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Greetings.
Have any of you with a newer Arctic Fox truck camper had the curved cap replaced? If so how was the frame and glue-up addressed? Any pics would be appreciated.
Attached is a picture of my 2017 Arctic Fox with the filon and lauan removed from the front cap. The water damage was limited to the passenger side of the cap. If you look close you can see where some of the wood is now missing along the three horizontal cap joist where they contact the passenger sidewall.
I’m not an RV design engineer but I have a couple of concerns as I look at my situation.
1. Are the four horizontal cap joist edges sufficient to secure the lauan across the curvature of the cap? It seems for all the movement the truck camper frame gets under normal driving conditions there would be more points to secure the lauan.
2. How much coverage of glue between the lauan and filon is required? I didn’t get a pic after the filon was removed and before the lauan was removed, but there was not complete coverage of glue between the lauan and the filon. There were a half dozen 5-10 inch diameter spots along the curvature of the lauan where adhesive was applied for the filon. IMHO without complete contact of adhesive there would be movement under normal driving conditions that would contribute to the separation of the filon and lauan. There also would be dead space to heat up and expand under summer sun that would contribute to separation of the filon and lauan. In the picture you can see where squibbles of adhesive were applied on the bulkhead as well as the lower section of the cap curvature in front of the foam blocking. I’m just wondering if this is really sufficient regardless of the type of adhesive.
Thoughts, ideas, comments, and suggestion appreciated.
Ouch, Very sorry to hear of your difficulties…Over the years I’ve toured 5 or 6 truck camper factories and in each case glue is sprayed over the entire luan panel (or in some cases Azdel, a composite panel) after which the filon is rolled atop and the panel is typically pinch rolled and placed in a vacuum holding bag for several hours as a vacuum pump removes all the air…It’s hard to imagine filon laying down in a uniform fashion otherwise…A seam leak can definitely cause delamination to occur. For redundancy, I applied Eternabond tape atop the factory caulked seam, then caulked around the Eternabond’s edges…Makes me kinda wonder if this might be covered by home owners or camper insurance?
Good Luck to You Sir,
Phil
Thanks, Phil.
I’ve been thinking about covering the seams with 3M tape.
What’s frustrating is that there was no clear point of entry found for the water intrusion. This is my 3d RV to maintain. I’ve also had two fiberglass sailboats and a fishing boat to maintain. I’ve installed countless windows, doors and recaulked a ton of bathrooms and kitchens. I know how to inspect and caulk seams. My best friend and my middle sons father-in-law are both cabinet makers with years of experience applying veneers and framing structures…but not RVs.
This just seems like an odd design and method to apply a dynamic surface. The sidewalls, back wall and roof are still vacume sealed with a coating of glue. In a factory build video a point is made that there are no voids or gaps in the sandwiching of the wall panels. Not sure why the cap would be different. I’m hoping for more detailed info and experience from someone who has had this repair.
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