how to relaminate

[joe b]

I've been reading about delamination on many units and I understand that to relaminate means you must get inside the wall. But does anyone know how you would relaminate the siding to the frame once you get inside it? I get no results from a search.

Thanks,
Joe B

[Festus2]

Are you talking about delamination of an exterior side wall where the skin or fiberglass is "glued" to a core material like closed cell PVC foam and has become "unglued" OR just the separation or delamination of fiberglass within a skin only? The later usually involves two or more layers of fiberglass that have separated.

In most cases of delamination, the first step is to dry out the area and if you are talking about a "sandwich" type of delamination, then you may have to rebuild that area before going on to the next step which could involve injecting resin into the spaces where the separation has taken place.

Fiberglass delamination is not a simple and inexpensive fix. Depending upon the size of the area, it may be cheaper to remove the whole section and replace it with a new one rather than doing the repairs. In addition, the results of the repair may not always turn out the way they should.

Unless you are very familiar with fiberglass repairs, it might be worthwhile taking it to an RV repair facility that is able to carry out an assessment of the delaminated area and get an estimate of the repair costs. If there is a marine/boat repair facility in your area, you might try that avenue. I think I would trust a good marine shop to do the fiberglass repair over an RV place that has little, if any, experience or knowledge in fiberglass repair.

[joe b]

I don't think the fiberglass sheet has split, I think it just became unglued from the frame behind it, probably due to water damage somewhere. I figure I have to get to it from the inside because the whole wall is one piece, but I wasn't sure what type of glue or adhesive to use.

[hankpage]

If you are talking about a rear wall ... it is not attached to very much and moves a lot normally. If it is a motorhome it is most likely constructed differently.

[Ken / Claudia]

You will not know what the cause or how bad the problem is until you tear it up. I had a small delamb problem on the artic fox. I let it go for several years and than took it to the factory (200 miles away). They said 800 to unknown until tore it open. It was 1200 in repairs. I did not like to pay but, it was done right with 1 year warranty and never another problem. Sold it 5 years later. I am willing to repair or fix almost anything, I could not have done that repair. Good Luck

[MJB]

I saw a travel trailer stripped of its front cap at a Cougar dealer.
I don't think the trailer in this case was Keystone.
It seems like the solution to a delaminated front cap is replacement.
Not to trivialize the work but it seemed that they removed the edge mouldings & separated the cap from the roof & hey presto it was off.
I'm sure that the front caps are supplied by a common manufacturer for many brands of trailers.
These things happen.
However it is how the problem is resolved that separates the good from the bad.