Are all outside aluminum campers wood frame?

[Brendon44]

It seems as I search for a camper all of the travel trailers with aluminum on outside are wood frame. All the composite/fiberglass outside material campers are aluminum framed. Is this pretty much the standard or are there aluminum bodies with aluminum frames as well?

Thanks!

[youroo]

Airstream ! Aluminum on Aluminum! Youroo! ! Alabama!

[Bama Rambler]

Except for airstream and a couple of others, as youroo mentioned, pretty much all lap siding rv's are aluminum over wooden framing.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Brendon44

It seems as I search for a camper all of the travel trailers with aluminum on outside are wood frame. All the composite/fiberglass outside material campers are aluminum framed. Is this pretty much the standard or are there aluminum bodies with aluminum frames as well?

Thanks!

The method to attach the aluminum siding is by using staples, which obviously only works with wood studs.. I guess you could use a very high strength tape or rivets to attach aluminum siding to aluminum framing. Not sure how well the tape would hold up over time and the rivets would take forever to install. The aluminum skinned trailers (not including Airstream) are typically the more entry level rigs, so it wouldn't make much sense to increase costs with aluminum tubing and more labor.

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

The method to attach the aluminum siding is by using staples, which obviously only works with wood studs.. I guess you could use a very high strength tape or rivets to attach aluminum siding to aluminum framing. Not sure how well the tape would hold up over time and the rivets would take forever to install. The aluminum skinned trailers (not including Airstream) are typically the more entry level rigs, so it wouldn't make much sense to increase costs with aluminum tubing and more labor.

3M makes a bonding material to attach aluminum siding to a steel or aluminum frame. We had a cargo trailer with aluminum siding and no rivets/screws. At 12 years old, it was in amazing conditions-no leaks,no joint separations, and no rusty screw heads. When the siding chalked, I refinished the exterior and it looked new when we sold it.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

The method to attach the aluminum siding is by using staples, which obviously only works with wood studs.. I guess you could use a very high strength tape or rivets to attach aluminum siding to aluminum framing. Not sure how well the tape would hold up over time and the rivets would take forever to install. The aluminum skinned trailers (not including Airstream) are typically the more entry level rigs, so it wouldn't make much sense to increase costs with aluminum tubing and more labor.

There are many high end TT's with aluminum siding.

Just like pizza...some people like ham...others like pepperoni...some people like aluminum sided RV's over fiberglass and not everyone likes galvanized studs in their RV's.

To say only low-end RV's are built that way is not reality.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

To say only low-end RV's are built that way is not reality.

He didn't say only, he said typically.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by PenJoe

3M makes a bonding material to attach aluminum siding to a steel or aluminum frame. We had a cargo trailer with aluminum siding and no rivets/screws. At 12 years old, it was in amazing conditions-no leaks,no joint separations, and no rusty screw heads. When the siding chalked, I refinished the exterior and it looked new when we sold it.

That's on a smooth aluminum- no contour. Something like that would likely work on a trailer like an Airstream. But the difficulty would be in making sure the bends in the sheet are perfectly mated to the bends in the frame with little to no tension. Your cargo trailer probably had few if any bends- all flats- making that method of attachment more sensible. I am referring to the attachment of the contoured aluminum siding, not trailers that are built using sheets such as an Airstream. I figured since he was talking about the "stick and tin" trailers he sees, he was wanting to know if any trailers were made with that type of aluminum and aluminum tube framing.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by bikendan

He didn't say only, he said typically.

Thanks bikendan- and I also specifically excluded Airstreams, which means I covered all but the most uncommon outliers in my statement.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

The method to attach the aluminum siding is by using staples, which obviously only works with wood studs.. I guess you could use a very high strength tape or rivets to attach aluminum siding to aluminum framing. Not sure how well the tape would hold up over time and the rivets would take forever to install. The aluminum skinned trailers (not including Airstream) are typically the more entry level rigs, so it wouldn't make much sense to increase costs with aluminum tubing and more labor.

To say typically aluminum skinned trailers are typically entry level trailer is totally false. Some are some are not. The same as composite/fiberglass outside material some are entry level some are not.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

To say typically aluminum skinned trailers are typically entry level trailer is totally false. Some are some are not. The same as composite/fiberglass outside material some are entry level some are not.

