Replacing fiberglass laminate skin.

[Flybynorth]

My entire left side is pretty much delaminated and rotted. I repair a lot of stuff myself and I'm wondering if I could re-skin the coach myself. Does anyone have experience with this type of repair?

1988 Chieftain.. With only 20K miles!

[TerryH]

As a suggestion:
You said the left side was "rotted". Have you found the water ingress point that led to sidewall rot? Very possible the ingress point is your roof. May be a good idea to find and repair the source of the leak and ancillary damage above the wall prior to wall repair and re-skinning. Start at the source.
Again, just a suggestion.
Terry

[Flybynorth]

You are right Terry, I will be addressing any water ingress. The left side had some external damage as will as dried out sealant on top.

Finally got the motorhome moved to our house this week. Tires are dry rotted and rear brakes inop. It took about 10 miles of driving for the transmission to start shifting into 3rd, although it may not be getting engine vacuum due to leaks. 10 years of sitting but once I got going the motor feels solid and tranny shifts firm.

[lemortede]

I just got done mechanically restoring a 88 22RC, now in the process of finishing the cosmetic stuff.
Feel free to hit me up with questions if you need as you repair stuff. I'm not kidding when I say I did alot of mechanical repairs to mine.
I can send you everything I collected document wise if that would be helpful.
I also have loads of pics and some videos that I made since finding good ref pics for this brake system was a bugger and not very good.
Make sure you join this site as a member. The $25 lifetime fee is worth every penny. The manuals and advice were invaluable.
With regards to the rear brakes, are they disk or drum?

[Rickf1985]

I am going to watch this closely because there are  ton of searches that will tell you all about the delamination but nothing about actually physically doing the repair of it. My 89 Chieftain is really bad and the 89 Pace Arrow I just got would need a lot of under the glass repair. I am hoping to see some answers before I start cutting that one up for scrap and then find out it was not that bad of a job.

[jeno]

I'm going to watch to I have it by my fridge and I need to learn how to fix it.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Might be best to discuss this topic by first describing what delamination is.



Left side picture
The wall consists of a laminated core to which the outer fiberglass skin is glued to.  The laminated core consist of a 3/4" layer of foam that has 1/8" luan plywood glued to under pressure to each side.  The precut outer skin panel is then glued to this laminated core.  The laminated core not only provides for a rigid wall structure it also acts a a rigid panel that prevents the fiberglass skin from expanding and flexing due to changes in temperature.

Right side picture
When a seal failure occurs (roof seam failure, window frame, door frame, vent frame, etc.), water leaks into the laminated wall.  The wet luan plywood begins to rot until both it and the glue on each side of it fails.  Given that the laminated core keeps the fiberglass skin from flexing, once the luan and the adhesive fails, the fiberglass skin can now expand and flex due to heat and cold cycles.  This expansion and flexing is referred to as delamination.

So any repair discussion has to either be addressed by starting with how to restore both the laminated core material and adhesives as well as how to clamp the pieces back together in order to provide pressure on the components while the adhesives set.

This could include
1. A total rebuild of the laminated foam core or,
2. The use of a gap filling adhesive that will:
  A. Bond to foam
  B. Bond to plywood
  C. Bond to fiberglass

Notice I said "gap filling".  The reason is you have to fill the gaps that have developed due to the rotting of the luan plywood.

Delamination Repair video by Crankey's Garage

[Rickf1985]

Thanks for the link to the repair Dave, That is the kind of stuff I am looking for. I do not have Filon on mine, mine is the older fiberglass or plastic that Winnebago used. Where it has separated from the luan it bubbled out and has actually expanded in many places. If you try to push it in it just pops out somewhere else. It will actually need to have a slice cut into it and a tiny bit removed so it will go back flush and then be glassed together. I am guessing at this because the skin does not look like the glass I am used to seeing on boats or cars. That is why the more videos we can get the better. Another thing about that video, when the wood rots and swells that is what pushes out the siding. How are they addressing the old swelled wood inside that needs to come out? I realize that the resin hardens the remaining wood but it is in a swelled condition and would not look right from the outside. I am thinking you need to get the whole side or area of concern loose so you can pull out the rotted and loose wood.

[fasteddie313]

This is the reason I ran away from that Winnebago and Bought a HR..



I searched my tail off too and found no good solutions. The only repair I came across was on a newer model RV where they shot glue in behind the fiberglass and clamped the side of the rig against the side of a building with a sheet of osb and jammed boards between the two, but I don't think that's going to work with rotted wood behind.. The response I got here was something like "screw it down the best you can and drive it till the wheels fall off".

God knows I hate wood and carpentry, in general, terrible stuff, but I am still dealing with flooring and paneling in my MH. At least that stuff isn't some complicated laminate magic and it can actually be fixed reasonably..

Did I mention I hate wood? It has stupid irregular grain unless its 90% glue, it warps, has a crown at times, gets eaten by bugs, can't weld it, can't get it wet, cracks, splits, rots, slivers, can't really be bent or straightened after it bends by itself, just a terrible building material all around..
But it's cheap..

[Rickf1985]

Eddie, I can assume you are NOT a carpenter then? :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

[jeno]

My wife works for a fiberglass factory, they build cat hoods john deer stuff and mri machines. I'm going to have her look into this and see what she can find out. It might take a little time but I'll let you guys know.

[Rickf1985]

Any info is good info. I have done quite a bit of glass work on boats and know how they are done from the mold up. I would think the sides of the Winnebago are done the same but the sides of mine just do not act like the fiberglass I am used to working with. It is more flexible, sort of like a plastic body panel on a modern car.

[fasteddie313]

Eddie, I can assume you are NOT a carpenter then? :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

Absolutely not... But sometimes I am forced to fake it..

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

It is more flexible, sort of like a plastic body panel on a modern car.

Because of the laminated inner core for structural strength, that is not surprising to me.

I suspect is this type of material: Filon Fiberglass

[Rickf1985]

Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic, I wonder if that is the same as the FRP for sale at Home Depot and Lowes? I have used that for wall covering in the commercial kitchens on our campus.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Sorry, I am not sure.

[Flybynorth]

I cut back some of the skin and pulled out alot of the rotten wood. I used aluminum to shingle the side and repair the broken area. I am essentially bolting the rest of the skin back tot he wall and sealing each bolt. Not fancy, but waterproof and cheap.