Construction of trailers

hddecker wrote:

uglybear11 wrote:
the auto industry used to put out crap, then the idea came about to make a decent produc as Japanese was taking the market.......... the travel trailer industry will eventually change?

as stated in earlier posts, i would have never bought a trailer if i had known the all about them and thir construction before i bought

The TT trailer will never change until there is global competition and that ain't gonna just because of the shipping costs.

There is almost no competition left in the NA RV industry, with Thor Industries inhaling just about every other brand so there's no need to worry about QC.

Not so…
But it’s the American way, let someone else do it, why should I be the one… besides when we buy, we don’t look for quality, we look for flash and flair or color and graphics…

Really the best (or worst) competition is right here, right now... they don’t hold a gun to anyone’s head and force them to buy…
If we don’t demand better, we won’t get better… it’s not the job of foreign manufactures to straighten them out…

Read the forums and every day you can read, I just fix it myself because I do it better, and that seems to be not only ok somehow, but a recommendation…
Almost as often we read in a boasting manner how great it is to spend upwards to $1500/ $2500 replacing and upgrading tires and wheels, and how it’s the smart thing to do… not…

how is it even OK, let alone smart to think you need to upgrade just to feel safe to tow the thing home… something said here…

The smart thing to do is to take the initiative and make the upgrade a condition of sale if it’s that critical or walk…

The smart buyer is in control of the sale always (if they choose to be)…

Wow I just had a minute to stop by and see what anyone wrote. I try to take the best care of my trailer as I can. If you go the all of the manufacture web sites, you see how they are better than the others. What I have found most of the items they put into there RV's come from only a few suppliers. Most have plastic sinks, the same little drop lights, most of the stuff are the same. If they are selling so many of these items the price drops. They should make a better RV. the reason I am saying RV, to cover from a Class A all the way down to a pop up. I know the high dollar RV's are different. They are made one of a kind or better quality. I think they could do better how I am not sure. If I were to go buy a new trailer and I could spend a couple of thousand dollars more and get a better made RV. I would be willing to do so. Think about this eighteen wheeler go down the highway. The have fiberglass walls, roof that don't leak and they are not that expensive for what you getting. I just think they could do a better job. Thanks for all your in puts.

My 1969 Monitor TT had an aluminum roof. It only ever leaked at the rear seam where it meet the siding.

uglybear11 wrote:
the auto industry used to put out crap, then the idea came about to make a decent produc as Japanese was taking the market.......... the travel trailer industry will eventually change?

as stated in earlier posts, i would have never bought a trailer if i had known the all about them and thir construction before i bought

The TT trailer will never change until there is global competition and that ain't gonna just because of the shipping costs.

There is almost no competition left in the NA RV industry, with Thor Industries inhaling just about every other brand so there's no need to worry about QC.

Maybe its just me, and only on fifth wheels. The roof is pulling away from the rig. Once just a bubble, a couple more it looks like a large section has air trapped under the skin and a good amount being pulled away from the rig. I wish I could notify the owner but they are going in the opposite direction. Usually in heavy cross winds.

Looks to be a rubber roof, for certain not metal.

I don't think there is anything wrong about EPDM for a roof. It's a synthetic rubber compound that is used in buildings all the time, particularly in low slope applications and is highly UV resistant. EPDM itself has a life expectancy of up to 50 years and is warrantied from 10 years up to as long as 40 years (in buildings).

If it doesn't last on an RV, it may be something to do with penetrations and caulking, sealing around the perimeter, the roof decking it's on, etc. I doubt they have to meet any industry standard for roof materials or installation. Like a lot of other things, I suspect it is the thinnest, lightest and cheapest which is the problem. It apparently will weather away and become thinner with time. Maybe the caulking material is not the best it could be either.

Aluminum may be a good idea, but maybe it would help if RV manufacturers just used better materials and methods of installation for other roofing types.

The trailer I currently have is the first rubber roof I have ever had in a host of rv's(pu campers-motorhomes-fifth wheels and trailers)through the years. Aluminum roofs need more maintenance and if done correctly do not leak and the same goes for mobile home roofs,which I have owned a slew of.

Yearly maintenance kept all leak free.Heck anything, especially mobile, needs maintenance. Rubber roofs just need less than aluminum but you still have to check it atleast yearly.

Rubber roofs seal the best, and self seal somewhat at screw penetrations. They wrap around corners and edges. I have a GMC motorhome with a 1 pc fiberglass roof, and it still had leak issues at the seams, but nothing like other models. My Nomad TT has an EPDM roof. I wash it once a year and I think it will last 10 more.

Jeez.....
I remember when all mobilehome/RV trailers had a one piece aluminum roof with no seams. Some were all white and some were mill finish.
They still leaked and having a mobilehome/RV repair (moonlighting part time) business we found they leaked at a worse rate than the rubber roof.

Aluminum roofing material grows and shrinks daily with cold at nite and hot sun in the day time. Flexing make for more roof maintenance at the leak points (roof jacks and all roof fixtures or any hole in the roof material). These are the problematic leak point regardless of roofing type materials.

FrankShore wrote:
There are a few different kinds of rv roofs.

1. Metal (galvanized or aluminum)
2. Fiberglass
3. EPDM
4. TPO

They all have their upsides and downsides. Currently, about the best roof material is probably TPO (depending on the formulary)

Cheaper RV's use cheaper materials so whoever answered $$$$ is correct

IMHO, Your list is pretty close to accurate with TPO coming in last… it would surely be my last choice…
who knows what formulary they have on their roof, even when buying new you don’t know what formulary they are selling you and the seller doesn’t seem to know either… they have had so many new reformulations and each one was supposed to be the be all that ends all, who knows when the next reformulation will come out to solve the problems of the last one…


cost is the answer to why with the RV industry…
and can be used to answer almost any question about the RV industry….