I stand by my statement. And my statement is referring to an entry level price point- I never said you can't get a nicely equipped stick and tin. With that being said, show me a 100K fifth wheel with aluminum siding. While there are fiberglass sided trailers that are at an entry level price point, they are still more expensive than a stick and tin, all else being equal. The only mass produced aluminum trailer that doesn't hold to this is the Airstream, and it's built with aluminum sheets and is actually a very different animal from a stick and tin. I own and have owned exclusively stick and tin rigs. One of my current rigs is a very nicely equipped Puma. Their are fiberglass rigs similar in floorplan that would come in cheaper, but they'd be less well optioned. The point I'm making is that as a general rule, as you progress into more luxurious and higher price point categories, stick and tin options dwindle and ultimately become mostly unavailable after you leave the $40K range. Actually, once you leave the low $30K range, the only stick and tin rigs you'll see are large toy haulers made by companies like Puma- but they're vastly outnumbered by fiberglass rigs that sell in the $50-$60K range.

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

To say typically aluminum skinned trailers are typically entry level trailer is totally false. Some are some are not. The same as composite/fiberglass outside material some are entry level some are not.

Maybe we need to define the term "typically"???????

[pdqparalegal1]

I have way too many Nits to pick to get involved in this.

[goduc]

The cheapest ($) TT's are lap sided. It goes up from there. Things overlap here and there. But for the most part lap sided TT's are cheaper ($) to make and that makes the price point easier for entry level TT's.
Jayco is the only MFG that I know of that offers the option of fiberglass or aluminum exteriors on their Jay Flight models. The FG option adds about 6% to the cost. Same interior so you basically get the same TT.
Other MFG like Grand Design make different model lines like the Imagine or the Transcend. Both entry level TT's. But the Transcend is more entry level.
Some MFG's are combining the two products and giving buyers a filon rolled front cap and lap siding. It's still an entry level TT.
Most all lap siders don't have the ammenities that FG siders do.
You'll never find the same interior quality that you see in a GD Reflection in a lap side TT. MFG's just don't do it because the lap sided TT's cast an image of being entry level. Most buyers want bling. FG sided TT's can offer more bling, like frameless windows and a cleaner overall look like you can get with a molded front FG cap. Can't have that on a lap sider.
It's also a lot harder to get decent R values in a lap sider. 1.5" walls with R? batt insulation isn't much. More drafty and air tight as well with FG siders.

[Oaklevel]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

Maybe we need to define the term "typically"???????

I still say that you are totally wrong stick and tin trailers are available in the 60K-70K range and are not rare. They also have the same options and offerings that the others do and they are not all toyhaulers. I will leave it at you are misinformed.

To say a stick and tin trailer is entry level, always or typically not true. Sometimes yes........but so are the others

[goduc]

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

I still say that you are totally wrong stick and tin trailers are available in the 60K-70K range and are not rare. They also have the same options and offerings that the others do and they are not all toyhaulers. I will leave it at you are misinformed.

To say a stick and tin trailer is entry level, always or typically not true. Sometimes yes........but so are the others

Please post a link to a $60K-$70K aluminum sided TT used for camping thats currently manufactured today. And not an Airstream. They're not conventionally made.

[JohnD10]

I think the reason that bigger TT's and 5'vers are fiberglass sided with steel framing is not a function of price point at all...

But more of a weight factor!

Because people today are more concerned about amenities than they are build quality...

That is until this lighter weight, cheaper and faster build quality starts bouncing apart and then find they can't get anyone to do their warranty issues in a timely fashion.

And the bigger the towable RV with more amenities and fancier furniture means that they are pushing the envelope on the tow vehicle's capabilities, so they have to use the lighter structure!

[goduc]

After a half dozen dents in the side of a laper it becomes obvious why more people choose FG siders. That and the fact that its way way easier to wash n wax a FG sider.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by goduc

After a half dozen dents in the side of a laper it becomes obvious why more people choose FG siders. That and the fact that its way way easier to wash n wax a FG sider.

Depending on the hail...you'll get holes or cracks in the fiberglass instead of dents.

Lived in Colorado long enough to find that one out...

Either way...hail is a big PITA!

As many like to say around here...isn't that why we have insurance?

[JohnD10]

Oh yeah...

I've had both, and fiberglass may be easier to wash and wax, but the aluminum siding only needs to be sprayed off and maybe a good has washing once in awhile...

No waxing needed, even though there are many that do wax them.