Aluminum versus Fiberglass

parkersdad wrote:
We ordered a Jayco Jayflight 29QBS 2015 model. We did get it in Fiberglass. Thanks for the help.

Congratulations. Good camping.

parkersdad wrote:
We ordered a Jayco Jayflight 29QBS 2015 model. We did get it in Fiberglass. Thanks for the help.

The foam insulation in the walls will hold up much better than the way insulation is put in to aluminum trailers.


Congrats!

We ordered a Jayco Jayflight 29QBS 2015 model. We did get it in Fiberglass. Thanks for the help.

A very good read and confirms my thoughts on this issue....water entry is the enemy and not the siding material.

I went with the best floor plan and I fully intend to protect my investment with maintenance and inspection of all areas that water can enter.

Good Luck with your choice.

Quality construction is more important than the type of siding. As mention there are pros and cons to both. I would focus on the interior,weight and other features.
Aluminum vs Fiberglass would not be a deal breaker for me either way.

We did go round and round about the siding and construction method. We ended up buying the camper we liked best overall, floorplan and price being the major factors. In the final analysis, it's all in the maintenance.
Good luck in your search.

regarding insulation :
my 2002 komfort has foam board insulation within the walls .
this is with the corrugated painted aluminum siding exterior .
the foam board insulation was rated a few points higher R-Value over the conventional fiberglass insulation of that vintage .
I believe that the smooth sided trailers also had the foam board insulation .
The siding itself offers little insulation value .

For those that say tin is harder to wash and wax, use a telescoping wash brush and a good wash and wax... Kenworth of Boise Idaho uses the same combination to get a shaving shine on there big rigs. Used to do it for them.

parkersdad wrote:
Thanks for all of the replies but I still can't make up my mind.

LOL....:) As Westend said, there is no perfect choice.

You have a good set of well rounded answers. This one by tatest is a good one. States the differences and pros/cons from the RV manufacture end.

Some of us are passionate about our campers, and the passion generally stems from an RV event (misfortune) along the way.

Wood framing is a proven material in camper building when and done correctly is a sound method. And yes the industry now offers aluminum studding however that does not mean wood is bad. Then there is the insulation, wood walls often use fiberglass batt type insulation, and if done incorrectly it can create a problem. But it is not the wood that is the problem. Why not use wood studs with foam board insulation sealed to the studs?? Why $$$$

Aluminum studding has insulation issues in some cases when camping in cold weather, the wall studs sweat as aluminum conducts heat and wood insulates. A large gap in the foam board insulation to the stud is no good here either.

And then there is the wood rots argument. Actually there is no argument, wood does rot. It is not the woods fault. Water is the enemy, not the wood.

Aluminum siding has zero issues with water, it is proven if made/assembled correct. Fiberglass also works well until the water gets in the equation.

What has not yet been said on your post is the water entry problem and that is the problem. Not the aluminum siding, not the wood, not the insulation type, not the fiberglass but the water entry. There lies the problem.

The roof seams, the corner seams, the windows, doors cargo holes, DOT lights, any penetration of bonding to the aluminum siding or the fiberglass is the problem. OK so make the wall out of Adzel or a complete composite, the problem still remains, you get water in that wall or ceiling and you have a problem.

The "hope" is the RV industry will create a better sealing system. An aluminum sided camper with wood studs or a fiberglass walled camper on aluminum studs can last for 50 plus year in the great outdoors if the sealing system does not break down first.

Good luck which ever way you chose.

my wife and i looked for several months for our first travel trailer and we had the same question That you had. The one we purchased was a Coleman Expedition with the aluminum siding. What made our decision basically came down to cost of ownership. I looked at all the pros and cons of both.