fools rush in........1971 boler 1300 reno

[flatlander]

I have learned so much following other trailer renovation threads, I thought I should add my contribution. I am pretty sure I can offer some good examples of what not to do, and maybe throw a few crazy ideas out there.

Picked up this 71 boler 1300 about a month ago. I was pretty stoked to get working on her but other priorities kept me busy until last week. She was worked hard, and I think that the P O held the view that there was nothing wrong on this boler that a few carriage bolts would,nt fix

Heres a few photos of what she looked like on arrival, I,ll follow up with some more current photos of where things are at tomorrow.

[Sue and Henry]

I'm looking forward to watching the developments! She is a cutie

[Raz]

Carriage bolts and fiberglass always make an interesting combination. Welcome to the forum. Raz

[rabbit]

Not only "interesting," which I suppose is a bit of a putdown, but also efficient for some purposes. For example, I have a Burro countertop which developed a transverse sag between the sink and the rangetop, whether straight from the mold or over a decade of use I can't say. One flange of the sink was unsupported from corner to corner and there was also a gap revealed at the rangetop on the side adjacent to the sink.

The factory could have added support by glassing in almost any sort of stiffener or beam BUT they didn't. The avid egg fixer could get in there under the sink and do the same except that one really can't "get in there" and the presence of water heater and pump make this awkward. I suppose you could use floor to counter supports (deadmen) to jack the swaybacked counter but they are also difficult to secure and further obstruct the under counter area. I used aluminum U-channel at one side of the sink and at the range to pull out the sag. At each end of both is a stainless carriage bolt head. Second example, I wanted swiveling boat seats on both "decks" in the front dinette. Again these decks are strong enuf near the edges but very flexy in the center. As the ball-bearing swivel plates for the seats had a very small footprint (about 8"x8"), I decided to add plywood under each deck as a pad for thru-bolting the seats and also for reinforcing the glass deck out to the edges. I tried to accomplish this with Liquid Nails, props and wedges, but one let loose later so I added an appropriate number of carriage bolts thru decks and plywood at their perimeter. Not bothering me much as some concessions must be made to available energy and the length of human life. Even a fix that is a cosmetic disaster is perhaps better than none. I do hesitate to drill more holes or cut more openings in the inner shell of the Burro than are absolutely "necessary".

jack

[flatlander]

I agree with Jack in the respect that one should not dismiss using carriage bolts when needed just because of aesthetics or convention. Many times I have used what would be considered frankenstienian fixes , because at the end of the day getting the fix to solve the problem is more important than what it may look like.

That being said I stopped counting at 13 carriage bolts that were used all over the shell to hold various things together. The PO used carriage bolts like I use ductape

Here are a couple photos of other place carriage bolts were used on this little thing. Note there were four bolts on the roof holding the cupboards up, and one in the middle of the roof to hang something ?

[rabbit]

Flatlander, I agree I would also hesitate on bolts thru the roof. I can avoid it because of the double hull of our particular brand of trailer such that there are no cabinets or lockers suspended from the outer shell (nor is there much room to add them even if needed.) It looks like the PO also used large fender washers to spread the pressure of the bolt head. Probably got that idea from the famous "rivets."

jack

[flatlander]

I have been learning from this sight for a long time, and have been constantly amazed at the ingenuity and creativity people have expressed in their posts. So much that I would go out to the trailer and sit and stare trying to incorporate every great idea into the reno plan. Overwhelmed with possibilities, and armed with the confidence of your collective experience I charged ahead.
Being a practical man I started about 8 or 9 different separate projects at the same time, presently all in different stages of completion, ran out and made some purchases, and then made a plan. Yep in that order
When the smoke cleared I had an overall plan which included stripping it to the ensolite and floor, and do a clean reinstall with a few customised mods to suit my needs. The plan includes
installation of a fantastic fan
replacing rear dinette table with part of a cherry wood desk cut down to fit
install a pedestal table with seats –portapotty under one, built in cooler under the other
new wiring and LED lighting
installing two doors under the back dinette seats for better access
Installing a outside panel access, by the table rail allowing the old table to be used outside.
General refibre glassing to
Fill in vent holes no longer needed
refibre glassing wood strip backing for cupboards, and other wood
strengthening and rebuilding worn or weak fibreglass
filling in bolt holes and re riveting leaking or broken rivets/bolts
redoing and rebuilding the cushions ( cushions cut and material purchased)
refinishing and painting exterior
fixing the sagging door ( ordered spring kit from Paul Neumeister)

That should keep me busy for a bit. A few random photos of a bunch of stuff on the go. The next post should be more ordered. As I gain more focus.

