New Haulmark

[mxracin]

Hi all. I just found this forum, and have a few questions. I have an order in for a 30' Haulmark on a new FL Columbia chassis. I looked at Renegade and Haulmark, and selected Haulmark based on the floor plan, and what I perceived to be a better build quality and higher level fit and finish. I'm in the construction business, so I tend to be very anal about details. I also like the cabover details on the Haulmark, and the walk-through cab access is great.

I have seen concerns posted about the walk-through cab, and I share them. It is difficult to inspect on the lot, but I planned to visit the factory next week and check out how they do it.

In a perfect world, I would have done the factory visits first, then made my decision, but time didn't permit. I needed to get an arder in to avoid a chassis price increase, and insure delivery by Feb 1, 2004.

After reading this forum, I am impressed with the positive comments about the Showhauler brand, and my question is this...should I visit the Showhauler factory when I go to Haulmark? Or just stick with my original choice? How quickly can Showhauler produce a MH? Do they have chassis in stock? Most posters here seem to bring their own chassis to the deal. Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Jeff

[WERA]

Most Showhauler dealers will have a rig already available, not sure about build time for a new one on a new chassis sorry. If you call and talk to Lonnie at Showhauler he can take care of you. If you're interestedd in possibly a used one let me know. It's availble at any time and less expensive then new by a long shot (FWIW I'm selling in it order to get another SH one built).

Personally - I looked at all of them too and prefer the Showhauler. Renegade does nice work as well, I have one of their trailers. But just prefer the design of the SH better. Either way I'd say you should absolutely look at them and make up your own mind. As I've offered others - if you're anywhere near Atlanta you can come see mine if you'd like.


Sean P. Clarke
WERA Motorcycle Roadracing

[Warpath]

Jeff -

Welcome to the site!

Definitely check out Show Hauler. If you can't change your order than maybe you shouldn't, you may become extremely depressed.

Haulmarks open roof in the cab is definitely unique, but scary if there is ever a leak. I am sure they have copied the same principle as a standard class c, but I wonder how well it will hold up.

Questions;

They now use a composite wall system, do you have more details on this? If it is similar to traditional motorhome construction, luan laminated to fiberglass, I am not impressed. Renegade at least uses a very thick FRP glass/plywood/glass system.

I know they went to aluminum upper structure, do you know the spacing is on this framework?

Any other insights you can provide on Haulmark would be appreciated.

I have seen that Haulmark has gotten very price competitive over other conversion mfg'ers, and I am assuming they are going for the mass produced approach, employing the same marketing used with their trailers.

Keep us posted as you move forward with your conversion plans.

Bill

2003 28' Show Hauler Motorhome on a 1995 FL 120 www.showhauler.com

[mxracin]

Hi Bill,

I did check out Showhauler sort of indirectly last month. I looked at a 2001 Haulmark on a FL112 chassis which was built by Showhauler, one of the last according to the dealer. The quality was exceptional, although I didn't notice much difference between it and a 2003 built by Haulmark. I spent a few hours crawling under and around both trucks. Looking at the new Haulmark interiors, it is evident that they took a lot of ideas from their Showhauler relationship.

I do plan to take a close look at the walls. I know the exterior is a gelcoated FRP panel laminated to a substrate panel. I don't know if it is a luaun or hardboard panel. I believe they use the exterior and interior panels in a stress skin configuration, which can produce a wall of great strength in spite of using thinner panels. Of course it is also dependent on the quality of the bond to the frame, and the ability of the frame to adequately transfer and distribute loads. The Renegade uses a thicker panel, but I believe it is a three ply panel over a light gauge metal frame. The panel may be thicker, but may not perform as well as part of a stress skin wall due to the limited ability of the light-gauge frame to transfer loads to the inside panel.

I hope to get some time with the engineering department of both Haulmark and Renegade in order to better understand the design they are using. I'll pass along what I find out.

I only priced Haulmark and Renegade. The Renegade was a few thousand cheaper, but it had a 28' box. Apples to apples, they were probably pretty close.

Jeff