Coach Cage Frame construction

cjc

Did Show Hauler give you a reason for the tape coming undone? As James said when that tape is used it is like a weld. I even did some tests with it on unprepped metal and I basically destroyed the 2 pieces trying to get them apart.

Jimm

That is awesome your rig has held together so well. Nathan at Becks showed me some trailers that are steel cage with aluminum sides riveted and these 2-4 year old trailers are trashed! Electrolysis has totally chewed away the aluminum and these things are literally falling apart.
 
Whatever Hansen did, they did right.

This was apparantly among their first conversions. They did a total of 50 in Sacramento from '88 to '98. Most of the later ones were on GMC Topkicks and a few other MDTs.

Pics (but note that it's getting the whole back enclosed and a ramp door added as a motorcycle shop):

http://racingjunk.com/exec/ca/view/427850/classifiedad.html

Only real flaw: it'll be right at the weight limit when done and loaded, or to be honest, a hair over (under 7% over though). BUT I find towing seriously annoying and impractical for my needs so that's fine by me.

Other stuff: there's a spot where the aluminum next to the upper front bedroom window got dimpled by a tree branch. Not a through-and-through so it's only cosmetic. I'm considering having the whole face of the upper front bunk area armored with thin aluminum diamondplate, eliminating that window. It would protect against similar tree branch issues and it would look pretty bitchin'
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A few of the bay door rivets that are invisible when the doors are closed have loosened (not rusted). Easy enough to fix.

It looks industrial as hell, totally unlike any modern RV.

To me, that's GOOD!

The "pickup truck" nose is way funky too but hey, it makes it easy to wrench on and again...it ain't "one of the crowd".

'Specially not with that clutch and big ol' shifter
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Warpath, Showhauler does not have an answer for me as to why the panels have let loose. They just shrug their shoulders and say that they haven't seen this happen before. Well, it's not like I could do anything to make it happen. It just did. They've given me the 'I dunno' many times on several issues. I've been back to the factory so many times that my truck can do the trip on autopilot. And those trips from Florida are on MY time and MY expense. What the hell, that's the deal that the warranty specifies. I'll tell you one thing that I will NEVER let happen again no matter who I buy my next truck from. I will NEVER let them fix the problems at the factory and send me away without a fully completed workorder in my hand. Showhauler says they don't write up workorders. They just fix the problem and that's it. After making numerous trips back to Indiana to have the SAME problems taken care of and not having them resolved, I would easily qualify under lemon law status. These converters are one step ahead of us and don't give you a workorder because that workorder with your mileage, date of service and what was done is your evidence if you have to go the legal route. I'm screwed at this point, but it will never happen to me again. Let this be a lesson to others. No matter who I buy my next truck from, if I have service done, I will not take my truck back until I have a completed workorder in my hand even if I have to go to court to get it. So there you go. This one should be posted at the top of this website so that others will know how to protect themselves. It's nice to have them treat you with a smile and a handshake and always try to fix the problem, but I haven't heard them say, 'Hey, we give up, here's your money back.' Yeah, right. Sound bitter? Well, I'll post another one. This one's long enough.
 
Here's another, don't do this. Occasionally, the manufacturer will authorize you to have a warranty repair done by a shop of your choosing to save you the inconvenience of driving hundreds or in my case over 1000 miles away to have the factory take care of the problem. So, you take the truck to somebody close by and have the work done and the manufacturer pays that shop and there's no cash laid out of your pocket. You walk away happy. Now, if something goes wrong with that repair in the future, even if the third party repair shop did the job correctly, who do you think the manufacturer tells you to go back to with your complaint? Yeah, that's right, go see the guy who fixed it before. The manufacturer gave up responsibility for that particular item when he authorized the third party to fix it. In my case, the guy who I had a repair done by, retired and shut the door to his business. Even if the guy was still in business, do you think he's going to fix it again without giving you grief? In some cases, maybe yes, but mostly, he's not going to take the responsibility. Another lesson learned.
 
.....cjc:.....being that I'm in SouthWest Fla every winter at Christmas time.....on or near Sanibel/Ft. Myers Beach or Ft. Myers area.....I'll give you a shout when I'm there and we can get together for a dinner on me!.....while I can't help you with the Showhauler issue I can buy you all a good dinner and see the issues that you are talking about close hand....I do have friends that use a 3M product tape that is I believe the same stuff that Showhauler uses to glue the aluminum/aluminum and to the steel frame.....Three issues come to mind right off....1.0 that the tape picked up dust or dirt contamination during construction and 2.0 that the steel structure had some leftover oil residue from forming the rectangular shape steel studs 3.0 the paint that they painted the steel studs was not adheared to the steel allowing the panel to pull away.....or a combination of those three things.....I do have a company in Indiana that can correct the problem if it continues and Showhauler can't/won't repair the issue.....they also build Motorhomes for racing folks.....This is the best I can do for you personally.......geofkaye
 
Opps, sorry I didn't finish the last reply before it posted, so I'll do it now. Yes, let's get together when you snowbird back into town. I'll give you the grand tour of my rig. Until then, I'm going to keep making trips to Showhauler and have them fix and fix and fix until my brain shorts out and I drive the truck through their factory wall. Did I say that? Nah, I wouldn't do something like that. Or would I?
 
