ABS Walls vs. Newer Walls

AuthorMessageRolf

Squirrel

Joined: Apr 30, 2003

Posts: 66

Location: California

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2003 8:57 pm   Post subject: ABS Walls vs. Newer Walls

In a post on another topic, Tim wrote... "...in 1976 they changed from the abs sides on the box to a full length window and aluminum sides. Prior to the 1976 the windows were versions of the bed end windows only on the sides." I currently have a '79 Yuma with the aluminum framed walls, and this weekend I will probably be going to pick up a '74 Roamer with ABS walls. Does anyone have any opinions on which is better, and why? I'm curious about the ABS walls because I've only seen them in pictures. Are the sidewalls a single layer of ABS, or is it doubled up? It seems that a single layer would make for a pretty weak wall. I think I'm too far into the Roamer purchase to change my mind (and I probably wouldn't anyway), but are there any special precautions I need to take with the ABS walls? Are they a lot more fragile than the aluminum walls? The bed ends of my Yuma are ABS, but they also have painted wood panels on the inside. Was that also a feature only on the late 70's Apaches? If I decide I like the paneled look, can I add panels to the bed ends of my new Roamer? Thanks for putting up with all my annoying newbie questions. - Rolf

Veronica

Rac****

Joined: Apr 22, 2003

Posts: 104

Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2003 11:20 pm   Post subject:

Rolf, I can't compare the newer style walls to the ABS walls, because I don't have any experience with the newer ones, but I can answer some of your questions about the ABS walls on our '73 Roamer. "Are the sidewalls a single layer of ABS, or is it doubled up? It seems that a single layer would make for a pretty weak wall." They are a single layer of ABS - they don't seem terribly weak to me, but then again, as I said, I have nothing else to compare them to. "Are they a lot more fragile than the aluminum walls?" Again, I don't know about comparisons to aluminum, but my Roamer had only one small (1 inch +-) crack on the main walls. All of the other cracks were in the road cover or the bed ends. Seems that those are the weaker points on all Apaches. "If I decide I like the paneled look, can I add panels to the bed ends of my new Roamer?" Perhaps, I don't know...but I think the panels would be more trouble than they're worth. Personally, I think it's a cleaner look with just the ABS and probably less maintenance in the long run if you happen to have a water leak. Another thing, though...a plus in my book...replacing the older-style windows in the campers with ABS walls seems to be much easier. On mine, it was nothing more than slightly bending the plexiglas, popping it out of the track, and popping in a new piece of plexi. The hardest part was getting the little handles and weatherstripping off of the old windows and gluing them back onto the new ones. Good luck with your new Roamer, Veronica

Meathook

Beaver

Joined: May 28, 2003

Posts: 82

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2003 7:49 am   Post subject:

Rolf, I have a 76 Ramada with the aluminum walls and a 74 roamer with the ABS. The ABS is OK but not in the same league in my opinion as the aluminum. The ABS is sturdy enough. On mine and others with the ABS the cracks I have seen tend to be in the corners of the windows. My brother has a 72 Ramada and my friend Steve has a 73 Mesa and niether have cracks in the box walls. Send pictures of the Roamer when you get them.

mgardner

Beaver

Joined: Apr 24, 2003

Posts: 92

Location: Houston, TX

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2003 8:57 am   Post subject:

We have a 77 Ramada with aluminum window frames. Living in south Texas, we needed to be able to add and AC unit. The aluminum frames allowed us an easy way to build a window support for the AC unit. We also like the large visibility of the bigger windows. _________________ Mark Gardner and family 67 Mesa 77 Ramada

kballard

Chipmunk

Joined: Apr 22, 2003

Posts: 31

Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2003 12:25 pm   Post subject: