Lamination....Delamination

41Woodie · Post by **41Woodie** » Sun May 26, 2013 10:22 am

I did multiple searchs of this and other RV forums and find no discussions of delamination problems in Born Frees. The only thing found was a question regarding delamination in the entry door on a Born Free and the door was metal skinned as opposed to the fiberglass shell on the rest of the coach.

Are Born Free constructed with the fiberglass laminated to Luan or similar products? If so has anyone ever had a delamination problem with their Born Free? The only hole drilling I've done on my rig was on the side of the battery compartment and found it to be a hollow space without luan, just a few pieces of solid wood bracing in the internal wall space that I believe were put there to "beef up" the battery compartment due to the concentration of weight in that area. Any thoughts or experiences?

mockturtle · Post by **mockturtle** » Sun May 26, 2013 11:08 am

Yes, mine has some slight delamination under the side windows which was there when I purchased the coach. I had the windows resealed, of course, and haven't noticed any sign of new delamination in the years following.

Mel Wilbur · Post by **Mel Wilbur** » Sun May 26, 2013 8:11 pm

Born Free coaches are not constructed by laminating a sheet of fiberglass to luan or whatever so they cannot delaminate. Each section of the body is formed in a mold, think of an expensive boat or Corvette, which is far superior to the laminated type of construction. I have been in their fiberglass division and was impressed with the operation.

mockturtle · Post by **mockturtle** » Sun May 26, 2013 9:00 pm

Well, whatever caused the slight puckering under the windows, mine had some when I bought it used. It was surely a result of leaking windows, whatever it was.

mockturtle · Post by **mockturtle** » Sun May 26, 2013 10:27 pm

You can see it fairly well in this shot:

bill crommett · Post by **bill crommett** » Mon May 27, 2013 5:26 pm

As the fiberglass is a full thickness molded piece, I suggest the perhaps the wavy-ness is the result of strain release from cutting the window openings larger to fit the various window configurations.

Post by **bfadmin** » Thu May 30, 2013 12:47 pm

I have been contacted by the Born Free factory and advised that the fiberglass body shell is free floating and not laminated to the underlying structure in any location.

Of course the fiberglass body is necessarily connected to the structure underneath (but not laminated) in such locations as window frames, the door frame, etc. The waviness in the fiberglass under the window shown in the above photo probably is a result of stress caused by temperature extremes.

Please contact Kim Olson at the factory (800-247-1835) if you have any further questions about the method of construction.

mockturtle · Post by **mockturtle** » Thu May 30, 2013 1:03 pm

OK, thank you! Since I bought it in AZ, temperature extremes is a likely possibility.