Delamination Insurance

If you want insurance against delamination - don't buy a trailer with laminated panels and it won't delaminate. That doesn't mean you won't have water leaks and major problems. It just means you'll have different major problems. Best insurance you can get is called "Preventative Maintenance".

I don't have any data to back this up but I feel a lot of de-lamination problems are due to over-occupancy. Humans breathing, cooking, bathing, etc, etc, produce a lot of moisture. These trailers (especially the lower end ones) just aren't setup to absorb that moisture. This is probably one of the big reasons manufacturers void warranties for full-time use (not sure how they'd know unless you told them).

I see this pattern with houses and apartments. Too many people in a small apartment cause all kinds of problems to the building from all the moisture they produce. And very often there are more people living in a given apartment than what it was designed for.

It absolutely amazes me how much condensation in on the inside of my 5th wheel in the morning after 5 people have slept in it. Along with maintaining the exterior I always make sure and dry it out really well after each use. I leave the heat running on a low setting, leave fans on and a couple windows cracked for a couple days after use to make sure I'm not sealing up bunch of moisture.

ldmc wrote:


But still looking for an insurance or extended warranty that covers this type of stuff, if such a policy exists.

If you look/search long enough and hard enough - you MIGHT find the
insurance you are looking for - or ins that 'seems' to apply.

However - if it exists "in some form" - "applying" the coverage, as in getting repairs covered......will/would be like climbing Mr. Everest.

Besides collecting - other glitches would/might be:
Very expensive, company goes out of business, etc.
And of course - they just might say....."NO! - for whatever reason.

Put your insurance premiums -or projected premiums- in a savings account and call it your "De-lam fund" - - for when the sky falls..:W


:C

Delamination isn't as much a problem as it once was, but you won't be unhappy with a Cedar Creek product for more reasons than just that. I just bought one and it's a lot different that the Heartland product it replaced.

B.O.

I'm very good about maintenance on my trailers, that part I'm not worried about.

It is the part like WTP-GC stated, failure due to manufacture defect, that happens 3-4 years down the road is what concerns me.

This is one of the reasons I started looking at a Cedar Creek, they do not use laminated walls.

But still looking for an insurance or extended warranty that covers this type of stuff, if such a policy exists.

DanNJanice wrote:

WTP-GC wrote:
This is an interesting subject, but I see it a bit differently.
Delamination is usually due to lack of maintenance or manufacturer's defect (probably more-so this). I don't think I've ever seen a fiberglass/composite RV more than a few years old without some level of warping or delam. That being said, your EPDM rubber roof failure can also be attributed to lack of maintenance or defect, yet we've read numerous accounts on this forum alone where folks have had their roof replaced by insurance. In my mind, there's not much difference.

If a roof gets replaced under the manufacturers warranty, it is likely one or both of the following apply.
1) Within its first year of life, so sealant is still good.
2) Has some defect like staples popping up, glue failing, etc.

Extended warranties are iffy at best when it comes to covering any water type of issues. Your best defense is maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!
FYI, Jayco replaced the front of my trailer for a delamination issue (not caused by water intrusion) without any questions. Trailer was about 8 months old.

Also, if the roof gets replaced by insurance (which not the same as warranty repair) it is likely because of some "event" like a branch tears up the roof, owner hit something, etc. Of course the owner would have to have full coverage insurance on the trailer for this to apply.

WTP-GC wrote:
This is an interesting subject, but I see it a bit differently.
Delamination is usually due to lack of maintenance or manufacturer's defect (probably more-so this). I don't think I've ever seen a fiberglass/composite RV more than a few years old without some level of warping or delam. That being said, your EPDM rubber roof failure can also be attributed to lack of maintenance or defect, yet we've read numerous accounts on this forum alone where folks have had their roof replaced by insurance. In my mind, there's not much difference.

If a roof gets replaced under the manufacturers warranty, it is likely one or both of the following apply.
1) Within its first year of life, so sealant is still good.
2) Has some defect like staples popping up, glue failing, etc.

Extended warranties are iffy at best when it comes to covering any water type of issues. Your best defense is maintenance, maintenance, maintenance!
FYI, Jayco replaced the front of my trailer for a delamination issue (not caused by water intrusion) without any questions. Trailer was about 8 months old.

This is an interesting subject, but I see it a bit differently.
Delamination is usually due to lack of maintenance or manufacturer's defect (probably more-so this). I don't think I've ever seen a fiberglass/composite RV more than a few years old without some level of warping or delam. That being said, your EPDM rubber roof failure can also be attributed to lack of maintenance or defect, yet we've read numerous accounts on this forum alone where folks have had their roof replaced by insurance. In my mind, there's not much difference.

Probably none. Your best insurance is to regularly check caulking and keep it sealed.

B.O.

I am sure that all manufacturers would be willing to admit the RV had a manufacturing defect rather than poor maintenance. NOT
want to avoid delamination, buy an aluminum RV
bumpy