Fiberglass exterior reviews needed

[Stokeme]

Hello FWC nation ...

I am looking at a FWC shell purchase, Hawk or Granby, or similar, from ATC. ATC will help outfit individually but I like the improvements FWC has updated over time. Fiberglass siding is an option I am seriously considering, only offered by FWC. How is the Fiberglass holding up for all of you owners? Any regrets? I am looking for an owner satisfaction grade. Weathering? Do you keep your Camper garaged? Any preservation upkeep involved? Any idea if interior condensation is less w/fiberglass? Insulative improvement? Any opportunity to have compared Glass vs Alum under similar conditions?

I own an aluminum 15' Klamath SS rear tiller. When temperatures reach mid 80's and above, I can not touch the exterior of my boat w/o gloves, when not in the water. It is too hot to handle. What does the Camper aluminum siding feel like under similar conditions? Does the aluminum white siding really negate that heat?
Thanks for any info shared ...

 

[longhorn1]

Can't answer the question on fiberglass. I heard that the aluminum was more resilient than the fiberglass and the majority of campers sold are aluminum. Never had an issue with the aluminum siding being hot. Whether you have aluminum or fiberglass the aluminum frame will still be a conduit in cold temperatures, so condensation will still be present. You can minimize the condensation by having the vents and some windows cracked. Hope this helps. jd

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

We had a FWC several years ago. When I asked the factory about the glass sides, the salesman advised against it, saying that aluminum is far easier to repair if you have an accident. I believe it is lighter as well. No problem with hot metal like an aluminum boat. We've since gone to an ATC Bobcat for several reasons. I am very happy with the ATC, and would not hesitate to buy another one if needed. The personal touch and customer focus of the owners and crew is fantastic.

 

[Squatch]

I've had no issues with hot siding on my Eagle. But I'm not in the southwest either.

The glass siding looks great. But it is heavier per the dealer.

No experience with this particular glass siding. But I have several friends with travel trailers with similar hat have had problems with delamination. Like anything else different makers, different quality levels. That doesn't mean the FWC siding will do that. But it might give me pause.

 

[Bill D]

I've had no issues with hot siding on my Eagle. But I'm not in the southwest either.

The glass siding looks great. But it is heavier per the dealer.

No experience with this particular glass siding. But I have several friends with travel trailers with similar hat have had problems with delamination. Like anything else different makers, different quality levels. That doesn't mean the FWC siding will do that. But it might give me pause.

If FWC fibreglass models were prone to delaminating, I'm sure we would have seen a post on it with a pic. To my knowledge there haven't been any.

 

[Alley-Kat]

I camp & travel throughout the year in the southwest; Arizona, Southern Nevada, Southern Utah, New Mexico, Baja and the So Cal deserts.

I also have an ATC Bobcat with all white aluminium sides and the exterior is never hot to the touch, even when the daytime temp is well over 100 degrees and full sun.

Now, the dark soft pop-up side liner material can get hot to the touch if direct sun is reaching it. However, it is easy to avoid touching the soft pop-up side liner material.

And, when camping in colder places, I like to figure out where the sun will come up and have one of the sides of the camper be struck by the morning sun, just to warm up the interior without having to turn on the furnace. I've had it go from the 40's to above 70 degrees in about 15 to 20 minutes after sunrise. Plenty comfortable to get out of the sleeping bag.

 

[Bombsight]

Love my fiberglass siding!
No issues with fiberglass whatsoever. None!
I keep it garaged because of all of the exterior plastic parts being sensitive to the sun over time. I'd suggest everyone else do the same if they plan on keeping their camper more than 10 years.
I would imagine all of the sealing around the exterior doors, windows, ports, vents, etc, etc. would be better on fiberglass because of the flat surface .... as opposed to FWC using more of that grey sealant to compensate for the uneven surface of aluminum siding.

 

[Bill D]

Nice looking truck and camper.

 

[Bombsight]

Thank you, Bill. I appreciate that.

 

[slus]

Nice rig, Bombsite.

My next camper will be fiberglass, just for aesthetic reasons. Aluminum siding looked great riding on my 96 F350. Solely my opinion, not to be used to sway others in any way, the alum siding looks a bit dated on the back of the 2017 MegaCab Ram. That and my non-extended cabover looks a bit funny with how big the cab of the truck is.

New shell models sure are well equipped these days

 

[Stokeme]

Thanks to all that have commented, appreciate the feedback. It is good to know that the aluminum siding is not a heat sink.
A few questions:
Does the "thermal pack" help mitigate heat gathered by the pop-up side liner material, as mentioned in post #6?
I'm a tent camper my entire life so only rainfly condensation, when used. 1 or 2 vents? Powered? Venting strategies?

Bombsight ... has all that exterior lighting been a good option? How much weight is on your camper roof with the top up? I plan to carry at least a kayak for the wife & probably my small canoe when I leave my boat behind. I imagine I would need to remove them before pop up?
I will add ... that smooth fiberglass siding coupled with that white truck is pretty sexy.

 

[Bombsight]

Thanks, Slus.

