B Class Dodge

[highdesertranger]

the fiberglass laminate is far superior. however on some older and cheaper ones you have to watch out for delamination of the skin. you can spot this if the out skin is wavy. you can push on these blisters and they give. there are ways to repair this however I feel if it has started to delaminate you would be like a dog chasing it's tail. you would never really catch up. highdesertranger

 

[offroad]

Fiberglass boats are not sinking too fast. Seems they can be repaired.

 

[highdesertranger]

fiberglass boats are built differently then rv's. on rv's the fiberglass is laminated to foam, for insulation. in the early days of this type of construction the bonding was not 100%. so if a leak like around a window lets water inside it has a tendency to delaminate large areas especially if freezing temps are encountered. like I said this can be repair but it just keeps happening. when you have these blisters you should pierce the outer fiberglass at the lowest point. more than likely water will come out. highdesertranger

 

[DannyB1954]

I lived on a boat for over 20 years. They too had a type of delamination. On boats it was called blistering. The hull of a boat is much thicker than an RV shell. It was repaired by grinding out the area and filling with fiberglass and using epoxy for the resin. As many layers as necessary to fill the void.

 

[BamaDuke]

I am on the fence about the delamination. I have owned several boats, one big sailboat that had some blisters, and after 6 years in the water the blisters were no worse than they had been at the start. I had taken a few pictures and several measurements, and hauled it out about once a year to pressure wash the bottom. In fresh water, with an ablative bottom paint, the blisters didn't grow enough to be measurable.

My C has a few small spots that were delaminated when I bought it 5 years ago, and they haven't grown much either. I would use the delaminated spots to negotiate a reduced price on an RV I was looking to purchase, but I wouldn't let a few spots eliminate an otherwise acceptable candidate. As we've all heard before Check the Roof!!! If the roof is good and there is no staining on the ceiling, life is good.

Bama

 

[Gary68]

there are different types of fiberglass shells
full fiberglass shells like here between 2:00-3:00
[video=youtube]

and then just a fiberglass/plastic skin like in this pic notice the ceiling,wood ribs