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Old 01-08-2014, 06:45 PM   #21
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We have a dark cap on our 25 sunset reserve and had to have it repainted, it faded within six months they used the wrong grade paint so it was covered under warrranty, We camp in the Florida Keys and have not noticed that the trailer was too hot from the dark color, it is warm where our clothes are stored but the air conditioner does a great job of keeping the camper comfortable. Love our Sunset Trail all the storage cannot be beat.
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Old 01-08-2014, 08:26 PM   #22
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Bobbi, I don't think anyone was questioning the "science" behind your statement. I think most everyone knows this. However, if those of us that have the dark front cap say that it is not an issue, that comes from personal experience and fact. It may just be well insulated. Don't take it so personally. I saw one of the cream colored ones and it looks fine. I think I prefer the chocolate. Get whatever floats your boat and enjoy.
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Old 01-08-2014, 08:35 PM   #23
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If the front cap is made of fiberglass it does have insulating value with the fiberglass cloth embedded in the resin. From the little bit of research I did if it is bonded by reflective foil in the inside of the cap, that helps also. I'm not sure that Crossroads does that though.
I have a full paint Patriot and have not noticed an increase in temp on the inside. It is very comparable to what my older 5th wheel felt like. The a/c is larger than the old one was. 15K vs 13.5K
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Old 01-09-2014, 09:48 AM   #24
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Bobbi, I don't think anyone was questioning the "science" behind your statement. I think most everyone knows this. However, if those of us that have the dark front cap say that it is not an issue, that comes from personal experience and fact. It may just be well insulated. Don't take it so personally. I saw one of the cream colored ones and it looks fine. I think I prefer the chocolate. Get whatever floats your boat and enjoy.
Thanks for your thoughtful contribution, Tim D. I didn't really get the impression that anyone was questioning the "science" behind my thinking on this. In fact, it seemed like no one was actually thinking -- only conveying an opinion on whether the dark brown looks better than the light tan, and that's what really stunned me. Not many seemed to be thinking.

I had actually posted our own first-hand experience of the difference this dark color made in another thread. I will explain it again it here to show that I am using my own real-world experience combined with the science behind it. Now let me preface this by noting that up until this model year, the STR was not very well insulated. They have improved that quite a bit for the new model year. There is only so much insulation that can go into an RV. Anyhow.....

Several months ago, we had a chance to visit a local CR dealer who is a couple hours away. It was mid-morning and not yet hot outside. We had wanted to see a Cruiser, but none were on the lot....just an STR.

The first RV we walked into was a 2013 Sunset Trail fifth wheel. Wow! It was very hot in there. So hot, in fact, that we didn't stay in that RV but long enough to take a couple glances around. I immediately feared we had not gotten there early enough and we would have to spend the morning trying to look around in hot campers. Not fun! But then the next one we walked into, just out of curiosity, was a new Cedar Creek. Now, there is a HUGE difference between these two campers, but the situation still made some principles very clear to us. The entire exterior of the Cedar Creek was a light gold color, and I knew this RV was pretty well insulated. Wow, what a difference! We walked in and thought maybe they had this RV hooked up to the power and had the AC on, but none of the RVs were hooked up to power. We told the salesman about what we had just experienced, and he said that the dark colored RVs tend to get hotter inside than lighter colored ones. So that was our real-world experience. If anyone has the chance to walk into RVs of contrasting insulation and exterior colors on a warm summer morning, it may help to really show the differences.
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Old 01-09-2014, 10:19 AM   #25
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Next time you have the opportunity to inspect/tour a bunch of different RVs outside, take a heat gun with you and shoot the walls on the inside of each one in the same location. That will give you the exact temperature of each one, and it should be the end of any speculation.
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Old 01-09-2014, 10:27 AM   #26
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Next time you have the opportunity to inspect/tour a bunch of different RVs outside, take a heat gun with you and shoot the walls on the inside of each one in the same location. That will give you the exact temperature of each one, and it should be the end of any speculation.
I don't have a heat gun, but that's a good idea. I'd actually probably test the ceiling and floor too since walls are about the same thickness across manufacturers, except DRV Mobile Suites and a handful of others. DRV says their walls are 3" thick. I have wondered how much of a difference there would be in a wall that is foam vs. one that is insulated with fiberglass (same thickness), however.
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Old 01-09-2014, 10:33 AM   #27
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They're not very expensive, and kind of fun to monkey around with. I take mine along when we travel and when ever we stop I check tires, brakes, bearings for heat on both the truck and trailer.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...emperature+gun
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Old 01-09-2014, 11:06 AM   #28
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Thanks for your thoughtful contribution, Tim D. I didn't really get the impression that anyone was questioning the "science" behind my thinking on this. In fact, it seemed like no one was actually thinking -- only conveying an opinion on whether the dark brown looks better than the light tan, and that's what really stunned me. Not many seemed to be thinking.

