Laminated Fiberglass Walls

3 tons wrote:
Not unlike a 2x4, the advertised 2” wall thickness is merely a nominal figure whereby 2” camper wall thickness is actually at 1.5”, but still good and not to be dismissed…

The premium exterior siding product is made by Lamilux (particularly Lamilux uber glossy 4000), used by Eagle Cap and Adventurer (superior to Filon, especially so of Filon atop luan…).

https://www.lamilux.com/composites.html

Also Azdell is a top-tier composite product totally unrelated to cheap Luan, and is unaffected by moisture.

https://azdelonboard.com/

3 tons

Except although Azdel might be top tier, the panel is laminated together with water soluble adhesives thanks to the EPA so if water gets in there you can still have the same end result, delamination. The only difference is the Azdel will not come apart itself like luan might, and it wont rot. But if the Azdel releases from the foam core or the Filon/Fiberglass releases from the Azdel due to the adhesive failing, you've gained absolutely no benefit.

It sure looks good on websites and sales brochures though, sort of like "4 season", "highest quality", "Amish Crapmanship", etc.

Given the choice I'll take the Azdel but it's not the bulletproof thing that some people think it is. A lot of manufacturers will only use Azdel for the outer substrate and still use Luan for the inner layer (Layer that wall covering is applied to). What does that gain you?

Not unlike a 2x4, the advertised 2” wall thickness is merely a nominal figure whereby 2” camper wall thickness is actually at 1.5”, but still good and not to be dismissed…

The premium exterior siding product is made by Lamilux (particularly Lamilux uber glossy 4000), used by Eagle Cap and Adventurer (superior to Filon, especially so of Filon atop luan…).

https://www.lamilux.com/composites.html

Also Azdell is a top-tier composite product totally unrelated to cheap Luan, and is unaffected by moisture.

https://azdelonboard.com/

3 tons

BCwestcoast wrote:
Looking at purchasing a new camper.

Looking for experiences with the Adventurer 901SB / Arctic Fox 865

I like the 2" R13 insulation of the Adventurer, I dislike the layout and storage.

I like the layout and storage of the Arctic Fox but would like there to be something more than the R7? insulation.... (actually, they don't specify what the wall insulation is. Just that it is 5" thick at the crown)

What has been everyone's experiences with the laminated aluminum framed walls with either of these campers?

How has the build quality been?

Have they solved the problem of laminated wall campers coming apart like a cheap watch at the slightest hint of moisture?

artic fox is probably one of the best insulated you can get, the wall thickness on the artic fox is 2" so if you assume about R7 to R8 per inch for 2lb closed cell insulation there walls will be R14 to R16. which is pretty much the same for the adventure. the celing on the artic fox will probably be better insulated than the aventure though.

My camper is alumium sided but we are upgrading this year to a fiberflass oneand Im looking at the same two companies plus one or two others. all my trailers and 5th wheel have been fiberflass sided and havent had an issue with them over the last 25 years

some manufacturers have started using 1/4 lauan plywood that is treated to not degenerate when it gets wet.
Example forest river calls it Azdel they use on both inside and outside walls.

I checked north-wood and grand-design, I would expect if they use something different than just plywood they would call it out in advertisements but I did not see it.
but really if you never have a leak it should not delamanate, but I personally have never had a camper that did not leak, even with maintenance 2x per year.