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AndyfromTucson's avatar
AndyfromTucson
Explorer
Feb 20, 2017

Need ideas for repairing delamination on front of cabover

I have a delaminated area (about 10 inches by 28 inches) on the driver side edge of the sloped front panel of my Class C's cabover. I took the trim off that edge and have been able to reach in under the filon and pull out all of the rotten luan. My plan is to cut a piece of replacement luan to fit, slide it in, squirt in adhesive on both sides of the new luan and clamp. My problem is that I cannot figure out how to do the clamping part.

Here are some of the things I have considered:

- Build a really tall frame out of 2x4s stabilized by ropes, and then use spreading clamps to press a board against the delaminated area. This seems like a lot of work and materials to apply pressure to a small area.

- Use really long ratchet straps running from the hood of the RV over the clamping board all the way to the back bumper to press the clamping board down. This seems like it might not give enough pressure and would be awkward to set up.

- Drill a few holes through cabover panel and clamping board and tighten the clamping board down with long bolts and nuts. After the adhesive has cured remove the bolts and clamping board and patch the holes in the panel with epoxy. This seems like it would be the easiest up front, but I worry about patching the holes afterwards.

Does anyone have any other ideas or experience with using one of my ideas? Thanks in advance for your help.
  • Artum_Snowbird's avatar
    Artum_Snowbird
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2017
    I think I would take out the mattress and build an inside frame with a strong inside pad that is at 90 degrees to the slope of the panel, braced where and how you can.

    Then I would match that angle with another frame, perhaps hinged off a house or garage. Put a piece on the frame so that you can apply pressure from the frame over your outside pad, maybe using a hydraulic jack or two. Build it so you can apply shims if the pressure isn't even.

    It might work. The other option that I often see is putting in a whole new front piece. Likely that would work better.
  • Joe417's avatar
    Joe417
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2017
    I built a large clamp that went around the cab over, then used hand clamps. 4 2x4s and screws.



    If that is too excessive for you, some say they pulled it up close to a building and used it to push against.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2017
    Parking close to a wall and pushing against that will probably be easiest.
  • fourthclassC's avatar
    fourthclassC
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2017
    I've done a great deal of this type of delamination repair that has held up well. Here is my suggestion.
    1. Use lexan instead of new luan . Scuff up the same thickness lexan and drill some small holes in it to grab better.
    2. Use Gorilla glue. Moisten the area then slip the lexan repair piece in after both sides have been painted with glue.
    3. Use an expanding cargo bar (available from northern and other tool supplliers.)
    4. Brace the cargo bar against a building wall.
    5. After drying cut off excess gorilla glue, caulk any gaps with proflex and replace molding.
  • RVguy77's avatar
    RVguy77
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2017
    When I had delamination, I used Composet Products(delamrepair.com) and it worked really well. Highly recommend
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Feb 21, 2017
    Not all adhesives need super strong clamping to adhere properly. If you choose one that doesn't need a lot of force, particularly one that's fairly fast setting, your clamping arrangements get a lot simpler--potentially just having a few friends help hold it for a few minutes or rigging up some weights or something.

    I've heard of using spray foam to adhere the luan (or whatever) to the styrofoam insulation, assuming that's the core material. Relatively low expansion ("window and door") foam would probably work best. That has the advantage of having very good gap filling properties. I've used thickened epoxy for this sort of repair with seeming decent success; construction adhesive (if compatible with foam boards--some may not be) would also be a reasonable choice, though harder to spread evenly. For the Filon to luan bond, contact cement might work acceptably and requires only a good rolling to get a strong bond.

    If you have a front window on the cabover, you could perhaps remove it and use clamps that go through the window hole.
  • Snowman9000's avatar
    Snowman9000
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2017
    Andy, if you hung a couple of bags of sand from something solid on the roof or even the rear bumper, and draped them over the slope, do you think they would provide enough pressure? You might estimate this based on how much hand pressure it takes to press the filon down.

    You don't want to be so extreme that you collapse the darn thing.
  • BendOrLarry's avatar
    BendOrLarry
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2017
    If you are concerned about clamping the sloped front cap and not the side, then I can talk to you about this. I had 2 spots of delam, one on each side of my front cap window. It turns out my delam was from heat and a poor glue job from the factory. The issue is the same regardless, if it's from heat or water. The luan gets an air pocket between it and the outer fiberglass skin. I also used the epoxy resin from Composet. I highly recommend it. The trick is getting the epoxy into the top of the delam bubble so it can run down and be forced by pressure to contact all of the inside of the bubble. The other issue is to not get too much epoxy in the void as it will harden and then cause a solid bulge. I used a wooden frame with 3/4 inch hardboard to lay against the delam areas with ratchet straps pulling from the rear of the coach. You have to get the angle perfect to insure uniform clamping. I ended up drilling a small outside hole at the top of each bubble and then using the included syringe to inject the epoxy. I then filled and painted the holes. The repair came out pretty good. If I point it out you can see it but all in all it looks good. Good luck, it's not a fun project.
  • AndyfromTucson's avatar
    AndyfromTucson
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2017
    Thanks to everyone for all of the ideas and feedback! No magic bullets, but lots of good advice.
  • BendOrLarry's avatar
    BendOrLarry
    Explorer
    Feb 23, 2017
    No magic bullets? Don't know what you were hoping for... a secret code word that would magically make your delam disappear? There is no simple fix. You have material separation and you have to re glue it.

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