Fibertech Fiberglass Trailers...Opinions? Insights?

[accrete]

(UPDATE: January 2013, my wife and i just ordered a Parkliner 15ft fiberglass travel trailer to tow behind our van. I will leave my thoughts as they were presented back in 2011.)

Greetings all,

Searching tnttt forum i found no reference for Fibertech so i'll post this new thread asking if anyone has info on them, thanks in advance for any input.

In my intro post i mentioned i was in the market for a small CT to convert for use by my wife and i during our camping adventures in the Pacific North West. In that post i mentioned a company called Fibertech out of Wisconsin. Their website is fibertechservicesinc.com if any are interested in looking at what they have.

I have yet to place an order though i've been emailing back and forth with Ken for about a week now. Originally i'd thought of going with the 7x18'+5'vNose but at ~23 feet it will cause some issues with some areas we camp in (mostly small BLM or FS parks with no hook ups). My wife and i have yet to settle on a floor plan but think the 7x14'+5' vNose should work.

Our plan is to have basically a nice bathroom, kitchen, and chill-out area to read/eat at a table/chair(s). We plan on sleeping in our 2010 Chevy AWD van conversion shown in the picture below. I have a Froli Sleep System in there and honestly it is more comfortable than any bed we've slept on...so we don't feel the need to duplicate the bedroom in the trailer. (A link to my van-buld-thread for any who wish to doodle)



Here is the link to the 14 footer's page on their website. . . and a side shot from that page of the trailer:



Thanks again in advance for any input!
Thom

[accrete]

digging deeper at their website one finds the following info on the trailers...

Standard Specifications

Aluminum frame
Solid one piece fiberglass shell
3500# torsion axles
One axle electric brake
3/4 inch treated floor
Rear ramp door with spring assist
12 volt lights
6'3" interior height
Four foot 1/4 plywood interior sides
1000# tongue jack on wheels
Diamond plate chip guard on front
14" steel tires

specific to the 14 footer i'm considering:

Trailer Weight: 1600 lbs
Axle Type: Torsion
Number of Axles: 2
Electric Brakes: Standard
Jack: Standard
Deck Thickness: ¾”
Bed Width: 79”
GVWR: 5000#
Tire Size: St205/75R14
Loading Type: Ramp/Door
Rear Door: Ramp
Coupler Type: 2” Ball Coupler
2 Place Inline Trailer * Enclosed Snowmobile Trailer


------------------------ I think the stock height will be fine for my wife and i as it matches the interior height of our master bedroom over the tongue on our 38' 5th wheel and we've got plenty of head room in there.

The aluminum chassis was what caught my eye on this manufacturer's offering. I'd been eying another fiberglass trailer by Chariot Manufacturing out of Florida but their frames are steel , ( We had an Aliner a few years back and the first thing i did upon arriving home with the spotless-new-trailer was paint the entire steel frame with Por15...when we sold it two years later the buyers commented on how pristine the steel frame looked... i can tell you they would not have said that if i'd not put the time&$$ into it that first weekend home! That said, i'm really favoring the idea of an aluminum trailer for the sake of longevity here in our preferred home in the Pacific North West.

The other trailers i was highly considering were FeatherLite and ATC (Aluminum Trailer Corporation)...but freight was outrageous! At least Ken over at Fibertech is willing to split the transportation costs to the west coast, which now places his aluminum/fiberglass in the top slot on my short list at this point.

Why fiberglass? I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area on fiberglass sailboats and liked their ease of maintenance for one thing. The other, a sort of silly reason...is i think it would be fun to have a rig that might open doors of opportunity to meet various groups of like minded peeps on the open road... so the FG CTC would theoretically be welcomed with the gang here at tnttt and also the FG RV'ers : )

more rambles.

[8ball_99]

Looks cool. I'm not a huge fan of fiberglass myself.. But if thats what you want. Just keep it waxed!

[aggie79]

Interesting trailer! When I get to a computer I'm going to look them up. Fantastic van conversion too by the way. I bookmarked the website for bed system you used.

[accrete]

: ) on the waxing... this will be my Land Yacht to help remind me of fond memories...sans salt in my face!

On the Froli. It truly is amazing. The Queen kit came packed in two 12"x12"x8" boxes weighing in at maybe 8 to 10 lbs total. Snap the pieces together in the shape you need on top of a simple platform and that's about it. Add your favorite mattress topper and settle in for a great night's rest...and wanting to stay in bed late into the morning!

I keep telling myself i'll order a queen kit for our mobile suite and get rid of the sealy pillow top that is in here now. One of these days.

Thom

[AceMan]

Maybe this one could be "modified"

[pete42]

I have owned 2 16 foot scamps which are all fiberglass
the last travel trailer I owned was one made of wood and covered with aluminum
one corner had a leak and the wood rotted
I had a heck of a time doing the repairs replacing the wood is not fun.
I do like the all fiberglass fibertech do you have the price list?
while I do like them the cost may be more than I can afford.
I thought I would ask before sending them an email
pete

[accrete]

Maybe this one could be "modified"

; ) sure would make the annual polish easier!