This thread has been quite useful as far as Showhauler frames, but what about NRC or Haulmark or Powerhouse or any of the companies that use aluminum frames? Has anybody had bad or good experiences with frames from other companies? If so, please pass this information on. The day is going to come pretty quickly now when I'm going to be purchasing my first conversion and I'm depending on you guys with the experience to help me make a prudent choice by passing on you experiences and expertise on these different units. Thanks for your time and know how.
 
Originally posted by photoguy:
This thread has been quite useful as far as Showhauler frames, but what about NRC or Haulmark or Powerhouse or any of the companies that use aluminum frames? Has anybody had bad or good experiences with frames from other companies? If so, please pass this information on. The day is going to come pretty quickly now when I'm going to be purchasing my first conversion and I'm depending on you guys with the experience to help me make a prudent choice by passing on your experiences and expertise on these different units. Thanks for your time and know how.
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After lurking here for some months now, I'd also like to see comments from the Renegade guys and others with regard to the FRP construction methods which Renegade claims is superior to either aluminum or steel frame construction... I have some other issues with Renegade but what say you all about the FRP strengths and weaknesses...???
 
......the only thing I really like about the aluminum panel is that it is in sections.......therefore WHEN [and IF] I rip a hole in it- I can replace just that panel...Other than that....It really doesn't make a differance to me one way or the another.....with FRP you got to replace the whole side- or do a patch and they stand out cuz they are a "patch" and not a replacement-then the whole side/unite sides needs to be repainted to match for the weathering factor.......kinda a hassel.....geofkaye
 
"This thread has been quite useful as far as Showhauler frames, but what about NRC or Haulmark or Powerhouse or any of the companies that use aluminum frames?"

I toured the NRC factory in May 2004. At that time the only frame construction that I saw was welded steel. Same as Showhauler and United Specialities.

Haulmark uses a aluminum frame, vacuum bonded, similar to many of the motorhome manufacturers. Interesting sidenote I was told my a Haulmark dealer and saw one trailer that haulmark is now using FRP in their large stacker race trailers. The other construction style would not hold up to the stress in the tall stacker trailers.
 
I toured the NRC factory in May 2004. At that time the only frame construction that I saw was welded steel. Same as Showhauler and United Specialities.

Haulmark uses a aluminum frame, vacuum bonded, similar to many of the motorhome manufacturers. Interesting sidenote I was told my a Haulmark dealer and saw one trailer that haulmark is now using FRP in their large stacker race trailers. The other construction style would not hold up to the stress in the tall stacker trailers.[/QUOTE]

So are you saying that Haulmark is making the statement that an FRP built unit is as strong as a steel unit (i.e. Showhauler, NRC)? One of the things that sold my on a conversion rather than a bus is the fact that the cabin is built of steel and aluminun skin. I am having a hard time understanding that someone can make the statement that FRP is as strong or stronger. Can someone please expound furthur that has had an opportunity to work with or tryout both styles of construction. Thanks, Photoguy
 
Reread my post. The other construction that Haulmark uses in their motorhomes and toterhomes is an aluminum framed vacuum bonded wall. Haulmark does not use any welded steel in their walls or roof.

As far as the strength of FRP that is what Renegade uses in their trailers, motorhomes and toterhomes. So you might see what their comments are about using FRP.

The reason why Haulmark switched from their aluminum framing was strength in the stacker trailers. That was what I was told. Perhaps the reason they decided to use FRP is the proximity of their factory to Renegade's. They are on opposite sides of I-80. You can see the other company's building from either parking lot.
 
cm- I read your post right the first time. What I didn't do well was to explain that I would like someone who owns one of these units to please fill us in on how solid his coach is. I take what a manufacturer says with a "grain of salt". They are in business to sell their product and will say that their's is the best idea out there. What I want is someone who has experiece with FRP on a coach like this. And while I'm at it; thanks to everyone who has put in there knowledge and opinions on this thread. This has been one of the best ones since I've been a member.

Photoguy
 
photoguy,

I own a 30' Haulmark motorhome. We purchased in February 2004. After 20,000 miles I can't find any evidence of flex in the wall system. Corners are tight, trim still fits well and I've never had a leak. We race offroad and the rig has seen more 4 wheelin' terrain than most Jeeps on the road today!
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I had my doubts about the large cab cutout initially, but it has been trouble free so far.

I have seen some FRP patches on a friend's Renegade and they looked pretty good to me. If you know where they are you can see them, but they blend in pretty good. I hope I don't have to report on how the smooth FRP Haulmark uses takes a patch!

I didn't think Haulmark ever used the aluminum composite panels on their stackers. I thought they were originally welded hat/tube sections with applied aluminum. The last time I was there they were using FRP panels similar to Renegade, but I didn't get a look at the supporting framework.
 
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