Anyone seen this happen? Above the curb-side bedroom window just in front of where the awning arm rests when stowed the siding is bulging out slightly. You can easily push it flat but it pops back out again. I don't know if the factory forgot a screw or if something came undone. There is no water damage though. What do you think the simplest fix would be that won't require siding removal?

 

There are clips underneath that connect each layer of siding and 1 or more of them has broken. The correct way to fix it is remove the whole panel front to rear and replace, at least, the clips if not the section of siding too.

That's what I had done under warranty on my toyhauler.

Then a few years later it happened again and like you I didn't want to tackle that big of a job. So I found an interior wood stud and pre-drilled a hole from the outside, filled it with silicone and installed a self tapping screw with a large washer from the outside to hold that paneling in. Again, I used plenty of silicone on the screw so it would be water proof.

My paneling looked exactly like yours but it was on the drivers side and at 70mph I could see it in my mirror and it was probably 2-3" farther out while driving. The dealer said it would only take so much before it peeled off and opened the side of the trailer like a tuna can. In your case along with your awning.

 

The awning arms should be lagged into the roof, so that should be safe. One thought I had was how about using the type of blind rivet that is sent with slide-topper awnings. They are 3/16", but unlike a standard pop rivets, they open up a great deal wider on the back side. They are used so they don't pull through the siding.

Glock Holiday is correct. The right way to do it is to take the entire piece down, but it is a pain and is time consuming.

Steve