Okay, the English teacher in me is showing. I'm looking at the specs for the 1993 U300 GV, and see "one piece fiberglass roof and sidewalls" there. I'm assuming that whoever wrote that actually means that there are three pieces, a left sidewall, a roof, and a right sidewall, rather than one giant piece shaped like an upside down "U" that covers the two sides and the top of the coach. (That would be an impressive vacuum-forming machine!) Are the five fiberglass pieces (front and rear endcaps, left and right sides, and roof) all glassed together after being installed on the coach, thus forming a single unit? If so, that would make for a very strong body, but what about expansion and contraction? Is that an issue?
Has the construction method changed any since 1993 as far as sides and roof are concerned? Obviously there are some style differences, but is what we saw at the factory pretty much what was done in the mid 90's?
Yes, roof, sides, floor structure, front an rear caps can be found on all Unihomes and Unicoaches.
The metal framing of the pieces are bolted/screwed together, not fiberglass bonded. I suspect fiberglass would not have the flexibility needed for expansion/contraction or road bumps.
Brett
U in the model designations of the Unihome and Unicoach models stands for unitized body construction. I think this has follow through on all the newer models The 1987 Grand Villa Unihome was the first conventional motorhome to utilize the a monocoque (unibody or unitized body) chassis design.
I don't mean to hijack this post, but I have a question about construction.
Is there any plywood used in the roof under the Fiberglass shell?
I have probed this area a few times and find fiberglass"resistance" after piercing the insulation board.
I was looking to instal a smoke detector and thought that a screw long enough to penetrate the ceiling skin and the insulation plus enough to anchor into a piece of plywood without penetrating it would secure the detector. Does not seem to be anything "soft" up there to grab a screw.
You should call FOT on that but I would think above the aluminum framework there is a sheet of 1/8th board to get the base for fibreglass etc, but am not sure. I know in my old 93 GV the headliner was glued to foam then this thin ply screwed to frame.
John H
I can't speak to the roof, but the attached picture shows the sidewall construction. My guess is that the roof is similar, but that guess is worth about what you paid for it... ;D The picture shows a cross section of the sidewall that I made when putting in the dryer vent and has the outter skin on top going down to the inside wall blue insulation which is attached to what looks like FRP (Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic), then 1/4" luan plywood which is under the wall paper.
Don
Just remove the interior cover/cowling and sheet metal cover on your roof air and you can see the hole cutout showing the makeup of the roof.
I should be able to answer my own question. I replaced a 5'X6' section of the roof over the fridge from a fire. I certainly "thought" there was a layer of plywood under the fiberglass but when I think I'm going to hit it and anchor something light, its no where to be found.
Good suggestion, I will look around my bedroom A/C unit.