1976 scamp restoration - Fiberglass RV
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Old 11-11-2009, 08:24 PM   #1
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Thought I would start this to post pictures to as I progress. I just got the frame finished. I cut off hitch, but had a 2" bulldog hitch installed, new axle, new tire and wheels, the area where the bench was I'm making into a 2 person sitting area and had the welder widen the foot well 6", wire wheeled the old paint and put on satin black rustoleum over gray primer rustoleum over POR15. I had two tongue hitch angles welded to the front. I tried this out with both down and it was really stable. I also had a BAL stabilizer jack welded in the back. Now on to cleaning the fiberglass, cutting new holes for hatches, filling all the holes I don't need, etc...... I work at home and this is helping to keep me sane, as I'm in a slow time. What better way to spend free time!
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Old 11-11-2009, 08:52 PM   #2
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Danny Looking forward to following the restoration you are embarking on ! Please keep us posted with lots of pics. lee
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Old 11-11-2009, 10:34 PM   #3
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Nice work..
You'll love the Bulldog Coupler.
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Old 11-12-2009, 02:09 PM   #4
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Great start on your Scamp. I have recently re-done my '88 in a similar fashion, tho my frame was good and did not need the shell removed.

I, too, am in Oregon... Bend. How 'bout you?

If you haven't seen my mods, you can check out my thread: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/in...howtopic=37679

Maybe you'll find something interesting there.

RJ
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Old 11-13-2009, 11:54 AM   #5
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Danny,

Looks great and I like the customizations I'm glad you're going to keep us in the loop with a photo-thread.

I have a question for you on the axle: I don't need an axle now, but I've often read that the leading arm axles aren't available anymore. However, yours looks like a leading arm in the photo. Can I ask where you got it and if it has a part number or etc.? Did you customize it to make it leading arm? Does it have brakes?



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Old 11-13-2009, 03:13 PM   #6
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Robert, thanks for the information on your restoration, I'll be looking at it latter today. My location is in Hillsboro, but we go down to bend 4 to 5 times a year, maybe we can get together for some camping when the trailers done.

Ray, I ordered my Torflex axle from Potter Webster company in Portland. I had to look measure the trailer to get the custom measurements that they wanted. The information for the axel is; Dexter #9 Torflex Rated at 2200#, 7" electric brakes, 5 on 4.5 hub with ez lube, 22.5 degrees down, 49 1/2" to outside of bracket, 63 1/2" to hub face, low profile bracket. They said putting it in as a leading arm voids Torflexes warranty, but this was my only option as I could not go higher and still get it in the garage. I'm not really to concerned, as the other one worked for many years as a leading arm. I did have to reverse the brakes, but that was very easy to do with a couple of questions answered from Potter Webster. Hope this helps.

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Old 11-13-2009, 03:43 PM   #7
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Today I decided to fill in the vent hatch that was over the kitchen. With us wanting to widen the bed 8+ inches, I didn't want the hatch over the bed, especially if we left it open when gone. I'm keeping the vent and moving it to the front, over the table that will be in our 2 person dinning area. The vent was also the highest item on the trailer, and moving it to the front lowers the total trailer height 1 1/4", or even with the top of the highest part of the fiberglass. We also just purchased a fantastic fan from Vintage Trailer in gray that will be put into the sidewall over the stove. It has a flat top, so it should look fine on the side. I did this because of the 3" it extends over the roof, and I figure I can keep it open and the rain will not get in.

To start the hole removal process, I first sanded down the bottom area and used a grinder on the top to provide a beveled surface to adhere the patch to. I took the edge down to just over 1/16". I then cleaned with acetone. Thanks to other people illustrating how to do this, I first duct taped a piece of cellophane on the bottom of the opening, so the fiberglass would not get attached to the cardboard. Then I cut a series of oversized pieces of cardboard and wedged it up with a 2X4 on a jack. This made a base that followed the contours of the trailer. I then cut one piece of fiberglass to fill the hole, and one more that was 1" oversized. To start I painted in a good coating of resin, installed the hole fill piece, put on another coating of resin, put on the larger patch and then on more coating of resin. Tomorrow, I'll sand any edges that stick up and put on a final coating of resin.
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Old 11-13-2009, 04:48 PM   #8
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Danny,

Please keep posting, it looks like your doing it all right, I like that your making it fit you.

