Aluminum frame vs. Wood frame

[Paul Somers]

I am on my second Sunnybrook. Before purchasing my first I saw a Sunnybrook after a tornado had blown a tree down on it. It was being repaired and had the side skin off. No wood around windows. The radius bracing around windows was a plastic type material. I ordered a Sunnybrook the next week. I prefer aluminum but Teton, one of the most expensive units out there, is wood frame. I think Travel Supreme is also.

 

[RustyJC]

Framing material isn't a deal-buster to me - I'd buy either wood or aluminum if the RV had quality construction.



We sold a 1978 Jayco Cardinal pop-up in 1996 to purchase our first 5ver. This 18-year-old wood-framed Jayco was still solid as a rock. Keep it dry, and there's nothing wrong with a wood-framed unit.



In 2001, Jayco Designers were available with either aluminum or wood framing - your choice. Out of curiosity, I compared a 2001 aluminum-framed 3610RLTS with our 2000 wood-framed 3610RLTS. The aluminum-framed unit had a GVWR of 14,000 lbs - our wood-framed unit's GVWR is 13,500 lbs. I wish I had checked the dry weight stickers - that's the crux of the matter.



Aluminum (especially welded construction if the heat-affected zones are not stress relieved) doesn't like to flex and is prone to stress cracking. It is a poor insulator. Wood doesn't like water and can rot if exposed to water leaks. My point is that both construction methods have their strengths and weaknesses. There's no "silver bullet" cure-all answer here.



Rusty

 

[Okie-Go]

I can't say much about the aluminum or wood part other than aluminum being lighter. but I definately like the fiberglass exterior. Wifey and I were shopping in the Texas heat and found that in fiberglass and metal side trailers the fiberglass ones were considerably cooler. But of course someone may say that is why they have air conditioners in them.

 

[johnrv4]

Thanks for the explanation Ken

I understand what you are talking about Ken. I guess the one thing that I really dislike about our Trail-lite is that it sits too low to be towed by our truck. With the torsion suspension, there is really no good way to lift the trailer, other than to move the axle mounts down. We should have also bought a bigger unit. This is a very informative thread, l'm learning a lot about TT's

 

[pwr2tow]

Komik,

Nice post, I like the ones that get a person thinking and ask why and how come. good info.



Ron

 

[RBales]

Wood vs Alum

For a number of years RV manufactures have been making frames with wood and aluminum, some even use both in the same frame. Wood of course always had the rot problem mainly due to poor workmanship on the multipiece sideswalls, corners, and roof caps. Of course any moisture on wood in a space that will not allow it to dry will cause a problem down the road. Wood is also strong, but only when bonded by some means to each other and still can be flexible to the point of causing gaps in the sidewalls, corners, and roof caps. Now we all know how manufactures think, so they produce a frame that by itself will flex considerably, and only becomes stronger when connected to the RV frame structure. Over stressing this unit is probably easier than most would think by simply overloading the unit which most people usually do. Aluminum is stronger and lighter than wood, they're not using pine ya know. Manufactures utilize a complete aluminum RV structure frame, bolted or welded together, and then marry it to a steel frame that is usually in itself is stronger than dirt. These 2 items together take most of the flex out of the unit. With the bonded sidewall process they now use, sweating or condensation usually isn't a problem, on wood or aluminum, otherwise you'd see it on the outside skin. I've had a wood frame 5th wheel, and now have an aluminum framed unit, a 2001 Montana, I will never go back to wood. Twice the 5th wheel with only a 1000 lb more weight and 2 slide outs, we couldn't be happier. The choice is yours, make it with logic. They're to expensive to put your hard earned money down and find out it was a costly mistake.



DriveBy Bob

 

[Fiver]

aluminum vs wood

We have had our Sunnybrook for several years now (26'TT) and would buy another in a heartbeat. Al frame is glued & screwed, is light for the length, and tows extremely well. Has held up, no problems or rattles. Don't have the fiberglass siding but no problems there either. I have heard that the FG siding can fade without proper care but it is easier to clean and looks better.

 

[Briar Hopper]

DKVEDOG, what kind of prices are you seeing on the SunnyBrooks out your way? At a dealer in Indiana, I can get a 28' 5'er for $26,000 or so, but that was an RV show price... .

 

[Dkevdog]

Brian- It depends, We priced two models The 31bkhs, with two slides (bedroom and living room) with rear living room (which we opted for the bunks) and gelcoat sides and a pretty good list of bells and whistles was coming in at about $31K. The other was a SL model, the 2850SL, which has far fewer options even available to you. The construction is IDENTICAL to the higher end models. The price on that was around $22k. We are currently trying to negotiate with the dealer and get some upgrades. The factory is reluctane however to install them. I think they want to keep the separation between the SL and the standard line.



Kev



PS Tomorrow we go shopping again, want to take a closer look at the Arctic Fox.