Hung Walls ?

ckwizard777 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:

rmalik1 wrote:

transamz9 wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
So if there's Luan backing on a hung wall system, what's to keep the Luan from separating from the fiberglass should there be a leak? The fiberglass exterior is glued to the Luan, so the only adhesion is where the Luan meets the stud. I don't see it as delam proof. Still trying to figure out why hung walls are superior.

IMO they are not. If anything to me they are not as good. Fiberglass insulation will settle over time especially bouncing down the road. Lam walls also are much stronger for the weight. I am in industrial and commercial construction and we use Lam panels a lot on our projects (at customers request) and they are very strong and last very well compared to other processes. In the RV industry the biggest problem I see with their methods is that they use a backer (Luan)that is not resistant to water intrusion. The panels don't necessarily de-lam. The Luan gets wet and separates which causes the blister look. This can and will also happen with a hung wall using Luan as a backer. The problem with hung walls is that the Fiberglass insulation will also wick the water that gets in and make other problems.;)

My take on the subject is that repairs if needed make it a superior construction method over non-repairable laminated walls.
The other thing that I wanted to see as the original poster is I wanted to see if mostly the better constructed and better built 5'ers used this method - aka DRV, Excel, Lifestyle even New Horizon.

IMO and it is my opinion that the units that you call better built are actually more expensive because they are more expensive to build not "better built". It cost more to build hung walls. More labor intensive and more hard materials. A lot of people say that the less expensive coaches use cheaper and lighter frames but in all reality the one piece lam walls are structurally stronger than hung walls also lighter so less frame is needed.

This is completely wrong,
Units with hung wall construction use a stronger frame with more aluminum content for the wall to adhere to. (Excell used wood)
In comparison laminated walls are strong but use much less frame so the rig ends up seeing much more frame flex and the problems that it causes because of it.

A lam wall is part of the frame. A lam wall is much stronger in all directions than a hung wall. A Lam wall spreads the load through the whole wall as a hung wall has the load applied to the welded joints in the wall's frame. A lam wall needs less frame strength.