Grand Design

I think thats sales guy BS. Highland Ridge has 102"W 5th wheels with 42" deep slides and a fiberglass rear cap. It would be interesting to know what that code states as far as sqft limitations to width and length are.

meanwhile jayco pinnacles have the exact same floorplan, 1" wider, with a rear cap. both using LCI frames.

this was posted on the grand design owners

Has anyone else ever wondered why Grand Design doesn’t include a fiberglass rear cap on their fifth wheels like you see on other quality coaches? I did, because I think it looks much better with the cap, so I asked Bill Martin. Here is his response:

There are interior sq.ft. limits for our industry. Solitude uses a widebody chassis at 101" that is about 5" wider than many of our competitors. We are at/near the sq.ft. limits currently on several floorplans. Note that with a wider body chassis, we also have deeper sliderooms that also add to the square footage. Addition of a rear cap would further increase the measured square footage of the coach that we must include to meet code (even though it would not increase the usable space). This would put us over the allowable size on several floorplans. The short answer to your question is that we have opted to provide the most functional and livable floorplan over the aesthetics of a narrowbody fifth wheel with a rear cap

FishOnOne wrote:


I think it's fair to say that the RV industry doesn't invest on real engineering for aerodynamics nor have I ever read any marketing hoopla that their rear caps is designed to reduce air drag therefore improving fuel economy claims.

I heard some Heartland folks make that claim about their rear cap ;-)

Ralph Cramden wrote:

justme wrote:
Wow it is interesting how people get so fixed on their beliefs based on marketing data. I doubt there is any practical advantage to the different end cap designs other than aesthetics. Lets see some real life fuel saving data for RV trailers-- wind tunnel data on semi trailers doesn't cut it for me. However, I suppose the RV manufacturers parrot this stuff in their marketing, just like they do for "built for full timing", "slam hatches", "easy lube", "wind tunnel tested rear caps" and etc.
Lets not confuse physics and practical life with markting--

And don't forget the biggest word in the RV marketing department......QUALITY...LOL.

Running A close 2nd?............Amish Craftsmanship.

LOL... A polished turd....eerrrrr Quality Campers

I think it's fair to say that the RV industry doesn't invest on real engineering for aerodynamics nor have I ever read any marketing hoopla that their rear caps is designed to reduce air drag therefore improving fuel economy claims.

justme wrote:
Wow it is interesting how people get so fixed on their beliefs based on marketing data. I doubt there is any practical advantage to the different end cap designs other than aesthetics. Lets see some real life fuel saving data for RV trailers-- wind tunnel data on semi trailers doesn't cut it for me. However, I suppose the RV manufacturers parrot this stuff in their marketing, just like they do for "built for full timing", "slam hatches", "easy lube", "wind tunnel tested rear caps" and etc.
Lets not confuse physics and practical life with markting--

And don't forget the biggest word in the RV marketing department......QUALITY...LOL.

Running A close 2nd?............Amish Craftsmanship.

Wow it is interesting how people get so fixed on their beliefs based on marketing data. I doubt there is any practical advantage to the different end cap designs other than aesthetics. Lets see some real life fuel saving data for RV trailers-- wind tunnel data on semi trailers doesn't cut it for me. However, I suppose the RV manufacturers parrot this stuff in their marketing, just like they do for "built for full timing", "slam hatches", "easy lube", "wind tunnel tested rear caps" and etc.
Lets not confuse physics and practical life with markting--

"Physically tapering the trailer or load would be the best solution but is not feasible due to trailer capacity and loading operations"

http://www.airtab.com/how-do-they-work.htm

Both of my trailers with rear caps began the tapering and have/had very soft corners compared to the hard corners on flat back trailers.

^^^^ Perhaps reading comprehension is not your cup of tea. This is what the man wrote:

It would be so difficult owning one and always having walk around the front of the trailer vs the rear sometimes because you can not stand the look of the flat rear.

FishOnOne wrote:


Nor does yours.... Having said that your position was to bash a camper without a cap based on your opinion of the looks.

No need to get snarky towards people who want you to validate your claim. Maybe you should be more considerate towards people who want verifiable information. BTY how did you come to that conclusion that someone is "bashing a camper based on opinion of looks"-- Maybe you need a course on reading and comprehension. Just saying ;-)