TrailerLife HT towable fifth wheel article

When the say aluminum frame,they mean the body frame,not the actual under carriage frame. Even most semi box trailers are aluminum framed.

I thought most all 5ers had aluminum frames.

It never said bigger was better. I said you give up structural strength in the ultra light models unless they use expensive materials, like aluminum frames. And I have never heard of an aluminum frame RV, have you? Not to say there aren't some out there, but they won't be low priced.

why would the rv world lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to modern technology. We enjoy flat screen tv's wireless laptop tablets and yet we presume that our rv's are still begining bulit at 1990's standards. Some how i don't by it. Sorry but bigger is not always better. Be safe and enjoy thanks for the info

As for cars, the light weight models are death traps. I got that straight from a FHP accident investigator. He got his wife a Suburban.

agesilaus wrote:
Light means flimsy in my book so super lite means....

That extra weight goes into making a stiffer frame and structure. It's not something you can just do away with without giving up a lot. Maybe they could make a stiff aluminum frame but that would be much more expensive and I haven't heard of one being made.

BK

That may've been true years ago, but with todays technologies and light weight materials going lighter is the new thing.
I saw a video about a new 5'er (wish I could remember which one) and they were inside talking about how they used different technics and materials to lighten it up.

One item was the solid surface counter top. It was made out of a honeycomb type material that looked the same, had the same durability but only lighter.
Another item was the cable slide, instead of the hydraulic or gear driven. They saved several hundred pounds by using the Schwintek cable slide.
Of course you have aluminum framing.

I do agree though that some companies cut corners in the wrong places to save weight. And a buyer needs to look over the whole unit.

I look at it like this way, cars used to be built with all metal and weighed way more than today. Were rough riding, and noisy. Today there's lots of carbon fiber, plastic and aluminum used. But cars made today are way better than the old iron clunkers. When that stuff was 1st introduced everyone flipped out. I suspect that RV's will be moving in that direction, albeit at a slower pace.

Light means flimsy in my book so super lite means....

That extra weight goes into making a stiffer frame and structure. It's not something you can just do away with without giving up a lot. Maybe they could make a stiff aluminum frame but that would be much more expensive and I haven't heard of one being made.

BK