Fastlap,
We spent the entire year in 2002 looking at conversions. I took notes on every manufacturer that we looked at and test drove some of each. We traveled all over the country taking the time to visit with dealers and manufacturers and customers going over every aspect of the coaches. We choose to do a used truck chassis becouse I have been involved with trucks all my life and a chassis with over 500,000 miles on it did not bother me. We choose Show Hauler becouse of the treatment we got when we visited and becouse of the quality of the product. Don't get me wrong others have a good quality product, but some were not willing to work with our paticular wants on the floor plan. We were very pleased with our first unit and now have a 2nd. This one is even better than the first. We have been involved with the construction all the way.
We have less than $160,000 invested in the coach at this time. With our Monaco Bus motorhome we had alot more than that in it and 5 years later it was worth about 25% of the cost. Our 2003 Show Hauler sold on Ebay 18 months after purchase for 89% of the cost. We could have even less with some of the other manufacturers.
On a side note, if you do not know anyhting about the mechanical side of things go with a new chassis or deal with a dealer that will stand behind his truck.
So do your homework and take lots of notes. If you decide to have one built then stay on top of it and make sure you follow up on every little detail. Sometimes things will get lost in the shuffle and later on will be impossible to add back in. (a lesson learned from the first unit, we found out after the start that we could have gotten 6 more inches in height)
As for FRP, it has been used for many years in the trucking industry on van trailers and is very strong. the pro's are that it is smooth and easy to work with, and very durable. It has it's weaknesses as well. If it ever starts getting water in between the layers then you have major problems. If you ever damage it then it is difficult to repair and match the color.
Enough Rambling for now,
Wick
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