Go cheap or not ???
Fellow RVers, Many years ago, I bought a POS ultra light trailer because it is what my Expedition could tow. Well, a little water damage and delamination told me never to buy another RV. That was ...
Forum Discussion
Now a few thoughts...
Anything that is laminated can (and eventually will) delaminate. Water is the normally the first cause, however age and sun will also take their toll.
There are a few that aren't built using a lamination process, so they simply cannot delaminate. The Holiday Rambler/Monaco (and later Safari) units, Newmars, Travel Supreme/Entegra are all built using a "hung wall" design. IMO it's a far better way to build a moving house. Take a walk around any campground and look at the 10-15 year old units and you'll see.
As far as the roof material, keep in mind fiberglass isn't the be all, end all solution. Some of the worst delamination I've ever seen has been on units with a fiberglass roof. Our Newmar has a Brite-Tek roof, which is a TPO type material. This is our 3rd one with it, if we were buying again I'd choose it again. The material isn't the cause of the leaks, it's the construction. Winnibago uses a fiberglass roof, however they have had some really bad issues with it.
Roof Issues
Here are some pics of a fiberglass roof Winni with delamination I worked on in my garage;
I also redid a travel trailer that was a complete mess. The roof material didn't fail, the sealing method did, which exposed some other major design flaws.
Believe me, I'm NOT a fan of a true rubber roof. They are functional and fairly inexpensive. I'm a big fan of the Brite-Tek material Newmar uses and how they install it. I like some fiberglass roofs as well, but all fiberglass isn't created equally.
In most cases, a quality built unit will have a quality roof design, regardless of the material.
Anything that is laminated can (and eventually will) delaminate. Water is the normally the first cause, however age and sun will also take their toll.
There are a few that aren't built using a lamination process, so they simply cannot delaminate. The Holiday Rambler/Monaco (and later Safari) units, Newmars, Travel Supreme/Entegra are all built using a "hung wall" design. IMO it's a far better way to build a moving house. Take a walk around any campground and look at the 10-15 year old units and you'll see.
As far as the roof material, keep in mind fiberglass isn't the be all, end all solution. Some of the worst delamination I've ever seen has been on units with a fiberglass roof. Our Newmar has a Brite-Tek roof, which is a TPO type material. This is our 3rd one with it, if we were buying again I'd choose it again. The material isn't the cause of the leaks, it's the construction. Winnibago uses a fiberglass roof, however they have had some really bad issues with it.
Roof Issues
Here are some pics of a fiberglass roof Winni with delamination I worked on in my garage;
I also redid a travel trailer that was a complete mess. The roof material didn't fail, the sealing method did, which exposed some other major design flaws.
Believe me, I'm NOT a fan of a true rubber roof. They are functional and fairly inexpensive. I'm a big fan of the Brite-Tek material Newmar uses and how they install it. I like some fiberglass roofs as well, but all fiberglass isn't created equally.
In most cases, a quality built unit will have a quality roof design, regardless of the material.
