What does delamination look like - Montana Owners Club

Dogman · 08-20-2008, 04:28 PM

I did a search but came up empty. I have two small areas just above the road side storage compartment door that are bubble like but still solid to touch. One area consists of about 4 or 5 "bubbles" about quarter size and then about 4" away is another area about 3" long. The raised areas are solid to the touch. If you push on them you can't depress them and it doesn't really feel like anything is "loose". Does this sound like delamination or do I have something else going on?

bsmeaton · 08-20-2008, 04:38 PM

I suspect if it looks like a blister that it's probably delamination.

Bill-N-Donna · 08-21-2008, 01:31 AM

When I was at the Rally in Gettysburg this past June I showed this area to a factory representative who was at the rally. Although I'm quite concerned about this, in essence I was told that I had nothing to worry about. I suspect this may the beginning of delaminating although it appears to be solid also. It was also indicated to me that if it was going to delaminate that it probably would have done so within about the first 6 months.

bsmeaton · 08-21-2008, 04:32 AM

Delam is like rust, sure its OK until you want to trade it in

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Hard to say without pictures, but it sounds to me like your bubbles might me the result of the cabinet frame installation. When they cut the holes through the siding, the wood is softer than the gel and the cuts are not always precision (I don't think Keystone is using laser cuts yet). When they screw down the frames into the wood the gel has nowhere to go except out and over time is separates from the wood.

Thunderman · 08-21-2008, 06:16 PM

On SOB I had, the delamination was caused by water. I did not know of the problem until I had a lot of damage. I traded the SOB in on the Montana and told the salesman about the delamination...I was concerned he would allow me very little on trade. The day I took it to him, the only remark he made was "it sure is clean on the inside". Never mentioned the delamination.

sreigle · 08-23-2008, 01:58 PM

Cliff, if it looks like bubbles, as you described, it's probably delamination. We had two bubbles outside the shower area on our 2001 2880RL. Fox RV repaired it and told me it was because our dealer, at our request, had caulked along the bottom of the shower walls. He said condensation builds up between shower walls and coach walls because of the temperature difference (hot in the shower). He said the water has to go somewhere and that's why those walls are not caulked along the bottom. Since ours were caulked the water worked its way out through the walls, causing delamination.

That's why I always caution against caulking those shower walls when people get indignant that they were not caulked.

Dogman · 08-24-2008, 03:16 PM

Thanks guys. I guess I'll wait until next month when we get back to Florida and have the dealer look at it. I'm not sure how long it's been there but I know it wasn't there when we left Florida in May. If it really needs to be repaired and turns out to be a big job maybe it's time for you know what

MelsJoy · 08-25-2008, 06:41 AM

Cliff & Marlene,
We had a delamination issue in 06 with our Montana just above the Kitchen sink. Our Dealer called and sent photos of the "bubbles" and even though it was past our warranty, Keystone authorized and covered all the cost to have it repaired. It was really nice because we didn't even have to get involved except to provide the digital pics. They found a shop who allowed us to stay in our rig for the two days it took them to do the repairs, as we are full timers. By the way, you can't even tell there was ever a problem. Good luck to you, we hope everything turns out okay for you too.
Joy & Mel

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