This aging writer has to face that reality almost daily. I love tradition. I also love progress, but I think it’s important to stay in touch with one’s roots.

To that end, since my father passed away, I have kept in storage his old Furnivals quail-pattern china, intending to use it when my wife and I moved to northern Michigan. This week it came time to unpack the china.

Inside one of the cartons was a copy of Holidays from 2003 for which I had done the cover story — an interview with Richard Klingler, founder of Holiday Rambler, on the occasion of the brand’s fiftieth anniversary.

I have no idea why I might have stuffed that magazine into that carton while packing up my dad’s china after his passing. But the coincidence is alarming, because it gave me occasion to reread that interview — in which Mr. Klingler talked about several of the innovations that made Holiday Rambler a giant in this industry, not the least of which was Alumaframe construction — just days after I had accepted an assignment to write this report.

In short, Holiday Rambler is breaking with a tradition of nearly 40 years in switching from Alumaframe sidewall construction to vacuum-bonded lamination. As a guy who broke into the RV business writing ad copy touting the benefits of Alumaframe in 1975, I was a bit skeptical. Hidebound as I tend to be, it was going to take a pretty strong sales job to get me on the bandwagon.

Fortunately, Brad McKinney was in town when I showed up to tour the new sidewall construction facility in Wakarusa. Brad is the national sales manager for Holiday Rambler towables — in this case, the best salesman I could have asked for.

What’s New and What Isn’t

Let’s start with the hard news. The new vacuum-bonded sidewalls are now in use on Holiday Rambler’s mid-range and luxury travel trailers and fifth wheels. That includes Presidential travel trailers and several fifth wheel lines: Presidential Suite, Alumascape Suite, Alumascape and Next Level. Savoy towables were converted to a slightly different laminated construction method last summer.

Now the hard questions: I asked McKinney why Holiday Rambler chose to abandon a construction technique that has been a core component of the brand for a couple of generations.

His first response was not to explain the benefits, but to allay concern that the new technique represented any kind of compromise.

First, the new five-layer sidewalls do in fact feature aluminum studs and framing, including the framing of doors and windows. McKinney was quick to point out that the new sidewalls are built exactly the same way as those on Holiday Rambler’s most expensive motorhomes. So if these walls are good enough for somebody who plunks down half a million for a Navigator, they are good enough for me.

Second, there has been no change in the construction of the roof, floor and end caps. That means the nine-layer roof with three layers of insulation and two vapor barriers still enhances comfort and energy efficiency where it counts most. And the floor still contains ducted heating inside an enclosed, insulated underbelly. So there should be no change in the extent to which you can enjoy your Holiday Rambler in hot or cold weather.

The coaches still carry a five-year limited warranty on construction, as well.

Why It’s Good For You

Next, McKinney began to list the benefits of the new system.

The principal advantage is weight reduction. A typical fifth wheel might be 400 to 500 pounds lighter than the old models (see sidebar.) “That means we can put more value into the coach, like Corian® counters,” McKinney said. “We can add more luxury, more of the residential look people demand today.”

He added that the weight reduction also expands the company’s ability to offer coaches towable by three-quarter-ton pickups.

Second, the lamination process makes for a much smoother fiberglass sidewall exterior. “That’s really the only way you can tell the difference between the older coaches and the new ones with laminated sidewalls,” McKinney said. “The exterior is so clean and smooth.”

A third advantage is cost. With fiberglass sidewall exteriors standard, the new coaches are more expensive than the former aluminum-skinned models, but they are substantially less expensive than the comparable Alumaframe coaches with the fiberglass skin option. According to McKinney, base prices for fifth wheels have dropped $875, and for Presidential travel trailers, they’ve dropped $375.

How It’s Done

McKinney walked me through the plant where the new sidewalls are made. The vacuum bonding process combines five layers into a single, solid unit of considerable structural integrity.

The process begins with the construction of the welded framework of aluminum tubing. When you see the completed aluminum framework it isn’t immediately apparent that you are looking at a grid that was built for lamination; there is so much aluminum tubing it looks ready to stand alone. That includes tightly spaced 1½-inch square tubular vertical studs. There is considerable horizontal bracing, with 1½ x 3-inch and 4-inch tubing used at key points for extra strength.

All the windows and doors are framed in tubular aluminum—for extra strength and to make it easy to route out these openings after the lamination is complete. The same goes for baggage, service bay and appliance-access doors and around the refrigerator. McKinney noted that this metal framing of all the openings sets Holiday Rambler apart from other towables with laminated sidewalls.This framework is welded in another Monaco Coach Corporation plant and delivered to the lamination facility where it is laid flat on lamination tables — and on top of the fiberglass exterior material — and filled with block foam insulation. Block foam can’t sag or gap, and it adds strength to the lamination.

Interior wall paneling and exterior fiberglass are glued to the framework-insulation layer. The glue is applied in narrow “furrows” by machine. When vacuum pressure is applied, these furrows spread out to provide 98 percent glue coverage, McKinney said.

Once the framework and insulation are sandwiched between fiberglass and wall paneling, the wall unit is clamped down around the perimeter and the vacuum bonding equipment is attached. By creating intense vacuum inside the wall sandwich, the inner and outer panels are pressure-bonded to the inner layer. The vacuum bonding process lasts anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, according to McKinney, depending on the temperature and humidity in the room, which affects the rate at which the glue sets.

After the sidewalls leave the vacuum tables, windows and doors are routed out. Walls remain in the lamination room at least 24 hours before moving to the assembly line.

McKinney added that window and door cutouts, while scrap, are used in frequent testing of lamination quality, in which powerful machines try to pull the lamination apart.

The large panels that are cut out to form slideout openings are in fact used as the outer walls for those slideouts. McKinney explained that this is not only efficient, but helps ensure exterior color match for the life of the coach.

Another advantage of the new lamination process is that it improves overall manufacturing efficiency. McKinney said that it is no longer necessary to do long runs of a single model or floorplan to maximize efficiency on the main assembly line.

The Right Change at the Right Time

I am not what marketing people call an early adopter. I was the last guy on my block to send my horse to the glue factory and buy one of them self-propelled noisemakers from Henry Ford. Later, I was last in line for a personal computer, cell phone, Internet connection, digital camera and flat-panel television. Traditions that have served well for generations die hard in me.

But while I still miss Daisy, my erstwhile mare, for  her personality, I have fully embraced the new. Don’t try to take away my cell phone, fax, laptop or modem. Without them I might have to hold down a real job.

More to the point, vacuum bonding is a proven technology, and Holiday Rambler has done it right — the same way they do it in  their best diesel motorhomes. The new sidewalls are built with roughly the same degree of aluminum-cage superstructure as before, and the lamination technique should add rigidity.

More important, the reductions in weight and cost represent real and significant value to the owner. I can’t find anything but upside to this change.

Progress is a good thing. People who have traveled in Holiday Rambler coaches understand that. The company has been all about innovation since 1953. This is the latest. And as for traditions — specific technologies come and go; the real tradition at Holiday Rambler is leadership in quality, performance and value.

Dave Bessmer is a freelance writer living in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has spent over 25 years in or around the RV business. He has authored several features for Holidays magazine.