I want a different color!

[hitectoys]

Why are most of the fiberglass trailers white? I would love a red or gray or maybe two tone. I have thought about getting mine wrapped but it is not the same. Wouldn't it be neat if you had a choice of three different colors for the new E23. A beautiful bright red E23 traveling down the road would surely generate some new sales inquiries (not that they need it right now).

[Centex]

Originally Posted by hitectoys

Why are most of the fiberglass trailers white?

Perhaps because ...

• it's the "coolest" (heating from the sun) color?
• it coordinates well with the widest range of tow-vehicle colors?
• it coordinates well with other necessary appurtenances like the many exterior vents, access hatches, and fittings provided by equipment suppliers?
• it's the most long-term robust gelcoat color?
• the 'market' doesn't demand other colors?
• for a manufacturer having only one color is more efficient?
• colors fall out of fashion over time, fiberglass trailers are in it for the long-haul?
• ....

[sherminator]

While many people here on the forum have answers to many questions, they probably don't have the answer to that one. Send an email to Escape - they are the people who can give you an answer. Maybe they will do a red E23 for you. (That would be a lot of red!)

For the record, Armadillo - for a 13ft trailer - charges like CAD$1200 for a non-white gelcoat.

[Bobbie54]

Red is cool but the gelcoat fades fast. Red absorbs a lot of UV (since that is the edge of the visible blue spectrum- the light not reflected when red is reflected.) As a result it fades faster. Blue is better though I've mainly only seen light blue (Compacts came in a light blue as well as yellow, not sure what else) in fiberglass trailers.)

[gbaglo]

There was a blue Escape put up for sale several years ago. Took quite a while to sell.

[bookerb]

Had to look it up

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...html#post22844

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by hitectoys

Why are most of the fiberglass trailers white? I would love a red or gray or maybe two tone. I have thought about getting mine wrapped but it is not the same. Wouldn't it be neat if you had a choice of three different colors for the new E23. A beautiful bright red E23 traveling down the road would surely generate some new sales inquiries (not that they need it right now).

Hi: hitectoys... You can have any colour you want... as long as it's white!!! Leave it out in the sun and it won't be white for long either!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Iowa Dave]

Here’s one from St Malo in 2016 two tone blue. Note the legs on the propane tank, that’s an eye catcher even when you’ve got a white trailer. The choices of graphics are good enough for me. Of course I’m not flashy red or black is just fine with us.

[WillyB]

I've seen some really cool painted fiberglass Corvettes.

[Brian B-P]

Back when moulded fiberglass travel trailers were a relatively new thing, they were often (perhaps usually) not white. A common pattern was a light colour for the top part of the shell and a darker colour for the bottom part (like the example shown by Iowa Dave, but the Bolers were not nearly that glossy). Boler especially liked to do this on the 13-foot model (1300), although by the end of the 1970's most Bolers (including mine) were the same shade of tan top and bottom.

Some shade of off-white has become the industry standard practice for RVs, for the various reasons that Alan (Centex) listed... but there are still other colours available, particularly in those which are painted, or made with coated aluminum exterior panels. Since the colour of a moulded fiberglass trailer with a gelcoat finish is established as the very first step of the manufacturing process, there isn't any opportunity to make apply the colour near the end of the process to match a customer request; I'm not surprised that essentially everyone building RVs with this style of construction now makes them all off-white.

Interesting colour and personalization are typically achieved with vinyl striping.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Centex

Perhaps because ...

• it's the "coolest" (heating from the sun) color?
• ....

A valid point, but colour may not be as important to heating as you think. Surface emissivity depends more on materials and finish than colour, in part because much of the heat gain will result from absorption in the infrared, rather than the visible wavelength range which determines colour. In addition, RV "white" is far from actually white (reflecting all visible light at all wavelengths), and typical colours used for vehicles (other than black) are often pretty close to off-white in overall visible absorption.

Still, flat black would be a poor choice in a hot environment.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by hitectoys

Why are most of the fiberglass trailers white? I would love a red or gray or maybe two tone. I have thought about getting mine wrapped but it is not the same. Wouldn't it be neat if you had a choice of three different colors for the new E23. A beautiful bright red E23 traveling down the road would surely generate some new sales inquiries (not that they need it right now).

Order the trailer without any graphics and have it painted any color you want.

[escape artist]

Hi: All... Our first dose of the fiberglass flu started in 2006 with a 29 year old Boler. A previous owner had painted it silver over the two toned cream top/ reddish brown bottom. I wished he hadn't!!!
I was all set to have it put back till I found the cost would be more than I'd paid for the trailer. I found a unique way to like the silver and it was a lot cheaper painting just the spare tire cover.
New Scamp cushion covers finished it off. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[HABBERDABBER]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

Order the trailer without any graphics and have it painted any color you want.

It will cost some coin, but you could have any color imaginable, with painting post-production. A production trailer manufacturer is not interested in doing ONE-OFF things. Escape may be an exception...so inquire.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

Order the trailer without any graphics and have it painted any color you want.

That works, but to get a really good paint job you would really want the trailer shell painted before the installation of the belly band or any windows or hatches... which isn't going to happen.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by HABBERDABBER

It will cost some coin, but you could have any color imaginable, with painting post-production. A production trailer manufacturer is not interested in doing ONE-OFF things. Escape may be an exception...so inquire.

Changing the gelcoat color would involve contaminating all of their equipment with that color. It would be more cost effective to paint the trailer whether it is Escape doing it or the owner.

Molded fiberglass is built up from the outside in. Gelcoat is laid down first and then the fiberglass is added onto the gelcoat.

Gelcoat is applied at about 2 minutes into this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi6_KR_n_As&t=129s

This has been discussed here before. I believe Oliver or Big Foot agreed to do a custom color trailer and it was such a disaster for them they said never again. If they do a custom color trailer the color has to be completely removed from every part of the system or it will contaminate future trailers. Trailer gelcoat isn't some thin paint layer sprayed on with a small easily changeable spray gun.

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

That works, but to get a really good paint job you would really want the trailer shell painted before the installation of the belly band or any windows or hatches... which isn't going to happen.

Those all could be removed and reattached, by the shop doing the paint job. (the difference between having your car painted for $29.95 at Earl Scheib and having it done at an actual body shop)

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1115452238498308

Escape isn't going to do it because they can repair and scratch or ding in the stock gelcoat that occurs during the build, not something they could do with a custom painted trailer.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by TTMartin

Those all could be removed and reattached, by the shop doing the paint job. (the difference between having your car painted for $29.95 at Earl Scheib and having it done at an actual body shop)

True. Because they are all installed with sealant, doing this properly would be a lot of work... a lot more than of there were an opportunity to paint at the ideal stage.

[Bill R]

One of the people who saw our first Escape bought a new 5.0TA and did red and white.

Maybe the original poster would like this?

Bill R

[TTMartin]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

True. Because they are all installed with sealant, doing this properly would be a lot of work... a lot more than of there were an opportunity to paint at the ideal stage.

What is ideal for building out the rest of the trailer is an unpainted trailer.

What's 'ideal' for the painter isn't 'ideal' for the manufacturer.

If you look at build pictures you'll often see marks where gelcoat needs touching up this is one of the final steps.