Hi all went and looked at a abbey aventura 2006 today , really liked it alot, the owner says it has GRP side panels instead of aluminium so no side seams, I know caravan front and back panels are made of this, just wondering does anyone have an abbey and how do the side panels fair up to the standard aluminium on other caravans.Also I understand they don't use this anymore because of a cost and b weight.
Any thoughts comments appreciated
Donna :)
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
See this is what I'm wondering it's a lovely van, but I don't know enough about the panels, I heard they were less prone to streaking ,and also don't dent, but if you cracked it bad say in a accident or somthing what would happen?
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
They are much better then aluminum much more resistant to knocks a motor homer ran his door mirror right along the side of a Abbey we owned hard enough to smash the fridge vents the black mark on the side of the van just polished off.
Quote: Originally posted by sdrew56 on 04/8/2011
They are much better then aluminum much more resistant to knocks a motor homer ran his door mirror right along the side of a Abbey we owned hard enough to smash the fridge vents the black mark on the side of the van just polished off.
Ahh this sounds good
I just read someone had a football racked hard against their abbey and not even a dent, even better
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
We have an Abbey 418 GTS Vogue 2004 which we bought new and can confirm that we have had NO problems. It is much tougher than alum. no dents or cracks after 7 years of use. May not shine quite as bright as alum. but that does not bother us as it still looks good after a wax & polish.
I do not think you will be disappointed. We were going to change last year to a new Swift but cancelled after we decided we preferred our GRP Abbey.
Well we have a viewer for our swift tomorrow, so if all goes well......
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
------------- "I'm a fool for my dogs"
Adopt a rescue, rescue dogs make great pets, don't support puppy farms.
The road can be tough and rough,but what you put in you get back 10 x more.
Insulation excellent no problems there. In my humble opinion GRP is far more practical as it is tough. Whether there will be any long term problems, well we shall see.
I am sure it is just weights/costs which have lead Swift to discontinue with this material.
Anyone else have this construction material? Pros & Cons from their experience.
The sides of our trailer are a GRP/Ply/GRP sandwich, but it is too heavy for caravans in the 15mm size we used.
GRP does have a few issues, especially if the Gel Coat is punctured, but it is easily repaired. Look on boat forums, they use it all the time for smaller craft.
The other material is Gel/Polyester honeycomb, terrifically light super strong and super expensive. We used that in 21mm thick sheets for the floor on the trailer.
We used 1.3mm GRP sheet for the trailer roof, just comes as a roll to whatever size you want, 8ft wide. GRP ply side panels up to 24ft long by 8ft, but handling is a big issue.
I guess we are moving towards the one-piece moulded side panels, to go with the one-piece ends. Lots of people in the game, but lots gone down the tubes as the market goes up and down.
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Topic: GRP side panels?
