I am thinking about buy a Puma Fifth wheel. These are aluminum sided. Can anyone tell me the pros/cons of aluminum vs. fiberglass. Also, anyone have any experience with the quality of the Pumas.
The cons of aluminum are that it can be dented easily and the seams where the panels meet can leak. The pros of aluminum are light weight and it's easy to fix if a panel is damaged and usually doesn't need any finish maintenance (waxing, etc).
The pros of fiberglass is fewer panel seams to leak and less likely to be dented and it looks snazzy. The cons are more weight and higher cost/more difficult to repair if it gets damaged and may need to maintain the finish.
I've had lots of aluminum-skinned campers and presently have a 2006 Puma 255RKS. I laid one, an old TC, on it's side many years ago and had to have a section of it reskinned. Cost was minimal -- a couple hundred bucks for the skin, a small window, and installation. I think it was the only one that never had hail damage. I've never had hail damage repaired.
My Puma got hail damage when it was a year old. It's minor on one side and I don't intend to have it repaired. Cost would be about $4500 and it's barely noticeable. We bought it when we broke an axle on a trip with our old 5er. Rather than wait a few days for a repair, we picked it from a handful on the lot owned by the kindly gentleman who helped us limp into town on three wheels. It's not quite as large nor fancy as we'd have liked, but the price was right.
Other than a blown tire on its maiden voyage, it's been trouble-free since we got it. It pulls great and we've enjoyed it, although we are looking for something larger that would be better for full-timing.
If you get much hail where you live, marble sized or larger, and will be storing it outdoors, fiberglass is probably a better way to go if you can afford the extra couple thousand dollars. If hail is rare, aluminum is a good, durable siding. I've owned five aluminum-sided campers and one that was fiberglass. I've only had one that leaked, and that was a roof leak.
When we were looking at trailers, we found it very confusing. I got this publication called "RV Comparison Guide" online. It describes different construction methods of RV trailers along with their pros & cons. It also rates different manufacturers.
PM me your email address and I'll send you a copy in Adobe format. You will find it helpful.
2007 Dodge RAM 2500 Quad Cab w/6.7 Cummins
2008 Palamino Sabre 31RKTS
Reese 15K Pro Series manual slide
Prodigy
Firestone Air Bags
Travel in peace, leave the M-I-L at home.
We have a alum. skinned trailer right now. We have had 2 fiberglassed trailers. I don't feel either wins a hands down battle, both have pro's & con's, both which were covered above pretty well.
I was a bit surprised at how easily the alum. can dent on my trailer and it was surprised to find some small dings and dents already from the winter, ice and towing.
Michael 2 DD's and my DW 6 Acre's of Maine 2009 Crossroads Cruiser CF31SB 2008 Chevy 2500HD Ext. Cab LT 4X4 Camping Pictures
It seems to me that aluminum sided campers might be more difficult to clean than fiberglass due to the horizontal joints which requires the cleaning brush to be moved side to side instead of the easier up and down as with smooth fiberglass.
Those with aluminum sides may know different.
Dick_B
2003 SunnyBrook 27FKS
2003 3/4 T Chevrolet Suburban
Equal-i-zer Hitch
One wife, two bikes (both Electric Schwinn's with motor assist)
We have had a Puma 282rks for 2 years now and love it. Its an entry level camper, nothing real fancy in in, but it works great. We've had NO problems with it. Like I said it's entry level. Alot of the things are cheaply made but still work good and looks nice inside. It's 7800lbs empty so pulling isnt a problem. It pulls really good. I have nothing bad to say about them. We STOLE ours when we bought it. It was new on the lot, 07's were in, dealer wanted it gone. Got it for 16000. Sticker was 23000 If I remember correctly.
2003 Ford F250 crew cab 6.0 PSD
2006 Escape (DW'S)
2006 Palomino Puma 282 rkss
1 Hot Wife
2 Black Labs
I wouldn't have alum in hail territory but I don't live there anymore. Make sure the alum unit has a good vapor barrier under the siding. I had a low end alum 5er that didn't and it was drafty and hard the heat and cool. Other than that I would have alum again. Craig
2003 Dodge HO CTD, NV5600, 4.10. Real 1Ton - pregnant with twin spare tires, 4WD - all on the rear. Aurora 2000 turbo, Diablo Predator, 4" muffler. 98 Sunnybrook 30RLFS 5th wh. WHOEVER INVENTED WORK DIDN'T HAVE AN RV!
We have a 07 Puma 5th wheel and we have noticed the unit is cheaply made. We have had some minor problems with it when we purchased it and contacted the manufacturer and they sent us out what we needed. They forgot to place a couple of things on the 5ver, like, buttons on the dinning sofa, a face plate for the 110v wall socket and a couple of other things.
We have also had to make some minor repairs this year on the 5ver. It upsets us because we paid a lot of money for the 5ver brand new and we have to make these repairs on the unit. Cheaply made!
If it wasn't for the repairs we have had to do, the 5ver is nice and easy to tow. We also double tow with our 5ver, towing a boat.
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