Silicone vs Butly Seams on new RVs and other differences.

[acanania]

Looking at a pair of RVs that I am interested in purchasing. The first, a FR Surveyor, had butly tape seams. The other, a Keystone Outback used Silicone seams (tremco 645?). Should I steer away from the Keystone bc of the silicone? My concern is not being able to recaulk the seams and dealing with leaks?

Other differences worth noting was:
The FR Surveyor had a rail system electric slide out. The Keystone had a cable system. The cable system seams better as it is less likely to bind and jump off track. Which is better?

PVC vs Rubber roof?
The FR Surveyor had a one piece PVC roof. The Keystone has a seamless rubber roof. Which is better?

Roof with aluminum trusses vs Vacuum bonded radius roof?
Both the Surveyor and Outback have aluminum truss 2" thick crowned roofs. The FR Flagstaff had a 4" thick radius laminate roof vaccum bonded. Am I right to assume the Flagstaff has no trusses? (Other than the aluminum framing). Which is better? Does it matter in regard to long term reliability?

Pinch rolled laminate walls vs Vaccuum bonded?
Surveyor and Keystone is pinched rolled. The only notable difference is the Surveyor is 2" walls, The Keystone has 1.5" walls. The Flagstaff has 1.5" vacuum bonded walls. Which is better?

All three of these TT seams very comparable to each other. Is there a feature of one of them that is a deal breaker? My budget is $25,000, and I am trying to buy the best built TT that i can within my budget. All help is greatly appreciated.

Note: The only other trailer that we have considered was the Jayco White Hawk series. I like the Vaccuum bonded construction and the cabinetry, but on are walk through I notice some very cheap bathroom hardware and what apppeared to be cut corners.... Opinions?

[Cumminsfan]

JMO but in the end it's not so much about what it's made with, it's more about how well it's made. Any of the construction features you mention can be screwed up by the workers.
As far as the slide out goes, same thing. You're going to hear good and bad about both. As a rule the gear type (Schwintek) don't normally jump off track. They can get out of sync and make the slide retract wrong. Re-syncing them usually fixes it. Cables do break though.

[Chuck_Hammer]

rubber roof, several good products to fix/repair.. PVC not so much.

Silicone not so good to fix. even silicone will not stick long to silicone.

as the other person said.. the persons building.. not so much on what was used.

Best of Luck with your search.


mine has a track system.. an its 11 years old... works well..
I do not like cables... cables has pulley's and they can jump off