ron.dittmer
I Will Be Dancing With The Stars On 1/23
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rcase13 wrote:ron.dittmer wrote:I think we are describing the same or similar construction methods using different terminology.
I was trying to describe the methods used for our Phoenix Cruiser motor home. Phoenix USA describes their construction as follows.
- Aerodynamic Body Styling with Curved Walls
- Smooth Vacu-Bond Laminated Gel-Coat Fiberglass Exterior
- 2-1/8" Thick Floor, Tubular Steel Construction
- Strong, Long Lasting 1/4" Plastic Fluted Sheet Underbelly
- Rubber Pucks Between Floor & Frame for Smoother Ride and Road Noise Reduction
- Moisture Proof Plywood as Flooring Sub-Base
- 1-1/2" Thick Wall, Aluminum Cage Construction
- Metal Framing Around All Openings (Windows, Doors, etc)
- Block Foam Insulation in Roof, Floors, and Sidewalls.
How are the cabinets attached to the wall? I don't see this listed on the website. I was impressed with the video showing the build. I see at least one model that had a floor plan we liked. The 2700 was almost perfect for us. The wife wants a walk around queen. The only bummer was no upper bunk for my 7 year old. He REALLY wants that. It's like a tree house for him! 
Dad just wants safety...
As is seen in the video, most of the cabinetry is mounted to the floor first, then attached to the exterior walls once in-place. The hanging cabinetry mounts to the free-standing cabinetry and also the wall & roof rails/studs/channnels....whatever you want to call the hidden framing.
To be honest with you, if safety is your #1 mission, you should be looking at RV's with a very strong structural roll cage design, specifically to keep the RV together in a roll-over crash. There is only one or two makers with such a claim. I think Born Free is one, but I am not certian.
In general, RV safety is mainly focused on "Accident Prevention" rather than accident survival. We had a lot of suspension work done on ours which makes it safer through improved handling and front tire blow-out conditions. But we did it mainly to improve comfort and greatly reduce driver fatigue.
As a general rule, a motor home with a van front (C & B+) will be safer than your typical class-A in a frontal crash as the chassis has been tested to meet such crash safety regulations for conventional vans.
* This post was
edited 08/25/09 09:29am by ron.dittmer *
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tatest
Oklahoma
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The founder of Born Free claims he has rolled one, without anyone getting hurt, and without the house coming apart as it slid on its side going down the highway. But the only occupants were in the Econoline cab.
Wasn't deliberate, he fell asleep driving. Thus we likely don't know the actual speed.
If you are concerned about what happens in a wreck, you want a motorhome with a roll cage, or better yet, no motorhome at all. Travel in an nice solid all-steel vehicle that had to at least meet NHTSA collision standards (including rollover), pull your house behind that.
For what its worth, the people who buy old RVs to wreck at thrill shows, buy the ones with framed walls, because laminated walls don't break up in the same spectacular way. They usually strip the interior of furnishings and cabinetry, because that stuff adds to the structural strength by bracing the walls.
People who buy motorhomes for the motorhome destruction derby, buy the ones with laminated construction. They also strip the interior, don't want a TV set or cabinet coming down on your head when you ram the other guy at 30 mph.
Tom Test
Itasca Spirit 29B
2001 Ranger Edge
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tenbear
Northern Vermont, USA
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I took the tour of the Four Winds plant a few years ago. Here is what I saw. The walls are 1 x 1 aluminum on variable centers. Sheet metal steel strips are laminated into the wall in strategic places to attach the cabinets to. The whole thing is glued together.
The floor uses steel, I think about 1 x 2.
The above is based on my memory and is several years old. Nothing is guarenteed.
In case of an accident cabinets could come loose from the walls, depending on the severity of the accident. Before I bought my MH I had a trailer that I lost control of and totaled in an accident. The interior of the trailer was like a war zone. Some cabinets did come off the walls. Would a MH be as bad??? I don't want to find out.
2004/5 Four Winds Dutchman Express 28A, Chevy chassis
Subaru Impreza Outback
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Handbasket
Asheville, NC
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For rollover other than in the cab, a Class B is probably better than almost any class C.
The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based ones use the complete original structure, which has to meet the NHTSA safety tests for all vehicles of that type. M-B limits the size opening that a converter can cut into the unibody.
Even the class B's on Ford, Chevy, and older Dodge vans that replace the roof (and sometimes part of the floor) with fiberglass probably have more structural integrity than the almost any class C's house. I know Roadtrek did extensive structural & roll-over tests on their conversions around 2000, tho' I don't know details.
Jim, "Mo' coffee!"
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison ('Loafer's Glory'); '07 Forester 2.5 ( the 'HANDBSKT'); '95 Toyota SR5 V-6 4x4 pickup, ARB locker, Bilsteins, Warn hubs & M8000, etc;
'94 968, M030 swaybars ('DOPPLER')
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Arborist
Tacoma
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Hmmm,
Lazy Daze uses wood framing but has aluminum for the roof and sides.
www.lazydaze.com
Arborist
"If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves." - Lane Kirkland
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rcase13
Charlotte
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tenbear wrote:I took the tour of the Four Winds plant a few years ago. Here is what I saw. The walls are 1 x 1 aluminum on variable centers. Sheet metal steel strips are laminated into the wall in strategic places to attach the cabinets to. The whole thing is glued together.
The floor uses steel, I think about 1 x 2.
The above is based on my memory and is several years old. Nothing is guarenteed.
In case of an accident cabinets could come loose from the walls, depending on the severity of the accident. Before I bought my MH I had a trailer that I lost control of and totaled in an accident. The interior of the trailer was like a war zone. Some cabinets did come off the walls. Would a MH be as bad??? I don't want to find out.
This actually sounds pretty sound.
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joanne0012
Boston, MA
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Arborist wrote:Hmmm,
Lazy Daze uses wood framing but has aluminum for the roof and sides.
www.lazydaze.com
They also have a couple of steel roll bars in there. The factory has a video of a rollover, taken by an owner who dozed off, rolled off the road, and had the presence of mind to retrieve his camera and tape the re-roll needed to get it back on the road to be towed.
Here's what happens when an 18-wheeler broadsides a Lazy Daze; basically it's like punching the wall in a house, only the area that was directly hit was affected. Didn't even break the rear window. The red item near the rear wheel is a bike that was on a small trailer that the LD was towing.
Joanne
1994 Lazy Daze 23.5' TK
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