It comes down to safety for me...steel vs aluminum---I have a fire damaged coach. I noted that the tire fire did not melt the stainless steel but as soon as it hit the factory installed aluminun the aluminum just melted away...the glass window did not completely destroy and was actually repairable..I use 16 ga cold roll steel..it probably is less than 200lbs heavier than the alum side. so over 50,000 miles would Mabe cost me 50$ worth of fuel..it was is 30% less in cost...so keep the fire out ..easier to fight outside coach...This is a 98 model 45 XLE prevost coach with factory installed alum siding above stainless..By the way it waves in the sun;haven't noticed that problem with steel...also steel under floor kept the fire from burning thru to living area(floor).This is a fact that you can reach out and tough and observe with your own senses...so there it is..again just my uneducated life experience..Bob I hope no one ever experiences a fire.
To add to this a bit, the melting point of aluminium is typically around 1200 Ff, while the melting point of either mild or stainless steel is around 2700 degrees. So over twice the temp to melt the steel. Steel is heavier than aluminium. but also stronger - in many applications you can use less steel than aluminium to achieve the same strength, so the weight penalty is not as much as you might think, but still a penalty. As regards rippling, aluminium expands roughly twice as much as mild steel, and around 50% more than stainless steel, so mild steel is a good choice for large unsupported panels.
All that said, a fire hot enough to catastrophically melt aluminium is pretty scary. It would take some serious fire-fighting to calm down, I would think, certainly more than I carry with me.
Brian
the insurance adjuster said a draging brake overheated and set tires on fire..it sit in the previous owners drive for several minutes before the tires ignited..the plastic duct work for elect and air lines are un damaged in front of the rear differntial..could of pressure and temp sensors prevented thid loss???the bus was unattended parked and shut off for awhile...could this happen to me ??even though I think it could not...yes..Bob
You can't cure stupid - RV drags Pickup 6 miles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZFCHk1XCDY&feature=player_embedded#ws) You can't cure stupid - RV drags Pickup 6 miles
Desi -
That's funny!
Thanks for sharing, brightened my day!
;)
LMAO!!! Desi!! ;D
WOW! hope I don't meet him on road..was he drunk or just stupid
http://winnebagoman.com/index.php (http://winnebagoman.com/index.php)
Desi,
You mean you are supposed to take it out of park :D :D That is funny stuff. Sounds like he might be the same guy that leaves his trailer attached to the boat when he launches, lol!
Bryan