1. I looked everywhere to find a replacement weather seal for around the entry door of my Trill. the closest I could find to original rubber was an automotive seal that slips on over the "edge" of a panel and stays in place with a friction fit. Well show me a FGRV with a uniform thickness along the doorway opening and this stuff would work great! ENTER THE CHEAP FIX... Hollow foam insulation tubes for the copper pipes in your home. They come in conveniant 6' lenghts at a buck apiece! Get the kind that you remove a protective strip from the slit in them to expose the adhesive that bonds them once they are in place. This adhesive adheres really well to both the gel coat outside and the ensolite inside. Viola... a nice water tite seal for around your door. Also great for taller folks that have a tendancy to bonk thier head.
BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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2. A previous owner of our Trill had done a really poor attempt at FG repair on the bottem front corners of the shell. It was ugly, uneven, discolored, etc. I tried sanding... bad idea... I am pretty sensitive to FG fibers on my skin. I tried a UV curing body filler... what a horrible disaster. I tried spray on "rocker panel" coatings... less than thrilled. Now I had an even worse looking mess to deal with! ENTER THE CHEAP FIX... one quart of Tremclad rust paint... "RV White"... and a bunch of sand. Put on a coat of paint with a roller... throw sand all over wet paint... roll again to coat sand and smooth finish. Repeat a few times then let it dry well. Put on a final coat of paint, without sand, and you have a nice looking chip guard type finish for about $10.
BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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OK cheapos' like me... I showed you mine...
Full Version: Suggestions for inexpensive DIY repairs
FiberglassRV > All About Our Unique Little Molded Fiberglass Trailers > Modifications, Alterations and Neat Updates
From one fellow cheapo to another.....show us the pictures!
(Ps: Good job.)
(Ps: Good job.)
Hi Kevin......being cheap is great, isn't it? One particular addition that we made to Dewey our 1974 Trill was an electric water pump.....no - not $80 from an RV place. We used a car windshield washer pump which cost around $11. Works just great!
I will think of more, but this is one of my favorites.
Brenda Novakovski
Saskatoon, SK
I will think of more, but this is one of my favorites.
Brenda Novakovski
Saskatoon, SK
I needed sumpin' to hold up my gravel guard at the front of the Boler.. hmm...
Busted cedar arrows! The arrow's plastic nocks fit perfectly over the original metal fittings - total cost? Maybe a buck, but I had lots of archery fun with them first! Alec
Busted cedar arrows! The arrow's plastic nocks fit perfectly over the original metal fittings - total cost? Maybe a buck, but I had lots of archery fun with them first! Alec
QUOTE (Kevin Woods @ Jul 1 2007, 09:08 AM) 
1. I looked everywhere to find a replacement weather seal for around the entry door of my Trill. the closest I could find to original rubber was an automotive seal that slips on over the "edge" of a panel and stays in place with a friction fit. Well show me a FGRV with a uniform thickness along the doorway opening and this stuff would work great! ENTER THE CHEAP FIX... Hollow foam insulation tubes for the copper pipes in your home. They come in conveniant 6' lenghts at a buck apiece! Get the kind that you remove a protective strip from the slit in them to expose the adhesive that bonds them once they are in place. This adhesive adheres really well to both the gel coat outside and the ensolite inside. Viola... a nice water tite seal for around your door. Also great for taller folks that have a tendancy to bonk thier head.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
2. A previous owner of our Trill had done a really poor attempt at FG repair on the bottem front corners of the shell. It was ugly, uneven, discolored, etc. I tried sanding... bad idea... I am pretty sensitive to FG fibers on my skin. I tried a UV curing body filler... what a horrible disaster. I tried spray on "rocker panel" coatings... less than thrilled. Now I had an even worse looking mess to deal with! ENTER THE CHEAP FIX... one quart of Tremclad rust paint... "RV White"... and a bunch of sand. Put on a coat of paint with a roller... throw sand all over wet paint... roll again to coat sand and smooth finish. Repeat a few times then let it dry well. Put on a final coat of paint, without sand, and you have a nice looking chip guard type finish for about $10.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
OK cheapos' like me... I showed you mine...
BEFORE:
AFTER:
2. A previous owner of our Trill had done a really poor attempt at FG repair on the bottem front corners of the shell. It was ugly, uneven, discolored, etc. I tried sanding... bad idea... I am pretty sensitive to FG fibers on my skin. I tried a UV curing body filler... what a horrible disaster. I tried spray on "rocker panel" coatings... less than thrilled. Now I had an even worse looking mess to deal with! ENTER THE CHEAP FIX... one quart of Tremclad rust paint... "RV White"... and a bunch of sand. Put on a coat of paint with a roller... throw sand all over wet paint... roll again to coat sand and smooth finish. Repeat a few times then let it dry well. Put on a final coat of paint, without sand, and you have a nice looking chip guard type finish for about $10.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
OK cheapos' like me... I showed you mine...
I really think this is a great idea.
QUOTE (Al Stansell @ Jul 1 2007, 06:39 PM)
I needed sumpin' to hold up my gravel guard at the front of the Boler.. hmm...
Busted cedar arrows! The arrow's plastic nocks fit perfectly over the original metal fittings - total cost? Maybe a buck, but I had lots of archery fun with them first! Alec
Busted cedar arrows! The arrow's plastic nocks fit perfectly over the original metal fittings - total cost? Maybe a buck, but I had lots of archery fun with them first! Alec
Is the gravel guard fastened to the arrow at the top, or is the guard just resting on the end of the arrow?
Thanks for the clarification.
Vivian
This pipe insulation idea is excellent! I have used it for many things that its not intended for (story of my life) but never thought of this! THANK YOU!
QUOTE (Vivian @ Jul 2 2007, 08:05 PM)
Is the gravel guard fastened to the arrow at the top, or is the guard just resting on the end of the arrow?
Thanks for the clarification.
Vivian
Thanks for the clarification.
Vivian
Hi Vivian - the guard just rests on the arrow shaft ends - there are no points on the shafts. Alec
I just spent an afternoon looking for the trim around the door, thank you for the solution! What an awesome idea to use pipe insulation tubes.. off to Home Depot I go....
here are some of the improvements I have made to my Lady-Bug 13ft Boler.
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/can...2013ft%20Boler/
I too look for the cheapest way of doing things and things like the shelves, bunk rail and floor racks for bins are just from wood or materials I had laying around.
Other improvements such as jacks were found in junk yards and for a 6pk of hard cidar had the guy weld them on.
These improvements such as battery / with box, wireing, exhaust fan and a water pump and breaker box are a bit more expensive but well worth the $$$ spent.
Gerry the canoebuilder
http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g108/can...2013ft%20Boler/
I too look for the cheapest way of doing things and things like the shelves, bunk rail and floor racks for bins are just from wood or materials I had laying around.
Other improvements such as jacks were found in junk yards and for a 6pk of hard cidar had the guy weld them on.
These improvements such as battery / with box, wireing, exhaust fan and a water pump and breaker box are a bit more expensive but well worth the $$$ spent.
Gerry the canoebuilder
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