Cheers
Harry
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Old 11-13-2009, 05:10 PM   #9
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I'm keen to know how you will widen your bed those 8"...

The vertical cabinet and galley modules are fixed in space. Will you build a replacement platform (thus requiring new cushions) that conforms or wraps around these two modules?

I've considered adding some kind of hinged extension to my table, so that when the table is down in the "sleeping" position, the extension could be opened up to widen the bed platform. But I haven't yet worked out a clean, uncomplicated solution that satisfies all of my needs...
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Old 11-13-2009, 05:45 PM   #10
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Robert, I'm not re-using any of the fiberglass panels, but building everything new with 1/4" +- plywood. I've come up with a preliminary plan and will take out space in the closet and kitchen. I will stick out the upper closet to full width once its 12 to 14 inches above the bed mattress. Once I have the stove/ sink area figured out, I'll know how much space I have to play with. The main reason to do this whole remodel was to add the maximum space we could to the bed and still have a functional kitchen. My wife is starting to get exited about the inside and has already been looking at fabric. Since we are restoring the old awning style windows, my wife wants to go with a red striped awning from Vintage Trailers and find some cool fabric for the inside that has red in it. She wants me to match a couple of stripes that we will be putting on the paint job with the awning, so we may be purchasing an awning when we figure out what size we want. To me, the fabric is way down the road, but it's nice to have the spouse on board when your spending money! She’s also talking about making a spare wheel cover in vinyl. Has anyone done this?
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Old 11-13-2009, 07:27 PM   #11
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I see...

I also rebuilt my galley unit from scratch using 3/8" birch plywood. The galley unit ties directly into a completely customized cabinet/storage unit in the front. We sacrificed the front bench in order to have more storage, more counter space and a place to hide the potty. You can see what I've done if you refer to my thread mentioned earlier.
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Old 11-13-2009, 07:31 PM   #12
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Looks good so far!
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Old 11-14-2009, 04:58 PM   #13
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Danny,

First of all, thank you so much for the detailed info on the axle. I'm going to save it, and now I feel that when it does come time to get a new axle, your configuration is what I want. I was agonizing over all the various threads about different types!

On the fiberglass patch, do you know about fairing compound? Maybe you do and are just not mentioning it, and if so, please ignore!

Fairing compound is usually used after you have the main structural fiberglass done (as you do). It is used to then cosmetically smooth out the surface. However it is made with epoxy so it is still strong and basically waterproof (I'm assuming you used epoxy in your repair, but if not, the fairing principle still holds).

Fairing builds easier, is less brittle, and is more sandable than straight resin.

First you wash the amine blush off of the cured resin/cloth, with plain water and a Scotch Brite pad. Then you sand it (these steps can be eliminated if you fair before the previous work is completely cured).

To make the fairing compound what you do is add something like microballoons to the mixed resin, and make a sort of Cool Whip-to-peanut-butter texture. Then you spread it on and get it as close to perfect as you can, but standing proud.

When it cures you can sand it smooth (the sooner the easier). Then you can roll on one more coat of thin, plain resin, to seal the microballoons (some people omit this step).

Then wash the blush off one more time, sand lightly for paint, and away you go.

WEST system has a great free manual available. You can download it if you don't have it in print already with you.

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Old 11-15-2009, 06:52 PM   #14
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Raya, thanks for the information on the fairing compound, I had not heard of that. I have a couple of little places that I'll use that approach.
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Old 11-15-2009, 07:37 PM   #15
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I ordered a pair of "T Marine 13X17 hatches" a couple of weeks ago, and plan to follow Peters great example on how to install. I received them last week and put them against the trailer and paper template I had made. They looked to small and I measured them and they were only 11X15. I looked at the box and it also measured 11X15, but was marked as 13X17 (this is printed on the box from the factory). I called up "A base boat store" and they said they would send me the correct ones at no shipping charge. I called back 4 days latter to check on the status and was told that their entire stock was miss marked from the factory and they would be getting in new stock last friday. Really nice people to work with.

