RV newbie looking for guidance...
I am a first time buyer. Looking to buy a used travel trailer and right now I am looking at two different ones. One is a 2006 Forest River 27BHLE. The other is a Used 2009 Sartcraft Travel Star 21S...
Forum Discussion
The unknown to you : 10 years is a long time for an rv to be exposed to UV rays etc., it must be maintained during its life to limit potential leaks.
"Protect yourself by buying something that's easy to repair in sections by someone with basic skills and basic tools." By doing this, it could mean you keeping your TT and not saying goodbye to it due to a costly repair exceeding its value.
Due to the age, if I were buy used 2006-09 , I would buy aluminum.
Not only is it lighter and easier on the tow vehicle, aluminum is a lot easier to repair by non specialized methods.
Filon, is installed by specialized methods because its glued down by pinch rolling (some MFG's and dealership method) or vacuum bonding (MFG. method , which uses very expensive specialized equipment that takes up a lot of space that most dealerships do not have) and both CAN and DO delaminate from water intrusion.
When you get into these glued Filon exteriors, you get into a more specialized type of work where an entire side gets replaced as one piece.
Filon I have worked with, gets delivered in a roll and has a backing , like cardboard , so it can bend without cracking. This backing is what absorbs water when it intrudes the caulking. It soaks it up like a sponge and causes the glue to let go, causing delamination.
This delamination does NOT occur with aluminum skin, no glue to delaminate.
You still can have a leak, but YOU can fix it.
"Protect yourself by buying something that's easy to repair in sections by someone with basic skills and basic tools." By doing this, it could mean you keeping your TT and not saying goodbye to it due to a costly repair exceeding its value.
Due to the age, if I were buy used 2006-09 , I would buy aluminum.
Not only is it lighter and easier on the tow vehicle, aluminum is a lot easier to repair by non specialized methods.
Filon, is installed by specialized methods because its glued down by pinch rolling (some MFG's and dealership method) or vacuum bonding (MFG. method , which uses very expensive specialized equipment that takes up a lot of space that most dealerships do not have) and both CAN and DO delaminate from water intrusion.
When you get into these glued Filon exteriors, you get into a more specialized type of work where an entire side gets replaced as one piece.
Filon I have worked with, gets delivered in a roll and has a backing , like cardboard , so it can bend without cracking. This backing is what absorbs water when it intrudes the caulking. It soaks it up like a sponge and causes the glue to let go, causing delamination.
This delamination does NOT occur with aluminum skin, no glue to delaminate.
You still can have a leak, but YOU can fix it.