Pete, on pricing. The base price for the 14'+5'vNose is $6200. I would have them add a side door and roof vent and ship to Oregon Coast...so i'll be adding another ~1300 ish on top of the base. I'm not totally convinced this is the way i'm going, though as stated it is currently #1 on a short list : )

The ~7.5k delivered is relatively reasonable. HaHa

A nice Oregon built steel/aluminum is $6500 for pick up in Portland.
A nice ATC or Featherlite (alum/alum) is ~12K delivered to Portland for pick up.

I sort of envy peeps that live in the midwest so close to the big RV builders...they save big time on freight. The local ATC/Featherlite dealer is charging $3500 for delivery. No way i'm going down that road! Ken at Fibertech is splitting the $1700 delivery with me so $850 to my doorstep. I have no idea why the Portland ATC/FL dealer is doing biz like they are but they will most likely not be getting my $$ on this project.

The way i usually do things is _once_ (for a given idea/solution). . . 80% thinker and 20% doer. Not saying it's the proper way to go through life but it has worked most of my 55 years ok.

Happy Trails,
Thom

[dudleydoright]

Thom,

You might take a look at trailershowroom.com, they have a place in Oregon. I had one built in GA and am very pleased with it.

Mike

[aggie79]

Thom,

I looked at their website and these do seem intriguing to me. I like the "seamless" approach the fiberglass shell gives. I'm not wild about the "swoosh" down the sides. On the units with RV doors, only the horizontal part of the swoosh remains and that looks okay to me. I couldn't tell for sure but there aluminum trailers look like they are welded. I'd prefer bolted due to the brittle nature of aluminum welds; however, these guys have been in business for a long time and if the welds were an issue it would have been resolved by now. I like the product!

Take care,
Tom

[accrete]

Hi Mike and thanks for the link/info on trailershowroom... that is actually the place i got my online quick-quote for the steel frame/aluminum walled trailer at ~$6500 for pickup in oregon. I'm going to probably go check them out when we go into portland for the upcoming fall rv show.

Tom on the side swoosh... i think it may be structural?..and like you i'm not "wild" about it either : )
With the big foot and northernlite truck campers there were similar design ideas built into the mold to add strength (albeit on the roof line), but don't know for sure on the fibertech.

image from the northern-lite.com site showing the roof of their TC design:


Out here on the oregon coast we see alot of aluminum commercial fishing boats and accompanied aluminum trailers, majority are welded. Somebody must have the needs figured out, i'm clueless!

Cheers,
Thom

[pete42]

Thom,

(SNIP) I couldn't tell for sure but there aluminum trailers look like they are welded. I'd prefer bolted due to the brittle nature of aluminum welds; however, these guys have been in business for a long time and if the welds were an issue it would have been resolved by now. I like the product!

Take care,
Tom

Aggie I worked 41 years in the aluminum business the company used TIG and MIG welders the joints are stronger than the metal.
so don't let the aluminum welds hold you back, of course having said that not all welders are as professional as ours are, were I'm retired.

pete

[accrete]

Pete thanks for your insights on the aluminum fabrication/welding : )

I'm still finding new-to-me stuff at the fibertech website... this horse trailer is way sexy. Might have to ask Ken if the ATP bottom-trim is an option on the 14 footer. The door in the front vNose is interesting also.



Thom

[aggie79]

Thom,

I'm with you - still exploring. Unlike you, I live in an area where rain is infrequent. Despite that, I was obsessive-compulsive about weathersealing my teardrop. The Fibertech appeals to me for that reason. I finally researched the Northern Lite site and they have a similar design with a structural fiberglas shell.

Regarding the door on the v-nose, I've heard that doors and compartment doors on the leading edge can sometimes be a little more work to seal. The air pressure tends to drive rain past standard seals. I would bet, though, that these folks have this figured out to.

BTW, have you found if Fibertech will do inboard axles/wheels? If I build a CT conversion, my storage space is a little over 8' wide so 7-foot wide trailer with standard outboard axle/wheel arrangement would not fit.

One thing I've wondered about, but have never seen, is if it is possible to have an RV door on the back of a cargo trailer instead of a ramp or double "ambulance" doors. For some of the layouts I've been playing with, an RV door to one side of the CT allows for some pretty efficient packaging in the layout.

Take care,
Tom

[accrete]

Greetings Tom,
I had the same thought on the leading edge door and possible seal issues...and quickly thought, as you, they've probably got it dialed in!

The narrow track idea is on my list of questions for Ken. I like the idea because there are some one lane bridges we go over and a foot is a foot!

On the rear door... Over at the Aluminum Trailer Corporation (ATC) website they have a design-your-own java application that is fun to work with for ideas on pricing/options. It was confirmed by the owner of 99west in Portland that ATC can omit the rear doors/ramp, put a solid wall and any size door out of their collection a customer wishes (or windows, or leave blank).

HAHA. Rain. Our _summer_ finally arrived. I think we've had nearly a full week with semi-clear skies! ; )

: ) Thom