Below is a picture my wife took of me while working on the trailer. I said the caption should be "Would you let your daughter go out on a date with someone like this".
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Old 11-15-2009, 09:03 PM   #16
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Classic shot! You might as well get a boat too now
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Old 11-24-2009, 07:07 PM   #17
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Well, my back hurts and I'm very tired, but very happy. Over the last week I've faired out the shell, thanks to raya's fairing tip, the top skylight hole matches the contours of the top. I filled in over a hundred holes with PC11 and figured a way for the lower black trim around the bottom to stay on. It was originally riveted, but I took some of the PC11 and made a fillet every 12" on the back side of the bottom fiberglass that will grab the inside hook of the black trim. It is about an 1/8" wide and 3/8" high. I tried it after it dried, and it seems to works well holding the trim on tight.

Today I got the shell put on the frame and it fits through the garage door with 3/8" clearance, this is without it loaded up. I first put the shell on to drill all new screw holes, lifted the shell back up and put in a bead of "PL concrete and masonry sealant". A friend that does wooden boats told me about this product and PL construction adhesive. Apparently a lot of boat builders us the adhesive, and the concrete stuff works great on wood and metal with a seal that stays rubbery and lasts in a water environment, home depot had it. Bringing the shell down the second time had one of the 2X4 blocks slip of a jack and the trailer fell 1 1/2" to the jack stand, no big deal but it scared me half to death, and now I know that the shell bounces. After screwing it all together I pushed it out the door, all my measuring and re-measuring for the axel and tires payed off. With the trailer fully loaded, it should go down another 1" or so.

After cleaning the garage, I realized I forgot the door since it was removed long ago and stored. I did a quick dry test and it fits top to bottom, yea. So now, it's work on the door tomorrow.

A quick question, I was going to change the position of the door hinges and move them down 3" to get into new fiberglass, will this cause problems? I could reuse the newly filled holes, but the other owners had put 3 different locations of holes to adjust the door.



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Old 11-24-2009, 07:28 PM   #18
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Hi Danny,

Good on you for all the work you've accomplished so far Epoxy can be kind of fun once you thicken it and make it do things, can't it

I can't say for sure whether you can move your hinges or not, but what I have noticed is that some of the Boler 13s shifted hinge locations between the early and late 70s. They went from being highest and lowest to the top being not so high and the bottom one being not so low (at least on some trailers).

I think I may know at least on of the reasons for this: On the earlier Bolers, ones with the horizontal, Hehr brand crank out window (square edges with an oval looking inside part), I had noticed that many of the window frames looked a bit "chewed up" on the lower, front corner. Huh

Well, I found out why: Just try opening the door with that window partially opened. Yep, it catches on the top door hinge. So I'm thinking maybe they then decided to move it down a little. Then, I have the feeling that the upper and lower hinges have to kind of "match" as far as where they are in "in/out" orientation (in other words, a theoretical vertical pin should go through both hinges in the same place), so they had to raise the lower one the same amount they lowered the upper one, is what I'm thinking.

So, there is precedent for the hinges in a few different locations; but there may be something to having them both "match" in their location (vis-a-vis the theoretical vertical pin). I don't know that for sure; just guessing on that one.

Here is an example of the older hinge spacing. You can see how the window and hinge could interfere with each other:


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And here is an example of the (sometimes) later hinge spacing. Now there can't be a collision with the open window. You can also see how the lower hinge has moved up, possibly because of the "pin" alignment issue (?)


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Again, congrats on what you've done so far!

You know, now that you are good at working with epoxy, you might consider not making all the new rivet holes (assuming those are some of the ones you filled in), but instead tabbing the furniture in on the inside, with fiberglass tape and epoxy resin. Stronger and cannot leak, plus no rivets to see or to need to maintain.

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Old 11-24-2009, 10:42 PM   #19
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Raya, thanks for the information on the door hinges. I have a small crank out window in the door like the one on your photo, and it also has an edge that was chewed up a little, now I know why. I think I will also move the hinge down a little. I'm ahead of you in putting the tabs in, I was going to do this fron the start. The only holes I should have after restoration is around windows, exterior lights and a couple of other minor things. Now I need to start looking at how to build the inside cabinetts.
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Old 11-24-2009, 11:14 PM   #20
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Danny,

You are a step ahead! Sounds like you're doing a first class job

I sure wouldn't mind seeing more photos, if you have the time

I plan to tab my cabinets in whenever I decide to work on the trailer (no rush as it's doing fine now, but when the time comes.....)

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