Today, my wife and I were to pick up a brand new Lance travel trailer. We were appalled at the fit and finish of the coach. We canceled the deal after inspecting the unit. We went over to the outdoor RV dealer and purchased a 2022 22FQS we did so largely based on this video and several others.Thank you very much for the comprehensive tour. It changed our minds and we saved a great deal of money compared to thethe overpriced Lance trailer.
I'm almost sold on this trailer but really bummed it doesn't have Azdel since it is far superior to Luan wallboard. Azdel is lighter, stronger, more insulating and will not delaminate. I will wait to buy as I am sure ORV will switch in the future.
I am 100% a fan of Azdel as well and will not buy a trailer without it. However, I do have some interesting info. Rockwood claims that luan has more structure strength than Azdel, and their testing showed that any wall longer than 26 feet needs luan to be stiff enough to work. Now, that is with Azdel on BOTH sides (inside wall and exterior wall) which is what they do. Freedom Express uses Azdel on the exterior wall and luan on interior wall so maybe that is how they are able to go beyond 26 foot walls. Hope this info helps someone.
Best factory tour I've seen. The Outdoors RV staff were incredible. The wood inside the aluminum frame tubes is an outstanding attention to detail, extra step and expense to do the job right. In fact, I see SO many things where they go above and beyond. But that only makes their oversights that much more glaring. 1. I know vacuum bonding equipment is expensive, but I will not consider a unit without vacuum bonded walls. I do see where they are going WAYYYYY beyond what Keystone does with their pinch rolled walls. But yikes that bothers me. 2. I no longer accept luan. If it does not have Azdel on both the interior and exterior walls, I'm not buying it. Period. 3. No framing out of the windows? wow. This one really surprised me. Again, these guys have gone SO above and beyond with every other detail to build an exceptional trailer it is hard to understand how they would skip such a basic step. ------ Now, a question....they have been building these for over a decade now. Are my fears coming true? Are owners having delamination problems with their pinch rolled walls OR are the extra steps being taken at the factory making it work? Are owners having problems with leaks around their windows since they were not framed? If their construction choices are holding up over time, then isn't that what matters? Of course!
@@gondulvalk2308 I have found a brand that offers the following: 1. Vacuum laminated walls, rear wall, front wall, and ROOF. 2. Azdel in BOTH the exterior AND the interior walls. 3. Bed frames, dinette frames, everything is welded aluminum. 4. No leaf spring suspension, instead this company uses torsion axles. 5. 30 pound twin propane tanks. 6. Water Miser standard on shower. A cool system where instead of wasting water while waiting for your shower water to get hot, it recirculates it back into the tank until hot water reaches your shower head. You know it has arrived because a tube changes color from blue to red. 6. Vent roof fans are full size Max Air fans with rain covers included. 7. Larger 22" ovens so you can actually fit something in them. 8. Solid Surface Counter Tops! No delamination here. 9. If you go with the 12 v compressor fridge, you also get a 190w raised solar panel (not the cheap flat type) and a second one is optional. 10. Goodyear Endurance tires from the factory. 11. TPMS system from the factory 12 Fiberglass front cap. 13. Frameless windows. 14. Rack and Pinion slides (better more reliable slide system IMO) 15. 5/8" tongue and groove plywood floor like 5th wheels use. Heavier, but you don't get soft spots in the floor like you do with Jaycos foam floor. 16. Wood blocks inside all aluminum tubes where items will be screwed into the aluminum. This gives the screw something to bite into. 17. Build quality. Walk inside and you see the difference if you look at the details. 18. Solid wood cabinets that are screwed and glued. This checked ALL of my must have boxes. So, what is it? Rockwood Mini Lite. Rockwood Geo Pro if you want something even smaller. Go check out the Rockwood Mini Lite 2516s floorplan. Something else will work better for other people, but again, MINI Lite checked all the boxes that were important to me. Good luck.
