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Delamination
What year and Model coaches have/or had the delam problems? Is Prevost paying ANY of the repair cost? If not How much is the repair? Starting to look at later model coaches and I need to consider this.thanks
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20 Replies
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Prevost has cut out paying on most coach repairs for delam. 45k is a good number to budget for paint and repair. Should not go over that and some are in the 30s with paint included…
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HeyJeff
Which years and models (XL’s H3-45’s) have this problem?
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H3 coaches almost no issues, the XLII should be checked by Prevost. Once repaired no issues so if buying an XLII, and it has been repaired there is no delam issue to worry about.
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Any way to tell if a coach may have a future delam problem while shopping used coaches?
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Pound every panel with your fist…you’ll hear the lose ones. Geo.
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What George suggested is a good start, but never ever buy a XLII coach without having Prevost test for delamination and provide an estimate of costs if repairs are needed.
Delam repairs can be very expensive and you can be certain you will always know less about a coach than the seller. Do not put yourself in the position of thinking the coach is OK, only to find out after the purchase you need skin repairs.
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What do you suggest when a Prevost service center is hundreds of miles away??
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Prevost.
Seriously, a purchase of an XLII is an expensive event. Driving even 1000 miles to get a clean bill of health or to learn of $50,000 needed repairs is a wise investment.
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You can tap with your knuckle and hear the difference if the panel is loose. There is a distinct sound difference, hard to explain, but you’ll hear and feel the thunk when the panel is good. Getting a seller to OK long distance travel to a Prevost facility is probably not going to happen. Depends on distance….
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If I had to repair another delam it would go to Jacksonville like the one I have now, they know what they are doing
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I’m amazed that Prevost didn’t use double sided tape instead of adhesive. Tape removes all of the process variables such as size/consistency of the glue bead, where and how it’s applied, curing, temperature, etc.. There are some amazing double sided acrylic tapes that you’d have to destroy the panels in order to get them off. And if properly design, it would also be an excellent water seal.
Sorry, but much as I admire their product, I’d have to say that Prevost really dropped the ball on this one. There is absolutely no reason this issue should have continued for a decade or more. And worse, making some of their costumers foot the bill for an exceedingly expensive repair, when the issue is obviously an engineering/manufacturing defect is inexcusable.
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Double back gorilla brand tape is the best that I’ve ever seen.
I would be very interested in knowing the best that’s available. Could you give me the name or names of those that you are referencing?
Thanks for any tips.
JC
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I would be very interested in knowing the best that’s available. Could you give me the name or names of those that you are referencing?
There are a lot of double sided tapes used in industry, but 3M VHB is probably the best. They even list on their web site adhering panels on vehicles without rivets as one of the applications:
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I’m certain Prevost engineers did a lot of research, not only independently but with suppliers of adhesives and tapes. The H3 used bonded construction since it was introduced in the early 90’s.
The problem with the XLII motorhome conversions was not apparently experienced on entertainer coaches or seated coaches because the motorhome shell is the only one with stainless panels from below the windows to the top of the bays.
We Monday morning quarterbacks can easily say tapes (as an example) would have been a better choice, but unless and until we go through the testing and in the field use we are speculating. Should Prevost have done a better job? Yes, as a Monday morning quarterback it is easy for me to say that. But as a former manufacturer I can say with conviction that on very limited production runs as our chassis are, panels will be fit by hand and in the case of some adhesives you never get a second chance if the panel is slightly mis-oriented. I would want an adhesive that allows some slight movement and adjustment of the panel location while it is being applied.
It was said previously that some adhesives are so strong that a panel gets destroyed if it has to be removed. From a production point of view that would require some very precise panel positioning and the tooling cost on the low volume of motorhome shells would be prohibitive.
The composite skins on the XLII entertainer shells and seated coach shells as well as the H3 are far less likely to separate. Could it be the coefficient of expansion is closer to that of the frame structure? Our coaches going from a cold start in the morning, to a high temp as the day wears on causes growth of the chassis by as much as 1/2″. Do the stainless steel skins grow at a different rate of expansion, or is it the constant stresses on the bond as a result of the expansion and contraction cause failure of the adhesion?
Is it a production issue in that after the adhesive is applied to the frame the panels have to be in place within a few minutes or seconds? When repairs are made is there evidence to suggest the adhesive failure is between the frame and adhesive or between the panel and adhesive or is it both?
One thing is certain. Prevost has spent a fortune in customer support to make it right when the problem became known and I would bet anything that they had the best experts in the adhesive industry working on this problem. I find it hard to second guess them, even knowing it should not have happened to begin with. Sometimes shit happens.
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Fillhobson, put a signature in your profile so at least folks who want to respond to your posts know your name.
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