Re: Did Foretravel cheapen out on things? [split from Re: fuel lines]
Reply #33 –
Interesting thread. I knew VW did alot of the early rust prevention research when I toured their plants in the 70s. Also Toyota talked about similar research in the 80s when I toured their factories. Interesting to see which mfg partial dip galvanized and which ones do a full dip. Then Winnebago in the 90s talked about their use of electro coating steel for rust prevention and the fact they had govt contracts to provide this coating for the military. Then last week I saw a private party that purchased a 20 yr old ex military 4wd truck painted sand beige , talking about how hard the paint was on the painted steel frame to remove the paint so that he could weld as he converted it to a dump truck. I remember Alpine talked about their painted white steel frames, not for rust prevention qualities, but foe ease in eying issues or liquid leaks, oil, etc. I also remember rv mfgs talking about how each increase in $$$ would change their market share. Having sold MBZ, Toyota, VW, and Lexus retail, I always thought this rv market share argument bogus as I saw them cut corners. In the 80's Toyota at their factory indoctrination with their engineers said they did not care if they did not make a profit for 20 years as long as they eventually thru making the best product dominated that particular models market. I came back to the US in 1986 thinking I did want to work for a company not making a profit. I looked up the profit for this company called Toyota. They were fifth in the world. The four companies ahead of them were oil companies, Shell, etc. I put 200,000 miles each on Toyota vehicles bought new in 1992, a Lexus SC400 and a ES300.
"Galvanized steel has been an essential structural component around the world for nearly 200 years.
Just seven years after William Crawford's patent, in 1844, the British Royal Navy started using galvanized steel in construction of ships at the Pembroke Docks in Wales. British steelmakers were using 10,000 tons of zinc annually for protecting iron from rust by 1850. The production of galvanized steel soared after 1916 when an American assigned to the 29th Company Royal Engineers of the British Army, Major Peter Norman Nissen, invented the semi-cylindrical Nissen hut. This structure came to be known in the US as a Quonset hut. Then throughout the rest of the twentieth century, galvanized steel found its way into a tremendous number of non-military applications uses like:
To build the lighting columns that provide nighttime lighting for roadways
To build pylons that support high-voltage power distribution to factories, hospitals, and schools.
Used in frameworks for buildings that will have a maintenance-free life expectancy of 50 years or more."
Topic: Did Foretravel cheapen out on things? [split from Re: fuel lines] (Read 1388 times)
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