Moisture and Delamination, Now What?

[tcg]

I purchased a 1996 Shasta 28' Class C on an E3500 3 years ago.

Less than 50,000 miles 2 owners and they were freinds.

Interior is as like new as you can get for a 22 year old rig. The cab is also like new.

Everything works, new tires, generator works perfect.

Now the bad news. Just noticed a 1 square foot area of delamination under the rear bedroom window. Pushing in on it it's very solid once it hits the substrate. On the inside when you push on the paneling its pretty soft.

Borrowed a professional moisture meter from a fiberglass shop I do business with and the whole area shows wet. The rear corner for about a foot on the rear and side shows wet. Inside the rear closet the paneling is a bit squishy and shows wet.

When we bought it I did not check it with a meter but there was no squishiness when I inspected it.

I can see a couple cracks on the roof that developed recently along the edge above the wet area that are probablly the source of the moisture. I plan on fixing those but the damage is done.

I am no professional and more importantly I have no where indoors to start tearing out the walls and replacing.

I'm sure there is mold in there but it is contained by the vinyl wall paper and there is absolutely no visible moisture in the unit nor is there any musty odor.

There is no moisture in the actual roof. It's mostly in the rear corners down the walls.

Research says it will probablly start delaminating more and more or it may not.

Would be difficult to sell as it is especially since I could never sell it without pointing out the problem.

My inclination is to just use it in the hopes of getting 3 - 5 years out of it and then start shopping.

We paid 12 grand cash and I put about a grand into it.

I figure if we get a couple more years of use we've got our monies worth out of it.

Just took a long weekend in it and other than contemplating having to get another one it was gangs of fun.

Any thoughts?

You think I should investigate finding somewhere indoors to rip out the damage and replace or cut my losses, use it till it falls apart and get another one? Starting repairs would mean the season would be over with and I'm sure once I get in there it's worse than I think.

Thanks for any input.

If this would be better in a different forum just let me know.

[marjoa]

Originally Posted by tcg

use it till it falls apart and get another one?

I would fix the areas on the roof corners that you have identified to stop the bleeding and do what you said above.

[airshot]

We are in the same situation but do not have the moisture issue, just some delamination. It was fixed in an area before we bought it, but other areas are now surfacing. We bought it cheap and everything works well, motor purrs like a kitten and uses no oil at 88000 miles. No signs of structural problems and no leaks, even thought the original leak was from around a window, that has been long fixed. Our plan is to run it until something major happens then part it out or sell for parts. 12g invested so if it last for a few more years then so what....we saved a lot over the price of a new one, and we don't worry if it gets a scratch on it!!

[Macbow]

Once you get the cracks in the roof fiixed I would consider drilling a few small holes on the inside and filling with spray foam.
I say this because the biggest possible damage would be driving down rough roads and the interior vibrating causing more damage.

[FatChance]

No matter what, fix the source of the leaks first. Every other decision follows after that.

[tcg]

I've done some research, I've contacted these guys RV Camper Motorhome Delamination Repair, they responded quickly and are advising me.

The delamination under the side window might be fixed with their system by removing the window and getting the epoxy in that way.

The rear delamination should be able to be fixed by removing the corner moulding and getting the epoxy in through there.

And by fix I mean attempt to keep the delamination from getting worse.

They did tell me I needed to dry it out to at least 20%.

The panel inside the closet I think I will remove the batten on the wallboard seam to open that seam up to allow it to dry. I don't think I'll replace that wall board because it's inside the closet. Removing that cabinet does not look easy.

The section of wall under the window... there is a 4" carpeted box at the bottom that serves as a chase for pipes and wires, I can remove that box and then cut out a section of the wall along the floor to let the moisture out. I may replace the section of wall board between that chair moulding and the floor.

What I'm afraid of is having to separate the foam from the lauan that attaches to the fiberglass skin. I'll play that one by ear.

Doing it that way I think I can get it dried out while still using it this summer without it looking unsightly and then this fall attempting the epoxy fix.

The leak will be fixed this weekend.

After sleeping on it for a few days I don't think it's the end of the world or immediate demise of this particular RV.

[sam-3]

We had to totally rebuild the upper half of our HiLo due to water damage. The big source of water damage/delamination is from leaking windows. We didn't know that after 5/6 yrs. You should take out every window and reseal with butyl tape and use Lexel caulk. While you have your window out you will get to see the condition of your wall. You Tube has a video on how to do this.

[tcg]

We're leaving on the 4th for a week and I knew it would bother me until I investigated more.

I removed the corner moulding and took a look. After just a few hours with a fan it was considerably drier.

The plan now is to give it a couple more days and then put it back together. In the fall or spring I will remove the moulding again, open it up and try the epoxy system I linked to in the 6th post.

I believe the water was getting in at the top of the corner moulding.

The damage, while not ideal, is not as bad as I thought. The substrate is a little damaged but still in good shape. The problem now is putting the corner moulding back up. The screws were in soft wood. I'm going to try some longer stainless steel wood screws and see if I can hit some solid wood. I may have to put a piece of wood in the corner inside the rear closet to get a solid surface for the screws.

I'll be sleeping a little better on our trip.