Forum Discussion

greyhoundman's avatar
greyhoundman
Explorer
May 03, 2015

delamination

Our 1996 Itasca suits our needs very well.Only problem is some rather serious delamination in the passanger side near the back.We are in our mid 70s and do not want to finance new MH.Is anyone aware of a good repair shop in the Charlott NC area that does this kind of work or maybe it is a lost cause and we just need cut our losses.Will appreciate your opinions.
  • Serious delamination is USUALLY the result of a serious leak. I would get rid of that coach since there is a good chance that the roof, floor and interior wall has moisture damage and may already have a mold problem.
    Once you start repairs, there is almost no turning back. It could become a money pit and the cost of the repairs will almost surely exceed the value of the coach. Getting rid of it now may provide some sales/trade in positive value but once you start repairing it you could easily go in to the negative value.
  • I would go to a boat shop and ask them. Those people know if it's worth fixing or not. I have done honeycomb-fiberglas repairs and it is a lot of work. You must rout the damaged, layup new cloth, sand, and keep layering and sanding for hours. I repaired a P# Orion Radome that had a Gooneybird stuck in it, not the DC3 but an Albatross with a 12 ft wingspan. Took 3 weeks, due to the cure times and 6 coats of paint.
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    If you can post a picture of it you can get more accurate advice once folks can see how bad it really is.
  • If it's not as bad or as widespread as the previous picture you might try Composet Products LLC. I used it on our 1992 Monaco. One difference from the method of application is that I devised my own system of applying clamping pressure. You just need a structure tall enough so the moho can be parked parallel to it.



    Mike
  • Years ago we had the same problem with a '90 Southwind. I checked around as you are doing and found the repairs to be exorbitant! The BEST estimate was $10,000 per side! Live with it or trade it is my advice, Bob
  • I would venture to guess that with a 19 year old coach the repairs might cost more than it is worth. It's a very labor intensive job. Maybe not to the extent of an aircraft radome (repaired shipboard radomes in a past USN life) but still at $100+ an hour labor rate the work can get very costly. The other problem is what ever the size of the delamination that you can see or feel, double it. Usually there's more damage then can be seen. Best option is to find what is causing the damage and fix that to stop further delamination and live with what you have as long as the coach is still safe to use.
  • The camper in the picture is rough. I had mild delamination on my last rig and I was unhappy with it. The one in the picture blows my mind.