Community Forums

Gaetan Lavoie · 11-02-2004, 02:09 PM

Holiday Rambler and Admiral are advertising that you may choose your exterior walls made of either aluminium or fiberglass for their Class A Motorhomes. Would anyone know what would be the advantages or disavantages of Aluminium over Fiberglass for exterior walls?

Gaetan Lavoie · 11-02-2004, 02:09 PM

Holiday Rambler and Admiral are advertising that you may choose your exterior walls made of either aluminium or fiberglass for their Class A Motorhomes. Would anyone know what would be the advantages or disavantages of Aluminium over Fiberglass for exterior walls?

DavidMc · 11-02-2004, 03:30 PM

Partial Answer:
Aluminium = dents
Fiberglass = cracks
both "age" albeit differently.
(and I know about dents ! )

This summer I was told by a fabrication shop in Elkhart (northern Indiana) that the price of aluminium had just increased significantly.

RV Wizard · 11-03-2004, 02:02 AM

I think you may have a better "R" insulation factor with a fiberglass exterior and is probably quieter too. If both are full body paint the maintenance will be the same. If you did punch a hole in the aluminum skin you would need to replace the whole panel; the fiberglass could be repaired and you would never know it was damaged.

Two Bit · 11-03-2004, 04:03 AM

We have the aluminum on our HR fiver. No regrets, it is doing well. It is also lighter than fiberglass but I dont know by how many pounds and was less expensive at the time, but if alum has gone up then ? Also with aluminum there wont be a delamination issue possible in the years to come.

RustyJC · 11-03-2004, 07:25 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Two Bit:
Also with aluminum there wont be a delamination issue possible in the years to come. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Not all fiberglass side walls are subject to delamination. Some fiberglass side walls are "hung" as opposed to vacuum bonded construction.

Rusty

Two Bit · 11-03-2004, 08:16 AM

[/QUOTE]Not all fiberglass side walls are subject to delamination. Some fiberglass side walls are "hung" as opposed to vacuum bonded construction.
......
very true, but I did not want to take a chance. With my luck, whatever I got would turn out to be the one in a million that somehow came apart.

after all we do have a dog named MURPHY

and "Murphy's Law" follows her around.....although our front and rear endcaps are fiberglass and are fine.

rhandley · 11-05-2004, 12:31 PM

To Two Bit:

Horror stories abounded when we were looking for our irst rig. When is the last time you heard of delamination? Ours is Gel Coat with fibreglass caps and we couldent be happier. Our first rig had "Fibron" sides and in time, air pockets developed between layers. But today, fibreglass sides are so pefected that I wouldn't worry about it. The only thing dont like about HR's Aluminumsides are all the visible rivits.

Fxrscotty · 11-05-2004, 05:00 PM

Glass is much heavier the metal. I have had both and prefer the glass. It is hard to hide any imperfections with glass! With Al. sides you can cover up whoopses in the manufacturing easier than with the smooth sides of glass. Scotty.

Gus Weber · 11-06-2004, 11:16 AM

We have had four rigs with fiberglass and have just passed 120,000 miles on our 6 year old aluminum-sided Lazy Daze. For me, the painted aluminum has it all over fiberglass. It keeps a shine, doesn't fracture and tear like fiberglass (with very expensive repair) and I never worry about delamination. Our rig is six years old and still looks like it is on the showroom floor!

Gus Weber

Don K · 11-06-2004, 08:45 PM

To Two Bit--- ** **** **** *** "****",but I still have a delamination problem.

Toby · 11-11-2004, 05:21 AM

Gaetan
We just purchased a new 2004 HR Vacationer with the glass sides. We Traded in a 1999 HR Vacationer with the alum sides. Much prefer the alum sides. It's my understanding that the new 2005 model vacationer will only come in the glass sides. Also, you cannot get the full paint job with out the glass. While the glass looks better, the 5 years we had the 1999 model, the paint was still shinny ( we kept it under a cover ). From what i have been told, the delimination is very rare nowdays (according to the salesmen). you may email me for more of my opinion of the HR Vacationer (we have no regrets with our new unit). s/Toby tfh37@netzero.net

RV Wizard · 11-11-2004, 11:27 PM

Toby, welcome to our web site and thank you for joining the forum. Congratulations on your new HR Vacationer. f you will use a good polish with a UV protectant in it your paint job on the fiberglass will hold up if not it won't. We have been fulltiming for two years and our five year old coach I'm told looks like new. I have polished it a couple times a year with No Wet and am glad I do.
Looking forward to reading of your experiences and adventures.

wave · 01-14-2005, 07:14 PM

I would have to come down in favor of aluminium. My HR Endeavor had alum sides and fiberglass caps. I am aware that caps are harder to maintain but I must say that the sides looked great two years later while the caps looked weathered -I only washed it , no wax. I know the trend is toward fiberglass but I believe that Newell has been using metal since the begining and they look great 20 years later.