Molded Fiberglass Trailers

Probably because they are much harder and expensive to build. Also, they were generally quite small trailers......You do mean the trailers like Bolers and Trilliums, right?

It's niche market.

Yes, like Scamp, Escape, Casita and such.

The structure type keeps them relatively small since there's no real "frame" involved. Most support is provided by the molded shell itself. And square-foot-wise, molded fiberglass is a very expensive way to build a trailer- even back when they first came out they were about 25% more expensive than "conventionally built" trailers of comparable size.

Don't be taken in by the "they don't leak" hype per the type, by the way. Just as with anything else one leaves out in the weather, unless properly maintained they'll leak just as readily around seams and cutouts as any other trailer does!

This is the voice of experience talking- I've owned one for years and known lots of others.

Thanks for the knowledge!

My question was more curiosity than interest in purchasing one. That said the Oliver is nice and with a starting price of ONLY $45K. :-) Joking

I think maybe Thor did, but not sure. The plastic Airstream models may date from pre-Thor days.

Cost of construction puts molded trailers in a premium market. Look at the prices for Bigfoot and Oliver (or even the 21-foot Escape) to see where prices go as the hulls get larger. The higher basic cost means that the trailers need to be fitted out much better than low cost mass production RVs, further raising prices.

To some extent this fits Thor's business model, they do own some companies that make high-cost low-volume products (not just Airstreams, not just RVs). And Forest River has acquired some companies (like Carriage and Dynamax) that had been building premium products. But for either of those two holding companies to get into the egg-trailer business, they would likely need to buy one of the existing manufacturers (for skills, production facilities, tooling).

I don't see these smaller family businesses operating in a manner that makes them look like they need Thor or F-R to come in with big pockets to bail them out of financial distress. Scamp was able to recover from total loss of their plant without calling in a buyer. Most of the failures leading to buyouts have been the result of over-expansion and over-production, and these things are currently sold before they are manufactured, with demand pushing the limits of production capacity.

What I'm starting to see is mass production manufacturers trying to produce a conventionally constructed laminated wall trailer that look like it has a molded hull, and selling it as something premium.

tatest, Which companies? Just interested.

"
What I'm starting to see is mass production manufacturers trying to produce a conventionally constructed laminated wall trailer that look like it has a molded hull, and selling it as something premium."

The reason it's more expensive is they have to build a fiberglass mold for every model that they build. These molds are expensive to build.

Once built, the mold has to be cleaned and waxed before starting the process of laying in the gelcoat and fiberglass. It then has to cure. If everything goes great they may get one unit per day from a mold.

After a couple years, when the style starts to look dated, there is a large expense of building a new mold.

With standard construction, there are no molds, the same line can accommodate a variety of models at the same time. They can construct multiple shells per day. If they want to move a window, it's simple to cut it in a new location.

It costs a lot more to build a fiberglass shell.

valhalla360 - Great response and thank you for the information.

Some fiberglass trailers will float. Escape Trailers will build you a custom trailer the way you want for under $30K. Electrical outlets, 12v outlets, delete or add windows, additional insulation, with/without a/c. Try that with Airstream. Fiberglass units general have no seams that need maintenance, they do have roof vents that every 10-15 years may need attention, otherwise any water that enters or condensation will just drain out underneath thru drain holes, no saggy floors to rot, no walls, nothing but enjoyment. Oh, their resale value is a lot higher than SOB units for these reasons. The majority of posts here involve some sort of water leak issue, floor rot, ceiling sags, water spots. These issues are non existent in the Escape Trailer. http://escapetrailer.com