RV Siding - RV-Dreams Community Forum

nessa9566 · RV-Dreams Family Member

RV Siding

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

While I don't have the answer to the "types" of siding and their benefits, I can say that they walls of the coach and the insulation will have more to do with keeping one warm or cool. Most walls are "layered" with different materials, some of which include regular insulation. Most walls will be 2" thick, except for a few exceptions, one of which is the Elite Suites and Mobile Suites models from DRV Suites, and their walls are 3 1/4" thick. The DRV Tradition line has 2 1/4" walls.

You will also have some units that have what is called "full body paint" and those are painted instead of having decals.

Terry

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't know it all but I do know that Gel Coated fiberglass is the nicest looking and easiest to maintain....And coincidentally the most expensive..

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

My coach has an all aluminum body with full paint & fiberglass roof.....I would think weight is a factor along with structure on the choice of exterior

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Your best choice will be a smooth siding using gel coat fiberglas type material, one brand is Filon. Wax it once a year.

Aluminum siding can get damaged in a hail storm and can pit over time (15 plus years) depending on where the RV is located (salt air, akaline dust...etc) and preventative maintenance.

The Filon type siding also comes in a corrugated version. It's harder to keep looking clean because dust and grime collects on the top of the ribs. It will resist damage from hail stones.

Raytronx · RV-Dreams Family Member

Our fifth wheel has a Filon type coating, it's been very easy to maintain, I wax it a couple times a year and it stays very shiny and slippery so dirt doesn't stick. How it will stand up time will tell. So far after 2 years it still looks great.

Ray

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

The fiberglass sandwich-type can have a problem with delamination which isn't good (make sure you watch around the windows and keep them maintained). Aluminum with the house-type fiberglass insulation is more difficult to clean and can be hail-damaged. I never cared much for having to apply the gel coat because the fumes gave me a headache. They all take work and more maintenance than one expects if they are to give good service. Too many people just let everything go which we learned by looking at used units and it was such a shame to see high dollar units a couple years old look like, well, not good.