1978 Boler Complete Restoration / Rebuild

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by GMike A

Can you get a bunch of C clamps and then squirt the correct adhesive in there ( I say correct because not sure what it would be yet or what base) and then let it cure???

Mike, yes that could be done, but my plan is to bolt the ply rather than using glue...just in case down the road I have to replace the floor board.

[Andrew Gibbens]

Originally Posted by slavandheather

Mike, yes that could be done, but my plan is to bolt the ply rather than using glue...just in case down the road I have to replace the floor board.

What I have done one time is to mix a suitable filler (in this case, Bondo would be perfectly good enough) and put it in place. Before putting the ply on top, cover the filler with a layer of light plastic (cling-film = US seran-wrap?) as a non-stick coating. Once the clamped filler has gone hard, bolts can be added as required.

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Andrew Gibbens

What I have done one time is to mix a suitable filler (in this case, Bondo would be perfectly good enough) and put it in place. Before putting the ply on top, cover the filler with a layer of light plastic (cling-film = US seran-wrap?) as a non-stick coating. Once the clamped filler has gone hard, bolts can be added as required.

Thanks Andrew, I'll consider this. May be a very good option indeed.

[Jenny W.]

Thanks for posting my stuff! I'm glad you like it.
Great job on your Boler!

[Luis]

Originally Posted by slavandheather

As I've mentioned before, we got nice quality plywood for our subfloor that is 3/4" thick, and has an A side (nice) and a C side (not so nice). I wanted the A side so I don't have to sand it and can easily lay the final flooring on top without much fussing.

I thought this process was going to be easier...but I think I'll give up on the notion of anything being easy with this project!

Anyways, I started by cutting a template for the entry-level floor from 1/2" thick styrofoam insulation. That was easy enough:

Attachment 60636

Used that for tracing onto the ply. But due to unevenness of the FG floor, and rounded FG where the various floor pieces come together, it took some 12 or so times I had to take the board in and out to make all the adjustments. Took a lot longer than I had hoped, but at least this part is good and to my liking.

Attachment 60637

The entry is a bit screwy. The FG of the body has an up-turned and angled lip with variable thickness FG that is not even remotely straight. This caused some extra issues before I got it good. But I'm not quite sure how to finish this off once the floor will be laid down.

Do I use some sort of aluminum strip to cover the gap? And squirt in caulk to prevent water from going UNDER the floor? Or do I make a small mold and pour in a bunch of resin to make this squared off? What do you guys think? Can you provide pics of what your campers have here? Thanks.

Here you have a couple pics of what I'm faced with:

Attachment 60638

Attachment 60639

Hello Slav, I think I cut my templates and had to try the Plywood only 9 times... As for the irregular finishing on the entryway, same challenge here.

I am inclined to use some type of metal (aluminum or bronze) strip to finish this area. Remember it will also have to hold/ Cover the final flooring.
Are you planning on carpet, rubber, vinyl, or snap engineered hardwood flooring/ cork, other?

The biggest concern with your underlay flloring is moisture/ water getting between 1/4 FG and the 3/4 Ply! if it does, you will never get it out and rot and smell may start... Perhaps its better to seal every thing with adhesives...

Cheers,
L

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Jenny W.

Thanks for posting my stuff! I'm glad you like it.
Great job on your Boler!

Jenny, you're welcome. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by Luis

I am inclined to use some type of metal (aluminum or bronze) strip to finish this area. Remember it will also have to hold/ Cover the final flooring.
Are you planning on carpet, rubber, vinyl, or snap engineered hardwood flooring/ cork, other?

The biggest concern with your underlay flloring is moisture/ water getting between 1/4 FG and the 3/4 Ply! if it does, you will never get it out and rot and smell may start... Perhaps its better to seal every thing with adhesives...

Luis,

As for the flooring type, I am at this point inclined to go with cork tiles (their renewable, don't absorb water, easy to clean, and look cool).

I think I may make a little dam between the entry FG and the 3/4" ply and pour in resin to straighten up the whole thing. Then squirt in caulk (unless there is a better thing...anyone?) to totally fill the gap and prevent any water getting in under the wood from the entry. Once the final floor is put in, finish it off with an aluminum strip.

After all the subfloor ply is put in, I'll put a bead of caulk all around its perimeter to keep any water out, should anything happen. I really don't want to use adhesive UNDER the ply just in case some years down the road I have to replace the subfloor. It would be a disaster if it was glued down!

Oh, and I plan to paint the subfloor (on all sides) with the same gray epoxy floor paint that the FG is getting. This should give the wood additional moisture resistance.

