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Old 08-14-2017, 02:41 PM   #1
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Hello Everyone been a member for a little little while but not may posts. I have been following the escape and the new facility that was completed and put into service. I have been reading about RV construction and see by the photos here the interior is stick frame unless I am not seeing other elements. With such a good quality product aluminum frame seems to be the way to go. I am sure someone has a response to this. Before anyone goes hyper now I am not criticizing the product just asking a question. Also, I went to youtube and searching the webs it is amazing I don't see any video of the 21ft 2017 TA. I would think someone has made a walk through video by this time...OK I have my flack vest and helmet on now... ;-)
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Old 08-14-2017, 03:01 PM   #2
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I have been reading about RV construction and see by the photos here the interior is stick frame unless I am not seeing other elements. With such a good quality product aluminum frame seems to be the way to go.
The interior furnishings (cabinets, seating areas, and beds) of an Escape trailer are made of wood - generally small-dimension solid wood frames covered by thin plywood panels, but the cabinet door are solid wood frames with solid wood panels in them. The difference between the construction of an Escape and a conventional RV is in the body exterior and structure, which is moulded fiberglass. The place where aluminum tubing is often used in a conventional RV body is not wood in an Escape - it is fiberglass (with some core material, some of which is wood but not as framing "sticks").
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Old 08-14-2017, 03:59 PM   #3
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I thought he was referring to aluminum frames, as in the Oliver, not as in construction,
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Old 08-14-2017, 04:06 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by easytravelman View Post
I have been reading about RV construction and see by the photos here the interior is stick frame unless I am not seeing other elements. With such a good quality product aluminum frame seems to be the way to go.
Hi, do you mean using aluminum instead of wood for the interior walls, etc or the frame itself (like Ford does with the new pickups) ?
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Old 08-14-2017, 05:23 PM   #5
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That is probably a question better directed at the manufacturer then the a particular forum. I just imagined the twisting, banging and movement of travel on the wood framing would hold up better with aluminum. But from the response it sounds like the fiber glass is in effect bearing the load.
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Old 08-14-2017, 05:40 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by easytravelman View Post
But from the response it sounds like the fiber glass is in effect bearing the load.
In some cases, Reace has declined to change an interior (wood frame) modification during the build because it is part of the structural integrity of the finished product.

Edited: For example, some folks have wanted to have captain's chairs in the dinette area instead of the benches but the benches are integral to the structure and strength of the unit.
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Old 08-14-2017, 05:49 PM   #7
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But from the response it sounds like the fiber glass is in effect bearing the load.
The term for the construction of an Escape is; semi-monocoque. The skin is load bearing but some of the load bearing is shared by the internal frames. Since the frames are bonded to the skin, unlike a wood stickie, there is very little structure to shake loose.

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Old 08-14-2017, 05:54 PM   #8
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The term for the construction of an Escape is; semi-monocoque. The skin is load bearing but some of the load bearing is shared by the internal frames. Since the frames are bonded to the skin, unlike a wood stickie, there is very little structure to shake loose.

Ron
So we have a semi-monocoque 19 then......
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Old 08-14-2017, 05:56 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by easytravelman View Post
That is probably a question better directed at the manufacturer then the a particular forum. I just imagined the twisting, banging and movement of travel on the wood framing would hold up better with aluminum. But from the response it sounds like the fiber glass is in effect bearing the load.
Wood is a very resilient construction material and is specifically very good at what you describe, "twisting, banging and movement" - think of a tree in a powerful storm. It is also has a reasonably good strength to weight ratio, and reasonable cost. A change to something like aluminum framing inside would also require a nearly complete redesign of how an Escape is built.

