If your camper's fiberglass sidewall has bubbles, waves, or a spot that flexes when you press it, that's delamination - the outer fiberglass skin separating from the wall structure behind it. It's fixable if you catch it early, and it *always* starts with water. Find the leak first, or any repair is temporary.
What's actually happening in the wall
Most modern camper walls are a sandwich: a thin fiberglass outer skin glued to luan plywood, over a frame with foam insulation, with the interior paneling inside. The whole wall's strength depends on those glued layers acting as one piece.
When water gets in - from a failed roof-edge seal, a window frame, a marker light, a trim screw - the luan gets wet, the adhesive lets go, and the fiberglass skin separates. The bubble you see outside is the glue joint failing behind it.
Delamination is a symptom, not the disease
This is the part most people miss. The bubble is cosmetic evidence; the disease is water intrusion, and by the time a wall shows bubbles, water has usually been in there for a season or more. That's why the first step in any delamination job at our shop is leak detection - roof edges, windows, seams, lights - and the second step is opening things up to see how far the moisture traveled. Rot in the wall framing changes the job entirely.
Can it be repaired?
Early, small, dry: yes. If the separation is limited and the wood behind it is sound and dry once the leak is fixed, the skin can be re-bonded - adhesive injected behind the fiberglass, the panel clamped flat while it cures. Done carefully, it's strong and hard to spot.
Moderate, with soft luan: still fixable, but now it's body work - sections of wall get opened, wet material comes out, structure gets rebuilt, then the skin is re-bonded or replaced. This is exactly the kind of job where my better-than-factory rule applies: the factory glued that wall once in a jig; we rebuild it so it doesn't fail the same way twice.
Widespread, both sidewalls, rotted framing: we'll have an honest conversation. Sometimes the repair is worth more than the rig, and I'd rather tell you that straight than take the job.
How to keep it from happening
Delamination prevention is just leak prevention: inspect and maintain your roof and seam sealant twice a year, recaulk window and trim seals when they crack, and press on your walls near windows and roof edges each spring - catching a soft spot at golf-ball size instead of basketball size is the difference between a repair and a rebuild.
Delamination FAQ
Does delamination mean my camper is totaled? Usually not, if caught early. Bring it by or send photos and we'll tell you where yours stands.
Will insurance cover it? Slow leaks generally aren't covered; sudden damage sometimes is. We can document what we find.
Is this a mobile repair? Assessment can be. Real delamination repair is shop work - the wall needs to be dry, supported, and clamped while adhesive cures.