83 Cadet... Back from Hiatus

[Cadet85]

Back from a year away. I posted early last year with the Cadet I bought.
Learned lots.. and still..... LOTS MORE TO LEARN!

As with most, I am considering a full restore of the cadet, but I don't want to spend 2 decades and 20K doing it..

Have looked at different headliner materials to replace the "SEXY" red velour that graces the interior.
The flooring is pretty soft underneath and there is the lovely.. "Scent"

Curious if anyone has encountered fiberglass that needs repairing once you have got the interior and floor ripped out. Did you use use an over the counter by at NAPA dealer kind of fiberglass repair kit/type of shtuff?

Anyone try to "re-use" the old cabinets/shelves etc or is it not worth it?
They are SO light!! Wow..
Anyways.. Looking forward to doing the work.. and hopefully enjoying the lil bugger. it tows pretty good behind the car.. even with the amount of air it pushes!!
Cheers
S

[daveterp]

Hi,

I'm in the middle of rebuilding my Cadet. I had the same mushy floors with a smell underneath so I stripped the interior and tore out the floorboards. The fibreglass underneath was in great condition....just lots of stuff growing on it.
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/m...albums526.html
You'll see that the bottom of the body is corregated, with wooden striingers between the ridges. The stringers are held in place by fiberglass strips and the smell was coming from under them so I cut the firblerglass, pulled out the wood and then pressure washed the entire inside of the trailer. Replaced stringers, replaced floorboards and covered it all with Allure.

I've covered the interior with Reflectix and am now covering that with a light vinyl covering that, hopefully, works as good as it looks. New cabinets are nearing completion and should be installed by the end of this weekend

Pictures to follow

Dave

[Cadet85]

Dave,
Thanks for the info. When you replaced the stringers, did you adhere them against the fiberglass floor? How much was the reflectix? Some of the headliner material had a foam backing on it. Some thin, some thick. It was antimicrobial and a 20 year guarantee on thermal breakdown(Who knows!!) Not sure which to go with!!
What did you make the cabinets out of?
Looking forward to your pics!
Cheers
S

[daveterp]

Yes, I used fibreglass strips like they had originally, however now that its too late, I should have put something overtop of the fibreglass cause its squeeking in a couple of places when I walk on it. I think I've spent about $100 on the reflectix. It comes in various widths but I found the 16" for the ceiling and 24" for the walls easiest to work with. Contact cement seems to be holding it very well. There is another Cadet owner on here that went a different route on the walls so search him out.

The cabinets are pretty simple for now as I intend to re-do them in a different way next winter. I've just used 3/8" plywood covered with 1/8" vaneers that I scrounged from a local used building supply place..as well as a perfect counter top that cost maybe $15.

My Cadet didnt have any electrical or plumbing so I've spent more on those for this year. Cant way to be finished so I can hit the road with the thing!

Dave

[Jacques Cartier]

Hi Cadet 85.... When the wife first entered our new to us Cadet she said the floor squeeked in front of the fridge , The Red velour would have to be removed and replaced with a material that if she swatted a moskito would not be stainned by the blood .
So after I gutted the whole trailer including the floor ! I found that removing everything gives you a chance to get to leaks that you otherwhise could not get to! In my case I had major leaks behind the tail lights and the plywood was rotten for about 2 square feet behind them,also water seeped in through 5 holes underneath that I had missed when I inspected at purchase. Also water had gotten in through The pop top and the windows, also under the trim on the outside at the weld points, and the weld points connecting the front and back to the floor !!! That's why it smelled so moldy in there... After removing the rotten crossers on the floor I installed crossers in every cavity( instead of every second one) I felt that the manifacturer had cheeped out on that ,and I also used spray expanding foam to fill and seal the cavity along side the crossers just in case a new hole would pop up under there the water would have not place to go hence save the floor!
Also after removing all the glue as much as possible newtralized the remaining glue with javex Thats very important because when you apply the new glue it won't turn into a mess the won't stick and finally moldex to treat the mold that has gotten deep into the fiberglass.
Another advantage of renoving everything, is inspecting the wires Mine where shot because someone in the past had almost burned the whole thing down trying to jimmy the marker lights to the batteries without installing a fuse! Funny the things you find when you rebuild! As for the furniture I kept every thing in there because it was in good shape and besides changing it would mean adding more weight.
Check out the pictures I posted on my member page and don't be shy to ask if your'e in a pickel...Jacques Cartier