[Alf S.]

Hi: flatlander... Your not alone in this!!! I got a '73 sittin' here but I didn't get any "Carrage Bolts". Matter of fact 1/2 the fasteners are missing that hold the shell on the frame. What I did get is enough dead bugs to darken the windows and roof vent.
The perfect retirement project... when I a/ get retired & b/ a "Round Tuit"!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[flatlander]

So much for focus, I have been working on the boler pretty steady. It seems I have a lot of things started but very little finished.

I was able to buy a Fantastic Fan locally, and got a deal on a unit that had been installed and returned . It is the one with the rain sensor . After I stripped her out, I started by cutting a hole for the fan, as the original vent was much smaller. I fiddled around with the positioning of the new unit made a decision and started cutting. It went fast using a Fein which I recommend as it saved me 10’s of hours and has gotten me out of a number of jams,

I positioned the new hole to incorporate the opening of the old vent. It meant that I ran into a problem as one side of the opening was almost flush with the rise in the roof. This would not have been a problem except that I wanted to build a riser so the new FFan would be flush with the inside of the boler.

Anyway I used pressure treated plywood to build it up and then fibre glassed it in. This was my first try at fibre glassing and I felt like I was starring in a three stooges movie. It sounds simple enough but the stuff sticks to everything, and there is a bit of a learning curve. For a while I thought our cat had become one with the trailer but he showed up a yesterday

Now I agree with the school that holds the opinion that incorporating wood on the roof is just asking for trouble, but by the time the wood started rotting out it will be time for someone else to renovate and put in a new Superduperfantastic fan.

First I sanded down the area around the cut down to the fibreglass shell, dewaxed it and epoxied the plywood to the roof. Another layer of expoxy and then bondo hair filler. ( I now love this stuff.... it is the ductape of fibreglass). Butyl tape on the inside and on the top. I added some bondo filler to improve the looks. You can get an idea of how it will look after I do the permanent install.

I also had some of the ensolite sagging from the middle of the roof, likely from where the old vent let water in weakening the adhesive. I separated it as much as I could until the original bond strengthened, Then I shot a tube of adhesive in and pushed it up until it stuck, I let it get tacky and then held it up until it stuck. There was an area that i could not get to stick because I needed the ensolite to stretch so there were no wrinkles, so I weighted a chair to apply pressure to force it up while the glue cured. It seemed to work, It has been three weeks and it has stayed flush

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by flatlander

I agree with Jack in the respect that one should not dismiss using carriage bolts when needed just because of aesthetics or convention. Many times I have used what would be considered frankenstienian fixes , because at the end of the day getting the fix to solve the problem is more important than what it may look like.

I'm inclined to agree... somewhat. The old adage of when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.... may well apply though. Or... just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

At any rate, looks like you've got a handle on some great fixes and modifications. I'll enjoy following your thread.

[rabbit]

I have been put off the "tasteful and effective" use of carriage bolts and am now using sex bolts. It is true that the carpenter picked up his hammer and saw!

jack

[Peggy]

We have the saggy ceiling ensolite happening too! Can I ask how you got the adhesive in between the ensolite and the ceiling? I have thought to use a needle and syringe, and inject it throught the ensolite, but all the adhesives I tried are too thick to go through any needle. Any thoughts? Perhaps you were able to get the adhesive in from above? Thanks!

[flatlander]

I was able to get at most of it from the side where it separated from the ceiling due to a small leak I think that corrupted the glue, when I cut the hole for the FF. There were a couple places I could not get glue to so I put some on a flat stick to extend my reach and deposited glue. Then I pushed from the bottom (outside) and slowly massaged it, spreading it out. I felt as long as they were not too many gaps in the covereage It would hold, and it has so far.

Plan B was going to cut a small slit in the ensolite with a razor and stick the nozzle of the glue tube through and again massage it from the outside for coverage. The seam ( cut) I would have caulked with latex ( non silicon) filler and dab an old peice of ensolite to blend in the caulk. Like rag rolling.

