While surfing the internet for decal ideas, I see that there are two shapes for the nose of these campers. One looks like a half of a hexagon with sharp corners, while mine is sharp on the bottom and round at the top starting half way between the stone shield and roof in a curve. What is the difference between these units?
Front shape?
- Thread starter B.Smith2
- Start date
JohnGB
Senior Member
Site Team
Would you happen to know which Sunline model year you were looking at?
The shape of the front wall has changed over the years. Here are a few of the Sunline styles.
Sunline Fan's latest collection item, a 1976 Orbiter Sunline
And here is another Sunline Fan Collectable he is restoring, a 1979 12 1/2MC
That is not to say that the front wall of all the Sunline in the 70s looked like that. There was a contest once to find the oldest Sunline, and a 1971 21RB showed up, and the front wall changed where the window is. A small pic of that 1971 camper is on the Sunline Coach Wiki page. See here Sunline Coach Company - Wikipedia
When the 80s arrived, the shape of the front wall began to change. Here is an excerpt from the 1980 brochure.
And from the 1981 brochure
I think the thought process behind changing the shape of the top of the front wall was to better deflect the wind. I'm not sure that actually paned out to save a lot of fuel. The tow vehicle, the bricks we tow down the road, and the frontal area exposed to the wind seem to require more power to pull at the same speed.
As the years went by, the shape of the 1980 front wall changes stayed close to the same. There were some models, like the 2003 Slide campers and then the 2004 slide campers, where the roofline curve was very different: the 2003 had less curve, and the 2004 to 2007 had more. But the slide campers are built slightly differently due to the trailer frame and floor level. And the smooth-sided fiberglass option, in place of the corrugated aluminum, had different curve radii, most likely because fiberglass cannot be bent as far or as tightly as aluminum can.
And then there were new-concept campers, like the year 2000 Advancer, where they created a short-lived line of campers with aluminum wall and floor framing, I suspect to keep up with having options like the rest of the RV industry was getting into. The front wall was, well, different.
In case you did not know, there are sales brochures in the RESOURCES tab at the top of the forum. They have all kinds of good info in them. Click it and go in and find Sunline Brochures and download a copy of the year you are looking for.
To sum it up, the camper design evolved over the years, and Sunline and the RV industry changed as well. While aerodynamics may have driven some of the change, they later found that the shape of the front made only a slight difference in fuel/power reduction; exposure to the wind (frontal area) is the most significant driver (total width and height, aka the brick wall). Sunline kept the 1980s shape, and it may have been due to improved interior features that allowed more room in the floor plans. I must say, the Sunlines are different enough from other brands. I can spot a Sunline by the front wall more quickly than with other manufacturers.
Club member Sunline Fan may have more on this; he is our resident Sunline historian guru.
Hope this helps.
John
The shape of the front wall has changed over the years. Here are a few of the Sunline styles.
Sunline Fan's latest collection item, a 1976 Orbiter Sunline
And here is another Sunline Fan Collectable he is restoring, a 1979 12 1/2MC
That is not to say that the front wall of all the Sunline in the 70s looked like that. There was a contest once to find the oldest Sunline, and a 1971 21RB showed up, and the front wall changed where the window is. A small pic of that 1971 camper is on the Sunline Coach Wiki page. See here Sunline Coach Company - Wikipedia
When the 80s arrived, the shape of the front wall began to change. Here is an excerpt from the 1980 brochure.
And from the 1981 brochure
I think the thought process behind changing the shape of the top of the front wall was to better deflect the wind. I'm not sure that actually paned out to save a lot of fuel. The tow vehicle, the bricks we tow down the road, and the frontal area exposed to the wind seem to require more power to pull at the same speed.
As the years went by, the shape of the 1980 front wall changes stayed close to the same. There were some models, like the 2003 Slide campers and then the 2004 slide campers, where the roofline curve was very different: the 2003 had less curve, and the 2004 to 2007 had more. But the slide campers are built slightly differently due to the trailer frame and floor level. And the smooth-sided fiberglass option, in place of the corrugated aluminum, had different curve radii, most likely because fiberglass cannot be bent as far or as tightly as aluminum can.
And then there were new-concept campers, like the year 2000 Advancer, where they created a short-lived line of campers with aluminum wall and floor framing, I suspect to keep up with having options like the rest of the RV industry was getting into. The front wall was, well, different.
In case you did not know, there are sales brochures in the RESOURCES tab at the top of the forum. They have all kinds of good info in them. Click it and go in and find Sunline Brochures and download a copy of the year you are looking for.
To sum it up, the camper design evolved over the years, and Sunline and the RV industry changed as well. While aerodynamics may have driven some of the change, they later found that the shape of the front made only a slight difference in fuel/power reduction; exposure to the wind (frontal area) is the most significant driver (total width and height, aka the brick wall). Sunline kept the 1980s shape, and it may have been due to improved interior features that allowed more room in the floor plans. I must say, the Sunlines are different enough from other brands. I can spot a Sunline by the front wall more quickly than with other manufacturers.
