Full Body Paint or NOT

[Theunz]

Originally Posted by scottz

We got a 3160RL (same model as the 3120 in 2018 except kitchen swapped sides). Fully loaded with FBP, generator and legacy package (no slide toppers). Paid $15k less than your quote.

30% off $80,000 list would be $56,000 are you saying you only paid $41,000?
I think you are saying you paid about $65,000 with your options which might exceed the 30% mark.

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Theunz

30% off $80,000 list would be $56,000 are you saying you only paid $41,000?
I think you are saying you paid about $65,000 with your options which might exceed the 30% mark.

Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought the $80k included 30% off; thought that was high. Yes, we paid about $65k.

[BiggarView]

One thing that I have not seen any comments on is the weight of the FB paint. We are talking about 600-800 lbs of lost CCC. That is not something to ignore. Yeah it looks real nice, but it almost demands an upgrade to the suspension from 7k to 8k axles if you are planning on FTing with it.

[richfaa]

Take a really good look at the quality of the full Body paint.The full body paint on our 2013 3402 Big sky is not good quality and chipped badly . We had to have the front lower panel on the overhang tuff coated as it chipped badly.We personally would not get another Rv with full body paint. We always take a look a full body paint RV's at rallies and CG's and find that no matter what the brand they do chip. Not to mention that Keystone will change colors.Two of the colors on our 2013 Big sky are no longer used and touch up is expensive.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by BiggarView

One thing that I have not seen any comments on is the weight of the FB paint. We are talking about 600-800 lbs of lost CCC. That is not something to ignore. Yeah it looks real nice, but it almost demands an upgrade to the suspension from 7k to 8k axles if you are planning on FTing with it.

Good grief, what kind of paint, applied professionally at a usual 3-6 thousandths thick including the clear, weighs that much? After the solvents dry, you might have 25 pounds extra weight.

[BiggarView]

MOntana dealer near me reports nearly 800 pounds on the 3811 for the FB paint. I was completely unaware of the issue until I saw a SOB with it recently in St. Louis. side by side one with paint and one without same model and the only significant difference... yep 800 lbs less CCC with FB paint.... Inquired at keystone... no help, but dealer says that is what keystone told him. FWIW. Yeah i thought it was crazy too... but that is what I was told.

[RoadRunnerTR21]

If you painted a Boeing 747 it would add around 550 LBS. I think your salesperson was misinformed.

[BiggarView]

It would be nice to get a straight answer from Keystone. As it stands now I have 2 wildly different numbers for the weight of the paint. 25lbs seems awfully light and 800lbs seems ridiculously heavy. One is no concern, the other could be a real issue.

On edit, I just reviewed the specs from Keystone and compared them the info the dealer gave me.... 13420 UVW base.... 13860 UVW for 3811 w/legacy and FB paint... so that doesn't add up to the 800 lbs for paint.

..... as rosanne rosannadanna would say.... never mind. LOL

[Dave W]

OK, let's apply some logic here on RV paint.

RV paint is automotive paint and a gallon with reducer added weighs about 9 to 10 pounds, depending on the solids. That weight is mostly solvent, whether it's water or volatile spirits though in today's EPA controlled world, probably a water based paint. When that paint is applied, that liquid in both the base paint or the solvent evaporates. After those weighty liquid parts are gone, all that is left are the solid parts of the paint combined (molecular cross linking) with a binder to keep it together and on the vehicle.

A 'for instance', I painted a '31 Ford Roadster a few years ago. I bought a gallon of DuPont Chromabase and a gallon of clear along with their reducers. Of that quantity of paint, I used just barely two quarts each. Yes, a very small car, but I'm not a pro painter so I had to redo some parts. Years back I painted a Ford Torino. Lots of metal to cover. Three quarts including one massive mistake.

Now, we are looking at a 38-40 foot 5th wheel. Lots of windows and other openings that need to be subtracted from the overall square footage but in rough numbers, you have 2 x 400 square feet of sides. for a 40 foot trailer plus the nose and rear for - maybe - another 150 square feet (remember that big rear window that isn't painted. Now we are up to at the most, 3 gallons of paint and at 10 pounds/gallon still wet - nowhere near 4-800 pounds but very close to the 25 pounds when dry that I mentioned. So with that said, even the worst case, no more then 35-40 pounds of paint well dried as you drive down the road. Now what I haven't figured in there is the percentage of actual paint from any gallon of paint that is really deposited on the surface, but it's probably more then you would expect and is part of the equation that I have no real feel for as it depends on the painter's skill and the equipment used. Just look at a gallon of Home Depot house paint - interesting that they say on the can side that one gallon rolled on (pretty thick) will cover up to 400 square feet depending on the surface and that gallon of house paint weighs about 11 pounds/gallon

Now, that cost. Depending on the color and additives, that paint can be as much or in some cases, more then thousand dollars a gallon. That '31 Ford that I noted above was painted Ford Shelby Venetian Orange. The cost per gallon at the supplier's cost was just under $700. Then you add in hundred buck a gallon clear, masking tape and paper, primers and fillers and of course, labor and that $10K is not a bad figure,

OK, head scratching time is over for me

[mlh]

It’s lead based paint. Must be to be that heavy.
Lynwood

[MARK A]

Originally Posted by SirCampsalot

May be fixin to pull the trigger on a 3121rl. Dealer making a great deal on the works including full body paint.

Those that have it what do you think about durability and any chipping.

What would look best with silver Ram dually? Please do not respond with a Ford or GM!

I would get the full body paint and before I pulled it out of town the first time I’d have the front cap and anything else facing forward-ish covered in the 3M pro-shield. No more worries.

Mark

[Texan]

I would think it depends on how much your camper is exposed to the weather. I don't fulltime and mine is in a totally inclosed building so mine still looks very good. On the other hand if you full time or do not have it covered when not traveling then fbp might be the way to go. As Rich said if it cost 10,000 dollars for fbp with 30% off then the cost is 7,000 dollars. You may not get your money back but it just might be what someone wants and enough to close the deal. I as well as many others have thousands of dollars in mods which are our own personal preference but will possibly do nothing for resale.

[richfaa]

As the tuff coat dealer said a rock coming back at the front of your Rv at 60/70 MPh is going to chip. The tuff coat reduced chipping by 90/95 % but we will still get a occasional chip,

[MARK A]

Originally Posted by richfaa

As the tuff coat dealer said a rock coming back at the front of your Rv at 60/70 MPh is going to chip. The tuff coat reduced chipping by 90/95 % but we will still get a occasional chip,

Rich, yes a rock is possibly still going to leave a mark, however the bugs that are knocking the paint off my front cap would not and that seems to be our biggest problem.

[RoadRunnerTR21]

Mark A you have bugs chipping your paint on your front cap? Wow! They must be June Bugs or something with a hard shell.

[richfaa]

Originally Posted by MARK A

Rich, yes a rock is possibly still going to leave a mark, however the bugs that are knocking the paint off my front cap would not and that seems to be our biggest problem.

My 13 3402 Big Sky is full body paint.It came off the line as a regular 3402 with the big sky package added then run over to Maple City Collision for the paint job.Yes a big ole bug would leave a mark on the front cap and if the bugs were not cleaned off in a short time would eat away the paint. If your unit was painted over like mine the chances are you got a low quality paint job as we did. We do not get much chipping on the sides but the front took a beating. In our case the full body paint in that year on that Montana was a rip off.