All-carbon fiber travel trailer

[Night Sailor]

I thought about building a carbo trailer on an aluminum chassis.

[Terry G]

Originally Posted by Night Sailor

I thought about building a carbo trailer on an aluminum chassis.

Whatever you do, don't put helium in the tires.

[dylanear]

I am curious how much weight could be saved on a trailer in the 15-19' range like our eggs?! The price premium over fiberglass would probably be more modest than in a large one like in that article. CF is amazing when done right. But to really see it's full advantage you need to do a lot of complex design work (aircraft and automobiles using it have considerable computer modeling to maximize strength). And the best CF structures of any complexity in size are very labor intensive and require baking in large ovens, often with complex techniques to apply pressure/vacuum.

Not cheap material or production processes. But it's gotten dramatically cheaper and more practical over the past 20 years. We shall see where it goes!

[MC1]

Originally Posted by rabbit

Still not going near carbon fiber bars; worse than aluminum for breaking on a scored line!
jack

For sure scoring on a carbon bar will weaken it and is a safety issue. I have one here that someone else ruined and I will not use it.

On the other hand I installed a Monkey Lite carbon bar on my Trek Fuel 98 when I bought the bike in 02. After about 50 hard races and 100's of tough, rough rides the bars are like new.
Note the aluminum rims, frame, front fork, and XTR derailleurs, on the same bike have not stood up and have all been replaced over the years.

The carbon trailer is interesting but really wonder how practical it is. Do we really need such a high performance product in a place where it is not really needed.

[dylanear]

I suspect for most cases a larger tow vehicle will be MUCH cheaper than a lighter CF trailer. It doesn't make sense to me for a trailer that's going to be big and heavy no matter how light the chassis and body are. For a small trailer where a small efficient TV is desired, it may make sense at some point.

If I could make a 3000lb trailer weigh 2200lbs and only cost $10,000 more than fiberglass?? That's when it starts making sense to me.

[Glenn Baglo]

It would be a niche market, just as we are, only smaller.
Consider how many stick-built trailers are sold compared to FG.
Now take a fraction of the FG market and that's your market for more expensive carbon fibre trailer.

[Scott H]

Wow, the BS is getting thick and deep here!
The Egg.
Fiberglass and carbon fiber are more similar than different. Glass is like a sponge, when wetting it out it readily soaks up the resin, significant voids can be eliminated by hand. Carbon is much more "resinphobic", structurally problematic voids are tough to avoid without some sort of pressure, IE. vacuum bagging. This becomes tricky with big, curvy things like an egg.
Structures of similar thickness will be similar in strength but, carbon will be significantly lighter. My guess is that a carbon egg would break just like a glass egg (and could be repaired, with glass, at any autobody shop, just like your glass egg).
Comparisons to bikes are irrelevant. Bikes, frames and components, are replacing aluminum with carbon in load bearing structural parts. Nothing like replacing glass with carbon in the shell of an egg.
The Frame.
This more like a bike; possible but way more involved and expensive.

I work with both carbon and glass, daily, for a living.

[rabbit]

Ain't always the house that's too heavy; sometimes it's the contents. Remember Lucy's souvenir rocks? To travel lite you have to leave something behind. And as Dylan says, a bigger gas hog can solve as many problems as an acre of prepreg. Got rid of my 05 6cyl runner this week. Replaced with an 09 GX 470 v8, genuine mahogany and cow inside, and it's black like a Bentley, a Roller or a hearse. Is this livin or what!

jack

[dylanear]

Watched the video and read the article more patiently. I think it looks pretty awesome. I'd love to see one half the size and 1/3rd the price. That 35 footer they claim at 6500lbs, that does sounds quite light? I'd like to see a spacious 17-19ish footer for $50,000. Leave most of the fancy add ons. I wonder how the $160,000 features compare to the $500,000 options?!

I'd love to see a finished interior and see more about how it's constructed.

[dylanear]

Originally Posted by rabbit

Ain't always the house that's too heavy; sometimes it's the contents. Remember Lucy's souvenir rocks? To travel lite you have to leave something behind. And as Dylan says, a bigger gas hog can solve as many problems as an acre of prepreg. Got rid of my 05 6cyl runner this week. Replaced with an 09 GX 470 v8, genuine mahogany and cow inside, and it's black like a Bentley, a Roller or a hearse. Is this livin or what!

jack

Sounds like a nice ride! What kind of mileage are you getting?

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by rabbit

Ain't always the house that's too heavy;

This is so true for many people. They buy into the lightweight of the smaller moulded trailers, then load them up with what some consider more than necessary, and often end up having to get a larger tow vehicle to pull it.

I have seen this with mountain bikers, who spend lots of money to save ounces, yet are 10-20 pounds overweight. Not meaning to be judgemental (I am in that range too), but I can think of an easier way to lessen the load.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by dylanear

That 35 footer they claim at 6500lbs, that does sounds quite light?

How far have we come? The 1st 34' triple axle Airstream built in the early 80's weighed just over 6,000 lbs. and you could tow it with a sedan. Cost of 34' when new about $70K.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I have seen this with mountain bikers, who spend lots of money to save ounces, yet are 10-20 pounds overweight. Not meaning to be judgemental (I am in that range too), but I can think of an easier way to lessen the load.

I am an avid bike rider/racer. Ridden over 50,000 miles in the last 15 years.

We have found that when ridding if you were to say add 5 lbs to your back back that you would feel a slight affect by the extra weight.

But, if you were to add 5 lbs to the weight of the bike the extra weight is very noticeable affecting acceleration, top speed, and energy used. It is difficult to wrap one's head around the physics but it is the way it is.

[tractors1]

I love this quote about NOT keeping it outside:

So, is the industry ready for a $160,000 carbon fiber travel trailer? Dealer R.R. Anderson, owner of Anderson RV Center, who took a train from Topeka, Kan., to attend the Indy unveiling, thinks that might well be the case. “This isn’t an RV for the average buyer, but the average buyer will want to see it,” Anderson said. “They’ll have to see it in my showroom, because I’m not keeping it outside. It’s too valuable.”

Charlie Y

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by rabbit

Got rid of my 05 6cyl runner this week. Replaced with an 09 GX 470 v8, genuine mahogany and cow inside, and it's black like a Bentley, a Roller or a hearse. Is this livin or what!

jack

Do I see a new 2' bigger trailer announcement coming soon as well?

Could not agree more though that there is a lot to be said for the increase in enjoyment when towing with a tow vehicle with a bit more power and comfort.