Why Does Delamination Bother So Many People?

The primary cause of delamination is water intrusion..ie, leaks. On a laminated wall, part of the wall strength comes form the bonding of the skin to the frame and foam insulation. Once the delamination starts and the luan plywood backing comes apart lets go, the wall is no longer a strong structural member.

Another part of the issue with delamination, is you cannot see how extensive the damage is within the wall...the structure can be rotted or rusted.

If the OP is happy to accept an RV with delamination, he should enjoy his RV. I for one would not even look at it once I spotted delamination.

Kne

We had delamination on our last fifth wheel because of a couple of leaking window seals in the bedroom. Yes, it can be repaired structurally an the leaks can be fixed, we kept the unit for another five years after the repair and had no more problems, but it will never look right and really does an number on resale or trade in value.

kvangil wrote:
I see quite a few delaminated campers at the campgrounds around here. Mine does have some delamination too. it's about 12" wide at the back left side of the TT. Previous roof leak caused the delam; the roof leak has since been repaired, and I've kept an eye on the delaminated area and it has not spread. Otherwise the TT is solid all around. The way I see it, I bought a 9-year-old camper for $6K, so if it holds up and my family can enjoy camping in it for the next 5-7 years, I have no problem with it. You can see the delaminated part only when the light shines on it from a certain angle, and it's otherwise water-tight.

X2 on this post; I'm with you here, and probally got our $$ worth
already. Delam on a camper is like concrete waiting to crack...
they all do it sooner or later.

Brian

newman fulltimer wrote:
who can name what manf has had the most post about delam

Keystone. At least that's what I've gotten from these boards over the last few years. That is one brand I would never own.

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. :(

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.

Mold growth in the leaking wall?

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.

No reason at all.......

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