Full Body Paint or no ?

[chunker]

Should be easy for you to figure out. Since as you say there are trailers with FBP and regular, go look at the weight sticker on the left side. That UVW is the weight of that vehicle when it left the factory. Since one had FBP and one not, if the other equipment similar then you know what the paint weighs. If the option are different, then figuring out the differences and known weights for some options, you can get pretty close. Also the one with FBP will tell you on that sticker what the available cargo capacity is. There also might be a yellow sticker on the inside door jamb of the trailer. Same weight.capacity info. What model trailer are you looking at?

[bertschb]

..If having full body paint takes the place of 1000 or 1500 pounds of usable cargo carrying capacity, then, no, we won't be doing that. How much does paint weigh, anyway?

I'll throw my guess into the ring...20lbs. It's just a couple quarts of paint. And remember, the non-FBP RV's have stickers that aren't on FBP RV's. Those might weigh 4lbs. Either way, you're talking peanuts here.

[chunker]

I'll throw my guess into the ring...20lbs. It's just a couple quarts of paint. And remember, the non-FBP RV's have stickers that aren't on FBP RV's. Those might weigh 4lbs. Either way, you're talking peanuts here.

Wikipedia says that the average small car has one gallon base, 3 gallons top coat and 2-3 gallons of clear. A quart might get both doors of a Prius painted. On an IRV2 posting a poster said that during a tour of the Fleetwood factory, motorhome, they said they plan for a gallon for each 2 feet of RV.

[AnnieOakleyM107]

We are looking at a 376TH. I had also read at some point on my research travels that to add fbp to a grand design rv requires structural changes to support the weight difference. I do not know how accurate that statment is but it supposedly came from somebody at GDRV. I was trying to avoid having to go back and make the rounds of the dealerships again, but it looks like that is where I am headed anyway. Thanks!

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[LV Naturist]

We are looking at a 376TH. I had also read at some point on my research travels that to add fbp to a grand design rv requires structural changes to support the weight difference. I do not know how accurate that statment is but it supposedly came from somebody at GDRV. I was trying to avoid having to go back and make the rounds of the dealerships again, but it looks like that is where I am headed anyway. Thanks!

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I hope this doesn't come across as being snarky, but that sounds like something one might read on Face Book. The truth is, FBP will only add a couple of hundred pounds to the weight of the trailer and that weight is spread out over the entire surface of the trailer. I mean if they have to beef up the structure to add a couple of hundred pounds, that doesn't say much for the structure anyway. Yes, a gallon of paint is a bit heavy but a large portion of that weight is the solvents and thinners that keep the paint liquid. Once the paint dries, you really only have the weight of the pigments and solids. From a weight perspective, the added weight of FBP is really insignificant.

John

[chunker]

I hope this doesn't come across as being snarky, but that sounds like something one might read on Face Book. The truth is, FBP will only add a couple of hundred pounds to the weight of the trailer and that weight is spread out over the entire surface of the trailer. I mean if they have to beef up the structure to add a couple of hundred pounds, that doesn't say much for the structure anyway. Yes, a gallon of paint is a bit heavy but a large portion of that weight is the solvents and thinners that keep the paint liquid. Once the paint dries, you really only have the weight of the pigments and solids. From a weight perspective, the added weight of FBP is really insignificant.

John

The 200 pound figure is what I have heard as "paint weight". Never heard anything about beefing up the structure. But if you read in on the internet it must be true.

[AnnieOakleyM107]

O.k., I get it guys - I will go ask my questions elsewhere. I will say that Ya'll are about as helpful as most of the sales people I have dealt with in the past few months who didn't know their backsides from a hole in the ground . . . Have a great day guys.

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[bertschb]

The paint (including base and clear coat layers) once dried is .006" to .008" thick. That's not much more than the thickness of human hair. How much weight would that add to an RV? I think what folks have been trying to say is the added weight of paint is negligible. There is no way any manufacturer is adding extra structure to account for the tiny amount of weight the paint adds.

[Walaby]

Wikipedia says that the average small car has one gallon base, 3 gallons top coat and 2-3 gallons of clear. A quart might get both doors of a Prius painted. On an IRV2 posting a poster said that during a tour of the Fleetwood factory, motorhome, they said they plan for a gallon for each 2 feet of RV.

Wow... Wikipedia is a great source.

I painted my 63 Chevy Nova and did not use anywhere near that amount of paint and clear. And if I recall, I put at least 3 coats of base and I believe 4 coats of clear on. I used no more than I believe a gallon.. maybe 1.5 gallons of base, and no more than that of clear, so I guess about half of what Wikipedia says.

If the gallon per 2 feet of RV is correct, it would take 20 gallons to paint my 40 foot 367 BHS.

Sorry Chunker, not buying any of it.

P.S. Count me as one of the people who believes weight added by FBP is negligible.

Mike

[chunker]

Wow... Wikipedia is a great source.

I painted my 63 Chevy Nova and did not use anywhere near that amount of paint and clear. And I put at least 2-3 coats of base and I believe 4 coats of clear on. I used no more than I believe a gallon.. maybe 1.5 gallons of base, and no more than that of clear, so I guess about half of what Wikipedia says.

If the gallon per 2 feet of RV is correct, it would take 20 gallons to paint my 40 foot 367 BHS.

Sorry Chunker, not buying any of it.

Mike

You can buy or believe what you want. I spent 5 minutes googling vehicle paint weight and came up with those answers. A GD rep on the GD owner's forum, GD owned and operated, said the GD RVs get 3 coats of clear. No mention was made of how many primer, base coats were used. I'm going to assume that your 63 Nova wasn't 40' long so you're probably correct in that. The gallon per 2' is a supposed quote from a Fleetwood factory rep. Argue with him cause he must not know what he's talking about.