HTT construction; What is good vs. not so good

[theoldwizard1]

I have had a pop up for over 25 years. Lately my daughter and her family have started to use the old Palomino hard side, but their family "exploded" (2 sets of twins, 4 years apart), so Grandpa is thinking about a hybrid. (Too old to walk to the "potty" in the middle of the night and a shower sounds really nice !)

Being a retired engineer, I am very interested in construction techniques and especially what is "field proven". For example, Jayco's Magnum Roof System looks like a good thing. Comments ?

How about wall construction. Are all manufacturers still using 2x2 wood studs ? Any one using welded square tubing ?

What other construction techniques should I look for ?

[bikendan]

from what i know, hybrids are constructed the same way as most any ultra-lite travel trailer.
the only difference is that they are reinforced in the front, to bear the weight for the drop-down bunk doors.
and, i don't think any are wood-framed anymore, except maybe the aluminum-sided ones.

[theoldwizard1]

I've watched all the video I can find and Jayco does not show any clear images of their inner wall assembly. It appears that the foam core is routed out and aluminum (?) square tubing/C-channel (?) is inserted in the dados. There was no clear pictures of the vertical pieces being welded to the horizontal pieces before the lamination process.

Also I could find no clear images of how the walls are attached to the floor.

[Campfire_Time]

The Magnum Roof System of the latest Jayco hybrids are made on a wood frame and are slightly bowed as opposed to completely flat. The sides are vacuum laminate, Jayco's name being "Tuffshell". They use aluminum frame for the walls.

We just traded our 2003 Kiwi 17a that had the Tuffshell construction. Aside from the fact that the front and back bed panels oxidized and lost their shine, the trailer looked great. Check all the seams (especially roof!) several times a year and its will last for many years.

[llowllms]

I think all hybrids are constructed with the same limits in mind regardless of materials used. The object is light weight construction as in most light weight TT's.

[bovellois]

The framework of the ROO (Forest River) is made of aluminium, likely square tubing.