Club member Sunline Fan may have more on this; he is our resident Sunline historian guru.
Hope this helps.
John
JohnGB
Senior Member
Site Team
H'mm. OK, this pic is from the 1994 Sunline brochure showing a side profile of a Solaris model with a 3-sloped front wall. Note the red strip just above the door and where it intersects for the first slope down from the roof.
From your other post, I found this pic. If this is the camper you are working on, it has the same basic three slope-shaped front wall. But the first top slope off the roof line, down and blended into the rock guard area, may have a slightly different curve at the transition and be higher up the wall. It is hard to see this from this one pic. If it is different, I have a guess as to why it is different. Note: The red strip is where it intersects the end of the first top slope and the start of the second slope, with the front window in it. Your camper shows that second slope area starting higher up the wall.
Here is the guess: your T2553 is a front kitchen, and that floor plan has the kitchen sink on the front wall, a long countertop, and a front window. There are also top cabinets across the top of the wall. That floor plan may need the first slope to transition to a higher slope up the wall, so the front window is above the countertop. Point being: The Floor plan may require a change to the front wall. If you had a front bedroom with no countertop and a window above it, the first slope area may be able to run down farther before the next transition starts. The same basic 3-slope front wall remains; the transition between the slopes may shift if the floor plan requires it.
I have noticed that the three-slope front walls on other years and models change slightly, where the first slope off the roof blends into the 2nd slope, and the 3rd slope is shifted. While I have seen it, I never thought hard enough as to why; now I may have figured it out.
Does it sound like it may fit what you are seeing?
I hope this helps.
John
From your other post, I found this pic. If this is the camper you are working on, it has the same basic three slope-shaped front wall. But the first top slope off the roof line, down and blended into the rock guard area, may have a slightly different curve at the transition and be higher up the wall. It is hard to see this from this one pic. If it is different, I have a guess as to why it is different. Note: The red strip is where it intersects the end of the first top slope and the start of the second slope, with the front window in it. Your camper shows that second slope area starting higher up the wall.
Here is the guess: your T2553 is a front kitchen, and that floor plan has the kitchen sink on the front wall, a long countertop, and a front window. There are also top cabinets across the top of the wall. That floor plan may need the first slope to transition to a higher slope up the wall, so the front window is above the countertop. Point being: The Floor plan may require a change to the front wall. If you had a front bedroom with no countertop and a window above it, the first slope area may be able to run down farther before the next transition starts. The same basic 3-slope front wall remains; the transition between the slopes may shift if the floor plan requires it.
I have noticed that the three-slope front walls on other years and models change slightly, where the first slope off the roof blends into the 2nd slope, and the 3rd slope is shifted. While I have seen it, I never thought hard enough as to why; now I may have figured it out.
Does it sound like it may fit what you are seeing?
I hope this helps.
John
Yes, my sink was centered on the front windows. There was open shelving from the curb window to the road wall then a small two door cabinet, then the microwave cabinet tight to the fridge cabinet. The shelving at the crown was basically no man's land, as no normal person could reach the dead zone in the corner
JohnGB
Senior Member
Site Team
Hey, it is "your camper". Custom build away! I have, and many others do too! 
Looking forward to seeing your handiwork when you get to that point.
Looking forward to seeing your handiwork when you get to that point.
Sunline Fan
Sunline Historian
Site Team
The shape of Sunlines changed a lot over the years. There wasn't just one front profile, and they changed yearly in some cases, as well as by floorplan as John pointed out. Plus the slide trailers had different profiles depending on years too.
From when the 2653 was introduced in 1993, they really changed around the front wall design inside. The first year '93 through mid '96 models had a simple valance over the window with no significant shelf or cabinet, other than a small extension shelf on the side next to the microwave and the opposite side.
In late '96, they redesigned the front to remove both side shelves and put one small shelf across the whole width of the front wall. I think this is more functional because you can stash all sorts of food up there.
Late in the '99 model year/for the start of the 2000 model year, through the end of the 2653 in 2004, Sunline actually made this a small cabinet across the whole width of the trailer, with two cabinet doors. I'm not sure how functional this would be compared to the shelf options.
From when the 2653 was introduced in 1993, they really changed around the front wall design inside. The first year '93 through mid '96 models had a simple valance over the window with no significant shelf or cabinet, other than a small extension shelf on the side next to the microwave and the opposite side.
In late '96, they redesigned the front to remove both side shelves and put one small shelf across the whole width of the front wall. I think this is more functional because you can stash all sorts of food up there.
Late in the '99 model year/for the start of the 2000 model year, through the end of the 2653 in 2004, Sunline actually made this a small cabinet across the whole width of the trailer, with two cabinet doors. I'm not sure how functional this would be compared to the shelf options.
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