@@gondulvalk2308 Can't believe I forgot to add this.....turns out that Rockwood ALSO does the trick where they place wood inside the aluminum tubes anywhere they will be screwing something into the aluminum. Josh the RV Nerd on TH-cam pointed that out in one video, so I went to my dealer and looked. Sure enough, they do.
@Jeff Tyler I wish I could have a rockwood build on a ORV frame. No manufacturer seems to do “everything” right. It amazes me. ORV should be doing vacuum bonded azdel, solid aluminum floors with bonded insulation underneath, no wood. mixed with their frames, 4 season climate, roof structure, etc. wish could combine the best of ORV, ATC, and Rockwood. Underpinnings and durability of ORV and ATC with the design and composite materials of Rockwood
That is part of the broader issue of insulating the frame from the interior (thermal break) which is important with aluminum and not being done by most of the industry, including Northwood. See my comments under Part 1. Outdoors says that Azdel failed in some delamination testing they did. There are several types of Azdel substrates available, though, so I’m not sure which one failed, the cause of it (and whether Hanwha or an adhesive supplier could overcome the issue), or why it seems to do very well in others’ assemblies. It may also be a matter of cost control, but luan is not a dependable, cheap, alternative commodity for the future, either, so we’ll see. They’ll probably get the materials engineering right and introduce it or an equivalent at some point.
Maybe because they dont vacuum bond there walls is why it fails. I believe they use the Pinch Roll method, correct? Plus why are all these RVs still using rubber roofs? WTF.
@@fattie2550 Correct, they are not vacuum bonding, but that is not necessarily a cause for failure of a lamination with Azdel. I have only utilized a couple of versions of it in projects (not RV's) and the bonding side typically does require the adhesive to be deep-set into the materials under significant pressure, but that should be achievable by their 8,000 lb. system assuming they've got an adhesive matched to the application and process. I have seen some rubber roofs do very well for many years with basic maintenance as an Arctic Fox near me is pushing towards 20 years with the original rubber roof and having been kept outside, though my favorite has always been a one-piece aluminum top. (Those are expensive and hard to do correctly, but I am partial to anything near a commercial-aircraft tube for weight and durability, except for Airstream which manages to screw up thermally even worse than most.) Both the aluminum and fiberglass add significant comparative weight, and I know from experience that both can leak (cracked fiberglass can be a difficult repair to get right and keep right with the stresses of an RV).
I have an entry level 2019 Gulfstream vista Cruiser with azdel and a one piece fiberglass roof and have had no problems. I am looking for a 4 season bigger RV in the near future so thats how i found this video.
Wow...very impressive. This manufacturing manager knows everything, off of the cuff. I guess it helps that he designed the building and this multi layered construction process. Oregon is the only state I haven't been to. I feel I need to head up to check out this impressive facility. Interesting to read some of the other commments. I was , also , thinking "why don't they use azdel"....and that is addressed here in the comments.
I loved it / planning on moving to Bend, Oregon & buying a used one - they’ll handle the winters & hot summers. Will be in a park mostly but my son’s family & I will probably take it out a few times a year. My son will be so happy to go off road
Thank you for these videos and for asking useful questions during the tour. When will you be coming out with part 3? I'm really looking forward to the next installment!
Still sooo much wood products. The floor framing, roof trusses, interior wall board. Seems so primitive. Thank goodness the walls aren’t still wood framed, but man Id like to see the rest of it disappear. Wood has no place in a vehicle for structure in my opinion. Still, you take the good with the bad. Their frames are far superior to most, as is their quality control in general. So you live with the wood and gripe about it, or at least I do.
Quality is better than most. Still not perfect, have a new 21DBS that showed up at the dealer with a hole in the black tank. Not sure how this would escape the quality control at the factory. Now dealer needs to replace the tank, hopefully this won't turn into a lemon that is problematic longterm.
That is what I am seeing also - or - “not” seeing. Disappointing - just came back to this video to verify window framing. Eventually the Ice Cream Sandwich walls will compress around the window edges without framing.
