1978 Boler Complete Restoration / Rebuild

[slavandheather]

Where does the time go? Finally got to put some more work into the rebuild of our Boler. Continuing on the subfloor: Since everything is round and just about nothing level, a lot more effort went into cutting all the pieces of the puzzle. Small adjustments and fine tuning kept the work slow, but I'm pretty happy with the way it worked out.

Again, we're using 3/4" A/C sided plywood for the subfloor. In the pics that follow nothing is yet assembled with glue and wood screws. That's to follow...so here we go.

Here are a couple overall views through the front and rear windows:

The entrance (I still need to fine tune the left side):

Another broader view from the entrance:

Here is the area in the front where the porta potti will be located (there is no structural support under the floor, just fiberglass, so I'm making the floor double thick here and it will essentially be supported by the sides and the two "humps"...wouldn't want the user to fall thru the floor! ):

And finally, the tools of the trade and the mess of sawdust everywhere!

Next I'll remove everything and paint it with the same gray epoxy paint I used on the FG to give the wood a seal against moisture and all that's associated with it. Then it can be installed and bolted to the frame.

[GMike A]

Looks pretty doggone good to me. I think that I will stick to 1/2". I doubt if the 3/4 would make a difference for me unless there a previous threads that advocate a thicker floor. I dont have a height problem (thanks to my 4'8" mom). Lots of wood working. I would guess that two humps will support two bumps. JMO. What brand epoxy are you using?

[Donna D.]

That floor looks fab! Almost good enough to stain and call it good... no need for anything over the top!

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by GMike A

Looks pretty doggone good to me. I think that I will stick to 1/2". I doubt if the 3/4 would make a difference for me unless there a previous threads that advocate a thicker floor. I dont have a height problem (thanks to my 4'8" mom). Lots of wood working. I would guess that two humps will support two bumps. JMO. What brand epoxy are you using?

Thanks Mike. I went with the thicker ply because of the thin FG floor. If you don't have that issue, 1/2" should be totally sufficient.

The epoxy paint details are in my post #109.

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

That floor looks fab! Almost good enough to stain and call it good... no need for anything over the top!

Donna, that would be tempting! The grain is beautiful in these boards, isn't it?!

[slavandheather]

I wanted to post an update on the whole subfloor installation. It is just about complete; I still have the small section on the left of the entry door that is giving me grief due to the weird shape of the wheel well. But here is the progress report in pictures!

After cutting the pieces and dry assembling them, I removed everything and coated the underside and edges with two coats of the same epoxy paint mentioned in an earlier post:

All the vertical pieces needed to be screwed together from the UNDERSIDE to the primary floor piece:

Next, the puzzle of pieces was assembled inside the rig and all things got carefully joined up with wood screws:

A few detail shots:

Where the porta-potti will reside:

Right side at the entrance:

In terms of securing the whole egg to the frame, we had six reinforced tabs welded to the frame. One at each corner (as the original design had it) and two in the middle for good measure.

The bolts are all galvanized: 4 main ones are 1/2" in diameter by 2.5" in length. The 2 middles ones are 3/8" in diameter and 2" in length. I'm using two large washers and a lock washer on each of the bolts:

The top surfaces of the subfloor were painted with two coats of epoxy paint, just like the underside. After bolting the egg to the frame, I used paintable 35 year caulking all the way around the perimeter of the floor and also at the joints of all the pieces. Because there is a trough around the whole inside under the floor I want things to be water tight. I hope to never have to do this floor again!

Once the caulking cured I got it painted the same as the rest of the floor. Here you have a couple final shots of how things turned out. There are a couple less perfect spots, but overall I'm very pleased how it turned out.

Looking to the back:

And to the front:

[GMike A]

Personally I would have used 40 year caulking - regardless this is a thing of beauty!. Great job Slav. Its sure coming together nicely.

What brand paint did you use?

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by GMike A

Personally I would have used 40 year caulking - regardless this is a thing of beauty!. Great job Slav. Its sure coming together nicely.

What brand paint did you use?

Thanks Mike! I really wanted the 50 year version but they were out of stock!

For the paint, it is Seal Krete Epoxy-Seal in the "slate gray" color. Picked it up at Lowe's but Home Depot also carries it. A good pic of the can is in my post #109.

Slav

[slavandheather]

We are approaching the day of painting the outside of our Boler and I have a few questions about painting with a spray gun. Originally I thought of doing the roll and tip method, but thinking further about doing 2-3 coats of primer and 2-3 coats of paint, this sounds like a tremendous amount of work I would prefer to spare myself from.

