How to prevent delamination

[Biggyniner]

Hey all,

Since I will be getting a fiberglass sided trailer in the near future I was curious about delamination and how to prevent it.

1.)Is it primarily caused from moisture getting into the wall and separating the material, or are there other causes?

2.)What are some best practices to prevent this from occurring?

Chris

[wbwood]

zackyboy3rs wrote:
Don't buy a TT. I am thinking no matter how well one keeps up the TT it is still going to leak & then the "D" word.

Not necessarily...many of the new TT have fiberglass shells on the front now. This is normally the area of the delam. But again, if you keep up with the sealing and don't cause any damage, then there shouldn't be any issue. It's not 100%, but pretty effective.

[zackyboy3rs]

Don't buy a TT. I am thinking no matter how well one keeps up the TT it is still going to leak & then the "D" word.

[wbwood]

Keep inspecting as others mentioned and resealing. Not sure where you are gonna buy your trailer at, but if you buy it from CW, they give you an Elite membership. As part of that membership, you get a free inspection of your unit every year while your an Elite member (3 years). We had them do the free check this spring on our Class C. They located a small hole in the roof and sealed it. Not sure when or how it got there. Was never seen before. But there was no damage from it. They also checked all the other seals and other components. While it's good to keep an eye on it yourself, it doesn't hurt to have another set of eyes or two looking at it as well. I don't think you have as many issues of delam with the newer units as you did with the older ones. But can still happen...

[mdcamping]

NHIrish wrote:
Water. That's it...just keep the water out.
Keeping water out just isn't as easy as it sounds with all of the flexing and movement of the frame and structure while towing. Takes constant checking.

This is especially true with the hybrids, combine that with the new environmentally friendly caulks & glues means I'm constantly recaulking seams after every trip which becomes a real drag... 😞


Mike

[NHIrish]

Water. That's it...just keep the water out.

Don't assume that the factory self leveling caulking on the roof is done right. Smart money is to Eternabond the seams and joints...or reseal if there is any question. Silicone used on side panels often pulls away from one surface without being noticeable. The factories usually apply a pretty little bead that is really only a surface application and does little to actually seal the joint.
Keeping water out just isn't as easy as it sounds with all of the flexing and movement of the frame and structure while towing. Takes constant checking.

[Sinnettc]

Vacuum infusion is common practice in the boating industry. I've not heard a lot of complaints about delamination, though it does happen, as do voids. There seem to be fewer voids with vacuum bagged hulls and decks though. FWIW, mine was NOT vacuum bagged and I have several voids right under the gelcoat in the cockpit seats that need to be ground out, resin'd and the gelcoat repaired.

The obvious difference I see is in the amount of gelcoat (if you can even call it that) and type of glass fiber that's being used. The gelcoat on our TT is very thin, so thin that I can see that they used sprayed on chopped glass, not woven cloth, to make the panels because the texture shows through. Definitely not the quality of workmanship that was used to build my Catalina Capri 22 sailboat. Of course if the TT was built to the same spec as the boat it wouldn't be an ultra light. I'm also not sure how to deal with hairline cracks in the TT gelcoat because it's going to be extremely hard to match the somewhat translucent shade.

Chris: Our TT sat for 4 years uncovered down here in Albany and doesn't seem to have suffered much beyond some chalking on the roof and lichen all over the A/C cover (but only the A/C cover). Prior owner had 2 or 3 Dri-Z-Air tubs inside and they seemed to help, though I'm not a fan of the open top which is easily spilled (usually when I trip over it). I use a DampRid hanging bag in the boat, which is under a tarp (open at stern) from October through mid-May, and have to change it out once a season. I switched to the same thing in the TT after we bought it in March and it worked fine.

Let me know how it works out if you try a cover on your TT. I'm planning to use mine nearly year-round so putting a cover on/off every time I want to go to Newport for the weekend seems like a pain.

Go Beavs!

Chris

[ScottG]

FrankShore wrote:
Respectfully ScotG, I disagree with your assumption that vacuum bonding is the same as pinch rolling in laying up a wall. I didn't bring up pinch rolling. I was just saying that sucking all the air out of a laminated product is a recipe for disaster, in this case, delamination.

Why? By using vacuum on the outside of the wall it is compressed similarly to pinch bonding. Different methods for the same results - a glue laminated one piece assembly. Both leave no voids inside the wall where water could collect. All voids are filled with glue.
Your not thinking there's a vacuum left inside the wall are you?

[ScottG]

Bumpyroad wrote:
buy one with Azdel used on the sides.
bumpy

That would be my choice if possible. Unfortunately that leaves very little choice.

[FrankShore]

Respectfully ScotG, I disagree with your assumption that vacuum bonding is the same as pinch rolling in laying up a wall. I didn't bring up pinch rolling. I was just saying that sucking all the air out of a laminated product is a recipe for disaster, in this case, delamination.

[Bumpyroad]

buy one with Azdel used on the sides.
bumpy

[ScottG]

There no difference in regards to vacuum vs pinch bonding when it comes to potential delam. They both accomplish the same thing and neither is more prone to it. Further, BOTH will delam if water gets inside. The big issue is keeping either from leaking by doing maint.

Also, I live in one of the dampest regions in the country and swear by my cover. It keeps the TT clean and dry and certainly does not "trap moisture" under it at all. That's because covers are designed to breath.
Not that it would make much difference though, before installing the cover I place a thick plastic tarp over the entire roof and down the sides about 2'.
Not only does the TT stay dry but after installing these covers I found that my Dry-Z-Airs only filled up once during the winter season rather than the three times they used to.

[FrankShore]

Biggyniner wrote:

FrankShore wrote:
Don't buy a vacuum bonded trailer!

So aluminum sided then?

No, there are plenty of laminated trailers that don't vacuum bond.

[Campfire_Time]

FrankShore wrote:
Don't buy a vacuum bonded trailer!

Why?

[ed6713]

Delamination is caused primarily by water leaks. They mostly start around a window.
Twice a year do a very careful inspection of all caulking around windows, roof seams, ect.. Replace as necessary and you should be OK.