Why Does Delamination Bother So Many People?

botts12 wrote:
I don't think I have ever seen an Outback trailer without delamination.

x2.

I simply cannot believe that with all the technology that the RV manufacturers don't use a quality waterproof adhesive between the laminates.

Wilderness by Fleetwood. Worst camper for delamination. After we lost half the wall going down I81 I called and researched and found this was one of the main reasons they stopped building travel trailers (or fith wheels). An entire summer and I rebuilt the whole drivers side front of the camper. Now the passengers side is ready to blow off so will be tearing it apart and fixing it next. We still owe 12K on the unit so i have no choice. Insurance will do nothing as it was a "manufactures" defect and referred me to the manufacturer...who is no longer in business. If and when we buy another camper I will be doing lots of research prior. Its not easy to repair and is not cheap to do either.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
No reason at all.......

I would paint this one like a American flag. It would have a 3D affect like it was waving.

That picture is an extreme example of delamination, and considering how old that camper looks, it's not really surprising. However, if caught early enough, the delam can be contained if the water intrusion is fixed and there is no extensive damage done. Obviously only time will tell. I don't think anyone is really "happy" with delamination, but life's too short to be worrying about it.... We have camping plans that need to be met! :) Like previously posted, ours has a bit of delamination from a previous leak that has since been fixed, but I've watched it over the past year and it has not spread. We take it out and enjoy the camping lifestyle. Whenever that sidewall decides to fall apart, I'll then junk the camper and start over with another camper. The camper is just a means to a lifestyle anyway, and it's replaceable.

Having said that, if I did see a camper for sale with delamination, I'd likely walk away from it. But being the owner of one that has delaminated, I choose to continue using it until the side falls off or I get bored of it. :) Happy camping!

Old-Biscuit wrote:
No reason at all.......

:B hey it just looks like a inflatable camper that just needs some more air. Sounds like the OP is happy with the damage to their unit. :h

No reason at all.......

pnichols wrote:
This may sound like it's either real dumb, or making sense ... in order to save a $$$ RV from the scrap heap:

Why can't one put small screws, spaced out within the delaminated area, all the way through the walls with washers on both sides and a nut in the inner side. Seal carefully around the screw head/washer on the outside as you're tightening it down and then paint the screw head/washer to blend in with the outside coach walls. Paint the screw head/washer on the inside to best you can to blend in with the interior wall surface (some may even be inside cabinets) where the washers and nut are on the inside after cutting off the excess screw length to be flush with the nut.

It seems like this could be carefully done so as to not look too klugey ... better than throwing away an otherwise good RV. After all, some RVs have an aluminum skin with rivet heads every few inches all along the outside seams and we think it's cool. Some expedition RVs have all kinds of stuff bolted/attached to the outside walls and we think it's cool.

See ... I said it might be a real dumb idea. :(

I thought along the same way when I had some delamination. What I was going to do was to add an fake air scoop or a decorative emblem on the outside and screw it on the delaminated area to flatten it out. What I finally decided was to fix it by removing the windows and re bonding with polyurethane adhesive. Knowing what I know now I would use the adhesive and the emblem it would be a lot less work.

Mold growth in the leaking wall?

If it is actually delamination of a laminated panel wall, it is a structural failure that reduces the rigidity of the wall panel, and capacity of the wall to carry loads.

A lot of the delamination complaints I see here, however, are about ripples in the skin of a section of the RV that is not a laminated panel, at least not on that particular RV.