Camper Siding

[vaughisa000]

I have another question. I hate being so needy!
I have noticed on some travel trailers they have that sort of wavy siding like the picture below. And then some have the smooth flat siding. How does that wavy siding seal right? You can stick your fingers behind parts of the door. What keeps water from getting in there, and why do so many campers use this siding.

Thank you,

 

[vaughisa000]

I have another question. I hate being so needy!
I have noticed on some travel trailers they have that sort of wavy siding like the picture below. And then some have the smooth flat siding. How does that wavy siding seal right? You can stick your fingers behind parts of the door. What keeps water from getting in there, and why do so many campers use this siding.

Thank you,

I did some research and I am talking about corrugated fiberglass. I seem to notice it on cheaper campers. Should it be avoided?

 

[Rene T]

The aluminum sheets are interlocked to the next sheet. Similar to siding on a regular house.

 

[vaughisa000]

I understand that, but when they get to a door or a window. The window is flat all the way around and the sides are waved. There is always a gap, I usually see some almost foam looking stuff in those gaps, but does that actually work to seal it?

Thank you,

 

[Rene T]

I understand that, but when they get to a door or a window. The window is flat all the way around and the sides are waved. There is always a gap, I usually see some almost foam looking stuff in those gaps, but does that actually work to seal it?

Thank you,

They use a butyl tape/caulk applied 1st then the window is put in. When they tighten hold down the screws, the caulking oozes out and has to be trimmed off.

 

[vaughisa000]

Does this work well? Would a flat sided camper be better?

 

[keymastr]

They use that tin siding because it is cheap. It dents very easily but on the flipside it is easier to replace than the fibreglass siding. Fibreglass trailers cost more but are worth it in my opinion.

 

[vaughisa000]

I figured it was better to get the fiberglass siding. I have not even looked at campers with "crinkle cut" siding. I was just making sure that I should avoid it.

Thank you,

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Does this work well? Would a flat sided camper be better?

It works well enough if the workmanship is competent, but a flat sided camper is an easier installation and perhaps more likely to be done right. The corrugated (wavy) siding uses a thicker layer of butyl to make sure the gaps get filled, whereas a flat side needs only a thin layer of the butyl caulk.

Window frame leaks are a problem in all RVs because of the shifting and twisting of the sidewalls while driving or leveling at the campsite.  The window frame gets shifted a little and eventually a leak may form.  Based on reports here and my own experience, it's not evident [to me] that one type of siding is more leak prone than the other.

 

[Conesus1]

As Gary said, there doesn't seem to be any difference in sealing each etc.
Neither one has a clear advantage over the other.
If the fiberglass one has seen a leak, it'll show big time in delamination.
On the flip side, that doesnt happen, so if a leak is fixed you might never know it happened.
And actually looking around a campground you'll find most older fiberglass units have this delamination.
Now another point is, a aluminum sided one has a better framing behind the wall. There is some standard to it
where fiberglass ones which use aluminum studding, well, just absoluted just where needed!!
Aluminum comes on cheaper units yes, fiberglass on upscale units.
If I had my choice buying ours, I would take aluminum over the fiberglass for reasons mentioned above.
Grand Design uses a coated aluminum and its much tougher/stronger than the old and that would be a choice I'd like to make.

 

[ChasA]

Have fun trying to use a buffer on the corrugated siding. No thanks.