RVing Minstrel

The RV’ing Minstrel is about travel, RV’ing, camping, and cruising. On the open road cruising to any destination is always a good day full of adventure and fun.

RV travel from Texas to Florida and everything inbetween

Being a Florida resident for most of my adult life transferring to Texas in later life I am on the road quite a bit driving back and forth from Texas to Florida to visit friends and family.

Purchasing your RV/Travel Trailer can be very daunting, especially with all the disinformation from the RV industry. Unless you are paying for an Airstream or the equivalent, your purchase may not outlast your finance contract. Mid to lower priced RV’s are made using a laminate substance that has been renamed every few years as people learn of the problems associated with it.

Types of RV Siding: 

Travel Trailer and RV construction is constructed of a few different materials. Some being better then others.

Corrugated aluminum: This material can be found on lower to mid range RV/Travel Trailers. This type of siding is easy to spot based on its textured ridges. Corrugated aluminum siding consists of multiple separate panels that interlock to cover the entire rig.

Smooth aluminum: This material is used to construct higher end RV/Travel Trailers. Airstream uses this option. The outer shell is not broken up into small pieces like corrugated siding, but rather is smooth and continuous. Some people prefer the seamless look offered by smooth aluminum.

Molded Fiberglass: This material can be very misleading and hard to distinguish from the Laminate siding material. This is similar to boat construction. Molded fiberglass is found on the higher end fiberglass constructed RV/Travel Trailers. This material can be slightly rough with fiberglass patches that are visible under a gel coat covering.

Laminate siding: Finally, an RV could have a fiberglass, laminate siding. This is often on the lower to mid range RV/Travel trailers. This material will have a slick, shiny surface and has many different names; Luan board, Laminate, plywood corrugated walls. I have had problems with these surfaces buckling and warping so I tend to avoid them.