I had actually posted our own first-hand experience of the difference this dark color made in another thread. I will explain it again it here to show that I am using my own real-world experience combined with the science behind it. Now let me preface this by noting that up until this model year, the STR was not very well insulated. They have improved that quite a bit for the new model year. There is only so much insulation that can go into an RV. Anyhow.....

Several months ago, we had a chance to visit a local CR dealer who is a couple hours away. It was mid-morning and not yet hot outside. We had wanted to see a Cruiser, but none were on the lot....just an STR.

The first RV we walked into was a 2013 Sunset Trail fifth wheel. Wow! It was very hot in there. So hot, in fact, that we didn't stay in that RV but long enough to take a couple glances around. I immediately feared we had not gotten there early enough and we would have to spend the morning trying to look around in hot campers. Not fun! But then the next one we walked into, just out of curiosity, was a new Cedar Creek. Now, there is a HUGE difference between these two campers, but the situation still made some principles very clear to us. The entire exterior of the Cedar Creek was a light gold color, and I knew this RV was pretty well insulated. Wow, what a difference! We walked in and thought maybe they had this RV hooked up to the power and had the AC on, but none of the RVs were hooked up to power. We told the salesman about what we had just experienced, and he said that the dark colored RVs tend to get hotter inside than lighter colored ones. So that was our real-world experience. If anyone has the chance to walk into RVs of contrasting insulation and exterior colors on a warm summer morning, it may help to really show the differences.
I've owned my trailer since April of this year and I camp in South Mississippi and SE Louisiana. My camping experience is that the dark cap does not appreciably increase temp to any noticeable degree in my trailer. That's a fact.
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Old 01-09-2014, 11:44 AM   #29
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I've owned my trailer since April of this year and I camp in South Mississippi and SE Louisiana. My camping experience is that the dark cap does not appreciably increase temp to any noticeable degree in my trailer. That's a fact.
Thanks for contributing to the thread.
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Old 01-09-2014, 11:48 AM   #30
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They're not very expensive, and kind of fun to monkey around with. I take mine along when we travel and when ever we stop I check tires, brakes, bearings for heat on both the truck and trailer.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...emperature+gun
Hmmm....you actually bring up an excellent reason to have one. Sometimes we will be crossing a mountain for one particular camping destination, so I guess it would be a very good idea to have one. Thanks for mentioning that!
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Old 01-09-2014, 07:49 PM   #31
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Good Stuff!
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Old 01-11-2014, 03:22 PM   #32
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My wife bought me a temp gun cheap from a store called Tuesday Morning. It's for cooking. I compared it side by side to my temp gun on my fire engine and it was the same.
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Old 01-11-2014, 03:56 PM   #33
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...it is warm where our clothes are stored...
You should check to see if your water heater is under your wardrobe. Ours is and makes our clothes a little too warm, especially in the summer. There is very little insulation around the water heater so we are going to use some house insulation to fix the problem. We will just use a blanket layer as we will need to move it for winterization. And I am sure it will cut down on lose of heat in the water heater.
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Old 01-20-2014, 11:24 AM   #34
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Regarding the R values. I took a tour of the factory when our 2012 ST was being built. I was told by the factory rep leading the tour that R values aren't worth much because your biggest heat loss is through the windows. He more or less said not to put much value in the R-value rating from any manufacturer. Customers ask for it, but he said they aren't very accurate and the windows are the reason.

Regardless, ST makes a nice trailer. We really like ours. It's a 20 CK which is no longer built. Odd, but most manufactures are focusing on larger trailers. I noticed the smallest ST is now 26 ft. With only me and my wife, we don't need larger and instead would prefer more creature comforts, or options. Oh well.
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Old 01-20-2014, 03:10 PM   #35
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R values of materials is a fact. If you know for sure the type of material used for insulation then it can be mathematically figured out. So it is important to have insulation in the Rv. Just like a house the biggest heat/cooling loss in thru the windows. Sounds like the rep is a paper pusher not a designer or in anyway associated with the construction of an Rv.
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Old 01-20-2014, 04:01 PM   #36
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R Values can be very accurate. You can have a high R Value in a wall, but if you skimp on the plate glass window...its a wash.
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Old 01-20-2014, 05:20 PM   #37
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RJHewitt posted some good information in the mods section about insulating windows.

Here is the link: http://www.crossroadsowners.com/foru...dow+insulation
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