What's with the ridgey exterior walls on the Jayco TTs?

MookieKat,

Please take no offense to what I say, but respectfully, looking for the most ideal material, the best floorplan, and so forth is an impossible task. You will get people to agree and disagree on almost every question you ask.

As far as the "best" construction goes, how much money do you want to spend? That's probably the answer to that question.

There are literally probably millions of happy campers out there with dozens of different type materials and thousands of floor plans. To go out and for your first purchase find the exact match for you is shooting for the moon. It's most likely not going to happen.

Simply stated, there is no perfect RV, hence all the different options out there. Find one you think you can live with and jump into the pool. And be adaptable. Otherwise you'll undoubtedly be unhappy.

I've had, let me see, 11 different RV's over about 35 years, all types, mostly used, some new. Happy with all but one, old class C motor home, was really a piece of junk, my bad. We just enjoyed what we had. But they all have limitations. Size, weight, capacity's, comfort.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with researching and learning. Just don't over think this. You'll wind up with no RV or unhappy with your choice.

Again, Respectfully submitted,
Richard

Maybe an CampLite Trailer

CampLite

Which is all aluminum w/ Azdel.

WoodGlue

What type of outer walls are there in production today? What should I aim for and what exactly should I avoid?

So then...the Jayco is really a better build?

Count me in as a Tin-Wood-Hugger. Heck, what could be more organic than the tree the studs were cut from?

Aluminum is definitely "greener" than any/all composites. In addition to the obvious simplicity-of-manufacture (which doesn't involve the kind of chemical stews required for composites), it's one of the very few materials in the RV-making world that are truly and continuously recyclable.

The siding on that new trailer may well have been aluminum window frames in a former life and it'll be reused again once the trailer goes to the wrecker...not so with composites.

I respectfully disagree with everything Mike Up has to say about any kind or type of RV construction.

WoodGlue

WoodGlue wrote:
Mike Up,

Not all aluminum framed trailers are gluing or vacuum bonding - Lance pinch rolls their sides w/ Azdel, a proven superior product, lighter and better and stronger than luaun or studded wood for that matter.

WoodGlue

Pinch rolled is actually an inferior way of gluing compared to vacuum bonding but regardless, they're all just glued with no mechanical fasteners which leaves open a way for delamination or the panel glue to fail.

Azdel is just another thin substrate for the Styrofoam and aluminum framing to be 'glued' to. It matters little as water should never be seen in the wall unless maintenance is neglected. Then, while the material may not give, the glue most certainly will when soaked.

I would only recommend a laminated made camper when your tow vehicle is undersized or under-rated for a similar floorplan, standard travel trailers. Even then, I would find a smaller trailer to avoid the need to have a laminated wall made camper. Most stick and tin are less than 1000 lbs more, offer much more payload, offer much larger water tanks, and interiors that are made of more solid materials. They are also usually cheaper and come with much better appliances due to laminated trailer material cost being higher, despite its inferior strength and longevity (IMO).

Uh-oh! I just watched a Coachmen Apex video that said that it was vacuum bonded! that is NG, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gjz1-WspVkw

Yes. Azdel is not cheap! It's my belief that composites such as Azdel and Compositek (what Evergreen TT's use) are superior products.

Azdel Onboard

WoodGlue