: SNIP

: Don,

: Have you ever heard the term "TANSTAAFL" (pronounced tanstaffel)??? Loosely translated it means: "there ain't no such thing as a free lunch"!!!

: Usually, the Ultra lites are narrower than the standard TT's... My 27 Skyline Nomad is 8' wide... frequently , the ultra lites are 7-7 1/2 feet wide... Usually not a hardship, but noticable... Certain amenities MAY be lacking... Ducted air or ducted heat built into the floor and ceiling MAY not be available with the Ultra lites... Ceiling height could also be a few inches shorter than the "standard" TT... Construction may be lighter with floors and paneling being a bit thinner and the like...

: The weight has to come out from somewhere and these area's are represenative of where it usually comes from...

: Generally speaking, laminated FG walls tend to be heavier than aluminum sided walls (even with amluminum framing) so I would assume that the ultra lite wall is somewhat thinner with perhaps not as much insulation and/or paneling thickness...

: Some say the FG laminated wall has a cleaner look... It definitly is easier to wash and wax but usually is more difficult to repair if damaged...

: "Delamination" has been, and still is, to some degree a big problem with FG laminated walls... If the lamination process is not done preoperly at the factory OR water migrates into the walls from a leaking roof or window joint, The glue than bonds the FG substrate to the backer can loose it's integrity resulting in delamination... This usually manifests itself buy showing up as a "bubble" in the outer FG skin...

: The repair of the delamination can be very costly and labor intensive... While manufacturers have become better at the laminating techniques, problems do still occur, either in the laminating process itself or from lack of proper maintenance after the TT is purchased by the prospective owner...

: I prefer aluminum sided TT's for this reason and the fact that they are lighter and initially less expensive than FG laminated walls... This is a personal preference on my part because I do about 99% of all my maintenance myself... I prefer a rig that I can work on without too much difficulty...

: Lastly, I will tell you this about Terry (Fleetwood)... Fleetwood is still the largest manufacturer of RV's in the nation and once enjoyed a stellar reputation... However since John Brean, the founder of the company left some years ago, Fleetwood has seemingly developed a new attitude regarding "bottom line performance" over customer satisfaction and quality... At least this is what the RV BBS's seeem to reflect... There are quite a few threads circulating on other BBS's with some very dissatisified Fleetwood customers... Not that you can please everybody all the time, but the Fleetwood complaints are definitly increasing...

: You may want to look at some other brands, such as Jayco, Skyline, and others... I personally own a Skyline 27' Nomad (fullsize TT) and we have been EXTREMELY satisfied with it since delivery 3 years ago... Virtually trouble free...

: Best Regards,
: Les

Thanks for the info. I'm very acquainted with "TANSTAAFL"; that's why I posted the message, because I knew there had to be a down side somewhere. What you said makes sense.

Also, I have detected some grumbling about Terry on this site as well.