Oliver Factory tour, Observations - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
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Old 11-23-2016, 05:38 PM   #21
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My Escape is eight years old and there is no evidence of deterioration due to the build. I've taken it over a lot of washboard and forestry roads.
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Old 11-23-2016, 05:48 PM   #22
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My Escape is eight years old and there is no evidence of deterioration due to the build. I've taken it over a lot of washboard and forestry roads.
No issues at all for the 6 1/2 years I owned my 19 either. The Bigfoot trailers I have worked on were had cabinetry work not even as good as the Escapes. I toured a lot of big rigs at the RV show here this spring, and was appalled at the quality of workmanship with all but the more expensive ones.

Funny too, I have heard of very little issue on the Escape forum about cabinets coming apart.

Escape uses real hardwood for the doors and drawer fronts, the parts that take the most wear, but a thin luan plywood for the carcasses, which is structurally good and light in weight. Staples are used as surface fasteners, as they don't show like screws would, and hold way better than nails do.
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Old 11-23-2016, 05:55 PM   #23
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I've seen no evidence of hot glue either. Can't imagine anyone using hot glue for any construction reason.
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Old 07-09-2018, 09:53 PM   #24
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I've seen no evidence of hot glue either. Can't imagine anyone using hot glue for any construction reason.
I use it on my model railroad, other then that I think it's useless.

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Old 07-10-2018, 02:08 AM   #25
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Interesting comment on the hot glue. The majority of people are only familiar with hot melt adhesive that you buy at the hardware and craft stores other than being heated. That is not something a company would be using in a fiberglass trailer as it has a rather low melting point and a closed up trailer would get too hot inside. Plus it does not bond well to fiberglass.

There are a variety of specialty hot glues used for construction that have nothing to do with the stuff you get in craft stores other than dispensing from a heated gun. Polyurethane hot glue has a very high melting point. I have found that it bonds well to fiberglass and in fact has to be chiseled or ground off after it cures. Once applied it does a cross link cure getting harder and harder over the new few weeks. I made use of it when epoxy bonding blocking to the inside walls of my trailer. I used it because you can't put on a clamp to hold the blocking tight against the wall while adhesive cures. So to hold the blocking in place I put small tack areas of the PUR adhesive at the edges of my blocking which kept it in place while the epoxy cured. It is an expensive hot glue so I did not use it as the primary adhesive. It sets up in 30 seconds or longer depending on which version you buy. When you are working in a production line you need to work quickly so this makes fast and strong adhesive for that purpose. The heated applicator guns cost about $100.00
Polyurethane hot melt glue: https://www.hotmelt.com/collections/pur-hot-melt

As to using staples. Staple are a great type of fastener for many applications. They work very well for securing thin materials including thin plywood where they create a more secure hold than a tiny brad from an air gun will give you. In that situation a staple is the optimal engineering choice of fastener. They are also an optimal solution for securing fabric and vinyl because it gives a wider surface area for grip than a tack.
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Old 07-10-2018, 06:52 AM   #26
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I love the fiberglass interior on the Oliver. It’s a beauty! What I don’t like is the floorplan.

As far as cost, is an Escape 17 much different price wise than a Casita 17 deluxe?

I’ve considered buying an Oliver because the quality is there. Not sure about mechanical systems run between the two hulls. Longer tongue = easier to backup. The short tongue on my Casita made it super easy to jackknife the trailer.

I used to work for a company that made hot melt adhesive. Our top product was a reactive holt melt. Very expensive, very powerful, you are not going to use it without specialized equipment. We made several adhesives that were much stronger than the substrate. Check out a laminated beam sometime (not holt melt).
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Old 07-10-2018, 07:51 AM   #27
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The new aluminum Ford F-150 truck has quite a bit of adhesive holding the body panels together.
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