So, considering there is a budget involved, I'm wondering how feasible spray painting is with the supplies available from Harbor Freight.

Discussing some of the options with my friend GMikeA, we thought that a low pressure spray gun, like this one, pictured below, could do the job:

Due to the lower pressure requirement, I understand that this would allow me to use a smaller compressor, such as this one:

I would greatly appreciate thoughts on all this, especially from those of you who have spray painted with your own equipment. THANKS!!!

Slav

[Luis]

hello Slav, your floor is a work of art, period.

I have done some good progress on my reno as of late, need to catch up and post pics, but one thing that happened, with a very similar complressor to the one you posted, is that I forgot to check for oil levels and kaput! the thing seized / broke on me last week....

word of caution! check the oil.

AS for paiting the outside, as with every surface treatment, the final quality is determined by the surface prep.

Take your time with FG and bondo repairs, apply succesive higher grit numbers, and lots of sanding, only when you are really happy, begin with layers of primer and eventually paint. Lots of work you say!?

Well its not like you are shying away from putting a nice effort here. Keep it up!
Nice job.
Luis

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Luis

hello Slav, your floor is a work of art, period.

I have done some good progress on my reno as of late, need to catch up and post pics, but one thing that happened, with a very similar complressor to the one you posted, is that I forgot to check for oil levels and kaput! the thing seized / broke on me last week....

word of caution! check the oil.

AS for paiting the outside, as with every surface treatment, the final quality is determined by the surface prep.

Take your time with FG and bondo repairs, apply succesive higher grit numbers, and lots of sanding, only when you are really happy, begin with layers of primer and eventually paint. Lots of work you say!?

Well its not like you are shying away from putting a nice effort here. Keep it up!
Nice job.
Luis

Hi Luis!

Thanks for the kind words on my floor! Really appreciate it. And thanks for the tip on the compressor...bummer yours burned out.

Been wondering how your rig has been progressing and really looking forward to seeing the updates. Seeing others make progress is inspiring.

Definitely not shying away from the work, and really enjoying it too, but if something can take less time that's always a big bonus!

Slav

[Kenny Strong]

A coat of primer, and sanding to a good looking surface, where you sand thru, it is ok just shoot those areas again, and sand them to match the rest. 2 coats should be fine sanding down to smooth and clear all runs. If you haven't sprayed before you could be very disappointed. If you buy the compressor and you think it will carry the load, you may be sadly wrong. low pressure or not. if you are a beginner, a couple of finish coats sanded, runs. make it the same all over, no rough spots. finish with a clear coat. Get a rock guard that hooks to the receiver hitch, ( can buy one at camper world it will be to long cut it to size and hook it on with carriage bolts around the hitch 2x2. support will be needed a piece of 1" and a 1/4er aluminum L angle to hold it all together, more info if needed) it can be taken off with the insert. It needs to 2 inches off the ground so that rocks are not flipped up by the dragging shield.

Later Kenny

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Kenny Strong

A coat of primer, and sanding to a good looking surface, where you sand thru, it is ok just shoot those areas again, and sand them to match the rest. 2 coats should be fine sanding down to smooth and clear all runs. If you haven't sprayed before you could be very disappointed. If you buy the compressor and you think it will carry the load, you may be sadly wrong. low pressure or not. if you are a beginner, a couple of finish coats sanded, runs. make it the same all over, no rough spots. finish with a clear coat. Get a rock guard that hooks to the receiver hitch, ( can buy one at camper world it will be to long cut it to size and hook it on with carriage bolts around the hitch 2x2. support will be needed a piece of 1" and a 1/4er aluminum L angle to hold it all together, more info if needed) it can be taken off with the insert. It needs to 2 inches off the ground so that rocks are not flipped up by the dragging shield.

Later Kenny

Thanks Kenny. I think I'm back to doing it by hand with roll and tip. I think it will work just fine. Still have a bunch of body work to finalize though.
Slav

[slavandheather]

Finally put the last touches to the subfloor. The area immediately to the left of the entrance was my last problem spot and I got it all taken care of. Made a template first using copper wire to get the curve, then cut out cardboard and fine tuned it, and finally transferred that to the board.

Here are the pics. It feels good that this part is complete...been a long road!

I've tightened the 6 bolts holding the egg to the frame and used Black Jack liquid tar in a tube to seal up around the bolt tabs to prevent water from wicking up the bolts, hopefully. Still will need to coat the bolts with something after everything else is done...someday!

