[A/S] Later model skin coatings

["Lewis Leistikow" <LewLei@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Many of us have endured the different formulations of 'plasticoat' 
on the skins of our trailers and watched them peel.  My '86 was a 
mess by the time I traded it for a '98.  And the coating on the '98 
was peeling off after only two years!

Well, I hope that what I just saw here in Tucson is something we can 
rely on.  On the back lot at Oasis Airstream, there is the shell of 
a smaller trailer (didn't look at the side, maybe a 25 or so).  I 
asked what they were doing with a complete shell and the reply was 
that it was a test unit sent down here from the factory.  The 'new' 
Alcoa aluminum was used to build it.  This has been sitting here in 
the desert heat since 1998.  It has never been washed and nothing 
has fazed it.  Bird droppings haven't eaten into the finish (as was 
true of my '98), and the harsh sun and wind haven't had any 
detrimental effect.  As my new 34 Limited has just arrived at this 
dealership, I sincerely hope that this is true.  The only thing that 
I questioned in my mind was the effect of northern winters where the 
severe cold at night is followed by a hot sun in the daytime.  

But, hopefully, after having the factory swear year after year, and 
the dealers echoing these statements, "Well, we have now solved the 
problem and the coating will no longer be a problem."  Yeah, right.  
But, maybe after all these years now, they may have really found a 
fix.  

Lew