Working on 1985 U-Haul 13ct

[Eric Nelson]

In November I bought a 1985 U-Haul. Replaced a 25' Airstream which was getting too much to haul. Unit had been reworked as far as mechanicals, but cosmetics inside were rough. I thought some of my solutions to problems might be of interest.

Fiberglass surrounding cupboard inserts and icebox were in rough shape, cracked and weak. I cut lengths of 3/4 x 1 1/2" furring strips and screwed them to the back of the fiberglass to stiffen the glass. Then screwed liners and icebox thru glass to furring strips with sheet metal screws, using finish washers to get a better hold on the glass.

Stove had been pulled leaving a big ugly hole and glass counter was pretty well trashed. Since our only inside cooking will be on a microwave, I picked up some white-finished masonite used for wainscoting and cut a piece to fit the counter and cover the hole. attached it to counter with screws and finish washers and then added a splash panel of the same material. The splash panel covered the opening where the vent fan had been.

Previous owner had replaced the heater with a heat pump which took up a lot of closet. I made a panel of same masonite to conceal heat pump and then added two shelves above heat pump. The original closet door was cleaned up and closes the opening over the shelves.

We will not be using the dinette, so made it into permanent bed. Covered the whole dinette space with 1" styrofoam and 1/2" BC plywood. Then added original cushions and a layer of foam to make a cozy bed.

Lots of cleaning with English oil soap and our egg is about ready to travel. Looking forward to our first trip south in January.

PS: As I did this work, I found this Forum invaluable. Keep up the good work.

[Donna D.]

Sounds great Eric! Any pictures you could share? Let us know about your trips too.

[Eric Nelson]

Sounds great Eric! Any pictures you could share? Let us know about your trips too.

Donna
13 degrees out there today - will try to get pictures soon.
Eric

[Pat B Ohio]

Hi Eric,
I have an Ohio Uhaul too! Be sure to put in that silver bubble insulation...it is a wonder. I used 4.5 rolls slid up between the layers of shell. I can get my Uhaul cosy with an electric heater in just a few minutes, even at 20 degrees! I'm looking into the options for the bed area. The foam intrigues me....Hmmm....that would really make it snug. I hope to get my front dinette finished and posted soon.....

[Eric Nelson]

Hi Eric,
I have an Ohio Uhaul too! Be sure to put in that silver bubble insulation...it is a wonder. I used 4.5 rolls slid up between the layers of shell. I can get my Uhaul cosy with an electric heater in just a few minutes, even at 20 degrees! I'm looking into the options for the bed area. The foam intrigues me....Hmmm....that would really make it snug. I hope to get my front dinette finished and posted soon.....

Pat
I wonder if we are the only U-Haul TT owners in Ohio. I'm not familiar with silver bubble insulation, and how do you slide it between layers. Sounds like a great idea. Little stinker cools off in a hurry when it gets cold.
Eric

[CindyL]

You guys are not the only Ohio Uhaul owners. Uhaulcamper.com has one or two if they still participate since the web site was reorganized.

CindyL

[MikeCM]

I'm not familiar with silver bubble insulation, and how do you slide it between layers. Sounds like a great idea. Little stinker cools off in a hurry when it gets cold.

Eric, Pat is referring to "reflectix" best described as bubble wrap between foil layers. The large home repair stores usually carry in either or both 24" or 48" rolls. Reflectix Inc. In the past few days I read somewhere on this site about air space adding to the insulating rating (perhaps it was Raya L. that posted the link).

We started using reflectix with our first popup under the mattress to limit the condensation and keeping the bed warmer.

Mike

[Pat B Ohio]

I'm glad Mike is here to get my terms right. It's just the silver bubble stuff to me. I got the 16" rolls at Menards...then you slip it between the layers and use friction with a bit of tape to hold it in place. It's 13 degrees and a small electric heater warms it up even with the wind. The only drawback is be prepared to get spiked by fiberglass shreds. I got it behind most double wall areas. You must be careful of the wiring. It was well worth it. When I redo the head liner, I will install it under the carpet.

[Terry R.]

You Ohio Uhaulers really need to make it to next year's gathering at Caesar's Creek State Park. There are a lot of Casitas but other fiberglass is fun to see.

[Kevin A]

We try to go to the Shawnee pow-wow at Zane Caverns each year in August. Where in west central Ohio do you live? (Zane Caverns is near Bellefontaine.)

[Steve DeWeese]

I know I don't post much, but I am here as well. My friend bought a 13ft U-Haul and did not like it, I don't understand what is not to like. Since I found it for him I felt the need to buy it from him. It now sits in Tiffin OH at my fathers house. I promised it to my daughter but am beginning to believe she is never going to come and get it. I also have a 13ft Trillium which I love even though it still is not fixed up since I bought it. I live in Dayton OH and am still in the AF but may be forced (because I don't want to go) to retire soon. I may find myself with extra time to fix up both of these trailers and no I don't want to sell either no matter what just encase someone might ask. I hope to get more involved in going to more meets if the worse happens.