[ShawnKK]

I had luck with a electric paint sprayer. I used both and had luck with both. You heard of people doing the plastic dip to cars and they use the ele sprayer.
Since you like HF like me ck this one out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcesd4ZhK5Y

Has great reviews

Also I wanted to do this but the cost was too crazy for me.
Plasti Dip Audi R8 - Matte Silver - YouTube

Link for HF sprayer, remember the 20% off coupon!
http://www.harborfreight.com/high-vo...kit-44677.html

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by ShawnKK

I had luck with a electric paint sprayer. I used both and had luck with both. You heard of people doing the plastic dip to cars and they use the ele sprayer.
Since you like HF like me ck this one out

Has great reviews

Also I wanted to do this but the cost was too crazy for me.
Plasti Dip Audi R8 - Matte Silver - YouTube

Link for HF sprayer, remember the 20% off coupon!
High Volume, Low Pressure Spray Gun Kit

Shawn, thanks for the tips here. I'm leaning toward roll & tip again, but not quite at the point of painting yet.
Slav

[slavandheather]

As we begin autumn with heavy rain in the Seattle area as I write this, yesterday was the one year anniversary of purchasing our 1978 Boler. And we had the most gorgeous weather, so it was time to bring the rig outside for the first time since last September to strip the inside walls of residual rough spots and remnants of the 35 year old ensolite insulation.

So far, we have completed quite a few things:

• New frame, axle, wheels, tires
• Fixed all fiberglass underneath and on the floor
• Coated the underside with Herculiner to prevent rock damage
• Patched a few old big vent openings that we won't need
• Got a new floor installed and coated with epoxy paint
• Bolted the body to the frame
• Removed a pound of rivets
• And now have clean interior walls

Some near future plans include:

• Exterior body work, including modifying side window openings
• Designing interior cabinetry
• Flush-mounting tail light "cups"
• Plumbing and electrical
• Working on the door, which is a mess and splitting in several spots
• More body work and hopefully priming the outside before 2014!

Somehow I thought I was superman and the whole thing would be done w/in 6-8 months! Hopefully it will be by next camping season!

So some pics from yesterday's work. Note that the rig is sitting on old rims and just barely came out of the garage. Once the vent is installed, we may have a problem unless I can get smaller rims...camping in the garage is not the goal here!

Before rolling her out I spent some time removing the old rotten "shelf" under the front window and drilling out the old hinges. Those were a pain because the bolts were seized up and I ended up dulling or breaking 4 drill bits.

For stripping the inside walls my good friend GMike A recommended a Gator Paint & Rust Remover wheel for my grinder. It worked awesome! Thanks Mike!

Testing the wheel before I dive into it:

Suited up and ready to get to it. Believe me, the respirator, goggles and gloves were needed as this stuff was squirtin' everywhere!

A good three hours of work including wiping stuff down with acetone after the mess. Looks pretty good now, is smooth and will be ready for the next steps.

Not much remains of the Gator wheel:

[Nelmes]

I painted my trailer this year, first time with a spray gun and it is the way to go, only regret, any flaws in the final paint I could see in the primer stage. Take your time with the paint prep, then primer, then look to see if anything needs to be touched up, get it perfect here before painting.

I have the same issue with the garage door hitting the vent. I found if I take he door off the opener I can get more height, and then I let air out of the tires until I get the necessary clearance. I haven't yet bought the attachment for the compressor to fill the tires back up, so for now I use a bike pump.

Love the work you have been doing, looks great!

[slavandheather]

Originally Posted by Nelmes

I painted my trailer this year, first time with a spray gun and it is the way to go, only regret, any flaws in the final paint I could see in the primer stage. Take your time with the paint prep, then primer, then look to see if anything needs to be touched up, get it perfect here before painting.

I have the same issue with the garage door hitting the vent. I found if I take he door off the opener I can get more height, and then I let air out of the tires until I get the necessary clearance. I haven't yet bought the attachment for the compressor to fill the tires back up, so for now I use a bike pump.

Love the work you have been doing, looks great!

Thanks Chris! I also take the garage door off the opener and the rig is on bare rims. I will have to see if I can get smaller rims once the vent is installed.

Good tip on the primer step. Seems like the place to make things perfect before painting.

The work you've done on your Boler is truly amazing indeed.

Cheers,
Slav

[Spanke]

Slav

Not sure what type of paint you are going to use.

A word a caution, if you are using Interlux Brightsides, they do not recommend using as HVLP sprayer to apply the paint. Use a regular sprayer or Roll & Tip.

He's a link to the Interlux forum that will provide a wealth of information on their paint. Topsides - Yachtpaintforum.com - Page 1

Can't wait to see your results.

I'm in the middle of fiberglass repair and hope to be able to get mine painted before it gets too cold. Gonna Roll & Tip!

Spanke