Delaminated Arctic Fox 811

towpro wrote:
a couple weeks there was a guy up in new england that had a side delaminate and I think it popped out of the corner molding. he was repairing it with epoxy and you press boards up against the side, putting pressure on the fiberglass from a tree or something as the epoxy dries. But there was a storm comming and he was delayed taking the boards off and I never did hear the end or see final pictures.

I have a 2011 open range roamer with similar damage and looking for a solution. Manufacture offered to fix it for $28,000. they wanted to replace both sides to fix it. but camper is only worth $15K trade in with no damage.

Cargo stabilizer bars are a fairly cheap way to apply controlled pressure to side wall panels

mellow wrote:
Shucks, was hoping someone would post about a super easy way to fix delamination :(

I went and looked at this 2003 Lance 1161 and it has delamination really bad on both sides and on the wings, actually has a hole in the side by the slide letting water in and the guy would only come down to $12k, was thinking it would be a good winter project but not at that price. If the guy would come down to $6k-$7k I would pick it up, but I was still trying to figure out how to fix that severe delamination.

I was thinking I could inject gorilla glue then use a roller to attach it back?

Whoa, that's only a $12k camper in good condition! He's dreaming and waiting for a sucker.
On another note, gorilla glue would not be a good thing I don't think. It expands as it cures. Would require too much pressure to keep it from just pushing out the fiberglass.
I'd go for epoxy, or something more liquid like rubber cement.
I took out the front window on my 03. Has some delam on the front cap, but dry and not rotten. Leaked when new and sealed up way back then.
Aside from it being too stiff on the curved part to effectively push it back in place, the bond between the 2 surfaces has pulled the "paper" off the luan or whatever the backing is. Didn't look like it would bond well to me even if I could have pushed it back in. With that, I think you want some type of adhesive that will penetrate the surfaces some to keep it stuck back together.

First off if the delamination was caused by water damage, there won't be anything to glue the fiberglass back to underneath the bubble.

Second off, you'd need an adhesive that worked instantly, otherwise you would be "rolling" for hours and hours until the glue cured.

If you don't know what lurks under it, you could be just making more work down the road. Mold and rot aren't something to be sealed up and forgot about.

Delamination is mostly just cosmetic. It looks horrible but it is not the end of the world either as long as you figure out what caused it. At times, it is easier to work on the inside and pull panels/insulation rather than attack it from outside. This will give you an "easy" button up job on it and also to see if it was water damage or glue failure.

And grit is right, if you are looking at a damaged rv and it's not REAL cheap or your a wizz kid at fixing things...run away!

http://www.delamrepair.com/

also search internet on rv delamination repair.

trev1964 wrote:
Ok!
I have bought an Arctic Fox 811 slide in camper, I love it. The shell 811 was used for a week by the previous owner, never used anything in it apart from the bed. So it is mint!!
The problem is the owner parked it and simply walked away, not maintaining the roof or any areas needing sealants, so its suffering severe delimitation. Any suggestions on repairing the 811? do it myself vs taking it to RV shop ?

Thanks

Trev

RV shop will charge you more than what the camper is worth, drill holes in the delaminated areas insert glue and press wall area with a brace and patch hole, you can also diamond plate the whole camper since its only 8 foot, it would be rugged and last for years with diamond plate sides..

towpro wrote:
http://www.delamrepair.com/

also search internet on rv delamination repair.

Thanks for that link, I had seen that but wasn't sure if it was too good be true or not, maybe someone here has used it and will chime in.

As for that Lance, no way would I pay what that guy wants for it, like I said it would be a winter project if I can get it cheap. I have replaced the rotten roof on my current TC, delam shouldn't be as much ripping apart if that injectable stuff works and I can find the cause of the delam.

timmac wrote:

trev1964 wrote:
Ok!
I have bought an Arctic Fox 811 slide in camper, I love it. The shell 811 was used for a week by the previous owner, never used anything in it apart from the bed. So it is mint!!
The problem is the owner parked it and simply walked away, not maintaining the roof or any areas needing sealants, so its suffering severe delimitation. Any suggestions on repairing the 811? do it myself vs taking it to RV shop ?

Thanks

Trev

RV shop will charge you more than what the camper is worth, drill holes in the delaminated areas insert glue and press wall area with a brace and patch hole, you can also diamond plate the whole camper since its only 8 foot, it would be rugged and last for years with diamond plate sides..

That's not the worst idea I've heard! Looked at some light guage Diamond plate for the front of mine to cover up the delam. Ended up living with mine the way it is, but it would look sweet and not horrendously expnsive. 4x10 sheet was like $100. Black powder coat was less than 200.

What kind of weight would a fully DP'd TC add up to?

My concern with an already compromised shell is finding suitable substructure in which to fasten the steel... don't what those plates coming off when going down the road. One would also need to think of how to seal the EO plates assuming that they would be butt jointed on the flat.

Maybe use aluminium diamond plate vs steel...