Hard side vs aluminum side trailers

Have to agree with the comments regarding dents and Aluminum. Noticed a lot of dents on the side of my TT recently - some most likely being made by me using an 8 foot step ladder to wax it.

fitznj wrote:
I've owned both and I prefer aluminum over smooth fiber-glass:
1 - much easier to fix if you ding the camper
2 - much cheaper to fix if you ding the camper

Fiberglass in my experience can take a pretty good "ding" before showing any effect, unlike aluminum which dents if you just look at it. :E This last trip out our dog decided to paw at the exterior door on our fiberglass Freedom Express which left some pretty noticeable scratches ... once home they all buffed out easily with a little rubbing compound. Every full height trailer we've owned has had a fiberglass exterior, every one of them has been scratched at one time or another by tree branches, and every time I've been able to easily buff out those scratches. JMO, but I much prefer a fiberglass exterior.

There is a lot more to it than the covering material.

Most trailers with aluminum skin have framed walls, although Winnebago used aluminum skin when they first started making laminated panels for RV walls. The framing can be wood or aluminum, but most low cost TTs are wood framed, as metal framing is more expensive, found in premium lines like Newmar, Carriage, Excel.

Most TTs with fiberglass skin do not have framed walls, the have lamininated walls, in which the strength depends not on framing, rather on the bond of skin to the core material, usually plastic foam. Laminated walls alway have steel or aluminum perimeter frames, with additional cross pieces and mounting plates laminated into the sandwich, so that the panels can be fastened to each other to make a box, and stuff can be mounted on the walls. Manufacturer literature and salesman talk will call laminated panels "aluminum framed" but they are not really framed at all, in the sense that your house is framed.

Once again, premium RVs can have metal framed walls, skinned with aluminum or plastics, but this is expensive construction and limited to a few brands today. Metal framing makes a RV 2x to 5x more expensive to build than laminated panels assembled as a box, or wood framing following scaled down home building practice.

In the price range most of us buy, the choice is not aluminum vs "hard" rather it is framed walls (wood with aluminum or fiberglass skin) or laminated unframed walls, usually fiberglass skin today, as it is the cheapest.

We presently own a smooth side. Thanks for the replys. We are not using what the outside is made of as a determining factor in our next purchase it will be based on the floor plan we like and quality of the camper. I just wanted to get everyone's thoughts on the outside of them and basically what everyone has said is the same things that I have noticed over the years. Happy camping everyone

jfkmk wrote:
I've had both and it's not been a factor in my purchases. I'd rather think about build quality, floor plan, etc.

X2

Our present 2006 Sunline TT is aluminum sided and I like it.
However we want a slightly bigger trailer and based on build quality, our replacement will be smooth sided fiberglass only because the manufacturer does not use aluminum siding.

Either will deteriorate one way or another without proper care and routine maintenance.

BUT - it does look so last century...............

Nothing wrong with that. People pay good money for antiques. :B

I've had both and it's not been a factor in my purchases. I'd rather think about build quality, floor plan, etc.

I've owned both and I prefer aluminum over smooth fiber-glass:
1 - much easier to fix if you ding the camper
2 - much cheaper to fix if you ding the camper
3- no de-lamination and its associated issues

BUT - it does look so last century...............

gerry

donn0128 wrote:
Smooth side, easier to wash and wax. Looks more modern.
Corogated aluminum harder to wash and wax, looks old

You are supposed to wash and wax a rv ?

donn0128 wrote:
Smooth side, easier to wash and wax. Looks more modern.
Corogated aluminum harder to wash and wax, looks old

X2, my thoughts exactly and I've owned both.