Community Forums

2HapyCamprz · 09-20-2021, 05:26 PM

Hello all:
Sorry I hit post and then realized the title is messed up. Supposed to be “in the top passenger…”
Has anyone had to deal with delamination? There is the slightest bow at the passenger top wall just beside the window awning. Of course us lay people would never look at that, but we asked a salesperson what they thought the value of our 2007 Monaco Signature Series Noble 3 would be. So she noticed it.
Anyhow, apparently at some point before we purchased it. There was a leak from the roof into the wall under the fibreglass so now there is material wet and rotted or rotting in there and swelled enough to push out a bow in the wall. Sorry I don’t have picture. Just wondering if anyone has tried to fix something like this?

jacwjames · 09-20-2021, 06:01 PM

I just went through this and attempted to repair myself. Not an easy job and overall it turned out OK although I'll have to repaint an area over but that will be next years job, got bigger fish to fry now.
Here is a post I did
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/how...ne-548149.html
Followed by this after I had some epoxy get on the side of the caoch.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f84/how-...me-550384.html

I ended up redoing a section I had quickly fixed last year along with the epoxy area. Not perfect but good enough for now.

The way Monaco constructed the coach is is almost impossible to repair. The sides are mated to the walls, walls then mounted to the chassis, and then the top and rear cap is installed along with the lower fiberglass. The top, cap, and bottom fiberglass overlap the side, no way to get to the problem. The beltline moldling covers the seam.

My leak looks like it was from the top beltline towards the back, water entered and then migrated down.

I removed all the old caulk from the beltine all the way around and then used Geocel.

vito.a · 09-20-2021, 09:40 PM

We saw a Monaco coach in Mesa AZ at one of the RV repair shops along Main St. They were repairing a delaminated wall on the passenger rear side. It turned out very nice. It isn't necessarily caused by a leak.

RamiDav · 09-21-2021, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vito.a

We saw a Monaco coach in Mesa AZ at one of the RV repair shops along Main St. They were repairing a delaminated wall on the passenger rear side. It turned out very nice. It isn't necessarily caused by a leak.

Vito, that's interesting. What sort of other things might cause
delamination?

How did that shop go about repairing?

jacwjames · 09-21-2021, 06:34 PM

Mine was a pretty large area. I talked to the shop foreman of a large RV repair facility near me. He said smaller areas they would drill a hole where the delamination was, inject an epoxy, and they put pressure on the outside of the coach usually parking it near a building and used boards, wedges etc.
He actually came over and looked at mine and I explained what I wanted to do an he thought it was worth the try.

Twomed · 09-21-2021, 06:48 PM

I had a section, rear passenger side window too, did my repair similar to vito.

My brother who has worked in the rv industry for some 40+ years in Elkhart, including his own factory, opined on the repair.

I asked and he confirmed...just drill holes where needed to inject epoxy and brace/compress. Fill holes with bondo, prime and paint. Of course that's easy if you can have a good painter. Anyway that is common practice on rigs that get returned for factory repair.

Regarding what else can cause delam. High humidity during fabrication. Uneven or not enough application of glue in sidewall assembly. Not enough cure time before moving the wall. And the big one...untrained assembly workers being paid on piece work...trying to get done early.

Take a few factory tours and you will wonder how any of them manage to work. We spent time with family in Elkhart this summer and every factory in town was begging for workers.