Since the 21st century, with the continuous development of the tertiary industry, RVs have been favored by more and more travel enthusiasts, and at the same time have promoted the rapid development of RVs. However, domestic RVs have just started, and various manufacturers are dazzling but uneven. The Volkswagen is stumped when it comes to how to choose between fiberglass and aluminum panels for RV body materials. Compared with aluminum plate, what are the advantages of glass steel plate? We compare from several aspects.

1. Body weight

The increase in the body weight will firstly increase the fuel consumption and the engine load; secondly, the spring load of the suspension system will increase, and the riding comfort will decrease during driving; the tire load and axle load will increase accordingly. Furthermore, the handling stability and service braking ability of the car will also be greatly affected.
Aluminum plate and glass fiber reinforced plastic: From the density point of view, the density of aluminum is about 2.7g/cm3, while the density of glass steel plate is about 1.5g/cm3. The aluminum plate is used as the RV, the body weight is heavy and it is easily deformed by the impact of external force. The use of glass fiber reinforced plastic as the body of the RV, because of its light weight and high strength, can make the body lightweight after use, which greatly improves the low safety factor of the body due to its heavy weight.

2. Body protection

For an RV, we also need to think more about its passive safety. Passive safety mainly refers to the ability to protect the occupants of the car when the car is subjected to an external force collision. This ability is directly related to the body strength of the car, and the degree of deformation of the body when the car crashes or rolls over is particularly important. 
The car body made of aluminum plate is easily deformed by external force. The FRP sheet has strong scratch resistance and impact resistance. Therefore, damage to the body panel of the body panel of the RV due to hail or other external force impacts in extreme climates can be avoided, and the safety performance of the body can be improved.

3. Body maintenance

FRP is a good corrosion-resistant material, and has good resistance to the atmosphere, water and general concentrations of acids, alkalis, salts, and various oils and solvents. It can avoid the phenomenon of rapid aging and discoloration and yellowing of the RV body during use in bad weather outdoors.
FRP can be made into any color, no additional painting is required, the process is reduced, and the processing operation is easier, so the maintenance of the FRP body is also more convenient. The painted aluminum plate is prone to the risk of paint peeling off. At the same time, the glass fiber reinforced plastic plate is anti-corrosion and easy to clean, and the long-term use of the aluminum plate will cause pitting or corrosion.
4. Easy to shape
The use of FRP sheet as the body material can reduce the cost of its molds (front and surrounding parts, etc.).
5. Thermal insulation, energy saving
FRP sheet used as RV body has good thermal insulation performance and low thermal conductivity. It is an ideal thermal protection and ablation resistant material in the case of instantaneous ultra-high temperature. The RV greatly reduces the fuel consumption of the in-vehicle air conditioner during the driving process.
 

To sum up, FRP material has the advantages of light weight, high strength, corrosion resistance, low energy consumption, shock resistance, sound insulation, high strength, good manufacturability, and easy integration of components. It has the most important practicality and has been widely used by RV manufacturers all over the world.