Laminated Fibreglass vs Hung Fibreglass

[Charli]

Want to move to a bigger 5er including upgrade of the overall construction quality from our current XLite. For the most part trailer walls seem to be made from laminated fibreglass with either wood or aluminum framing and block foam insulation. Apparently the wall strength comes from the lamination and not as much from the rather sparse framing material.
I came across the Cedar Creek/Silverback from Forest River and they claim their "hung fibreglass" is better construction and eliminates "delamination". Their aluminum studs are 16"OC or less which, according to them, provides better structural integrity than the laminated walls and repairs to the walls are easier and cheaper than laminated.
On the positive side of Lamination the Luan that is laminated to the fibreglass would provide at least some thermal break and the block foam insulation should provide better R value per inch than the batt insulation in the CC. I would also worry about the batts settling after years of bouncing down the road and leaving gaps. Spray foam would be the best solution but probably adds too much to the cost.
What are your thoughts or experience with "hung" vs "laminated".

[brookside]

colliehauler wrote:
I look at what I consider the top 4 DRV, New Horizon, Excel and Spacecraft and they use both types hung and laminated. All of these are low production units that I feel pay more attention to detail. My opinion.

I just saw a 2005 NH on the web for sale that had the worst case of delamination that I have ever seen. I just googled "delamination in Mobile Suites" and came up with a 2010 with a delam issue. (You should always google and check owners forums for "issues" including delamination.) If the laminate fails, it doesn't matter how much you pay for the unit in the beginning. Anything laminated can fail. You have something glued together, what do we know about things that are glued together? It gets bumped all around........ Luck of the draw or so it seems! We have rethought our choice after seeing how prevalent delamination is. I think the earlier units may have been better but everyone is always looking for a way to cut costs. It can be other than leaks that start the process, it can be a failure of the materials or in the manufacturing (laminating) process.

[GregK]

goducks10 wrote:

Some never delam, some do very soon. More than likely it should take years before getting any if at all. Check the roof seams, window, doors and anything attached to the outside for cracked, missed or poorly done caulking. I check my 5'er every month or so. Just walk around it and look for anything that might create a leak. Fix it and you should never have delam.

I'm not so sure one method is actually better than the other. Cost of the process could have something to do with why manufactures choose one over the other. Execution is the key in my book. Most delam seems to occur from poor factory execution and or owner neglect.

That makes sense. Thank you.

I will be checking mine out all of the time, as I'm sure everyone should be doing anyway. 🙂

[goducks10]

GregK wrote:
Being fairly new to this I have to ask - How often is this a problem? At what age of the 5er do the walls typically delaminate?

Is there any maintenance that will extend the life of the laminated walls?

Some never delam, some do very soon. More than likely it should take years before getting any if at all. Check the roof seams, window, doors and anything attached to the outside for cracked, missed or poorly done caulking. I check my 5'er every month or so. Just walk around it and look for anything that might create a leak. Fix it and you should never have delam.

I'm not so sure one method is actually better than the other. Cost of the process could have something to do with why manufactures choose one over the other. Execution is the key in my book. Most delam seems to occur from poor factory execution and or owner neglect.

[GregK]

Being fairly new to this I have to ask - How often is this a problem? At what age of the 5er do the walls typically delaminate?

Is there any maintenance that will extend the life of the laminated walls?

[colliehauler]

I look at what I consider the top 4 DRV, New Horizon, Excel and Spacecraft and they use both types hung and laminated. All of these are low production units that I feel pay more attention to detail. My opinion.

[TriumphGuy]

I purposely went after hung wall for our current camper after dealing with delam on a vacuum bonded wall 5er last time around. So now I have our Cruiser and am thinking that if I have issues they will be (slightly) easier to repair than what I went through last time.

But I admit both can have issues. If they aren't done right, none will be good.

[larry_barnhart]

I feel if either method is done correctly it doesn't matter but I think the wall hung has a better look. I know the glue can be a factor on either installation.
chevman

[Atom_Ant]

tbred wrote:

Atom Ant wrote:
Which brands use lamination? I don't even know what mine has.

According to Redwood's site, you have laminated walls.

Ah, looks like the trick in recognizing it is to look at the stud spacing on the brochures. The hung walls are 16". I notice DRV are even 3-1/2" thick.

[Charli]

I haven't done a thorough search as to who has which type of walls but it appears there are only a select few that use "hung" walls. In fact till a few days ago I thought everyone used laminated and never heard of "hung".
Cedar Creek, Silverback and Cruiser use hung. But some upper end makes such as Montana, Cardinal, Durango, all Jayco and Heartland makes use laminated. So it's not necessarily true that the pricier makes use Hung and that laminated is more for economy level trailers. So not sure if that throws water on the premise that hung is a better method.
It's frustrating trying to do comparisons on construction methods, like suspension, insulation, axles, etc. cause some websites have sparse info and of course each Mfg says their method is the best.

[tbred]

Atom Ant wrote:
Which brands use lamination? I don't even know what mine has.

According to Redwood's site, you have laminated walls.

[Atom_Ant]

Which brands use lamination? I don't even know what mine has.

[larry_barnhart]

FiverBob I do not believe there is a top of the line anymore. Some just cost more money.
chevman

[FiverBob]

Look at the construction of just about every one of the rigs considered top of the line - - hung wall. That should quickly answer your question.
Bob

[ckwizard777]

You can get delam. with laminated and hung wall its just less expensive to repair hung wall delamination and hung wall is also less likely to hold moisture.
Personaly I would only purchase hung wall construction with high gloss fiberglass because I have bad memories from laminated walls.
I just wish Holiday Rambler would go back to the aluminum skin on the Alumiscapes...I would be the first one in line 🙂