[Eric Nelson]

We try to go to the Shawnee pow-wow at Zane Caverns each year in August. Where in west central Ohio do you live? (Zane Caverns is near Bellefontaine.)

Celina

[Eric Nelson]

I know I don't post much, but I am here as well. My friend bought a 13ft U-Haul and did not like it, I don't understand what is not to like. Since I found it for him I felt the need to buy it from him. It now sits in Tiffin OH at my fathers house. I promised it to my daughter but am beginning to believe she is never going to come and get it. I also have a 13ft Trillium which I love even though it still is not fixed up since I bought it. I live in Dayton OH and am still in the AF but may be forced (because I don't want to go) to retire soon. I may find myself with extra time to fix up both of these trailers and no I don't want to sell either no matter what just encase someone might ask. I hope to get more involved in going to more meets if the worse happens.

These little porta-pottys on wheels (my daughters comment) are the only trailers I've seen that are larger inside than outside. When I'm working on ours sometimes I just sit for awhile on the couch, look around and think, "Wow, this is really neat." I'm really looking forward to getting ours on the road.
Eric

[David and Theresa Shibley]

Hello Everyone

Well I'm sitting here in my office looking out the back at our 13' Burro burried in snow. I can't wait until spring.

Anyway Pat and Mike I was wondering if you had used single or double sided Reflextix and how is the condensation if any?

David and Theresa Snow Belt Ontario

[MikeCM]

Hello Everyone

Well I'm sitting here in my office looking out the back at our 13' Burro burried in snow. I can't wait until spring.

Anyway Pat and Mike I was wondering if you had used single or double sided Reflextix and how is the condensation if any?

David and Theresa Snow Belt Ontario

I have always used the double sided (didn't know about the single till I was looking for the link above.) We have used it under the mattresses on both popups and both hybrid campers so far. Both of those types of campers end up with lots of condensation under the mattresses that wicks up and makes the beds uncomfortable to sleep in. After adding the insulation the mattresses stayed nice and dry.

I have not yet added any to my Burro, but will be putting under the cushions in the spring, as I felt the moisture on the last camping trip. I will probably look for the 16" width that Pat described and attempt to slide up between the shells too. I thought about putting under the headliner about an hour after I finished replacing. Decided not to rip it apart that quick.

Just like David and Theresa my Burro is under more than a foot of snow, I tried to get in yesterday and the door is frozen shut, looks like I will need to wait for some sun before I get back in to do much work.

Mike

[RICK H.]

Rick & Cindy Hughart from Edon Oh. very north and west point in Ohio, just a couple miles south of turnpike westgate. We have a 13 foot Uhaul ct. I also know of another just a few miles from me that does also get used. This spring I will be towing ours with a '69 Volkswagen Doublecab pickup. Lots of Uhauls lurking in Ohio! I took mine to Kellys Island last Oct. for it's first outing to our Vw club annual outing, it got alot of looks and thumbs up. RICK

[CindyL]

Rick,

We just have to touch base. I would love to see a double cab pulling a Uhaul. All I have of our single cab pulling our Uhaul is a photoshopped image. The only connection to our Uhaul that the single cab actually has is that it is Kevin's storage location for camping equipment in the truckbed.

I am not sure if we are going east for vacation this year. We have for the last two years, but Kevin wants to go west this year, so seeing your setup that way may not be likely, although we might again try to get the powwow.

Are you bring it to Effingham next year? We always go to that one. Very few VW pickups. You would probably win in your category. We have talked about entering our Eurovan with our Uhaul but have not done so yet. We did win once at a show in WI with our Eurovan and our Burro.

Last year, we saw a Boler and an Eriba Puck, but I cannot remember their tow vehicles. Not likely pickups. There just are not many there.

CindyL

[Pam Garlow]

I'm intrigued about the bubble wrap - I can see how you might push it into place with a long stick or something, but how do you get the tape way back there? If you don't tape it, won't the bubble wrap shift or slide down from the vibrations while towing?

[Pat B Ohio]

The bubble wrap is held in by compression at the top. I have yet to bounce it down the road more than 50 miles, but the tape held it. I suppose you could use a bit of butyl on it. The rough backside surface of the fiberglass seems to hold well.

[Kevin A]

In our 16' UHaul, it seems very hard to get to the spaces to insert any insulation like described above. Do the 13' UHauls have more access to the double walls? Maybe through the closet? Our privacy room is screwed in place so no access there. The pantry also would need to totally be removed to get to the side walls. I don't even know how to get at the walls behind the kitchen setup! How do you do it?