Forum Discussion

gtsum's avatar
gtsum
Explorer
Feb 15, 2015

Full body paint....worth it?

After searching and looking for the better part of a year, it is time to order our rig (2015 XLR Thunderbolt 340x12hp toy hauler). The rig will be outside 365 days of the year,unless I can stumble upon a covered storage center for the winter (have not had any luck finding any though). We will use it during weekends and 1-2 big trips per summer.

The upgraded packagewith painted front cap and upgraded graphics is nice, but the full body paint is something altogether more appealing to us. I think it is about 7k upgrade for the FBP......so, for those that have it, is it worth it? Would you do it again? Aside from the better looks, am I correct in guessing it will hold up better (appearance wise) to the sun and elements vs stickers? Someone told me the stickers and graphics will likely fade and wear quickly...true?
  • $7K is a lot to spend on lipstick in my book. I could find better things to do with the money.
    I see FBP as totally cosmetic. FBP would not enhance my camping experience or the livability of the RV.
    I love my rig as it is I don't think I would love it or like it any more If I had FBP.
  • It will be well worth it, but only if you want your rig to look nice for a long time. Fiberglass is a bear to take care of and requires a lot of care, again, only if you like your rig to look nice.

    I would not buy another coach without FBP.
  • It doesn't hold much interest for me at that price point. I can buy a lot of fuel for $7,000, and that's why I have a 5th wheel: to travel, not to look at it and admire how nice it looks. Not being rich I'm limited in my monetary outlay.

    Maybe you'd get some of that money back at resale time, but not very much the way trailers depreciate.
  • We went for it on our MS on order. Full body paint with "cut and "buff. It was about a 7K option.
  • this will be our first fifth wheel...only other camper we have had was a small pop up (I grew up camping and travelling around the country when younger in a Class A though). I would think we would keep it longer than 5 years...I can only see moving to a diesel pusher A in the future, but that would be several years out (as right now I couldnt justify the cost vs how much we would use it with 4 and 7 year old boys in school, etc). Apparently I never gave much thought to the decals shrinking, fading, etc in the sun...Boats dont seem to have this issue, then again our boat was not out in the sun 365 days a year
  • ScottG wrote:
    I think if your going to be in the sun a lot and keep it a long time then it's well worth it. In fact I wont buy our next RV (fiver) without it because we'll be traveling throughout the sun belt .
    However, if your the type that trades in every five years then I'd skip it.


    Agree
  • I think if your going to be in the sun a lot and keep it a long time then it's well worth it. In fact I wont buy our next RV (fiver) without it because we'll be traveling throughout the sun belt .
    However, if your the type that trades in every five years then I'd skip it.