After reading another thread, I may not be so sold on smooth sided “fiberglass” trailers. I have noticed the delam and mirroring of the frame as well as the gelcoat coming off on many that are just a few years old. I guess the smooth look just appealed to me a lot more. I want as little wood as possible either way. I really liked Holiday House RV, but they like Airstream have very little exterior storage and no floorplan with recliners.

There are few. You have named two. Was my comment on my WInnebago disregarded? Why? It’s mostly a roof maintenance issue IMO.

Howdy!I had a Mobile Scout 5er and they Made them that way. Unknown if they still do.“Happy Trails”Chiefneon

I've only owned 2 TT's in 18 years.. First one was smooth sided 'fiberglass' with alum frame. Traded it a year ago for a 2019 with the same smooth sided 'fiberglass' with alum frame..The old TT did fine and never gave me any issues at all. I just maintained the thing and kept an eye on the roof and re-sealed the corners and end caps a couple of times over the course of time, and never a leak, de-lam or whatever else seems to happen to folks that don't do that kind of thing... ;)Oh, I did cover it during it's outside storage times too, so that might have helped a bit too?In the end, you get what you get and there are no guarantees with either build style. Other than how you maintain it over the years..Traded that old TT in perfect condition for the new one and whoever now has that old Prowler, has a very nice TT and no de-lam or any other issues with it.. :)Good luck! Mitch

The two types are built quite differently.The smooth sided filon/fiberglass ones are basically glued or laminated together.The aluminum siding models are stapled to the wood studs.Aluminum studs do not retain staples very well.That is why it is not done.Stclairm wrote:After reading another thread, I may not be so sold on smooth sided “fiberglass” trailers. I have noticed the delam and mirroring of the frame as well as the gelcoat coming off on many that are just a few years old. I guess the smooth look just appealed to me a lot more. I want as little wood as possible either way. I really liked Holiday House RV, but they like Airstream have very little exterior storage and no floorplan with recliners.

Huntindog wrote:Aluminum studs do not retain staples very well.That is why it is not done.Odd..not done?My Dad's 1978 Holiday Rambler was Aluminum siding over Aluminum framing...never an issue with the siding in 40 years.More recently we had a 1997 Sunnybrook with Aluminum siding over Aluminum framing. When we sold it at 20yr old, zero issues with the siding.

Who all makes aluminum sided aluminum framed TT’s?

TurnThePage
Explorer
Oct 21, 2020
Yep. My aluminum sided, wood framed trailer is assembled with staples. It's held up fine though with no water penetration or wood rot.
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Oct 21, 2020
deltabravo wrote:
Huntindog wrote:
The aluminum siding models are stapled to the wood studs.

Wait, what?

I've not seen aluminum sided trailers using staples to attach the aluminum skin to the framing, let alone having "wood" at the framing.

Basically the same as aluminum or vinyl siding on a house.
You’re probably thinking of a cargo type trailer.
deltabravo
Nomad
Oct 21, 2020
Huntindog wrote:
The aluminum siding models are stapled to the wood studs.

Wait, what?

I've not seen aluminum sided trailers using staples to attach the aluminum skin to the framing, let alone having "wood" at the framing.
Stclairm
Explorer
Oct 20, 2020
^ That's exactly why I looked at the Keystones. Still searching. We really want something with two recliners, then all the standard stuff. Booth dinette, walkaround queen, etc.
wrvond
Explorer II
Oct 10, 2020
Stclairm wrote:
Well, I guess I will be scouring the following brands and looking for a rear living with a curved roof and frameless windows with aluminum structures Forest River in the following lines (Flagstaff, Solera, Forester, Sunseeker, Rockwood, R-Pod)
Coachmen in the following lines ( Chaparral, Brookstone)
Jayco – Jay Feather Micro series and behind the front diamond plate on the Hummingbird, Jay Feather, and White Hawk travel trailers.
Lance Campers
Nexus RV
Prime Time
Adrenaline
Koala
Winnebago
Apex RV
Gulfstream
Heartland RV
No Bo (No Boundaries)
Renegade RV
Work and Play RV
nuCamp
Surveyor
East to West RV

Take a look at the Cougar travel trailer line. I really like their construction as well as the Outback. The cap on the Outback wraps around the front so that the seals are not getting water forced into the seams.
lane_hog
Explorer II
Oct 08, 2020
Would have been cheaper for FR to replace their coach than do the repairs... Replacing a wall would be >$15,000 repair including labor.
Stclairm
Explorer
Oct 07, 2020
Crazy story. One of my old camping friends told me that Forest River came and picked up her trailer and replaced an entire side of the trailer due to a defect that caused delam. Then it happened again a short while out of warranty, and they came and got it and replaced the other side and did some other work and upgrades for her at no charge. Gotta say, that's impressive service, not sure what the heck she said to them.
Stclairm
Explorer
Oct 07, 2020
Really diggin the Outdoors RV products. Not sure what they are using in place of Azdel, but they seem to be quite a bit higher quality than all the standard names and don't share all the same interior bits and pieces of the cookie cutters.
Stclairm
Explorer
Oct 06, 2020
Well, I guess I will be scouring the following brands and looking for a rear living with a curved roof and frameless windows with aluminum structures Forest River in the following lines (Flagstaff, Vibe, Forester, Rockwood, R-Pod)
Coachmen in the following lines ( Chaparral, Brookstone)
Jayco – Jay Feather Micro series and behind the front diamond plate on the Hummingbird, Jay Feather, and White Hawk travel trailers.
Lance Campers
Nexus RV
Prime Time
Adrenaline
Koala
Winnebago
Apex RV
Gulfstream
Heartland RV
No Bo (No Boundaries)
Renegade RV
Work and Play RV
nuCamp
Surveyor
East to West RV
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Oct 06, 2020
Stclairm wrote:
Yep, my current one is Azdel. I'm surprised their are still companies not using it. I wonder how Darco compares? Dang it, looks like the Keystone Premier uses Darco and Sunset Trail doesn't say anything about moisture barrier.

Darco is a fabric and isn’t used in wall construction, but as a protective cover under the subfloor.