RVBusiness, July/August 2020

SPONSORED CONTENT Thats a Wrap Azdels Answer to the Radius Riddle Have you heard this one how do we create a radius roof wrap without damage or delamination If you have youre not alone Its been a consistent conundrum in the industry for a long time Many possible solutions have been tried but manufacturers still experience radius limitations construction difficulties high cost delamination or future water damage often resulting in warranty claims But one company which seems to quietly develop one solution after another believes theyve got the answer Azdel Onboard composite sheets have had a presence in the RV industry for almost two decades but more recently the material maker is striving to not just produce the sheets but to problem solve and develop a complete 32 RVBusiness J U L Y A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 lasting and cost effective solution in a variety of areas The latest is the roof wrap the curve from the horizontal roof to the vertical or sloped rear or front wall And a tight wrap such as that on the nose of a Class C overcab requires optimum flexibility and durability This is not a big deal for the limber FRP skin but it can be a huge burden for the substrate behind it that is supposed to provide long term structural support It is becoming more widely known that Azdels composite composed of a polypropylene and fiberglass blend eliminates many of the problems associated with lauan an option many consider an antiquated standard in RV walls Rotting warping delamination and the growth of mold and mildew are just some of the problems that wood can present and generally do in terms of the most common and most expensive warranty claims This is why the industry continues to shift as more manufacturers are making the permanent change to Azdel as a superior alternative You might say Thats great but if we want to change our exterior substrate to Azdel we want to change all of our exterior and we have tight curves All the more reason to make the switch to Azdel especially if cracking and oil canning are additional problems manufacturers face with their roof wraps Extensive testing has been performed on various thicknesses and grades of Azdel composites and theyve proven superior to both Bendy Board flexible lauan and HDF for radius applications Using a test fixture that mimics the naturally occurring golden arc ratio the test is designed to measure the flexibility of roof skins composed of a layer of typical RV FRP adhered to various substrates The substrates tested include HDF Bendy Board lauan Azdel RVX a scored version of Azdel RVX and Azdel EcoLite all in 27mm thickness Each laminated sample is separately affixed to the beginning point of the Golden Arc Ratio apparatus and wrapped around the progressively tighter radius of the fixture The technician then records both the force required to wrap the material and the point at which each sample fails Each sample was tested in both its original manufactured direction MD and its perpendicular or cross direction CD While all versions of Azdels composite proved superior to both HDF and lauan the EcoLite stands above them all Its worth mentioning that this material never failed it simply ran out Also of note is that it took 33 more torque for lauan to reach an arc length of 28 inches than for Azdels RVX to reach 36 inches Translation Azdel Onboard EcoLite can be used in tighter radius designs and requires less effort to install Please contact your material supplier for your preferred Azdel composite sheets Average radius achieved in inches HDF Lauan RVX RVX scored EcoLite MD 60 60 31 28 28 CD 37 37 28 33 28