Fiberglass Molded Trailers and Outgassing?
While I could ask on one of the specific websites that address fiberglass trailers, I might be eaten alive for asking because of the loyalty to the trailers so I'm wondering if anyone here has experie...
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Resin/gelcoat has been used in boatbuilding for years. Yes, the uncured resin is quite nasty (calls for respirator/filters) but most of the odor goes away as it sets up. Any lingering odor does fade with time. Wherever it's covered in gelcoat you're really not going to smell the resin at all, though there may be a faint chemical smell from the gelcoat when new, which will also fade away.
Where you will notice an odor is any areas where the fiberglass layup isn't covered by gelcoat - the inside of the camper skin is probably not covered in gelcoat but I imagine there's insulation and an inner skin, so not much odor gets through. It probably won't be any worse than a new car. Maybe some odor lingers inside a cabinet that's not insulated from the outer skin, especially on a hot day, but that's it. I wouldn't expect a TT cabinet to be built that way, though boats often are.
FWIW, I have a fiberglass sailboat and I only notice a fiberglass odor if I'm back in the "unfinished" bilge area under the cockpit or pulling something out of an unfinished (on the inside) locker. Even then it's not the odor that gets me, it's the prickly glass fibers that get under my skin because they just painted back there instead of laying in gelcoat or epoxy. Itchy itchy!
Where you will notice an odor is any areas where the fiberglass layup isn't covered by gelcoat - the inside of the camper skin is probably not covered in gelcoat but I imagine there's insulation and an inner skin, so not much odor gets through. It probably won't be any worse than a new car. Maybe some odor lingers inside a cabinet that's not insulated from the outer skin, especially on a hot day, but that's it. I wouldn't expect a TT cabinet to be built that way, though boats often are.
FWIW, I have a fiberglass sailboat and I only notice a fiberglass odor if I'm back in the "unfinished" bilge area under the cockpit or pulling something out of an unfinished (on the inside) locker. Even then it's not the odor that gets me, it's the prickly glass fibers that get under my skin because they just painted back there instead of laying in gelcoat or epoxy. Itchy itchy!
