Why are the vast majority of motorhomes & caravans white?

[Jane And Rog]

Not PVCs of course. This came up on the Orange Adria Twin Mutual Appreciation thread (other colours matter), and it got me googling.

Some answers I've found:

A: it's cooler in summer
Q: so then it's cooler in winter too, not so much of an advantage in the UK. Also, I've seen black PVCs and they seem to manage.

A: dealers don't like multiple colours as they get stuck with the unloved ones
Q: surely the same for cars, and they come in many colours

A: From a production point of view, it is far more cost effective to produce all mouldings the same colour. This avoids paying additional costs for smaller quantities of pigment or prepigmented gel coat, it avoids the cost of holding various colours of raw materials in stock, and greatly reduces the chances of colour cross contamination during manufacture.
Q: OK, this is sounding more convincing - but isn't it the same for PVCs and cars? Why not paint or wrap them like cars & PVCs?

A: White pigment is cheaper
Q: Ditto for cars, then?

 

[Ridgeway]

Easier to sell ice cream from

But i guess many of us chase the sun (we do) and i suspect apart from those living on a damp island that having a white van is very practical in terms of heat control, far less people use them in Winter and even then it's easier to heat a van than cool it.

 

[SpeedyDux]

As you might expect, the Sevel factory manufactures white vans. Vans in other colours get painted in small batches. This in turn can mean longer delivery times if customers want MHs or PVCs in a colour other than white.

Silver ( Fiat calls it aluminium) was a cost option for ours. It ought to be similar to white for reflecting direct sunlight and helping keep the interior from getting too hot. Black though fashionable seems quite the opposite. Theirs must be baking hot inside.

 

[John Barrett]

As Henry Ford once famously said: "Any color you like so long as it's black..."

 

[Spriddler]

It's the same with yachts.

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[Simon Select]

Not PVCs of course. This came up on the Orange Adria Twin Mutual Appreciation thread (other colours matter), and it got me googling.

Some answers I've found:

A: it's cooler in summer
Q: so then it's cooler in winter too, not so much of an advantage in the UK. Also, I've seen black PVCs and they seem to manage.

A: dealers don't like multiple colours as they get stuck with the unloved ones
Q: surely the same for cars, and they come in many colours

A: From a production point of view, it is far more cost effective to produce all mouldings the same colour. This avoids paying additional costs for smaller quantities of pigment or prepigmented gel coat, it avoids the cost of holding various colours of raw materials in stock, and greatly reduces the chances of colour cross contamination during manufacture.
Q: OK, this is sounding more convincing - but isn't it the same for PVCs and cars? Why not paint or wrap them like cars & PVCs?

A: White pigment is cheaper
Q: Ditto for cars, then?

When you order the base vehicle from Fiat, Citroen, Peugeot etc, White is a no cost option.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Maybe the trend will come to an end. Remember when all computers were beige?

 

[Spriddler]

Maybe the trend will come to an end. Remember when all computers were beige?

Ah yes, that was back when school knickers were all navy blue.

 

[The Wino]

It's cooler in summer as it doesn't absorb as much heat from the sun in winter theres less sun anyway so it won't be much cooler than any other colour. Also production runs are in vehicle terms small and having lots of colours available would mean higher production costs for all those produced so I'm happy with white.

 

[MattR]

Not PVCs of course. This came up on the Orange Adria Twin Mutual Appreciation thread (other colours matter), and it got me googling.

Some answers I've found:

A: it's cooler in summer
Q: so then it's cooler in winter too, not so much of an advantage in the UK. Also, I've seen black PVCs and they seem to manage.

A: dealers don't like multiple colours as they get stuck with the unloved ones
Q: surely the same for cars, and they come in many colours

A: From a production point of view, it is far more cost effective to produce all mouldings the same colour. This avoids paying additional costs for smaller quantities of pigment or prepigmented gel coat, it avoids the cost of holding various colours of raw materials in stock, and greatly reduces the chances of colour cross contamination during manufacture.
Q: OK, this is sounding more convincing - but isn't it the same for PVCs and cars? Why not paint or wrap them like cars & PVCs?

A: White pigment is cheaper
Q: Ditto for cars, then?

Also easier to sell on; less likely to have issues trying to sell a white vehicle than one that is your fave colour but not so popular for others.

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[LesW]

I think white motorhomes look awful especially when clustered together on a site or aire.

