Lamination?
The dealer trying to sell me a Heartland Wilderness keeps going on and on about how the TT is laminated. Aren't most fiberglass models laminated? What about delamination? Anything to worry about here ...
Forum Discussion
There are different degrees of lamination. One is that used in boat building where a layer of gelcoat is sprayed in a mold and then built up with layers of roving and mat, saturated with epoxy. It makes for a very strong but heavy layup.
the process for trailers is not nearly as sophisticated. Trailer "laminate" consists of chopped fiberglass shot onto luan plywood rolled with a thin layer of epoxy and then sprayed with gelcoat. Jayco claims to have some kind of pressure roller system that they put it through, but the end result is relatively the same from what I've seen.
The difference between marine and RV fiberglass is that the marine layups are resistant to water and it usually takes several years of water leaking into an opening to cause the beginning of delimitation, also called blistering. On a trailer, almost any water intrusion into the raw edges or the uncoated surface of the wood will result in delimitation in a pretty short time. That is why you read so much about owner inspection and maintenance around windows and doors. Both aluminum/stick and fiberglass trailers are OK. They are what they are.
the process for trailers is not nearly as sophisticated. Trailer "laminate" consists of chopped fiberglass shot onto luan plywood rolled with a thin layer of epoxy and then sprayed with gelcoat. Jayco claims to have some kind of pressure roller system that they put it through, but the end result is relatively the same from what I've seen.
The difference between marine and RV fiberglass is that the marine layups are resistant to water and it usually takes several years of water leaking into an opening to cause the beginning of delimitation, also called blistering. On a trailer, almost any water intrusion into the raw edges or the uncoated surface of the wood will result in delimitation in a pretty short time. That is why you read so much about owner inspection and maintenance around windows and doors. Both aluminum/stick and fiberglass trailers are OK. They are what they are.