An aluminum frame rather than the current steel one, would be a somewhat easier change over.
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Old 08-14-2017, 06:18 PM   #10
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Lloyd, I had to read your original post several times to make sure I knew what you were asking. I think you're talking about the glassed in wood supports that Escape uses when they are building the trailer. As others have pointed out, this isn't "stick frame" construction, but simply providing a surface for interior components to attach to - rather than using rivets through the shell as some fiberglass trailer makers do. You can see some of the glassed in supports in this photo of our 19 when it was being built.

It would not make much sense to try and attach aluminum strips to the inside of the fiberglass shell for attaching interior components.
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Old 08-14-2017, 06:25 PM   #11
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Wood is a very resilient construction material and is specifically very good at what you describe, "twisting, banging and movement" - think of a tree in a powerful storm. .
The problem with wood is two fold; while the wood has many good qualities as you've described, it's the joining of many pieces of wood together into a structure subject to continuous vibration. They will literally start falling apart at some point. The second problem is that movement in the structure creates leaks and leaks cause decay and things go down hill quickly after that.

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Old 08-14-2017, 06:36 PM   #12
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They will literally start falling apart at some point. The second problem is that movement in the structure creates leaks and leaks cause decay and things go down hill quickly after that.

Ron
First, that depends entirely on many factors including how the wood is joined. And it is going to take cracks all the way thru the fiberglass, bad caulk joints or leaky gaskets for water to get inside a fiberglass trailer.

Unless you are talking about non-fiberglass trailers?

Eventually, every constructed object falls apart if that is your point.
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Old 08-14-2017, 07:09 PM   #13
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We spent Saturday looking at hunting land . On one piece of property was an old dilapidated trailer . All the wood framing / structure had rotted away , the walls framed with galvanized steel studs were still standing and intact.
Aluminum / galvanized metal framing material does not rust and is fire resistant.
Which framing method is more suited for use in an Escape is beyond my expertise .
I would presume that Escape uses wood for several reasons , one being it is easier to work with / form into shape and it is less expensive than aluminum.
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Old 08-14-2017, 07:19 PM   #14
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Unless you are talking about non-fiberglass trailers?

Eventually, every constructed object falls apart if that is your point.
Yup and nope

Yes, I was refering to non-fiberglass trailers where all the good qualities of wood are a moot point if the way they're attached to each other consists of nails and staples and poor joint construction and their eventual movement results in leaks.

As far as the construction of an Escape goes it's pretty similar to boat construction. A f.g. shell with bonded in bulkheads. Likely very long lived. Look what happens to some of the original f.g. boats. They become very dated, obsolete etc. but the hull structure lives on.

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Old 08-14-2017, 09:06 PM   #15
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I thought he was referring to aluminum frames, as in the Oliver, not as in construction,
Then the concern would be with the use of steel, not wood, right? And about the chassis, not specifically the interior, right?
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Old 08-14-2017, 09:08 PM   #16
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Hi, do you mean using aluminum instead of wood for the interior walls, etc or the frame itself (like Ford does with the new pickups) ?
The frame of a Ford F-150 is still steel; perhaps you meant the body shell instead, Eric?
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Old 08-14-2017, 09:10 PM   #17
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Wasn't the Model A a wood frame?
Or was that the Morgan?
Or am I spinning my wheels?
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Old 08-14-2017, 09:11 PM   #18
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The frame of a Ford F-150 is still steel; perhaps you meant the body shell instead, Eric?
ooops - right you are...
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Old 08-14-2017, 09:21 PM   #19
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Wasn't the Model A a wood frame?
Or was that the Morgan?
Or am I spinning my wheels?
The Model A had a steel chassis frame, but back then wooden frames for the body shell where normal practice. Morgan is indeed the only current-day example of the structural use of wood in a motor vehicle in "first world" areas... but still only for the hidden structure of the body, which rides on a metal (steel or aluminum depending on model) chassis frame. Morgan seems quite proud of this, and probably continues it for the same reason as Porsche still puts the engine in the back of the 911 - marketable tradition.
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Old 08-14-2017, 10:07 PM   #20
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Guess that leaves us with Brio.
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