Pilgrim RVs Go Green

Indiana RV manufacturer, Pilgrim, says they're rolling out a new line of RVs that will be completely formaldehyde free. In addition, the new technology will completely eliminate plywood from their rigs, and make the a whole lot lighter.

A company press release touts: "'Every week, the recreational vehicle industry across North America runs through hundreds of thousands of square feet of Luan and plywood. Much of this is cut from old-growth forest all around the planet. We now have the technology to put an end to the use of these natural resources and become a greener industry as a whole,'”said Dave Hoefer, Founder and Chairman of Pilgrim International.

“'Using CosmoLite in the manufacturing process also results in less waste when compared to wood products as our new material is coil fed for more uniform fits, reducing the amount of scrap, and cutouts are easily recycled,' Hoefer concluded.

"When used in the floor system alone in a 28-foot trailer, CosmoLite eliminates close to 100 pounds of weight yet is 3 times stronger than wood products. The CosmoLite used in a Pilgrim engineered floor is .53 pounds per square foot—about one third less weight than wood products. Lighter weight translates to improved fuel efficiency and the added ability to use smaller tow vehicles."

So what is this mysterious CosmoLite? It's fiber reinforced plastic. Some may immediately wonder just how "green" their fifth wheel can be when built with plastic, but the company hastens to assure their rigs will be 100% recyclable. They say the composite material can be ground up and recycled, while the styrofoam insulation can be pulverized and used as blown-in insulation in other applications.

While Pilgrim's initial rollout will be a travel trailer, fifth wheels using this same technology are making their way to the assembly lines.

Balance Your RV Trailer Tires?

Pssst! Wanta stir up a controversy at your next fireside gathering? Ask your fellow fifth-wheeler if he's balanced his trailer tires. It's almost like asking what your favorite holding tank chemical is.

If informal polling holds true, the majority of fifth-wheel folks probably don't balance their tires. Their arguments against it? Many have never thought about doing it. Others say their dealer never recommended it. Some don't think the expense is necessary. How about it?

We called in the official industry spokes-folks about it: Wilson Beach, a director with the Tire Industry Association, the group recognized as representing tire makers and maintainers. In a previous life Beach was a tire shop owner. His first reaction to the question: 'To balance or not to balance' was a question: Have you ever driven down the turnpike and watched a vehicle with an unbalanced tire? "The tire can bounce so hard it can actually leave the pavement," says Wilson Beach.

In Beach's view, a balanced tire is one that runs cooler, smoother, and will be one that has a far greater lifetime than an unbalanced one. "It's money in the bank," Beach told Fifth Wheelin'. But are all tire shops ready to balance your fiver's 'rubber donuts'? That depends. Some trailer wheels are not designed like the typical car or truck wheel, with a nice round hole in the center for the bearing cap to protrude from. If your wheels don't have a center hole, some shops won't be able to balance them unless they have an adapter that uses the lug holes to hook up.

That lead to an interesting point: Beach says that in reality, the truest "center point" of any wheel is not the center hole, but rather, the center indicated by the lug holes. To get a truer wheel balance, it's best to go to a shop that uses an adapter and balances wheels based on the lug holes.

Photo: tigerplish on flickr.com

Rear Kitchen "Scramble" on Fifth Wheels?

One RVer described the problem as, 'Like flipping pancakes with your dishes.' Others have had similar complaints. What is it? It's a reported problem where the kitchen (galley) is located in the rear of a fifth wheel trailer.

The theory is with the kitchen cabinets located aft of the trailer axles, a 'whol lot of shakin' goin' on' for anything not "nailed down" in the rear of the rig. Hence, dishes, cooking utensils, and other lightweight objects in the cabinets are "tossed" from the bouncing motion of the rig.

We've always been "rear living room" fiver folks, and have never had problems with broken dishes. Yeah, we've had a couple of trips through "refrigerator upchuck hell," when we've failed to secure the refrigerator door before hitting a washboard road. Making scrambled eggs with fruit, soda, and a gallon of milk on your galley floor isn't a recommended procedure. Still, we have plenty of cabinets in the living room of our rig. At one time we had a small "walkman" type CD-player mounted on the wall above the living room floor and have found it hanging by its wiring, so maybe there is something to this.

This could be a major concern for newby fifth wheel folks, so we turn to the collective wisdom of our readers. What are your experiences with rear kitchen fifth wheels?

Photos: Fifth Wheel: melvinprice Humpty: brookenovak both on flickr.com