Forum Discussion

DallasSteve's avatar
DallasSteve
Nomad
Dec 29, 2017

Travel Trailer Construction - Exterior Identification

A recent thread addressed the construction of travel trailers and it identified 2 basic styles of construction:

Old - wood stud, fiberglass insulation, aluminum siding
New - aluminum tubing, solid foam insulation, fiberglass skin

When I am browsing travel trailers for sale I see basically two styles of appearance as represented in this photo. Is the bottom-left trailer appearance (with the ridges on the wall) always the Old construction and the top-right (with the flat walls) always the New construction?

  • Iraqvet05's avatar
    Iraqvet05
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2017
    azdryheat wrote:
    I don't believe any builder is using wood any more. It's good that you're looking into how they're built. Many trailers are built so cheaply it's a wonder they hold together.


    Most still use wood frames:
    2017 Jayco

    2015Forrest River
    2017 Puma
  • Chris_Bryant's avatar
    Chris_Bryant
    Explorer II
    Dec 29, 2017
    That trailer with corrugated siding could well be fiberglass over luan, so smooth vs corrugated is not the way to determine construction.
    In fact, it is aluminum, but just a heads up.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Dec 29, 2017
    They still make wood framed trailers with corrugated aluminum siding.
    It's a price point.
  • DallasSteve's avatar
    DallasSteve
    Nomad
    Dec 29, 2017
    azrving wrote:
    They still build new ones with aluminum like the lower pic.

    Oh! (That's a big long Oh!)

    So are you saying some trailers with aluminum frames (not wood) have the aluminum exterior with the ridges?
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2017
    I don't believe any builder is using wood any more. It's good that you're looking into how they're built. Many trailers are built so cheaply it's a wonder they hold together.
  • rexlion's avatar
    rexlion
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2017
    "Always" is a strong word, so let's say almost always. I can think of one TT made in Canada that looks like your #2 example, but instead of a foam laminate sandwich with aluminum studs the Prolite has thicker molded-fiberglass panels that are bonded together at overlapping points with a sort of adhesive... no framing, As I understand it.
  • azrving's avatar
    azrving
    Explorer
    Dec 29, 2017
    They still build new ones with aluminum like the lower pic.

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