PathNotTaken
Member
Finding a good source for composite foam core panels in the US took some time, so I thought I would share who I ended up going with and my experience now that I’ve used the panels.
I initially planned to build my own for the longest time, but decided against it because:
As many of you reading this probably already know, Total Composites will only work with builders directly and not individuals at this time. I understand why with how many repetitive questions and issues probably arise, but it’s still definitely a bummer considering there start in the DIY Market. The only two reasonable leads I found were Boreas Campers and Lemker Panels. Unfortunately, the largest size Boreas Campers does at this time is not big enough for a full size panel in our camper, and likely many others.
With that said, we went with @Lemker and the overall experience was really great. After trying to work with other companies on this, it can be frustrating how secretive they can be about their product. If I can reverse engineer your product just by looking at pictures and a couple dimensions….
David at Lemker has been really good to work with and answered my extensive questions, and was always happy to provide specifics about the product so I knew what I was working with. While they are newer to selling panels/campers to the overland crowd, they’ve been in the automotive composites panel business for a long time and have a good track record. Their panels are 1.625in thick with 1/16 fiberglass sandwiching a PET Foam core. They offer different density of foam for the floor/walls. They are gel coated and offer glossy/matte finish. This was appreciated because we didn’t like the look of the super glossy white walls on the interior most panels seem to offer. They CNC cut them to your specifications and can also inlay tubes for strength or wiring. They can make panels as long as ~26ft! They also offer an extrusion and corner cap system which I would definitely recommend going with. I went the DIY welded exoskeleton route and next time would definitely either just use glued on bent angle (not welded) or use their system. I wasted a lot of extra time here and made things more complicated than they needed to be.
Lead time if I remember correctly was about 5 weeks, and the panels shipped via freight directly to our door which only took 2 days from Texas to San Diego. They arrived on a massive semi that definitely required some maneuvering to get them off. The panels were in perfect condition!
Overall, really happy with the product and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. Good lead time, responsive, quality product is about all you can ask for!
I initially planned to build my own for the longest time, but decided against it because:
- Everyone on the forum who has made there own seems to say the same thing: they wouldn’t do it again
- I didn’t have a good space to do it
- By the time I specced out the materials I was planning (filon like skin and PVC foam core) and tooling, the money saved was marginal. The shipping cost is very high for a small scale production of panels.
As many of you reading this probably already know, Total Composites will only work with builders directly and not individuals at this time. I understand why with how many repetitive questions and issues probably arise, but it’s still definitely a bummer considering there start in the DIY Market. The only two reasonable leads I found were Boreas Campers and Lemker Panels. Unfortunately, the largest size Boreas Campers does at this time is not big enough for a full size panel in our camper, and likely many others.
With that said, we went with @Lemker and the overall experience was really great. After trying to work with other companies on this, it can be frustrating how secretive they can be about their product. If I can reverse engineer your product just by looking at pictures and a couple dimensions….
David at Lemker has been really good to work with and answered my extensive questions, and was always happy to provide specifics about the product so I knew what I was working with. While they are newer to selling panels/campers to the overland crowd, they’ve been in the automotive composites panel business for a long time and have a good track record. Their panels are 1.625in thick with 1/16 fiberglass sandwiching a PET Foam core. They offer different density of foam for the floor/walls. They are gel coated and offer glossy/matte finish. This was appreciated because we didn’t like the look of the super glossy white walls on the interior most panels seem to offer. They CNC cut them to your specifications and can also inlay tubes for strength or wiring. They can make panels as long as ~26ft! They also offer an extrusion and corner cap system which I would definitely recommend going with. I went the DIY welded exoskeleton route and next time would definitely either just use glued on bent angle (not welded) or use their system. I wasted a lot of extra time here and made things more complicated than they needed to be.
Lead time if I remember correctly was about 5 weeks, and the panels shipped via freight directly to our door which only took 2 days from Texas to San Diego. They arrived on a massive semi that definitely required some maneuvering to get them off. The panels were in perfect condition!
Overall, really happy with the product and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. Good lead time, responsive, quality product is about all you can ask for!
