wood or metal trusses
I know sales people will sometimes say whatever they think will sell the trailer- but are metal trusses really that much better than wood? What do you think?
Forum Discussion
- thank goodness, I don't have an orphan after all.
bumpy :) youngone wrote:
aftermath wrote:
I have an Airstream. It is all metal except for the floor. Is it better? I really don't think so because like all trailers, if not regularly inspected and properly maintained it is going to leak. The problem with Airstreams is floor rot.
If I were looking at trailers today I probably would not get too worked up over wood vs metal framing. I would play very close attention to the quality of the trailer, the history of the brand and the record of repairs. Keep the roof clean and maintain all the caulking and it won't matter if the frame is wood or not. The addition of new composite materials for floors is a welcome improvement. The Evergreen line came out a couple of years ago with a trailer that was made of materials that couldn't be damaged by water. They went out of business quickly which was a shame. Expensive units and poor management was talk.
Evergreen is not out of business. Check out their website. goevergreenrv.com. I have a 2012 Evergreen Ever-lite and I love it. This company responses to my emails right away and solves any problems I have. By the way it came with a 2 year warranty and they have backed it 100%. 6 sided aluminum frame and lots of composite material and no plywood floors rotting in my rv! They do Now use plywood in the roof where mine has a sheet of composite material on the roof. Also their roofs are covered with TPO Vinyl instead of a rubber roof. I inspect my roof and rv many times during the season to make sure all is well!
Sorry, my mistake. It was Earthbound, not Evergreen that has gone out of business.
http://www.rvbusiness.com/tag/earthbound-rv-llc/
I looked at one of these at a RV Show in my area and was quite impressed. Apparently, not enough other owners were as impressed as me.aftermath wrote:
I have an Airstream. It is all metal except for the floor. Is it better? I really don't think so because like all trailers, if not regularly inspected and properly maintained it is going to leak. The problem with Airstreams is floor rot.
If I were looking at trailers today I probably would not get too worked up over wood vs metal framing. I would play very close attention to the quality of the trailer, the history of the brand and the record of repairs. Keep the roof clean and maintain all the caulking and it won't matter if the frame is wood or not. The addition of new composite materials for floors is a welcome improvement. The Evergreen line came out a couple of years ago with a trailer that was made of materials that couldn't be damaged by water. They went out of business quickly which was a shame. Expensive units and poor management was talk.
Evergreen is not out of business. Check out their website. goevergreenrv.com. I have a 2012 Evergreen Ever-lite and I love it. This company responses to my emails right away and solves any problems I have. By the way it came with a 2 year warranty and they have backed it 100%. 6 sided aluminum frame and lots of composite material and no plywood floors rotting in my rv! They do Now use plywood in the roof where mine has a sheet of composite material on the roof. Also their roofs are covered with TPO Vinyl instead of a rubber roof. I inspect my roof and rv many times during the season to make sure all is well!djsamuel wrote:
Yes I like the Livin' Lite campers. They are rather spartan inside, but I like how they're built. And spartan isn't a bad thing. I'm a believer in minimalism and form-follows-function anyways. :)SoCalDesertRider wrote:
Exactly. That's why I posted the link to the LivinLite construction video. I am really impressed by how they are built. Even the cabinets are integral to the frame of the camper, and all are built of strong framing components. I'm a mechanical engineer who's worked a lot with aluminum in the marine area, and am impressed with the materials and construction of the Camplites. That's why my wife and I purchased one. That said, I do agree with many posters here, whether aluminum, fiberglass, or wood; campers can last a long time or just a few years based on the maintenance and inspections given.
Many 'aluminum' frames are built very chinsy, using too thin material, or only welded on one side, faulty welds, not enough framing members in the design. But then again, most everything in the RV industry is built chinsy....Bucky Badger wrote:
gmw photos wrote:
My funfinder has "aluminum superstructure" ( wall and roof assemblies ) and wood for all of the internal structures, like the bases for the dinette seating, etc, etc. What irritates me is that when they assembled all this stuff inside, they did not bother to glue the joints. The staples would probably be an acceptable mechanical device to hold the joint together while the glue set. As it is, without glue in the joint, we are relying on a simple, small and rather short staple to hold these parts together. I recently had a joint under the dinette seat that had begun to come apart, so I put it back together again with glue in the joint.
One would hope the manufacturers that are using wood in their wall and ceiling construction are also gluing the joints in assembly. I have no idea though if that is true or not.
If you have to repair a damaged part, glue would make it almost impossible
True enough, it will make it more difficult, but I can always saw a glued joint apart. As it is, some of this stuff like the joint I had the other day was falling apart anyway, so I figure I will take my chances.gmw photos wrote:
My funfinder has "aluminum superstructure" ( wall and roof assemblies ) and wood for all of the internal structures, like the bases for the dinette seating, etc, etc. What irritates me is that when they assembled all this stuff inside, they did not bother to glue the joints. The staples would probably be an acceptable mechanical device to hold the joint together while the glue set. As it is, without glue in the joint, we are relying on a simple, small and rather short staple to hold these parts together. I recently had a joint under the dinette seat that had begun to come apart, so I put it back together again with glue in the joint.
One would hope the manufacturers that are using wood in their wall and ceiling construction are also gluing the joints in assembly. I have no idea though if that is true or not.
If you have to repair a damaged part, glue would make it almost impossible- My funfinder has "aluminum superstructure" ( wall and roof assemblies ) and wood for all of the internal structures, like the bases for the dinette seating, etc, etc. What irritates me is that when they assembled all this stuff inside, they did not bother to glue the joints. The staples would probably be an acceptable mechanical device to hold the joint together while the glue set. As it is, without glue in the joint, we are relying on a simple, small and rather short staple to hold these parts together. I recently had a joint under the dinette seat that had begun to come apart, so I put it back together again with glue in the joint.
One would hope the manufacturers that are using wood in their wall and ceiling construction are also gluing the joints in assembly. I have no idea though if that is true or not. - Either method is a great way to build a trailer. MANY trailers are built with aluminum studs in the side walls but the front, rear, roof and floor are all still constructed with wood studs or truss's. The benefit to aluminum is that it is machined and true. Also, when aluminum is laminated in a side wall that wall is stronger than a wood framed wall. The downside to aluminum is that it will conduct cold and therefore condenstate more and this construction method is more expensive. It does not matter what type of construction you have if you don't do your maintenance and allow water to leak in. Wood will of course rot and the laminated sidewalls will delaminate after a while causing major problems as well. Water penetration is the enemy either way. I have owned many of both types of construction and have been through 4 factory's and have watched it done. Contrary to popular belief, aluminum is NOT used because of rot, it is used because you can build a stronger wall. If the reason to use aluminum was to prevent rot they would use it throughout the coach, but many manufacturers don't.
The quality of raw materials, the detail in construction and the maintenance by the owner are the main factors in having an RV that has a long life, not what type of studs are in the wall. Bucky Badger wrote:
WoodGlue wrote:
Wood = rot - water damage - noisier
Metal (Aluminum) sturdy - no water damage or rot - quieterWoodGlue
How is wood noiser>
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Screams when you cut??
Creaks when it gets old, like me?... ;):BWoodGlue wrote:
Wood = rot - water damage - noisier
Metal (Aluminum) sturdy - no water damage or rot - quieter
WoodGlue
How is wood noiser>
