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OldPugVA · 12-30-2011, 10:27 AM

Ok, I am still learning. As I narrow down the TT manufacturers, I see Luan mentioned repeatedly. Is this material part of all lighter weight TT? It does not seem to be a good material and I see repeated posts about it detaching from the fiberglass.

I am currently looking at a Skyline Koala (don't see reference to Luan) TT, but I really do like the Keystone Bullet (Luan) and Passport (Luan?) models.

Thoughts?

Happy New Year!

frankdamp · 12-30-2011, 10:55 AM

Lauan is a type of mahogany, widely used in the building trade as skins on interior doors. RV manufacturers often use it for the inside skin of fiberglas/styrofoam wall panels. You can recognise it by its warm-looking brown color and a fairly open grain. It's not inherently bad, but it's usually too thin to take wood screws. Most of the stuff I've come across is only 1/16th" thick.

OldPugVA · 12-30-2011, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankdamp

Lauan is a type of mahogany, widely used in the building trade as skins on interior doors. RV manufacturers often use it for the inside skin of fiberglas/styrofoam wall panels. You can recognise it by its warm-looking brown color and a fairly open grain. It's not inherently bad, but it's usually too thin to take wood screws. Most of the stuff I've come across is only 1/16th" thick.

Thanks Frank. I guess I need to ask if it specifically used in the construction.

Anacortes - nice! Sue and I hail from Silverdale and Whidbey Isle. We miss the NW!

450Donn · 12-30-2011, 11:13 AM

Luan or Luan plywood is a very common product used in the RV undisturbed. It is light weight, fairly stable. Therefore a generally good product. Thus nothing to worry about.

frankdamp · 12-31-2011, 12:05 PM

Seab:

Many of our local friends wonder why we have an RV when we live here. Most of them have boats. My arguments are that:

one lump of rock sticking out of the sea, with fir trees all over it, looks a lot like the others

at 14 knots and 14 gallons a hour (one friend's 38' cruiser) It takes a long time and a lot of gas to get from one rock to the next

and

you can't visit the Grand Canyon or Zion or New Mexico (or lots of other places) by boat.

Still and all, it's a nice place to live - we're on the south side of the ridge that separates Guemes Channel from Burrows Bay, directly south of the State Ferry terminal. It has an equable climate (it was 50F and sunny yesterday) and wonderful recreational opportunities. Suits us ex-pat Brits to a "T". My sister, who lives in the UK, says Anacortes is "where God goes on vacation".

Incidentally, we lived in Hampton, VA, 1971-74 when I worked for one of the engineering contractors at NASA-Langley.