Interior Wall Leak Repair

MR M

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Jan 6, 2025
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Wall leak repair advice please. We just purchased an Expanda and have found that the has been a leak which caused the front right side interior panel to delaminate. Ive stripped out but have a few questions on repairing.
1- How do the Jayco replacement panels come (do they come as 2 sheets of ply with foam in the middle)?
2- The ply between the external fibreglass panel recesses behind the frame (see pic) does this have to be the same or just glue new sheet to fibreglass? I thought about using angle or T section aluminium to the frame so it has better support
 

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Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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The whole wall is a laminated composite panel, like fridge panels, plywood sandwich with foam in the middle, outer side with a resin coating, spot repairs can be done but major panel damage they replace the whole wall usually.................... no lattice framing ........... depending on van size I think may be in 2 parts but I don't think so, been awhile since I saw the factory tour video.....

Once the leak is found and sealed I suppose one could, using the same density foam and lots of glue, that doesn't eat styro, resheet and glue in a sheet of ply to finish off, should be possible I think.......................

I got sideswiped by a truck once and the large tear in the fibreglass about 300mm x 50mm was cut out and a patch panel fitted in then it was sprayed over and polished up but you could still notice the repair in certain light, they did say if it was bigger then they would replace the wall as any repair could just open up with flexing.......
 
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MR M

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Jan 6, 2025
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Gold Coast
mangaed to get away from the outer skin and thing i can repair like this image-
 

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jazzeddie1234

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May 19, 2016
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Would another option could be to simply glue a new panel over the top once the substrate is completely dry? Any end ridge could be finished with a white plastic U channel.

I would try ordering a sheet from my local caravan repair place as it's not an uncommon problem
 
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Drover

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The fibreglass should be part of the outer wall skin not a removable sheet, unless things have changed......... the addition of the T section would cause a change in wall width for rest of wall panel and possibly cracks further along ...

Thinking more deeply on the issue, since the whole panel is structural the recessed section of the inner ply wall and the adhesion of the styro to inner and outer panels is most important to the integrity of that whole wall, more flexing from that section of wall could cause issues elsewhere if not failure on the repaired section. ......................... thats just a observation, more I think of about it, the more I would be inclined to actually just remove the whole wall repair with new styro and ply and refit, trying to place the inner ply correctly, slotted in place at the top, side and bottom sections might not be achievable, hence take the wall off, a big job for sure but at least should keep the integrity of the whole wall and possibly be easier than an in situ repair................ The use of marine ply could cause you issues when the van moves as it won't flex in the same way as the rest of the wall, you need to keep the materials of similar construction so they all flex in harmony............ the join of the inner wall section would need to be staggered in that the join of the styro and inner ply wouldn't be in the same spot a sit would certainly open up.

I have done some small repairs over the years mainly to replacing rotten timbers or internal skin and as such and they always end up bigger finnicky jobs than first envisaged and I often wish I never started....

This is assuming the wall in question is one complete panel from front to back and not a join in the middle ...................


PS: Found it;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ... Link to the how and why of the wall build .............

 
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Drover

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Pretty sure when they did my old fashioned clad star craft they simply ripped the old internal ply off and glued the new bit on

It wasn't a fibreglass wall panel , clad walls have a frame to stick the outer and inner , the fibre glass walls are laminated together..........
 
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