Not sure what the 'ideal' colour is, but I would prefer a pale grey or green, anything that didn't stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Otter Spotter]

My PVC base colour is white and the temperature difference between the white bodywork and the tinted windows when in full sun is amazing.the Tints can be hot to the touch whereas the bodywork is not. So white for most countries is probably the best option.

 

[Ivory55]

Motorhome is based on a commercial motor white paint on them is easy for repairs and also vinyl wrap is commonly used on commercial stuff. When they want to sell it on just peel it off and sell a white motor.

 

[StephDeLux]

There is also the thermal expansion factor. A black painted sheet of aluminium would dilate a lot, causing mechanical tensions that can be hard to cater for.

 

[loutalucat]

We have a black one! Spent several weeks in Spain last year and it was hot but didn’t notice it being any more sweltering than our previous white and silver vans in 30+ temperatures. Having said that when weather is fine we are always outside and only sleep it.

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[Otter Spotter]

I may wrap mine in camouflage to hide it from the MoHo haters and Local authorities

 

[Caggsie1]

We used to have a red and grey Dethleffs, much hotter inside than our white Hobby.

 

[Gaston aires]

Ah yes, that was back when school knickers were all navy blue.

Or bottle green.
Phil

 

[Nasher]

A: From a production point of view, it is far more cost effective to produce all mouldings the same colour. This avoids paying additional costs for smaller quantities of pigment or prepigmented gel coat, it avoids the cost of holding various colours of raw materials in stock, and greatly reduces the chances of colour cross contamination during manufacture.
Q: OK, this is sounding more convincing - but isn't it the same for PVCs and cars? Why not paint or wrap them like cars & PVCs?

Motorhomes/caravans have tiny production numbers compared to cars & PVCs

 

[John Barrett]

It's cooler in summer as it doesn't absorb as much heat from the sun in winter theres less sun anyway so it won't be much cooler than any other colour. Also production runs are in vehicle terms small and having lots of colours available would mean higher production costs for all those produced so I'm happy with white.

Who remembers doing the 'Leslie's Cube' experiment at school which proves much of the above?

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[Simon Meadwell]

Mines black cab and a bronze / gold hab body. Sounds yuk but get plenty of likes due to it being not white.

 

[bigwood]

My grandparents first static caravan was green. In fact all the vans on the site were the same manufacture hence green.
When the site started to take tourers the white caravans and motorhomes stood out. Some of the static owners complained the tourers spoilt the view because they didnt blend in. Eventually the site owners split the site into separate areas.
Grandma and Grandad bought a newer caravan that was a different manufacturer that wasn’t green but they stayed on the same pitch. Of coarse that didn’t spoilt the view.

 

[Richard n Ann]

I might do ours in dazzle camouflage so nobody kwows where we're heading

Dazzle camouflage - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[autorouter]

A: it's cooler in summer
Q: so then it's cooler in winter too, not so much of an advantage in the UK. Also, I've seen black PVCs and they seem to manage.

White absorbs less radiant heat than black. So it's cooler in summer when in direct sun.

White also sends out less radiant heat than black when it's warmer than the surroundings. So in theory it's actually warmer in the winter, but it's less important because the main heat loss is by conduction through the bodywork.

For what it's worth, a shiny silver colour is even better than white.

 

[LesW]

For what it's worth, a shiny silver colour is even better than white.

That would be a nice colour too.

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[EMS]

The colour of the paint does not indicate in all cases its effectiveness against sunlight, the absorption emmisivity of the paint defines its effectiveness to radiate any heat or absorb it.
As aluminium (gold and silver are also effective but a bit too expensive?) is very effective as radiating heat perhaps we should remove the white paint completely?
Though this would be considered as not "green" enough for hiding vans on camp sites.

 

[Larrynwin]

Our last RV in full paint finish , no stick on decals, never a black streak .
We now have a white Hymer, not quite the same

Always amazes me that the very expensive European Morelos etc are turned out in plain white, a proper paint job would show a bit of street cred.

 

[SuperMike]

Ah yes, that was back when school knickers were all navy blue.

No, they were bloomers.

 

[Lenny HB]

Ah yes, that was back when school knickers were all navy blue.

You led a sheltered life, around our way there was a blue nicker school, a green nicker school & a brown nicker school.

 

[Lenny HB]

I think all Motorhomes should be dark green, much less of an eyesore when parked it the country. Also much better for off grid camping.

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