple patch.

As far as I can tell, there is no way to simply attach a patch to the outside. The wheel and the outer well are already touching, and so putting a patch on the outside is just going to do this all over again.

Sure you can patch it. You need to cut away enough plastic and put in a rigid enough aluminum patch (think bent to the correct angle) that is formed to be firmly and securely out of the tire path during flexing and would keep the plastic from further flexing as well.