Amerigo Remodel Step By Step

[hotrodaj31]

Hello All,
My wife bought a 1977 Amerigo in July and have big plans to remodel the inside and fix up the outside. We are completely new to the world of fiberglass campers but quickly found out there is a large following. I can understand why these little campers are just cool.
We are racing fans and enjoy travailing to local tracks in the tri-state area. WE absolutely dread the late night drive home! Why not camp at the track and leave when well rested. So here we are new owners of a Amerigo!!!!
Our Amerigo is in rough shape and is completely gutted inside. the outside is in good shape and the over all condition the the fiberglass is good. So we get to custom build our interior. WOW its going to be a lot of work!!!
With all that said I am hoping you more seasoned owners can assist us with info. Is there certain problem areas the Amerigo have that I need to look for? I have NO interior at all and wonder if there is any threads that will give us ideas/plans on how to build cabinets and counters. Well thats a start LOL looking forward to the remodel and meeting new people in the process.

[hotrodaj31]

Well I knew in order to remodel the camper over the winter months I would need to get it into the garage. the door clearance was VERY tight but after removing the tires from the rims she fit with about an 1.5 inches to spare. Now its time to get to work.

[hotrodaj31]

Well now that I have a warm and dry place to work I finished gutting the interior. Not much to do! I have torn down the original ceiling liner that was glued into place. I hated to do it because I like the look but the condition was not to my liking. It was stained and falling in places. Now that I have a completely bare interior it was time to think insulation. After much review and posts on this site I decided to go with reflectix and glue it to the walls with contact cement. But first I had to scrap all that left over glue off the ceiling. That was a chore!!!

[Tote-n-Tarry No.2]

Hi...I'm at about the same stage on my lemon chiffon thread; nothing inside at all, deciding on insulation. I'm doing wiring FIRST because I want the wires under the insulation. I'm going to use an ensolite generic because reflective surface insulation should face the airspace, unpainted, unblocked, and that isn't the outcome on the walls, since it will be covered yet again or painted, and the other side is up against the fiberglass.
I've tested flammability of butyl nitrile/pvc insulation (ensolite type); have you tried to light the reflectix? I was wondering how it fared.
Good luck.

[hotrodaj31]

Originally Posted by Tote-n-Tarry No.2

Hi...I'm at about the same stage on my lemon chiffon thread; nothing inside at all, deciding on insulation. I'm doing wiring FIRST because I want the wires under the insulation. I'm going to use an ensolite generic because reflective surface insulation should face the airspace, unpainted, unblocked, and that isn't the outcome on the walls, since it will be covered yet again or painted, and the other side is up against the fiberglass.
I've tested flammability of butyl nitrile/pvc insulation (ensolite type); have you tried to light the reflectix? I was wondering how it fared.
Good luck.

Yes it looks like you have a fun project on your end. I am laying my wires on top of the insulation and then covering the walls with a marine grade carpet. I want the wiring to be accessible. I will hope to accomplish this by keeping the bulk of the wires at the wall to ceiling seams. As for the Flammability Good question....I will preform a test this weekend.

[hotrodaj31]

Ok I have made so major headway in my remodel! I was able to remove all the windows but WOW it was a pain! Many of the screw heads where round off and near imposable to remove but with a lot of time and effort I got them all out and no broken glass!! My wife's project is to clean and paint all the windows and we will then apply auto window tint. We are hoping this will give us more privacy but more to hold the suns heat down and plus it will look cool (I will have more on that when we get to that point) As I stated in past post I will be using reflectix to insulate. I was VERY happy with how easy the reflectix is to work with. Ease to cut and handle and best of all form to the contour of the shell. I will say there is definitely a trick to adhering it to the bare fiberglass, most of all on the ceiling. I used contact cement by Dap, I bought the 1 gal can and used it Very liberally! I coated the fiberglass and then a coated the reflectix its self. I little trial and error I learned the best technique is after you have applied the contact cement let it stand for 5 minutes or so and let it tack up. This will aid you in adhering it with a good bond! Once you get to working it goes smooth but WOW the fumes are strong LOL. On to my next step...how to attach the marine carpet to the walls and ceiling.

[mrswalzie]

Some information on windows might be useful - I had the side windows removed in our fiberglass trawler and replaced them with windows from "Motion Windows" in Vancouver, Wa. I am very pleased with them. I plan on replacing the rest this year. Their website has useful information. www.motionwindows.com I am simply a very satisfied customer.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by hotrodaj31

On to my next step...how to attach the marine carpet to the walls and ceiling.

Scamp uses 3M Adhesive spray to attach the rat fur to the reflex.

[David B.]

3M 77, in spray cans.
I'm doing our Lil Snoozy right now.
Dave & Paula

[hotrodaj31]

Ok well I have not posted any info on my remodel for some time but that not due to lack of work. I been busy the last few months planning and building the bed frame and dinette. As you can see in the pic's I have designed it be quit large. Our sleeping comfort is top priority in this remodel so I am building the bed frame to have 2 twin size mattresses. The back mattress will be permanent and the front mattress will be on top of the dinette. When you want to use the Dinette you just simply flip the front mattress on top of the rear mattress and pull the table top up and attach the leg to the table. This type of bed / dinette set up is still being planned for the final touches and functionality. I have also nearly completed the frame work for the kitchen counter top. I have decided to keep it simple and use Rubbermaid drawers under the counter top. It looks like a perfect fit and helps keep the weight down. The warm weather is right around the corner I need to speed up this project LOL

[Leonie Belcher]

Andrew, any more pics of the trailer? I have just bought one and it is a total gut job too.

[hotrodaj31]

Hello all fellow FG campers.....good news!!!! I have completed phase 1 of our remodel and have spent 3 night in our camper! As you can see from our pictures I have completely insulated the camper and now I have added carpet to the ceiling and the walls. I do not have the best pictures of that right now but will post later. i have attached pic's of the instillation of the fuse panel and deep cycle battery. We went with the PD 4500 fuse box and definitely am happy with that decision. although I will say it is a bit tricky to wire, I was able to get the questions answered from this forum. I have a ton more work to do to finish our camper but have got it to the point of using her and that was awesome! Take a look at the pic's and let me know if I can answer any questions.