theoldwizard1 wrote:
From their web site, they appear to be built like a fiberglass boat.
A uniform first layer of gelcoat is critical. Laying in spun/woven mats and wetting it out should be the step. Do they use more than one layer ? What type of a mat are they using.
I would be surprised if they used "chopper guns" to build up thickness. These are fast but nowhere near as strong as glass matting.
The floor obviously has to be thicker/stronger that the rest. Typically this is done with some kind of "core" material. Balsa wood was used (perhaps still is) for many years until people realized that one tiny crack would allow water intrusion that would rot the wood. Repairs were difficult/impossible on some boats.
Also pay attention to home the shell is attached to the frame.
They look like nice trailers ! They do offer several factory "premium" option that no other TT offer. I would like to hear your report.
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Wizard, while they do use “chopper guns”, Jason tells me that glass mats are used in select areas where extra reinforcement is needed. Primarily, though, they rely upon a structural honeycomb core and fiber-reinforced foam core material called Nida-Core which is manufactured by 3M. This material is explained better in the videos than the pictures. They depend upon this material to support structural loads. Also, Jason told me that glass mats were used to reinforce areas that required extra strength, but glass matting is not used everywhere. The reinforcement in the flooring is no different than the remainder of the trailer.
The procedure for attaching the trailer to the frame is as follows. Before the outer, lower shell is attached to the frame, a layer of rubber material is used to prevent the trailer frame from marring the fiberglass. The lower shell is attached with half a dozen bolts on either side & my notes say “aluminum frame mat”. The two inner shells, which have already been attached to each other are lowered into the outer bottom shell. Finally, the top cap is lowered into place and the seam that encircles the perimeter of the coach is chemically bonded with a permanent adhesive. Again, one of the videos explains this in detail.
I did notice that steel plates were embedded into the “eggshell” where the air conditioner is mounted to the roof. I also noted that a scaffolding is employed to install components onto the roof as opposed to walking on it.
/CC