We hear this a lot and while I don’t disagree with you, I’m intrigued. Where are people learning about Azdel in the first place? Outside of conversations about Outdoors RV, I never hear it mentioned. Personally I think it would be great to use Azdel instead of Luan, but at the same time if you’ve got water in your walls you’ve probably got some serious problems!
So now they use the cheapest foam on the market called popcorn foam so when he does get filled with water, it’s gonna be like a giant water filled sponge why don’t they use a little better foam in lose a little bit and thendo know the prophet
The word goes inside the aluminum and then the aluminum switch between heat and cool, hot and cool and then the pinewood rocks away in the plywood rats away sounds like a cheap way to do it so they can save money
I even waste your time. This is a waste product material time money don’t buy one of these go to smack in these together to make you think you got something and then they do silly things like the word for cheap phone you know what I’m sure there’s a lot of other things you’re doing that’s cheap to get your money.
You guys did a fantastic job - Outdoors RV were very smart to do this with you - I just bought a ORV fifth wheel because of this video.
Today, my wife and I were to pick up a brand new Lance travel trailer. We were appalled at the fit and finish of the coach. We canceled the deal after inspecting the unit. We went over to the outdoor RV dealer and purchased a 2022 22FQS we did so largely based on this video and several others.Thank you very much for the comprehensive tour. It changed our minds and we saved a great deal of money compared to thethe overpriced Lance trailer.
Best video of all the manufacturng videos...
Thank you!
I'm almost sold on this trailer but really bummed it doesn't have Azdel since it is far superior to Luan wallboard. Azdel is lighter, stronger, more insulating and will not delaminate. I will wait to buy as I am sure ORV will switch in the future.
I am 100% a fan of Azdel as well and will not buy a trailer without it. However, I do have some interesting info. Rockwood claims that luan has more structure strength than Azdel, and their testing showed that any wall longer than 26 feet needs luan to be stiff enough to work. Now, that is with Azdel on BOTH sides (inside wall and exterior wall) which is what they do. Freedom Express uses Azdel on the exterior wall and luan on interior wall so maybe that is how they are able to go beyond 26 foot walls. Hope this info helps someone.
@@JeffInDFW Keyword: 'they claim'
Coupons that’s the one of the lightest you can buy giant sponge used to grow plants
Best factory tour I've seen. The Outdoors RV staff were incredible. The wood inside the aluminum frame tubes is an outstanding attention to detail, extra step and expense to do the job right. In fact, I see SO many things where they go above and beyond. But that only makes their oversights that much more glaring. 1. I know vacuum bonding equipment is expensive, but I will not consider a unit without vacuum bonded walls. I do see where they are going WAYYYYY beyond what Keystone does with their pinch rolled walls. But yikes that bothers me. 2. I no longer accept luan. If it does not have Azdel on both the interior and exterior walls, I'm not buying it. Period. 3. No framing out of the windows? wow. This one really surprised me. Again, these guys have gone SO above and beyond with every other detail to build an exceptional trailer it is hard to understand how they would skip such a basic step. ------ Now, a question....they have been building these for over a decade now. Are my fears coming true? Are owners having delamination problems with their pinch rolled walls OR are the extra steps being taken at the factory making it work? Are owners having problems with leaks around their windows since they were not framed? If their construction choices are holding up over time, then isn't that what matters? Of course!
@Jeff Tyler... so out of curiosity, which manufacturer meets all your criteria?
