Wood interior in a fiberglass trailer??

[Bob Miller]

RE: Scamp vs. Light weight

I was trying to be nice... I didn't want to say flimsy or cheesy.....LOL

Originally Posted by Steve_N_Janna

Bob, I'm not convinced that Scamp's primary objective is to build their trailers as light as possible - but rather to build them reasonably light while keeping materials cost as low as possible. After all, they are in business to make money. Witness the amount of particle board they use - which is cheaper, heavier, and less durable than the real deal.

I think a home builder - or renovator - could easily produce a lighter trailer than Scamp, even when maximizing the use of wood, through thoughtful design and careful selection of materials. (see Floyd's post). I don't have before and after weights for my Scamp renovation, but I can testify that the presswood bathroom and cabinet doors I pulled out weighed a bunch. The poplar boards and 1/4" birch ply I used to rebuild the interior was light in comparison.

[Roy in TO]

It would be interesting to know the weight of a boler whose interior has been finished in wood. Then compare that to some of the trailers in the "Trailer Weights in the Real World" thread. The "Pine cone" many have seen belongs to one of our members here.
lespnd's Trailer :: The Pine Cone
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...one-34235.html
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ate-49323.html

[deryk]

Thanks Roy! Thats the one I was thinking about.

[Geartos]

Originally Posted by carlkeigley

You might check this out.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ium-58441.html

Great - thank you!

[John Linck]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Looking at the Scamp factory spec sheets, as I suggested, indicates that a 13' scamp will gain approximately of 100 lbs total weight and a 20% increase in hitch weight with the wood interior option.

The OP was asking about adding a complete wood interior, including full wood walls and ceiling. Without what expertise the Scamp factory has amassed in building as lightly as possible, I would hazard a guess that a home built wood interior could easily add upwards of 250+ lbs to an interior.

Scamp uses lots of ¾ inch solid oak and heavy veneer covered particle boards. Half inch oak and veneer core plywoods would save considerable weight.

[David Tilston]

There are trailers that would be less difficult to add a wood interior to. Trailers that have more or less square features. Like the Trillium Jubilee:
Trailer Jubilee 1980 | travel trailers, campers | Moncton | Kijiji

Or Amerigo, Leocraft, Dolphin,...

[Geartos]

Originally Posted by Steve_N_Janna

Wood details - doors, cabinetry, a panel here and there - go a long way toward softening the look of the interior.

My $0.02: Another consideration with paneling the interior walls is the added weight. If fuel economy when towing is a concern, then the lighter the better.

Wow - that is NICE!

[Geartos]

Originally Posted by floyd

We also did a project 13 which we called "Shelly"(started with an empty shell) replacing everything with wood and conventional countertops with no significant weight increase compared to a comparably equipped Scamp standard....

Wow - that is seriously nice - very clean looking..

[Pam Garlow]

Ciaran, you seem very much in love with the wood interior. I belong to a vintage trailer club and I have seen so many of them with beautiful wood work inside. Have you considered that there are many (non-fiberglass) vintage trailers that you can buy at reasonable prices that will have wood interiors already. Is there a specific reason that you are purchasing fiberglass?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Geartos

Wow - that is seriously nice - very clean looking..

Thank You so much for the kind words!

[Geartos]

Originally Posted by Pam Garlow

Ciaran, you seem very much in love with the wood interior. I belong to a vintage trailer club and I have seen so many of them with beautiful wood work inside. Have you considered that there are many (non-fiberglass) vintage trailers that you can buy at reasonable prices that will have wood interiors already. Is there a specific reason that you are purchasing fiberglass?

Yeah, I just love the look. Only reason about the fiberglass is simply because I spotted one very close to where we cottage (which happens to be a fiberglass Trillium), and I've never seen any of these small trailers anywhere else - fiberglass or wood. Even searching online for ones for sale comes up with maybe one or two..

[Gina D.]

I have a "squarish" one, with an original finish of luan glued on rigid foam. It was relatively easy to do my interior with t/g cedar by simply brad nailing over the original surfaces.

I did some "dieting" of the interior to compensate for the added weight. Like others, removing the original cupboard doors and rebuilding featherlite new ones help quite a bit, and getting rid of heavy table tops and replacing with birch ply etc. I did whatever I could to get the weight down before adding the cedar.

Since my trailer is my home, and I am well within my tow limits, I was not too concerned about adding a little. Its still not quite done, I have trimming and more painting to do, but you get the idea.

[Gina D.]

more

[David Tilston]

You are in Ontario. That is prime Trillium territory. In about a month, kijiji will have pages full of them. The ones in the boonies tend to be less expensive. I have six, and I have not paid more then $3100 for any of them. It does take dedicated shopping, and a willingness to get in your tow vehicle and go on that long drive. Think of it as a mini vacation.

[deryk]

Beautifal Gina! And fiberglass rocks!

[Pam Garlow]

Originally Posted by deryk

Beautifal Gina! And fiberglass rocks!

[David Tilston]

Gina, it was your trailer that I was thinking of when I mentioned Leocraft.

[John Linck]

I think concern over trailer weight can be over-thought and over-worried. MPG had much more to do with aerodynamics than rolling resistance. (My trailers always have brakes) That said there are lots of woodworking tehniques that are lightweight and very strong. Wood doesn't have to mean heavy. Fiberglass is very similar to wood, both are fibers (glass / cellulose) cemented together with resin / lignin. Wood is just limited in its formability. Combining the two can take advantage of the best qualities of each. Fiberglass gets its strength thru its interlocking glass fibers. In woodworking we call that plywood.

The flake board / osb common in our eggs is cheap and heavy and rots very easily. I wish manufacturers would use a naturally decay resistant cedar or doug fir plywood instead. True it might add $100 to a trailer's cost. How many of you would opt for that? I would.

So forget using particle board and thick hardwoods when planning mods. The thick oak and heavy particle board cabinetry in my Scamp is beautiful, but far stronger and heavier than required for durability. It does take a bit more design time and care in fabrication to make wood modifications light and strong, but only a bit. And you get the beauty as well. I use veneer core plywoods, laminations and solid wood thicknesses no thicker than strength requires.

And pay attention to those sharp edges. I plan to spend several hours easing all the sharp edges in my Scamp. Message to Scamp - It would take far less time during the building.

I don't mean to single out Scamp for their construction choices. Other brands are the same in my experience, (at least at this price level). I chose Scamp as one of the best available. I just want to make it better.

[Geartos]

Originally Posted by Gina D.

I have a "squarish" one, with an original finish of luan glued on rigid foam. It was relatively easy to do my interior with t/g cedar by simply brad nailing over the original surfaces.

I did some "dieting" of the interior to compensate for the added weight. Like others, removing the original cupboard doors and rebuilding featherlite new ones help quite a bit, and getting rid of heavy table tops and replacing with birch ply etc. I did whatever I could to get the weight down before adding the cedar.

Since my trailer is my home, and I am well within my tow limits, I was not too concerned about adding a little. Its still not quite done, I have trimming and more painting to do, but you get the idea.

That is beautiful - VERY nice!

[Geartos]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

You are in Ontario. That is prime Trillium territory. In about a month, kijiji will have pages full of them. The ones in the boonies tend to be less expensive. I have six, and I have not paid more then $3100 for any of them. It does take dedicated shopping, and a willingness to get in your tow vehicle and go on that long drive. Think of it as a mini vacation.

Sounds like fun!