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Old July 12th 18, 05:47 PM posted to rec.aviation.soaring
Alex[_6_]
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Default Cobra trailer aluminum vs fiberglass top

PRO Aluminum

Aluminum Cobra trailers are almost maintenance free. You can store them outside for decades and after a cleaning they shine like new.

CONTRA Aluminum

If you bend or dent anything the repair will always be visible.

If stored outside in cold condition, serious amounts of dew will collect on the inside, if you don't buy the optional insulation.

After 20 years the sealing of the overlapping aluminum plates will become brittle and start leaking.

Custom sizes can be ordered to your needs. (extra long Arcus trailer is a real improvement over the smaller fiberglass version. Also the JS1 with 18/21 meters really benefits from the wider version available in aluminum)

The aluminum version is more expensive

PRO Fiberglass

It looks more streamlined

It's a bit cheaper

The double walled versions basically have a very effective insulation per design (no dew on the inside).

Easy to repair

CONTRA Fiberglass

Stored outside the paint quality degrades quickly. Even with regular polishing and waxing the paint will start showing first cracks and yellow patches after a couple of years. This drawback could probably be mitigated by replacing the gelcoat type paint with something more durable.

Size limited by the available molds: single, double (and 18m ?).