Jan-14-2018 06:54 AM
Jan-17-2018 03:02 PM
Ralph Cramden wrote:theoldwizard1 wrote:
Some of the early "light" TT used some kind of "composite" floor. They became very soft within a year ot two.
Most (all?) have gone back to 3/4" plywood.
Not true at all.
When people are talking composite floor, that's composite as in laminated. Beaded styrofoam in between an aluminum tube structure, with plywood laminated top and bottom the same as a sidewall. Typically a little thicker on the tubes and foam than sidewalls, 1.5" or 2" foam as opposed to 1" on the sidewalls, and 1/4" or 5/16" plywood top with 1/8" plywood bottom. All laminated together with contact adhesive and either pinch rolled or vacuum bonded.
Plenty of manufacturers are still using laminated floors. Chances are if your trailer has laminated sidewalls with a fiberglass / filon exterior, you also have a laminated floor.
Midway of the 2017 production year Forest Rivers Rockwood division eliminated laminated floors and went to 5/8" plywood, actually OSB. According to a Rockwood rep I discussed it with at the time, that was done more for savings on manufacturing cost than problems with the construction
Jan-17-2018 09:53 AM
FrankShore wrote:goducks10 wrote:theoldwizard1 wrote:
Some of the early "light" TT used some kind of "composite" floor. They became very soft within a year ot two.
Most (all?) have gone back to 3/4" plywood.
Grand Designs are composite laminated floors. The trend is to go as light as possible.
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Hey goducks10 🙂
I was just looking at Grand Design (the TT line up) and didn't see any mention of "composite material" in any of the flooring. I was thinking that maybe you were talking about what Lance uses, (which is Azdel) or perhaps another lesser known composite material.
Do you know which models and layouts of the Grand Designs that have composite laminated floors? The Azdel or other brand of composite interests me, always - as you probably already know LOL :B Thank you for bringing up the use of Azdel in Grand Design, but I'm thinking it isn't Azdel but another "unnamed" manufacturer
I love to keep up on the industries construction and materials used - and to my way of thinking, it's the SINGLE most important things in any RV is and that's how they're actually constructed, the length of time it takes to put a trailer together, and then follow throughout with stringent quality control. Lance puts out on average 10 Travel Trailers a day and maybe 3 Truck Campers
It's all nice and idealistic to say that "floorplan" is the #1 factor, but it should always be design (Lance uses Solidworks, a CAD program on which they design the trailers, tweaking the CAD, make auto corrections, before the Lite-Ply (Lance gets Lity-Ply from Spain and Italy import a true "white wood" Birch) meets the CNC Routers. To me, this is much more important than worrying about the jackknife sofa is located or whatever
I'll be a Lance Fan all my life, and unless the quality falters, the materials cheapen, the other things that make a successful Lance caliber trailer, are diminished. AS it stands now, I'm not planning on upgrading my 1995. ts a terrific trailer, no problems at all, no warranty work was ever needed on the 1995.
Thanks again for the heads up on Grand Design (their unnamed composite material) And for listening to me rattle on!
Jan-17-2018 09:28 AM
Jan-16-2018 03:25 PM
Jan-16-2018 10:37 AM
Jan-15-2018 03:09 PM
Jan-15-2018 05:37 AM
Ralph Cramden wrote:
Lightweight is nothing more than a marketing buzzword. In most cases so is 4 season, arctic package, aerodynamic cap, fuel saving underlining, 1/2 ton towable, etc etc etc. My Rockwood Roo Hybrid is advertised as "lightweight" despite it weighing substantially more than trailers of the same size that are not marketed as "lightweight".
Jan-15-2018 05:34 AM
Jan-15-2018 02:40 AM
theoldwizard1 wrote:
Some of the early "light" TT used some kind of "composite" floor. They became very soft within a year ot two.
Most (all?) have gone back to 3/4" plywood.
Jan-14-2018 11:31 PM
rickhise wrote:
We know The TT industry goes full out for ultra light.
Jan-14-2018 03:29 PM
goducks10 wrote:theoldwizard1 wrote:
Some of the early "light" TT used some kind of "composite" floor. They became very soft within a year ot two.
Most (all?) have gone back to 3/4" plywood.
Grand Designs are composite laminated floors. The trend is to go as light as possible.
Jan-14-2018 12:52 PM
Jan-14-2018 11:50 AM
Jan-14-2018 11:16 AM
theoldwizard1 wrote:
Some of the early "light" TT used some kind of "composite" floor. They became very soft within a year ot two.
Most (all?) have gone back to 3/4" plywood.