Does Jayco use luan?

[glsimms]

Hey All.....

I was on another web-site and saw a thread that caught my eye. Someone wanted to know if Jayco used filon in their wall construction. Someone else said Jayco still used luan which is an inferior product and subject to delamination.

Does anyone know what they use? Even checking their brochure, it's very vague.

BTW, here's a link to the thread:

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...d/26455162.cfm

[Doug]

Yes, looks like vacuum laminated Luan.
The Luan would be vacuum laminated on both sides. I think Fiberglass, Luan, Foam Board Insulation, Intereor Wall Covering.
Here's one video Quality Assurance that shows the Laminated Luan (2nd half of video)
http://www.jayco.com/pages/video-gallery/

This is a video of vacuum lamination for RV's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktbGUivgUXs

Video's are a little long, but interesting to watch.

There's also a video on building a Jayco tin sided TT in 6 hours.
http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/ind...?topic=25235.0



Best regards,
Doug

[Jagiven]

There are multiple grades of luan, some are very good marine grade, others are very low grade used to skin hollow core doors. So it is kind of a loaded question.

I have a piece of the interior paneling. It appears that it is made of four layers (including the wall paper). The skins are very thin (<1/32”) wood veneer, the core initially looks like as if it is 1/8” pine (no noticeable grain). In many places the core looks as if it is a resin.

The floor is an oriented strand board, which is supposed to be similar to marine grade plywood. I do not recall the name of it. The roof wood under the roofing membrane, on my X2B is very light weight. I expect it is a luan type material, possible the same material as the interior wall paneling.

[BlueHaul]

Originally Posted by dougtoms01

.....There's also a video on building a Jayco tin sided TT in 6 hours.
http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/ind...?topic=25235.0

That's an amazing video to watch. Thanks for sharing that!

[Crabman]

"There's also a video on building a Jayco tin sided TT in 6 hours."

I`ve seen that video and they do get quite a bit of criticism in some forums for building a trailer that fast. One consideration though is that the walls, frame, floor, roof trusses, furniture, cabinets are all pre assembled before that final assembly. So the 6 hours is the final assembly time, but not the total build time.

[BlueHaul]

When I watched it I was torn between being amazed at how fast they work and wishing they'd slow down. You definitely get into a groove doing that kind of work over and over, but wow they were haulin' the mail! It made me wonder why I have to wait 2 months for my Jay Flight to get here! :hihi:

[glsimms]

I guess where my concern was, if you looked at the link I provided, one individual made a comment about how it is that Jayco "gets away" with using inferior products. I think it was in referrence to a product called Azdel, claiming it to be a superior product to use in the wall construction.

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by glsimms

I guess where my concern was, if you looked at the link I provided, one individual made a comment about how it is that Jayco "gets away" with using inferior products. I think it was in referrence to a product called Azdel, claiming it to be a superior product to use in the wall construction.

Those trailers mentioned that that use Azdel are significantly more expensive then the Jayco Feather and Jayflight lines, such as Evergreen. So it may not be a fair comparison.

[David472]

Originally Posted by glsimms

I guess where my concern was, if you looked at the link I provided, one individual made a comment about how it is that Jayco "gets away" with using inferior products. I think it was in referrence to a product called Azdel, claiming it to be a superior product to use in the wall construction.

Here's another point of view......Luan boards are used in the building of luxury SUV's which cost over $70,000.
So, beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by glsimms

I guess where my concern was, if you looked at the link I provided, one individual made a comment about how it is that Jayco "gets away" with using inferior products.....snip

Because Azdel has some enhanced charactiristics over Luan, that doesn't make Luan "inferior". One could select any particular product or material used in any brand RV and present a case that there is a better product/material that could be substituted ... but at a cost.

Bob

[hausknwa]

Luan as referred to in the building industry is a form of plywood made from any number of tropical species generally referred to as Philippine mahogany. However that material sold in North America generally is not a mahogany at all but a different mixture of woods from the genus Shorea. Simply put it is like saying “Hardwood” it could be one of a number of woods. Like any plywood product there is a wide range of qualities and characteristics from Marine Grade (Water Proof with no structural defects) to the stuff in big box stores selling for $4.00 per sheet. Much of the quality depends upon the type of adhesive used and the number of plys. Luan has tremendous strength to weight ratios and with the right adhesive is not anymore subject to delaminating than cabinet quality plywood. For those reasons, Luan is often used in boat building. Bottom line is that Luan can be a top quality product with superior qualities (strength to weight ratios) not found in other materials. Sorry for the long post, but the old wood technology professor came out in me. Hope this helped clear up some issues about the use of Luan products in RVs.

[MrKong]

Did he say they would build 32 of those today at the end of the vid? It makes me wonder, how much they slowed down because the camera was there filming. That would make what, one coming off the line every 45 minutes. I am sure they do more than 1 at a time, but that building did not look big enough to put out that kind of numbers. I am curious if they have more than one building putting out the same model all the time.

[JAMMFAM]

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Sometimes beauty is in the eye of the beerholder :hihi:

[hausknwa]

X2

Originally Posted by JAMMFAM

Sometimes beauty is in the eye of the beerholder :hihi:

[Boss Wagon]

The panel construction technique was pioneered by Winnebago and they dubbed it Thermo-panel construction. It revolutionized the RV industry and greatly lowered costs.

[glsimms]

Thanks all for your comments. I admit there's a lot I have to learn about RV's and the industry in general.

But while the marine industry may use luan, is it the same stuff they use in RV's?

[Crabman]

While delamination is a constant issue that keeps coming up on other forums, it really seems that while problems have been reported, there do not seem to be a huge number of delamination complaints on this forum. Some of course, but not that many. So yes Luan and other materials are used, but the Jayco vacuum bond system must be holding up fairly well. Of course the aluminum sided units do not have this issue, but ALL RV`s need to have their seals/sealants maintained to keep out water. I believe if you are vigilant in your regular maintanance, more then likely the luan question will be a moot point.