@@gondulvalk2308 I have found a brand that offers the following: 1. Vacuum laminated walls, rear wall, front wall, and ROOF. 2. Azdel in BOTH the exterior AND the interior walls. 3. Bed frames, dinette frames, everything is welded aluminum. 4. No leaf spring suspension, instead this company uses torsion axles. 5. 30 pound twin propane tanks. 6. Water Miser standard on shower. A cool system where instead of wasting water while waiting for your shower water to get hot, it recirculates it back into the tank until hot water reaches your shower head. You know it has arrived because a tube changes color from blue to red. 6. Vent roof fans are full size Max Air fans with rain covers included. 7. Larger 22" ovens so you can actually fit something in them. 8. Solid Surface Counter Tops! No delamination here. 9. If you go with the 12 v compressor fridge, you also get a 190w raised solar panel (not the cheap flat type) and a second one is optional. 10. Goodyear Endurance tires from the factory. 11. TPMS system from the factory 12 Fiberglass front cap. 13. Frameless windows. 14. Rack and Pinion slides (better more reliable slide system IMO) 15. 5/8" tongue and groove plywood floor like 5th wheels use. Heavier, but you don't get soft spots in the floor like you do with Jaycos foam floor. 16. Wood blocks inside all aluminum tubes where items will be screwed into the aluminum. This gives the screw something to bite into. 17. Build quality. Walk inside and you see the difference if you look at the details. 18. Solid wood cabinets that are screwed and glued. This checked ALL of my must have boxes. So, what is it? Rockwood Mini Lite. Rockwood Geo Pro if you want something even smaller. Go check out the Rockwood Mini Lite 2516s floorplan. Something else will work better for other people, but again, MINI Lite checked all the boxes that were important to me. Good luck.
Thanks...will certainly give them a look
@@gondulvalk2308 Can't believe I forgot to add this.....turns out that Rockwood ALSO does the trick where they place wood inside the aluminum tubes anywhere they will be screwing something into the aluminum. Josh the RV Nerd on TH-cam pointed that out in one video, so I went to my dealer and looked. Sure enough, they do.
@Jeff Tyler I wish I could have a rockwood build on a ORV frame. No manufacturer seems to do “everything” right. It amazes me. ORV should be doing vacuum bonded azdel, solid aluminum floors with bonded insulation underneath, no wood. mixed with their frames, 4 season climate, roof structure, etc. wish could combine the best of ORV, ATC, and Rockwood. Underpinnings and durability of ORV and ATC with the design and composite materials of Rockwood
Interesting Tour, great process it seems to me.
I can’t believe they do not use Azdel for such an expensive RV.
That is part of the broader issue of insulating the frame from the interior (thermal break) which is important with aluminum and not being done by most of the industry, including Northwood. See my comments under Part 1. Outdoors says that Azdel failed in some delamination testing they did. There are several types of Azdel substrates available, though, so I’m not sure which one failed, the cause of it (and whether Hanwha or an adhesive supplier could overcome the issue), or why it seems to do very well in others’ assemblies. It may also be a matter of cost control, but luan is not a dependable, cheap, alternative commodity for the future, either, so we’ll see. They’ll probably get the materials engineering right and introduce it or an equivalent at some point.
Maybe because they dont vacuum bond there walls is why it fails. I believe they use the Pinch Roll method, correct? Plus why are all these RVs still using rubber roofs? WTF.
@@fattie2550 Correct, they are not vacuum bonding, but that is not necessarily a cause for failure of a lamination with Azdel. I have only utilized a couple of versions of it in projects (not RV's) and the bonding side typically does require the adhesive to be deep-set into the materials under significant pressure, but that should be achievable by their 8,000 lb. system assuming they've got an adhesive matched to the application and process. I have seen some rubber roofs do very well for many years with basic maintenance as an Arctic Fox near me is pushing towards 20 years with the original rubber roof and having been kept outside, though my favorite has always been a one-piece aluminum top. (Those are expensive and hard to do correctly, but I am partial to anything near a commercial-aircraft tube for weight and durability, except for Airstream which manages to screw up thermally even worse than most.) Both the aluminum and fiberglass add significant comparative weight, and I know from experience that both can leak (cracked fiberglass can be a difficult repair to get right and keep right with the stresses of an RV).
I have an entry level 2019 Gulfstream vista Cruiser with azdel and a one piece fiberglass roof and have had no problems. I am looking for a 4 season bigger RV in the near future so thats how i found this video.
Thank you both @Reflected Miles and @Fattie for the insightful discussion!
Wow...very impressive. This manufacturing manager knows everything, off of the cuff. I guess it helps that he designed the building and this multi layered construction process. Oregon is the only state I haven't been to. I feel I need to head up to check out this impressive facility.
