Best quality: Micro Minni, R-POD, E PRO

[qwerty1111]

I am looking at a Micro Minni, R-POD, and E PRO. All three have a floor plan I like and they are all around the same price. From a quality perspective, which is better? Things such as craftsmanship, roof material, insulation material, etc are things I am interested in.

[Gdetrailer]

Pbutler97 wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:


Insulation?

Nope, plain old fiberglass insulation is used through out all RVs and RVs have a wall cavity of just 1" so R2 or R3 is best one can hope for.. The exception to this may be some "three season" or "Artic" RVs which may have a bit higher R factor insulation but those come at a higher cost to the end buyer..

There is no fiberglass insulation in the walls of a trailer with laminated walls which all 3 models the OP is considering have, it's white beaded styrofoam. Even if they used extruded polystyrene foam which they don't, thats only an R 3.5 to 5.5 per inch depending on the density.

They claim an R7 but you only get R7 in a brochure out of 1" of beaded styrofoam. As far as 3 season and Artic packages that usually means they add a piece of reflective barrier in the mix, run a half assed piece of duct from the furnace into the underbelly, maybe add some cheap tank heaters, and slap a decal on the side.

:R

The "difference" in R value between 1 inch of fiberglass and Expanded (IE beaded) styrofoam is minimal at best.

1" of Fiberglass gets you R3-R3.7

1" of Expanded (IE Beaded) styrofoam is only R3.6 per HERE

The ONLY "foam" insulation that has a RV value close to R7 is Polyisocyanurate (AKA PolyIso) of R6.5-R8 per inch depending on the manufacturer which is light yellow in color and is a close cousin to spray in foams which have simular performance as PolyIso.

The beaded stuff is total junk and is used since it is the lowest cost rigid insulation that can be bought.

There is zero advantage to using the beaded styrofoam when it comes to R Value per inch.

Any RV manufacturer stating that their 1" beaded styrofoam insulation has a R value of 7 is lying.

Where beaded styrofoam can be an advantage is unlike fiberglass it doesn't absorb and hold moisture. While one may think that is an advantage, what does happen is the moisture ends up trapped at the bottom of the wall and that can make a small water leak 10 times worse as that water puddles up in one place and it must wick through everything that can absorb water creating more water damage in the end.

[Pbutler97]

Gdetrailer wrote:


Insulation?

Nope, plain old fiberglass insulation is used through out all RVs and RVs have a wall cavity of just 1" so R2 or R3 is best one can hope for.. The exception to this may be some "three season" or "Artic" RVs which may have a bit higher R factor insulation but those come at a higher cost to the end buyer..

There is no fiberglass insulation in the walls of a trailer with laminated walls which all 3 models the OP is considering have, it's white beaded styrofoam. Even if they used extruded polystyrene foam which they don't, thats only an R 3.5 to 5.5 per inch depending on the density.

They claim an R7 but you only get R7 in a brochure out of 1" of beaded styrofoam. As far as 3 season and Artic packages that usually means they add a piece of reflective barrier in the mix, run a half assed piece of duct from the furnace into the underbelly, maybe add some cheap tank heaters, and slap a decal on the side.

[Skibane]

Pbutler97 wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
Any Forest River product can be of dubious quality.

So can any Thor product, Winnebago/Grand Design Product, the list goes on and on. Please tell us what brand can not be or is never of dubious quality.

Never say never - but...

Escape, Bigfoot, Casita and Oliver all have relatively few complaints about build quality.

[Pbutler97]

CKNSLS wrote:
Any Forest River product can be of dubious quality.

So can any Thor product, Winnebago/Grand Design Product, the list goes on and on. Please tell us what brand can not be or is never of dubious quality.

[CKNSLS]

MitchF150 wrote:

CKNSLS wrote:
Any Forest River product can be of dubious quality.

Not true for the one I have...

Mitch

That's why I used the words CAN BE. My Grey Wolf 26DJSE was an absolute disaster.

[MitchF150]

CKNSLS wrote:
Any Forest River product can be of dubious quality.

Not true for the one I have...

Mitch

[midnightsadie]

some time back a person posted ,he was at a rv show on one unit he said there was day lite shining in from the side wall.

[CKNSLS]

Any Forest River product can be of dubious quality.

[Gdetrailer]

qwerty1111 wrote:
I am looking at a Micro Minni, R-POD, and E PRO. All three have a floor plan I like and they are all around the same price. From a quality perspective, which is better? Things such as craftsmanship, roof material, insulation material, etc are things I am interested in.

All are "mass produced" on a production line, "craftsmanship" is tossed out the door and replaced by undertrained and/or untrained non craftsman that must be able to fill all worstations at any time with little or no training. There is no "specialists", no specific tradesman and all work is done via moving assembly lines which have strict time allotments for each assembly operation.

There will be at least a few warranty issues you will end up dealing with no matter the brand or perceived quality.

Better roof material?

Laughable at best, the same roofing that is used on a $200K RV is used on a $10K popup.. The manufacturer of the roof material often offers a 12 yr warranty, after 12 yrs the RV will most likely have been traded in several times if it hasn't been scrapped out by then.

Insulation?

Nope, plain old fiberglass insulation is used through out all RVs and RVs have a wall cavity of just 1" so R2 or R3 is best one can hope for.. The exception to this may be some "three season" or "Artic" RVs which may have a bit higher R factor insulation but those come at a higher cost to the end buyer..

Best bet is to stop "window shopping" and go in person and kick some tires on each brand and model you are interested in and strike a deal on what you perceive as the best "quality unit" that you have looked at. Walk through them, note how the floor feels, if it feels spongy, move on. Pull a drawer out, open doors, look at the fit and finish, if it looks and feels cheaply or poorly made to you, walk..

[Pbutler97]

midnightsadie wrote:
look for staples, were there should be screws. I, have a older mh never found a staple anywhere, still runs an looks great.

You'll find an abundance of staples in all 3. You'll also find cabinets made from pressboard but they might have actual wood doors or not. Where screws are used there will be a minimal amount of them with a good amount of those stripped. All 3 are mass produced RVs pushed
down the line and out the door as fast as possible, with no quality control whatsoever. You could line 5 of each up being all the same floorplan and the overall build quality will vary on each one, could be from horrible to good and everything in between.

[midnightsadie]

look for staples, were there should be screws. I, have a older mh never found a staple anywhere, still runs an looks great.

[Lwiddis]

I’m happy with my WInnebago TT. No experience with the other two.