Looking for help for Fiberstream rehab - Fiberglass RV
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Old 02-18-2008, 02:43 PM   #1
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Trailer: 76 Fiber Stream
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.... I have a Playpac which I have gutted and am now putting back together. I am looking for help with the propane, power etc. .....
We are new members of this website because we are new owners of a Fiber Stream project. It's usable as it is but .... well, you understand. Like Liza, we are looking for anything and everything we can find about using, remodeling and the care & feeding of an older fiberglass trailer. The list of things we need to learn is way more than I can list here. Many of you have probably been down this path already. Might you direct us to other threads on this site or other resources (on this site or elsewhere on the net) that would get us started? Here are a few items of special interest which I'm guessing Liza would be interested in too. So I'm piggy-backing on her thread.

+ Basic living operations: water tanks, black water, heaters, ..... How does one operate one of these rigs. The previous owner gave us a walk-through but what we really need is a User's Manual. Is there such a thing? All suggestions and info appreciaed.

+ Appliances: The stove, oven, refrig and water heater are supposed to be working. Not sure how to work them but ..... (see above). There is no space heater though. A previous owner removed it. If you were installing a new heater what would you use? Seems a microwave would be very handy too. Any suggestions?

+ Interior paneling: Ours is 70's old, dark, scratched and broken in places. We want to lighten and polish it up. Maybe even make some minor changes. What is the best paneling material to use?

+ Towing: The trailer has a dual axles and 4-wheels but it doesn't have brakes or sway/weight balancing hitch. The previous owner towed it with a regular car and is encouraging us to try that before we spend a lot of money on upgrading the towing package. We'll be picking up next week and need to tow it home about 300 miles. We're towing with a Toyota 4Runner (6 cyl) which makes us wonder how necessary these are for such a light weight trailer. I think trailer weight will be well under 3,000 pounds fully loaded. What is your experience? Do you think we need to add brakes and sway/WB hitch before driving it home? Or before using it?

+ Exterior care and treatment: What do you recommend for spiffing up the shell?

I appreciate each of these is its own thread. And much of it has probably been covered on this site previously - repeatedly. We're still finding our way around. Please feel free to direct us anyplace you think will be helpful.

Thanks so much. Happy Trails, lindsay
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Old 02-18-2008, 03:13 PM   #2
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I appreciate each of these is its own thread. And much of it has probably been covered on this site previously - repeatedly. We're still finding our way around. Please feel free to direct us anyplace you think will be helpful.
Oh my. I trolled a little further down the Care & Feeding threads and see there is a huge amount of content dealing with the hitch and towing issues. So I presume most of my other questions will be answered with a little more trolling. Still, please feel free to reply if you think you can speed up my learning. TIA.
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Old 02-18-2008, 07:09 PM   #3
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Hi Lindsay,

I suggest you come and check out the Lake San Antonio Rally near Paso Robles

I know there will be at least TWO Fiberstreams there for you to check out and pick the owners brains on.

It's not too far away, and there are still a few spots left!
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Old 02-18-2008, 08:07 PM   #4
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Did you get the San Diego Fiberstream?

The "No Brakes" makes me think so.

If so, I am pretty sure that you will find DMV might take a dim view of it.

From the California DMV website

"In California, brakes are required on any trailer coach or camp trailer having a gross weight of 1500 lbs. or more."

I would actually focus on getting them installed before I worried about cosmetic upgrades. Law or no, it's an awfully big trailer to be tugging around without them.

You may run into issues when registering it as well, but obviously, it was registered before... not sure how that got missed, or maybe it wasn't a requirement at the time.

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Old 02-18-2008, 09:52 PM   #5
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Quote:
+ Basic living operations: water tanks, black water, heaters, ..... How does one operate one of these rigs. The previous owner gave us a walk-through but what we really need is a User's Manual. [b]Is there such a thing?
The closest thing on the net to a general User's Manual for basic living operations are The "poop sheets" by Phred I consider them the most comprehensive set of instructions, written in plain English, available. Period. The above link is to the index, so get comfortable and be prepared to do a lot of reading.
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Old 02-18-2008, 10:31 PM   #6
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Quote:
+ Towing: The trailer has a dual axles and 4-wheels but it doesn't have brakes or sway/weight balancing hitch. The previous owner towed it with a regular car and is encouraging us to try that before we spend a lot of money on upgrading the towing package. We'll be picking up next week and need to tow it home about 300 miles. [b]We're towing with a Toyota 4Runner (6 cyl) which makes us wonder how necessary these are for such a light weight trailer. I think trailer weight will be well under 3,000 pounds fully loaded. What is your experience? Do you think we need to add brakes and sway/WB hitch before driving it home? Or before using it?
Quote:
Did you get the San Diego Fiberstream?

