I think the monocoque issue was best described in a 2007 post by Karl Blade, owner of Newell Coach:
Quote:
Monocoque or semi-monocoque are labels that lack precise definition when applied to motor coaches. Neither Prevost nor Newell use a separate frame-rail chassis, while certainly neither is a pure monocoque in the aircraft sense. Both are most accurately described as semi-monocoque. But there are differences that are especially relevant to including large, multiple slide-outs.
Newell uses heavier steel framing below the floor and aluminum for the body framing above the floor line. Prevost uses a lighter steel frame below the floor and heavier steel body framing. The Newell approach results in more strength from the floor down. The Prevost design relies more on the body structure above the floor, in particular on a horizontal trust-like structure from the floor to the bottom of the windows running the full length of the coach. A significant difference in the results is that the Newell structure, deriving more of its strength from the structure below the floor and comparatively less from the body side walls, has been far more compatible with the addition of slide-outs, particularly larger slide-outs and multiple slide-outs, that require the sidewalls to be cut vertically.
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