cracked frp

[raygirard]

Morning all,
The main door inside panel of my Sundance 5th wheel cracked last winter. I believe it is FRP. The shower enclosure of my sister's motorhome also cracked a few years ago. She removed the panel and replaced it with FRP, or she was told it was FRP. The next winter it cracked also. We are Canadians and it gets pretty cold up here in winter but not any colder than the more northern states. Is FRP the right material for these applications? Is differential movement of the FRP (compared to the underlying matrix) the problem? Is there an installation trick to allow for the expansion/contraction? Should I be considering some other material (other than FRP?). We drive to AZ every winter, leaving Canada in February, so the temperature difference is substantial but the change takes place over 5 days or so. Any advice/help would be appreciated...ray

[ststefan]

I'm thinking maybe it's not the temp difference from going south but the cold temps before going south. If the doors are leaking and water gets inside, they might be cracking from the water freezing and the ice expands as it freezes. Try taking off the door and check if there is water inside.

[padlin00]

Hi Ray
You may not be on the forum you think, this one is for folks with molded fiberglass trailers, like Scamps, but you are welcome here. There is a Heartland Owners forum at https://www.heartlandowners.org/forum.php, they may be of more help.

That said, what's FRP?

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by padlin00

Hi Ray
You may not be on the forum you think, this one is for folks with molded fiberglass trailers, like Scamps, but you are welcome here. There is a Heartland Owners forum at https://www.heartlandowners.org/forum.php, they may be of more help.

That said, what's FRP?

Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic

[ststefan]

I work at Windsor Plywood HO. We carry FRP. It is quite durable and shouldn't crack under normal usage. That being said, I don't know if it was ever meant for our trailers as they flex ablot more than a regular wall.

[k corbin]

I did see where they were using FRP bridge deck panels in Alaska. Bt I am not convinced that the material for her shower was made with the right kind of resins for use in extreme cold. I just know that some FRP seems to be suitable for extreme cold. FRP is made by different companies using different formulas so who knows what the specification ratings on those particular panels in her shower were. Things made for use inside of a heated home versus things for use in extreme cold in an unheated RV; that is two very different situations. Sometimes you can get suitable stuff from lumberyards and places such as Home Depot, sometimes you can't. So you will have to do your homework before you buy the next replacement panels and carefully read the specifications from the manufacturers website about what the material is rated for such as extreme cold and flexibility.

You also have to be careful about the temperature ratings for any adhesives you use on the panels. Plastics and adhesives do get more brittle when in extreme cold. So metal panels might be a better choice...or not, that depends on condensation issues as well.

[stevebaz]

FRP isn't just FRP there are hundreds of different plastic materials and maybe 50 or more different types of fiber reinforcement. Its hard to discuss what the actual material you are dealing with. In our trailers we mainly deal with FRP in the world of glass fiber and polyester resins and their derivatives. Some of the newer trailers maybe some glass fiber and epoxy. Your shower liners and inner door skins can be made from traditional glass fiber and polyesters but for the most part other mass produced items are not using the same family of materials as in our trailers. There is allot of FRP stuff using thermal forming techniques that don't apply to our trailers or even the same family of the FRP used in our trailers. Not withstand the miss used terms with FRP Fiber reinforced plastics and FRP fiber reinforced panels. Fiber reinforced panels can is some cases be thermal formed into rigid shapes.

[k corbin]

Some shower wall panels are made from styrene and other types of plastic. Unfortunately not every store employee who may be helping you will always have in depth knowledge of the stock and what things really are made from. The store could be selling several choices of materials with various types on the same aisle right by another type in the same area. For instance Home Depot sells two different wall panels for use in showers, they both have identical surface finishes. However one has fiberglass in it and the other one does not.

Double check what you buy and carefully review the specifications to make sure you got the right stuff. Do not just take the word of a store clerk because there can be a lot of turnover in stores and in the big box stores some employees may be helping out in a department that might not be their regular assignment.