Jayco vs Grand Design
New to this forum and this will be my very first travel trailer. All perspectives welcomed and appreciated.. After the Tampa show, these are the 2 I like the most.. The Rep said GD uses OSB vs we use...
Forum Discussion
No personal preference here but some advice. First, look at the frame height. That will tell you how rigid the trailer will be. A 4" frame is fine for a single axle but awful for two axles due to flex. Whatever you end up with, make sure you get and take a video of the pre delivery inspection. No question is silly and if the person giving the pdi won't/can't answer a question, do not proceed with the inspection until someone can give you an answer. It would also be helpful if you had someone who was familiar with travel trailers along with you for the pdi.
Be aware that perfect trailers right out of the factory are as rare as hens teeth. A good prep crew will take care of issues before you get there but there will always be something either at the pdi or after. Minor issues after delivery are best when done by you as even something minor like a bad shade can put your unit on a dealers lot for months at a time. This is one hobby that can make a handyperson out of you or use your skills to do better than the designers.
Some info on OSB: it is used in most high end homes due to the inherent stability.
Never let the small stuff ruin a trip.
I appreciate your response. but how do I tell the frame height? it doesn't say on either MFGs website.. I do know that the jayco has the BAL A frame with huckbolts from Norco vs the GD has the welded frame from lippert, but I'm weary of Lippert with all the frame flex issues GD is having right now..
I can appreciate the engineering lesson given to you but the RV industry does not use exotic or high strength materials in their frames. Yes, a box beam can be built strong enough to attach aircraft wings to but we are talking about building as cheaply as possible. That precludes exotic materials being used.
I have had three trailers: one with a 4" frame which did ok but lots of things needed to be resecured due to flexing. The 5" frame was actually the most rigid as it had an "I" beam with 1/4" material all around but was very heavy for the size and the current unit has a 6" "I" beam that is about 3/16" thick and is very rigid without adding a lot of weight. I have no experience with Huck fastened frames but they have been used on frames for semis for many years.Finding the frame size is easy. Measure from the top to the bottom ( or bottom to the top if you are right handed ) and you will know how big the frame is. The tongue is the same size as the frame but is usually a box shape and a lot of frames are "I" or "C" shaped.
I plan to hit some lots later this month into next month and I will bring the tape measure.. and speaking of frames, how does something like this happen?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHk5oThyHL8&t=6s
The height of the frame (I.e.: the web of the beam) is not the sole determining factor for the strength of the frame. The flexural strength of the beam (section modulus) is determined by several factors, depth of the web being only one such factor. I can make a 2-inch webbed beam with a higher section modulus than a 6-inch webbed beam, by easily changing one of several factors which could include thickness, steel strength, shape of the section, cutouts, etc.. The thing is, you could easily by fooled by a manufacturer by looks alone without knowing which one actually has the higher section modulus. And good luck trying to find that little nugget of information.
this is soo above my paygrade..
Basically the first sentence says it all. To paraphrase: The frame height alone does not determine the strength of the frame.