Cheers,
Slav

[GMike A]

Are you going to make the doorway entry wood a separate piece like AxB wide that you can take out if that section becomes damaged rather then cut it out at a later date. Just a question.

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by GMike A

Are you going to make the doorway entry wood a separate piece like AxB wide that you can take out if that section becomes damaged rather then cut it out at a later date. Just a question.

Mike, well, was planning on leaving it one piece as it is now, but I can see a reason to have another piece for the front area! Are you trying to complicate my life?!

Slav

[slavandheather]

A few days ago I was able to get the next big floor panel cut for the dining/bedding area. I first tried using the styrofoam insulation to cut a template but that ended in disaster with foam pieces all over the place...just what I needed.

Needed a new solution to trace the curves. Ended up taping together three pieces of all-purpose heavy paper and that allowed for much easier creasing, tracing and cutting.

Took that and transferred the template to my 3/4" plywood, put the jigsaw to work, threw it back inside and it fit the first time almost perfectly. After a couple adjustments, I was very pleased with the overall fit. (Note the removed rear light cups. Will be modifying those in the near future.)

A view through the back window to show the curves going around the wheel wells.

[GMike A]

First class job Slav. Very envious of your work. Hope mine turns out half that good. that butcher type wrapping paper is a good idea.

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by GMike A

First class job Slav. Very envious of your work. Hope mine turns out half that good. that butcher type wrapping paper is a good idea.

Thanks Mike! I'm sure your rig will come out just beautiful.

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by jmh

Slav,

Have you considered using 3/8 or 1/2 inch foam insulation rather than reflectix?
A 1/4 layer of plywood on top should be enough to prevent it from compressing.
Then add the final flooring material on top of that.

Jim

I realize this is a bit late in the process. Rather than foam, how about the stuff they use in basements that comes in 4x8 sheets.
DELTA®-FL - Vapor Barrier for installation on concrete slabs, provides a warm and dry floor

Great work and documentation Slav. A thread that will benefit many in the future.

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Roy in TO

I realize this is a bit late in the process. Rather than foam, how about the stuff they use in basements that comes in 4x8 sheets.
DELTA®-FL - Vapor Barrier for installation on concrete slabs, provides a warm and dry floor

Great work and documentation Slav. A thread that will benefit many in the future.

Hi Roy, this looks like an interesting product; probably better than other choices. I haven't yet bolted down the subfloor, but the panels are already cut out from 3/4" ply. I think I am going to just leave it at that as by the time I add the final flooring, I'm going to have about 1/4 - 1/2" clearance while standing in there. With any insulation under the floor I'll be losing my hair on the ceiling cover!

Slav

[Luis]

My same issue, unless I can shave off some inches from my height, I cant be placing more substrated and finishes or I will become the hunch-man!

Regards,
L

[Kenny Strong]

could an expert on heating and cooling, please help us eliminate the urban myth from reality. My Bigfoot has Poor insulated rat fur. It has single pane windows, no insulation in the compartments at the floor,or behind the sink or heater or stove, or the floor. The ceiling has an air vent with 1/8" plastic to hold in the heat or cool. I have read that if there is a non insulated area in the ceiling of a house, that the heat will pour out of this area, as if there, were a real hole in the ceiling. Those of us that are disadvantaged, by too much height, placing an R19 insulation, on the egg ceiling, will cause you to duck even more! ( on the roof, it will just blow away ). On the floor an expert will know!!!

Later Kenny

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Kenny Strong

could an expert on heating and cooling, please help us eliminate the urban myth from reality. My Bigfoot has Poor insulated rat fur. It has single pane windows, no insulation in the compartments at the floor,or behind the sink or heater or stove, or the floor. The ceiling has an air vent with 1/8" plastic to hold in the heat or cool. I have read that if there is a non insulated area in the ceiling of a house, that the heat will pour out of this area, as if there, were a real hole in the ceiling. Those of us that are disadvantaged, by too much height, placing an R19 insulation, on the egg ceiling, will cause you to duck even more! ( on the roof, it will just blow away ). On the floor an expert will know!!!

Later Kenny

We're trying to over-engineer!

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by slavandheather

As I've mentioned before, we got nice quality plywood for our subfloor that is 3/4" thick, and has an A side (nice) and a C side (not so nice). I wanted the A side so I don't have to sand it and can easily lay the final flooring on top without much fussing.

Most AC plywood glue does not have an exterior rating. That means it can delaminate if it gets wet. Plywood with exterior rated glue has an X in the designation, for example CDX has a C side, and a D side and exterior (waterproof) glue.

