All-carbon fiber travel trailer - Fiberglass RV
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Old 03-15-2014, 07:06 AM   #1
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All-carbon fiber travel trailer

Called CR-1 by GCT RV

First look at the only all-carbon fiber RV in the world | Roadtrippers

Global Caravan Technologies - Luxury RV and Travel Trailer Manufacturer

Global Caravan Introduces ‘CR-1 Carbon’ Trailer | RV Business

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Price? $$$$$$$$$$$$
($100,000.00 to $500,000.00)
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Old 03-15-2014, 07:22 AM   #2
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I think you're going to need a couple more $$$'s on the price. Carbon Fiber is muy expensive and it takes special skills and equipment to build with it. It's not a bad choice for a $100 million jet but for something that's going to travel on roads with potholes beside ordinary cars and trucks? Good luck with that.
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Old 03-15-2014, 07:28 AM   #3
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Price was posted at the bottom of the page of the first link provided:
"Estimates say the CR-1 will start at a cool $100k and range all the way up to $500K."
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Old 03-15-2014, 07:59 AM   #4
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http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...tml#post446488
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Old 03-15-2014, 12:39 PM   #5
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The price point of this carbon fiber effort is really the capper to the old thread! Sort of Faberge egg territory. Check out Donna's comment on molded septic tanks for insight into the real wellsprings of "tech." Lot of spillovers there, so to speak.

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Old 03-15-2014, 03:14 PM   #6
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It would be interesting to know if there is any real advantage in a carbon bodyshell, other than the bragging rights.

It is a wonderful material for the right application and has almost magical properties, but is really only appropriate where there is a major strength, stiffness or weight objective. Picking up a 14ft racing dinghy with one hand made a convert out of me.

Trailer bodyshells are primarily concerned with getting sufficient rigidity to support themselves and being durable - making them half as thick out of carbon achieves neither of those objectives.

"But it could save 100 pounds on the weight of a bodyshell for less than $10.000 extra" isn't really a game changer, is it?

This looks like a case of 'specification-itis' where something is desirable not for whether it performs well, but for whether it impresses other small boys (of any age).
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Old 03-15-2014, 03:26 PM   #7
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Well-stated, Sir.

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Old 03-15-2014, 03:37 PM   #8
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It would be interesting to know if there is any real advantage in a carbon bodyshell, other than the bragging rights.

It is a wonderful material for the right application and has almost magical properties, but is really only appropriate where there is a major strength, stiffness or weight objective. Picking up a 14ft racing dinghy with one hand made a convert out of me.
Being able to load a bike on the roof of my car easily on my own covered me to carbon

One advantage I can see of having a carbon body shell on a trailer is that if you backed it into something your not likely to see the same level of damage you see doing the same with a fiberglass trailer!
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Old 03-15-2014, 03:41 PM   #9
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But what's it cost to repair compared to fibreglass?
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Old 03-15-2014, 04:37 PM   #10
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Carbon fiber road bikes known for so-called notch sensitivity as in you nick it you broke it. Happened to LA in the 2003 T de F. After he hit the floor in a fan interference accident on Luz-Ardiden, he also had shifting or chain skip problems from a drivetrain misalignment which he attributed to a broken or bent chain stay. The bike in use was all CF.

I doubt if high rigidity of carbon composites is accompanied by high impact resistance. Interested in any evidence to the contrary.

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Old 03-15-2014, 04:53 PM   #11
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Carbon fiber road bikes known for so-called notch sensitivity as in you nick it you broke it. Happened to LA in the 2003 T de F. After he hit the floor in a fan interference accident on Luz-Ardiden, he also had shifting or chain skip problems from a drivetrain misalignment which he attributed to a broken or bent chain stay. The bike in use was all CF tubes.

I doubt if high rigidity of carbon composites is accompanied by high impact resistance. Interested in any evidence to the contrary.

jack
Perhaps there have been some improvements in the design/fabrication in the last 11 years in regards to the use of CF on road bikes.

My evidence that they have indeed done that is that a road bike with a fairly high content of CF in its construction was on the roof of a car this summer. The driver of the vehicle in a hurry to get home from a race and late for a family dinner - forgot about the bike in their tired state and decide to drive full steam ahead the car under the carport In the process the bikes handle bars hit the top of the carpet with a force that shock the whole house. Car came to a stop completely under the car port with half of the factory roof mount bike rack ripped right out off the car and the bike still attached to it out in the driveway - the remaining portion of the roof rack was bent up at a right angle to the roof of the car ...... damage to the vehicle about $650 .... damage to the bike - one new tire rim - I don't ask what the costs and don't want to know .... to confirm that was the only issue with the bike it was taken to the bike shop and thoroughly inspected and has completed a couple of grand fondos since with no ill effects.
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Old 03-15-2014, 05:01 PM   #12
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But what's it cost to repair compared to fibreglass?
Hopefully due the CF straight there will be no damage to repair other than perhaps a paint scratch repair job. Have no idea how realistic that is or not but sounds good in theory
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Old 03-15-2014, 09:15 PM   #13
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Thanx for the eyes on, Carol. Still not going near carbon fiber bars; worse than aluminum for breaking on a scored line!

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Old 03-15-2014, 09:23 PM   #14
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Thanx for the eyes on, Carol. Still not going near carbon fiber bars; worse than aluminum for breaking on a scored line!

jack
Your wife I am sure will be happy to hear that ... you might still be able to afford a tropical vacation this year!

No need to thank me, you can thank my partner for having performed such a test on his most prized two wheeled toy! I just wish he had performed the test while driving his car not mine!
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Old 03-15-2014, 09:30 PM   #15
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Ouch. I wondered where Subaru went.
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Old 03-15-2014, 09:42 PM   #16
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Ouch. I wondered where Subaru went.
Oh its still in the driveway.... as I wasn't totally convinced when I purchased my new tug that I was going to be overly happy with its performance this winter.... plus another member of the household was in need of slight upgrade in their commuter wheels... I still luv my Subaru!
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Old 03-16-2014, 03:55 PM   #17
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Great idea! The ultra light concept taken to the space age limit.
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Old 03-18-2014, 06:16 AM   #18
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One advantage I can see of having a carbon body shell on a trailer is that if you backed it into something your not likely to see the same level of damage you see doing the same with a fiberglass trailer!
That would only be true if the extra unit strength of the carbon was used to increase overall body strength and not reduce its weight. In practice most thin-carbon-skin (so this does not include bicycles, which are thick-wall carbon) structures are actually more prone to light damage, because the skins are thinner.

In many ways, the ideal trailer body material would be less strong, lighter and cheaper than molded fiberglass, so that the body could be made 1/2"-3/4" thick and so very strong (overall) and very rigid. The Royalex plastic that has been shown here might be one example, but then it needs very expensive molds to make it, so that pushes the price up.
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Old 03-19-2014, 04:06 PM   #19
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This sounds like the Nest with Monocoque Body

Located in Qatar "“I realized that I can build these trailers here and ship them back to the states at a prices that is reasonable for dealers and affordable for consumers,” he told RV Daily Report. “It’s not going to be a $60,000 trailer."

Crowd sourced for funding right now but the youtube render is fun to check out next-generation-rv
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Old 03-19-2014, 07:55 PM   #20
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Now if the chassis or frame of the trailer could be made of carbon fiber rather than steel, that would be a big advantage, both for weight & rust.
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