Quote:
Originally Posted by ennonne
You better do some more research on how Winnebago walls are built. Only steel is up front. Only aluminum is used in the main part of the walls. And very little aluminum is used. Structural strength comes from the lamination of the foam, lauan, and fiberglass. Removing layers will destroy the structure.
Good news is Winnebago will send you pdf copies of the prints used to make the walls. You can see exactly what's in them on your unit without removing anything.
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I appreciate that foresight. Indeed, back in 2000 the steel superstructure was the undercarriage and wall structure then the roof is a truss system of indeterminate material. (I haven't confirmed it's metal or wood). There is foam cut to fit but then the luan/fiberglass exterior panel is glued in it's entirety to the side. I've already begun the interior wall removal to confirm where my structural pieces reside before I commit to a floorplan. I think back in 2006 or so there was a new resin/fiberglass composite wall product introduced into the RV manufacturing industry and Winnebago was one of the first brands to adopt it because it allowed them to reduce the structural metal weight as the exterior wall material had better structural strength properties. Alas this was after mine was built so I am dealing with 20 year old luan which has basically dissolved and is collecting in love handles along the midsection of my RV!
My plan is to get the interior down to the wall structure, identity where my windows and doors can go with the minimal amount of modifications to the structural frame, then as mentioned in another topic I will shop around but probably end up at 360 Fleet Services in Lafayette where they can rip all the fiberglass and luan from the exterior and reskin it in Wabash DuraPlate which is another engineered product that adds structural rigidity to the finished product. If I'm fortunate maybe I can stumble into the same deal where they'll just give the materials away because they have so much of it sitting around!
BTW, in spite of my dislike of heights, I was up on the roof while we were installing the cover and it too is surprisingly resilient. No weak spots, no popping or sagging from the weight of two of us walking around on it. I think this is a testament to how ruggedly Winnebago builds it's RVs. I know we get into a lot of RV-bashing here when comparing them to school buses but not all RVs are sticks-and-staples which is how I ended up deciding to go with this instead of a bus. It got me a lot further along faster in the project without having to do nearly as much demolition. I'm pretty happy with it even if I'm making slow progress but fortunately I'm not in much of a hurry so long as I'm done by the time I'm ready to retire!