The "No Brakes" makes me think so.
Lindsay:

[b]Please. Find a public truck scale and weigh your trailer.

1. Main Street Recycling, 1751 4th Avenue (Behind Smart & Final), Chula Vista, CA (619) 585-4870
2. Edco Recycling, 6700 Federal Boulevard, (next to Hwy 94) Lemon Grove, CA (619) 287-7555
3. Mayflower Transit Agency, 9320 Miramar Road, San Diego, CA (858) 578-2000
4. Mayflower Transit Agency, 1426 Fayette Street, El Cajon, CA (619) 449-2600

It will be possible to tow without brakes, as long as nothing unexpected happens. Once the unexpected happens, you'll wonder just what you were thinking for going without them. It won't be pretty. It will be expensive. Don't ask me how I know this.

I might have risked 30 miles. But not 300. I would put brakes on it as soon as possible.
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Old 02-19-2008, 12:58 AM   #7
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Oh my. I trolled a little further down the Care & Feeding threads and see there is a huge amount of content dealing with the hitch and towing issues. So I presume most of my other questions will be answered with a little more trolling. Still, please feel free to reply if you think you can speed up my learning. TIA.
For the record, you weren't trolling; trolling is posting deliberately rude or offensive or preposterous stuf in the hopes of having folks respond so you can flame and annoy them and generally cause trouble on a group. Just like trolling for fish.

For the record, I also recommend brakes. The law may or may not require them but they are a really good idea.
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Old 02-19-2008, 06:46 AM   #8
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For interior surfaces, paint is the quick and easy way to alter the look with little cost and effort. However, I covered all the flat surfaces that were original walnut contact paper with maple Formica. On the curved surfaces I used maple pattern contact paper. It made the interior much lighter and open feeling.

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=75992181

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Old 02-19-2008, 01:34 PM   #9
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Like Liza, we are looking for anything and everything we can find about using, remodeling and the care & feeding of an older fiberglass trailer. ......So I'm piggy-backing on her thread.
Thank you webmaster. Splitting this off into a new thread makes sense. Curiously, I'm not seeing the other 6 replies in the 'Posts in this Topic' frame when I click the new thread title link. They're not lost as they are showing up in the Replies column. But I can only actually see them and read them when I open a Reply window. Is this only happening on my end or might other viewers be experiencing the same thing?

Just in case others are not seeing the full thread yet let me note. Before this post got split from Lisa's 'Looking for Help' thread I added something like this to my post. I'm not seeing it displayed here on the new thread so let me re-post it again. It went like this:

"Oh my. I trolled a little further down the Care & Feeding threads and see there is a huge amount of content dealing with the hitch and towing issues. So I presume most of my other questions will be answered with a little more trolling. Still, please feel free to reply if you think you can speed up my learning. TIA."

Also, thank you to those who already submitted comments. They are all very helpful. And I'm really really glad to learn about the get-together in May. This is going to be wonderfully helpful!
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Old 02-19-2008, 01:50 PM   #10
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Is this only happening on my end or might other viewers be experiencing the same thing?
Curious. I closed and re-opened my Firefox browser and was still unable to view the topic thread. But when I opened an IE browser the entire thread displays just fine. So the problem must be on my end. <sigh>
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Old 02-19-2008, 01:57 PM   #11
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I can offer a little Fiber Stream information. Meguire's makes a good gel coat wax, available at marine supply stores and maybe a auto supply.

Brakes? Absolutely! I second everybody's suggestion to get them fixed ASAP.

As for the panelling - Old English Scratch Cover works really well to cover the scuff marks and polish up the panelling. And Zinser Primer sticks to the foam on the walls and seems to stay. It makes a good base for paint.

Hope some of this helps!
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Old 02-19-2008, 02:13 PM   #12
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Curious. I closed and re-opened my Firefox browser and was still unable to view the topic thread. But when I opened an IE browser the entire thread displays just fine. So the problem must be on my end. <sigh>
Delete the cache.
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Old 02-19-2008, 08:23 PM   #13
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Quote:
Do you think we need to add ... sway/WB hitch before driving it home? Or before using it?
With double axles I find the Fiber Stream trailer to be the most stable towing trailer out there. I doubt that you'd require a friction anti-sway bar.

If you're towing with a rear wheel drive vehicle, you may not need a Weight Distributing hitch, either. I use one only because I tow with a front wheel drive minivan that specifically required using a WDH in the owner's manual.
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