How RV Builders Build Campers

At a time when motorhomes are increasingly better equipped, the question of the weight of the motorhome is becoming critical. With a stake: to preserve the payload. Manufacturers do not hesitate to change their specifications and adopt more efficient materials in terms of weight/resistance ratio.

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While the overwhelming majority of motorhomes are still designed on 3.5-tonne chassis, demands in terms of roominess and comfort have resulted in our vehicles being overweight in recent years. Problem: if you want to be able to load some luggage and provisions on board the motorhome, it is important that the empty weight remains as low as possible. The solutions adopted by manufacturers are diverse. They even affect the size of motorhomes.

Smaller … they are less heavy

If we exclude indirect responses, such as reducing the length of motorhomes, some (in Germany most often) have chosen to reduce the overall width. This is particularly the case at Hymer with its range of excise low profile and integral models, the width of which is maintained at 2.22 m, a good ten centimeters less than traditional motorhomes. This choice makes it possible to circulate and park more easily, in addition to offering weight savings: less bodywork also means less furniture … But this solution is effective especially if it is accompanied by other interventions on the design. even furniture and its assembly.

Lighter furniture

Builders use lighter woods; they also change the very structure of the furniture by reducing the thickness of interior partitions and doors to a minimum. Weight gain inevitably has its limits but is not negligible. It is generally considered that this single intervention can generate a drop of around 40 kilos, depending on the make and model. It is indeed difficult to go beyond this because it remains essential to preserve the integrity of the airframe, to which the body panels alone are generally not sufficient to ensure sufficient rigidity. Indeed, the furniture plays a strategic role in the overall design of the vehicle. A partition wall, a shelf, a platform, or even a “load-bearing wall” are not subject to the same mechanical constraints. They are therefore not constructed in the same way.

Double floors too

Even the famous double floors that equip a number of our top-of-the-range motorhomes have had to make concessions by weight. At Carthago, in particular. The German manufacturer has chosen to combine thin interior and exterior floors, both of which are made of sandwich panel, with an extruded polystyrene core and plywood covering, except on the roadside where the latter is replaced by polyester. In between, the sleepers are also designed to be light and withstand the load.

Composite structures

Despite this, however, it is surprising to note that the builders as a whole have retained their loyalty to wood. Certainly, for a long time now, there has been no question of solid wood and even less of exotic species. But plywood, made from cultured wood, light and inexpensive, remains the material used for the construction of furniture or interior paneling for most builders. And today, this same wood is used in quite complex composite structures differentiated according to the parts of the layout.

Sandwich panels with an expanded polystyrene core: this type of material is preferred for long bearing structures, of the platform type. With an expanded polystyrene core over the entire height, the assembly is lighter than its equivalent with wooden floors and cleats. It resists compression well, is sufficiently rigid, and guarantees better performance in terms of insulation. You can also find this type of the panel in the kitchen, where it can be used as a worktop. Builders appreciate its lightness combined with its rigidity and compressive strength, necessary because of the points of weakness created by the cutouts made for the installation of the sink and the stove.

Sandwich panels with honeycomb core: just as light and resistant to compression but more flexible, they can be used for the living room table top or for interior partitions which require a certain thickness. In the latter case, the honeycomb core fills the wooden frames which provide greater rigidity and allow the attachment of other pieces of furniture.

Sandwich panels with a honeycomb structure core: when rigidity is sought but, conversely, a lower thickness (cupboard doors, partition panels, etc.), another type of sandwich is used. This time, the core is a corrugated honeycomb structure in chipboard, which lends itself perfectly to this type of molding.

Sandwich panels with a laminated wood core with a flexible structure: the latter material allows the creation of specific shapes, in particular, rounded for partitions and cupboard doors in particular.

No, or fewer screws

The quest for weight gain can sometimes take on unexpected aspects. Thus, the use of technical adhesives specifically adapted to the materials to which they are applied saves screws. A saving that may seem anecdotal in view of the weight of a screw but which, in relation to the total weight of the screws used to assemble the panels, is of little importance. And when the screws remain essential, for example, to fix the furniture on the panels, exit the solid wood structures included in the walls. Some manufacturers are now adopting metal mesh parts that are positioned inside the panel, where the screws will be placed.

lighter equipment

Domestic on-board equipment is no slouch either. For example, the adoption of a Webasto diesel heater coupled with a Whale boiler already represents a saving of 2.5 kg compared to the Truma C4 handset. As gas consumption is then lower, we can be satisfied with transporting a single gas cylinder instead of two, which is still 27 kg less. Likewise, the choice of the fridge can be strategic to gain pounds. Thus, narrow devices are 3 to 10 kg lighter than their wider counterparts. It is also possible to save weight on the battery. By deploying LED lighting onboard the vehicle, electricity consumption is reduced, so you can equip yourself with a lower capacity battery. This type of lighting also requires cables with a smaller cross-section, which still means weight savings.