Truck Conversion & Toterhome Community - View Single Post - Renegade vs others re construction methods questions.

Bob E · 06-19-2009, 10:09 PM

I toured the Renegade factory in Elkhart aprox 3 years ago. They use FRP in their walls & the ceilings are made of the same. The only structure inside, (that I remember) was wood bonded to the FRP primarily for mounting cabinets etc,... Also toured Haulmark,... construction is the same.
While there, I visited Showhauler,...the shells they were building at the time used 1" steel sq tubing on 16" centers in their walls. I really don't remember what the ceiling sq tubing was, but it would have had to be at least 1.5".
I liked Hawk Engineering as they used 1.5" sq tube on 16" centers throughout walls & ceiling with 2"X 3" for the floor. This provided for more insulation space in the walls. Insulation (or lack of) is one (of many) deficiencies I found with all of the Elkhart manufacturers.
Others included (IMO) wiring, cheap materials, poor cabinet construction, cheap furniture, etc,...
We also toured Optima in Georgia,...I liked their shell construction & cabinet work alot better than most however, they were more expensive for comparable units. I guess you get what you pay for (sort of).

06-19-2009, 10:09 PM	#3
Bob E Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: OKC, Ok. Posts: 109	I toured the Renegade factory in Elkhart aprox 3 years ago. They use FRP in their walls & the ceilings are made of the same. The only structure inside, (that I remember) was wood bonded to the FRP primarily for mounting cabinets etc,... Also toured Haulmark,... construction is the same. While there, I visited Showhauler,...the shells they were building at the time used 1" steel sq tubing on 16" centers in their walls. I really don't remember what the ceiling sq tubing was, but it would have had to be at least 1.5". I liked Hawk Engineering as they used 1.5" sq tube on 16" centers throughout walls & ceiling with 2"X 3" for the floor. This provided for more insulation space in the walls. Insulation (or lack of) is one (of many) deficiencies I found with all of the Elkhart manufacturers. Others included (IMO) wiring, cheap materials, poor cabinet construction, cheap furniture, etc,... We also toured Optima in Georgia,...I liked their shell construction & cabinet work alot better than most however, they were more expensive for comparable units. I guess you get what you pay for (sort of).