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Andy B

Most AC plywood glue does not have an exterior rating. That means it can delaminate if it gets wet. Plywood with exterior rated glue has an X in the designation, for example CDX has a C side, and a D side and exterior (waterproof) glue.

Thanks Andy! I plan to coat the ply with epoxy paint to seal it. Also, the goal is to prevent water leakage inside. When we bought our Boler the water damage was total and mold was all over...

[valinnes]

Originally Posted by slavandheather

Thanks Theresa and Thomas! We definitely will be learning a lot of skills on this project, and indeed the list of supplies is endless...

Hi Slav and heather,
We bought a Boler last year and restored a lot of the interior. Taking it to Winnipeg from Vancouver last week, we made it as far as Salmon Arm -- the trailer has a cracked frame. We had to leave the trailer there and continue, but it's in storage and we will pick it up on the way home. In the meantime, the RV place in Salmon Arm is estimating that it will cost $3,500 to $4,000 to take the shell off and put a new frame in place. Reading your post so far, it seems excessive, although at $109 per hour, that's about 35 hours plus materials. We are considering putting it on a traiuler and taking it back to White Rock and doing some of this ourselves, farming out the construction of a new frame -- or the fixing of the old one. Did you complete the job of putting it back on the frame? Was it difficult. Do you think that two relatively handy-with-tools people could handle the job? Thanks in advance for any advice. So far we have put in about $6,500 on this trailer and a lot of personal work. We really, really like the Boler, but adding on $4,000 is a tad daunting. What do you think?
Val

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by valinnes

Hi Slav and heather,
We bought a Boler last year and restored a lot of the interior. Taking it to Winnipeg from Vancouver last week, we made it as far as Salmon Arm -- the trailer has a cracked frame. We had to leave the trailer there and continue, but it's in storage and we will pick it up on the way home. In the meantime, the RV place in Salmon Arm is estimating that it will cost $3,500 to $4,000 to take the shell off and put a new frame in place. Reading your post so far, it seems excessive, although at $109 per hour, that's about 35 hours plus materials. We are considering putting it on a traiuler and taking it back to White Rock and doing some of this ourselves, farming out the construction of a new frame -- or the fixing of the old one. Did you complete the job of putting it back on the frame? Was it difficult. Do you think that two relatively handy-with-tools people could handle the job? Thanks in advance for any advice. So far we have put in about $6,500 on this trailer and a lot of personal work. We really, really like the Boler, but adding on $4,000 is a tad daunting. What do you think?
Val

Hi Val,

Sorry to hear you guys have a cracked frame. That seems to be a common issue with these old Bolers. Ours didn't seem cracked but it was completely rusted and bent in a few places, so getting a new frame with modifications done was the smartest option.

I think you're getting quoted way too much. Of course if someone else takes the whole thing apart it will run you more.

Here is what I'd recommend. You will probably need to remove all the stuff from the inside to reduce the weight and the risk of structural breakage of the egg while removing it from the frame. Get yourself a few cinder blocks and two 4x4x8 beams. You will need two car jacks - because they rise only so far, we found that bricks stacked under the jacks allowed us to achieve the height we needed to lift the body.

You need to lift in stages - front, then back, and back and forth. And make sure you remove bolts holding the body to the frame before you do any of the lifting. You don't want to be under there when the whole thing is in the air because that frame is going to drop out.

My estimate is that when completely empty, the fiberglass shell is 200-300 lbs. I found that I was able to lift the front or back by myself a few inches while my wife would adjust the blocks/beams. I'm not a weight lifter, but we managed. If you can get friends to help a bit, it would be easier (like a couple guys holding two corners while you positioned the supports).

What year is your Boler? The older ones don't have the same bottom edge/lip, so you can't rest the weight of the shell on the corners. Ours has thick bottom edges, so it was easier. You would just need to use shorter beams, or even planks of wood to distribute the weight when lifting.

If you guys can do all that, find a weld shop that has experience with welding large projects like this and have them match the frame with extra supports. It should run you about $1000-1500 with all the materials. If you need a new axle, that will set you back about another $500.

If you follow our thread from the beginning, I tried to put as many details as possible regarding the whole process. It has been quite a learning experience and with much help on this forum, so far, it has all been doable!

I'd also recommend making a new post to ask for weld shops in your area if you don't know of one. From following this forum I know lots of people in BC have had new frames made (by shops or themselves or friends/family), so people should chime in. You may want to post both in Boler and Scamp forums.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask!

Best,
Slav