Senda
Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2018
- Posts
- 10
Hi. I am completely overhauling my 1995 Dutchmen, 23 foot, Class C RV. It is the camper that is the photo of my profile picture. The siding that came on it is some sort of corrugated fiberglass reinforced plastic and it is very damaged. The interior walls are severely water damaged. So, in order to make the walls sound again I am gutting the entire camper and more or less rebuilding the whole thing. I am going to build the walls in as close to as similar a fashion as they were constructed with (stated from interior to exterior) luan interior, foam insulation board, luan, aluminum siding. I plan on ordering the aluminum siding from All Rite who has a facility in Conyers, GA. I am near Asheville, NC so I can go pick it up instead of having to pay freight and risk damage. Fortunately I have access to a friend's 24 foot enclosed auto trailer to go get it. That all being said...
The aluminum siding is sold in up to 48" widths, and as long as you want it. You can have it cut shorter than the 48 inches, too. It is $8/ sq foot, so this is where my question for how to go about ordering it comes in. I want to be as cost effect as possible, without having unnecessary seams. The longest section would obviously be the from the cabover all the way to the back and that would be about 20 feet. Is it best to get that piece only in the width that would cover the cabover (but that would extend all the way to the back)? It may be confusing to use the term "width" in this instance, because I am referring to the top to bottom measurement of the cabover, but the manufacturing process refers to that dimension as width, since you can get it in any "length". Sorry if I am stating the obvious. Or, would it be better to go with the 48" width and have to trim the section that goes over the cab, in an effort to run in down as low as possible on the main body?
Then, the door comes into consideration. Is it better to run the top longest piece in the width that comes to above the door? Then there are the windows to contend with. I keep going in circles as to how to do this. By not ordering material to cover the door (it doesn't need it, as it is filon or something), I would be saving 6 feet by 2 feet...12 sq feet...at $8/sq foot that is $96. So when I think of all the windows and stuff that won't need siding, I get confused as the best way to order it without wasting a bunch of money, but without having horizontal seems. Has anyone done this before that can advise me?
And one other question. Since I am rebuilding this from scratch, should I frame the walls and leave off the exterior layer of luan and just do luan interior and framing and insulation? And staple the aluminum siding to the framing? I see that is how a lot of trailers are done. But it makes more sense to me to have the exterior wood layer for some reason (other than that it is more weight and more money), so if I shouldn't have that or don't need it, please advise.
Thank yoU!
The aluminum siding is sold in up to 48" widths, and as long as you want it. You can have it cut shorter than the 48 inches, too. It is $8/ sq foot, so this is where my question for how to go about ordering it comes in. I want to be as cost effect as possible, without having unnecessary seams. The longest section would obviously be the from the cabover all the way to the back and that would be about 20 feet. Is it best to get that piece only in the width that would cover the cabover (but that would extend all the way to the back)? It may be confusing to use the term "width" in this instance, because I am referring to the top to bottom measurement of the cabover, but the manufacturing process refers to that dimension as width, since you can get it in any "length". Sorry if I am stating the obvious. Or, would it be better to go with the 48" width and have to trim the section that goes over the cab, in an effort to run in down as low as possible on the main body?
Then, the door comes into consideration. Is it better to run the top longest piece in the width that comes to above the door? Then there are the windows to contend with. I keep going in circles as to how to do this. By not ordering material to cover the door (it doesn't need it, as it is filon or something), I would be saving 6 feet by 2 feet...12 sq feet...at $8/sq foot that is $96. So when I think of all the windows and stuff that won't need siding, I get confused as the best way to order it without wasting a bunch of money, but without having horizontal seems. Has anyone done this before that can advise me?
And one other question. Since I am rebuilding this from scratch, should I frame the walls and leave off the exterior layer of luan and just do luan interior and framing and insulation? And staple the aluminum siding to the framing? I see that is how a lot of trailers are done. But it makes more sense to me to have the exterior wood layer for some reason (other than that it is more weight and more money), so if I shouldn't have that or don't need it, please advise.
Thank yoU!