Interesting to read some of the other commments. I was , also , thinking "why don't they use azdel"....and that is addressed here in the comments.
I wonder why ORV doesn't use Azdel in their siding?
Watch the disappearing girl 15:23
You are eagle eyed :D
I was about to ask the same thing! There's trickery afoot!
Scotty beamed her up
Don't see much different here than the folks turning out junk in Indiana...molded fiberglass is such a superior product to this process.
Excellent! So much more detail than our brief factory tour! Looking forward to part #3.
Thank you Jim!
Thank you for showing us this factory tour.
You are welcome N K.
This is fascinating! Great video - thank you!
Awesome. Very impressive build quality.
We think so too!
I loved it / planning on moving to Bend, Oregon & buying a used one - they’ll handle the winters & hot summers.
Will be in a park mostly but my son’s family & I will probably take it out a few times a year. My son will be so happy to go off road
Very informative..I like this video...thanks
I'm glad you enjoyed it, Ian!
Thank you for these videos and for asking useful questions during the tour. When will you be coming out with part 3? I'm really looking forward to the next installment!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Part 3 will be published tomorrow (Thursday) at 6am Pacific time.
Still sooo much wood products. The floor framing, roof trusses, interior wall board. Seems so primitive. Thank goodness the walls aren’t still wood framed, but man Id like to see the rest of it disappear. Wood has no place in a vehicle for structure in my opinion. Still, you take the good with the bad. Their frames are far superior to most, as is their quality control in general. So you live with the wood and gripe about it, or at least I do.
Quality is better than most. Still not perfect, have a new 21DBS that showed up at the dealer with a hole in the black tank. Not sure how this would escape the quality control at the factory. Now dealer needs to replace the tank, hopefully this won't turn into a lemon that is problematic longterm.
I hope the dealer fixes your problem quickly!
Another excellent installment. Job well done! Can't wait for the next one.
Thank you!
what happen to the girl at the 15:25 point?
It was an editing glitch where I used a transition between two clips ;)
@@AdventurousWay great video! We’re looking at one of these as a toy hauler. I came here too to see what happened to the evaporating girl.
Where is the roof construction section ?
Found It
Great RV's, but it doesn't look like the windows are framed in the wall.
That is what I am seeing also - or - “not” seeing. Disappointing - just came back to this video to verify window framing. Eventually the Ice Cream Sandwich walls will compress around the window edges without framing.
been in production manufacturing for 22 years i wonder what they get paid per hour
We didn't think to ask that, but if you are seriously interested into that maybe websites like payscale.com has some info.
going on Glassdoor and look at the companies complaints from their employees lmao, that will tell you everything
R - Value of the foam in the sidewall ? 🤔
I’m not sure on the specifics - your best bet would be to call Outdoors RV and ask them.
too bad they use Luan. If they used Azdel I'd buy one. Luan is susceptible to mold.
We hear this a lot and while I don’t disagree with you, I’m intrigued. Where are people learning about Azdel in the first place? Outside of conversations about Outdoors RV, I never hear it mentioned. Personally I think it would be great to use Azdel instead of Luan, but at the same time if you’ve got water in your walls you’ve probably got some serious problems!
So now they use the cheapest foam on the market called popcorn foam so when he does get filled with water, it’s gonna be like a giant water filled sponge why don’t they use a little better foam in lose a little bit and thendo know the prophet
The word goes inside the aluminum and then the aluminum switch between heat and cool, hot and cool and then the pinewood rocks away in the plywood rats away sounds like a cheap way to do it so they can save money
Because you’re too lazy any cost too much money to weld it and then grind it off so that is lol I’m in every welder knows that
I even waste your time. This is a waste product material time money don’t buy one of these go to smack in these together to make you think you got something and then they do silly things like the word for cheap phone you know what I’m sure there’s a lot of other things you’re doing that’s cheap to get your money.
would not purchase anything pinch-rolled, and not Vacuumed-bonded
why not?
@@SirloinBeefBurger look it up, it delaminates quicker. Einstein, vacuum bonded gives a much stronger hold