Stokeme .... If I were to do it again, I would skip on the little rectangle amber porch lights on each side. They might come in handy in rare events of excessive bugs but I wouldn't spend much time outside if that were the case.
I highly recommend the lights underneath the campers side edge (on each corner) ... especially on white body trucks. The reflective ambient light makes setting up in the dark really nice. The long,,skinny, LED porch light on each side is nice when under the awning at night ... one more functional than the other obviously.
Absolutely get the big powerful square flood lights on the back (2). Sooo many uses!

Weight on top? typically not much more than about 35-40#'s. A few surfboards, outdoor shower w/bag, a couple of foldup chairs and a small bar-b-que pit. No way can I lift it unless I take half of that off.
Forget about lifting the roof with either a kayak or canoe. You may be strong enough but I wouldn't chance the damage. They would have to be really small or made with some unseen space age material.
Disclaimer: The weight issues above are considering a 180 watt solar panel, Yakima tracks and two sets of Yakima racks, two fans and Thule luggage rack.

I've grown to really like the all white kit. Really wanted a black truck but like I've said before .... function over form rules.

Also, a solar charged, motion activated light above the door is awesome. You can find those at Amazon and use 3M double sided tape to mount.

 

[Alley-Kat]

A few questions:
Does the "thermal pack" help mitigate heat gathered by the pop-up side liner material, as mentioned in post #6?
I'm a tent camper my entire life so only rainfly condensation, when used. 1 or 2 vents? Powered? Venting strategies?

Yes, I'd say the thermal pack decreases temperature difference transfer by quite a bit, in both directions; cold to hot and hot to cold. I've not used mine as much as I thought I would, however, it is nice at times to have the option to use it. I store the unit in the truck cab behind the front seat.

And, a clarification...Without the thermal pack, as mentioned in post #6, to warm up the camper in cold situations in the morning, we leave the windows closed until the inside temp is heated up, then when we get up a few minutes after sunrise, we open the soft side windows in varying amounts to allow air & temperature exchange with the outside.

The neat thing about the soft side windows is you have a lot of variability in how you use them. Open fully, open 1/4 - 1/3 - 1/2- etc. to closed for both the clear window for air flow and the solid window for light control.

I have one FantasticFan, 12 speed, reversible with remote control and rain sensor in the back and a plain open/close vent in the front over the bed. I like this set-up. A single FantasticFan or it's equivalent by another manufacturer can move all the air you want, in my opinion, other camper owners have two powered fans. Not many have ZERO powered fans. To each their own.

My venting strategy is to have both vents open some depending on the temp (little open if colder vs a lot open if hot). The first three low speeds move a fair amount of air without ANY NOISE (which we like at night, listening to the outside sounds), higher speeds are increasingly louder and of course move a lot more air. We will also have the soft side windows open or closed in varying amounts depending on the conditions.

Experiment when you get yours and you'll have you own venting strategy pretty quickly.

I only saw your statement about condensation, I didn't see a question relating to it.

 

[Bombsight]

Overlooked the thermal pack question.

I keep mine on 24/7 all year long. Why wouldn't everyone? It works.
It blocks out a lot of light when you want to sleep late also.
Don't let it touch anything really hot! It melts quicker than you can curse.

 

[Stokeme]

Great feedback! And thanks Alley-Kat for some venting strategy. Your earlier post actually got me thinking about venting. In my former life I was a greenhouse grower, (not that crop), & venting was a big deal. My thoughts are much the same about a fan. Two vents with one premium fan, one vent passive, could add another fan later.
Anymore fiberglass camper owners with some field usage data to share? Testimonials?

 

[Alley-Kat]

You're welcome.

And, yes you can add another powered fan later as far as I know both FWC & ATC pre-wire both locations in the roof, independent of what you order at the time of purchase.

Another thought on the heating from the soft side material.

I believe ATC is still using the dark soft side material, while FWC has changed and gone with a lighter color soft side material, I think ithe FWC soft side looks "tan". And, we know that darker color materials absorb and radiate at a higher rate than a lighter color material. For good or bad or otherwise. Not that important a feature, either way, to buy from one company over the other. Just another small factor to consider.

 

[adamxcl]

I love my fiberglass siding but mine is still very new so only a few trips out. No problems early on and it looks nice.

 

[Squatch]

If FWC fibreglass models were prone to delaminating, I'm sure we would have seen a post on it with a pic. To my knowledge there haven't been any.

I imagine you are correct! FWC tends to use quality materials. Shame many manufacturers do not.

 

[Lobster]

Picked up my grandby shell in January, fiberglass ext. silver spur interior. Love it yet as Adam said, still too new to comment on age related problems. One interesting note is that the 5 year warranty is only 2 years on the fiberglass siding. Don't know why. When I ordered last October I was torn between FWC and ATC. I simply ran out of time and made the decision based on 'looks' but from reading it seems you can't go wrong whichever you choose. ATC seems the choice if you want to customize from the factory. But if your buying a shell and will customize yourself then either one seems a great product. Took a week trip last week, (maiden voyage), really enjoyed ourselves. Everything worked.

 

[Stokeme]

Lobster1 ..... what did you add to your shell? 1/2 ton or 3/4 ton truck? I would like a 1/2 ton but don't want to do Mods. Airbags maybe ...
Might end up getting 3/4 ton. Adam, what model did you get? Truck?