Armadillo-New and Improved Boler

[gbaglo]

FYI, I was told by a fellow who worked at Escape years ago, that the Escape was based on the Surfside.
https://www.google.com/search?q=surf...w=1200&bih=611

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Quite thick and rigid based on what I see from the cross section on their website.
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Attachment 31171

I doubt that sign is a section of any part of an Armadillo. Although the specs include "3/4" high density EPS insulation", there is very little of a Boler shell which is flat to accommodate chunks of EPS beadboard, and I don't see anything on the site (including the construction photos) to indicate a thick cored composite construction. This looks like a relatively straight copy of a Boler with foam panels in segments stuck on the inside of the shell and covered by finish panels (which was typical Bigfoot practice), rather than a Boler-shaped body of different construction such as the Happier Camper.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

FYI, I was told by a fellow who worked at Escape years ago, that the Escape was based on the Surfside.

When I did the Escape factory tour I mentioned the derivation from the Trillium (which is pretty obvious) and the ETI staffer (sorry, didn't catch the name) said that it was actually the Surfside. The Surfside TM-14 by Triple-E was a variation of the Trillium 4500 (I think under license from Trillium, rather than just copied), with some changes from the original Trillium which Reace preferred... and conveniently no Trillium logo moulded into the door. And of course Reace made more improvements (and added a 3-foot stretch) to make the original Escape 17 Foot.

Since the Escape 15 Foot was a shortened Escape 17 Foot, it is very nearly a duplicate of the Trillium 4500 / Surfside TM-14 shape.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Since the Li'l Bigfoot was a copy of the Boler 1300, the original is the Boler. I doubt that any of the many sets of moulds of this shape were actually used to make both Boler and Bigfoot trailers, and I assume that Armadillo started with Bigfoot's old moulds, since they mention Bigfoot.

Armadillo Manufacturing is a member at FiberglassRV. I was wrong. They started by using Boler molds. I just checked their profile. Last time logged into FiberglassRV was 11 days ago.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Isn't that what you already get with Escape? You supply the components and pay Escape extra to install them.

One major difference that I noticed is their willingness, at this stage anyway , install different finishes on not only the counter and table but the walls and cabinets as well. There seems to be a few folks that would love that feature.

Ron

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

This looks like a relatively straight copy of a Boler with foam panels in segments stuck on the inside of the shell and covered by finish panels (which was typical Bigfoot practice)...

... and indeed that's true. I asked about this by e-mail, and Mike at Armadillo promptly responded, including...

... we insulate the interior of the shell with the 3/4" high density foam and 1/8" panelling on all the flat sections, this is done while the fibreglass is still in the molds to keep the true form of the fibreglass shell. We then use use flex foam on the rounded corners with marine grade fabrics to complete the insulation.

The flexible foam for insulation might be similar to that now used by Escape, but Mike didn't specify the material.

So while Escape bonds the upper and lower shells together while they're in the moulds to ensure precise alignment and enable a strong and gap-free joint, Armadillo is using the moulds as rigid fixtures to enable better interior fitting.

The foam should be well-fitted and the insulation level is decent by moulded fiberglass standards (although much less than the current Bigfoot series with its generally flat surface), but the result is not the sort of structural sandwich suggested by the panel being used as a sign. It's fiberglass on the outside, wood panelling on the inside, and foam in the middle, but not bonded like a typical structural panel.

[Micheal K]

Bottom of their homepage has pictures of a new model called the “Backpack”.
Not many details given yet but looks pretty nice. Definitely like that it has more windows.

https://www.armadillotrailers.net/