Any glue I could find to be compatable with fibreglass and foam I would not have been able to force through a syringe, but you would only need a small cut to force a caulking gun through. Someone else might have a better idea or experience.

Hue

[flatlander]

Like I mentioned earlier I have been working on a number of different things that needed fixing but not really finishing anything yet. Because of my limited skill I have to do it this way partly to insure I do not back myself in a corner, as many fixes do not appear until two parts start coming together. A lot of dry fitting.

Anyway I was rereading the work and comments that Jack did in regard to straightening the fibreglass cabinets.

The cabinets especially the one that the sink and stove drop into in my Boler were getting pretty warped. They had the original 1 in plywood fibreglassed to the cabinet to provide support. While the fibreglass was still holding strong ( it took some doing to get it off) the actual 1 in plywood had warped quite a bit. I hope you can see an example in the photos.

So I had to cut them off of the cabnet and reglue new ones using fibreglass epoxy. The result I think was well worth the effort as all the sagging disappeared. It was clear that it was the old plywood that was holding the cabinet in a warped configuration.

Maybe not a fix for everyone, butr if you have the cabinets out of the trailer already ...

[flatlander]

sorry forgot photos. Here they are

[Thee Jimbo]

Originally Posted by flatlander

Being a practical man I started about 8 or 9 different separate projects at the same time, presently all in different stages of completion, ran out and made some purchases, and then made a plan. Yep in that order
.

Now that's what I'm talking about

Another nice thing about these forums is we learn we are not alone In our brilliant plans. LOL

Whew!

Keep up the great work....

[flatlander]

Thank you for the encouragement Jimbo, I always like to live by the Hunter S Thompson quote
“ when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro”

So I was at Princess Auto looking at all the shiny pretty things and I saw these stainless steel bowls along with some stainless steel doggy dishes. I bought one of the larger ones to replace my sink.
I have an avocado sink and stove top but the avocado colour will not fit the color scheme I am planning for the interior. Stainless steel works well, and I was having trouble finding a stainless steel sink that did not look cheap. The bowl looks very cool, and on the way home I stopped by Habitat for Humanity Reclaim centre and picked up a sink drain connector.

Abandoning all my other boler projects for a couple of hours I worked on making the bowl work as my new sink. After checking to see if the bowl would fit the kitchen cabinet I marked out where fibreglass had to be removed and where it had to be added. After cutting out the top where needed, I fiber glassed the corners where the square sink used to sit.

Then I started on the bowl by cutting out a hole n the centre for the drain fitting. I had to do a little MacGyvering to make everything fit tight. I used butyl tape to seal the drain.

I think it turned out pretty cool. Aside for the time spent, the sink (bowl) and plumbing ran me about 15.00 total. The stove top I will paint silver or MacGyver some stainless steel to work.
As long as I was fibre glassing the top of the cabinets I thought I would also fill in the bottom of the opening where the fridge used to be located. I am building a high efficient ice box/cooler which I will get to later, but the plan means that I need to fill in the bottom half of the opening

Being lazy by nature, I thought I could save some refinishing work and some fibre glassing work by cutting a square piece of unneeded fibre glass left over from my front Dinette conversion. I taped the piece in place and fibre glassed the panel in place from the inside. A tricked I learned from a boat building site where they recommended that anytime one can , they should do the repairs from the inside as it cuts down on the refinishing work.

My thinking was that the fibre glass would hold it in place and I would smooth and finish the edges, and most of the area would be smooth with the gel coat in place.

We will see how this works. I am feeling confident but often I am when things start going sideways.

[Thee Jimbo]

looks good, i am actually headed to the rehab store this afternoon, love what you can stumble across there. . .its raining in so cal, kind of a bummer for a weekend i was planning a trip to the junk yard and lots of tinkering on my trailer. .

[CindyL]

Cool! I love creative uses for other things, especially when they are cheaper. I often walk through stores slowly just trying to figure out how to do something in a different way, especially when it is cheaper and if possible, eco-friendly. We are currently redoing our kitchen. It has ugly European cabinets, so I searched online for hours and found ideas that we incorporated. Instead of ripping them out and replacing them like they do on countless HGTV episodes (except for a couple where they did similar things), very simply put, we are cutting off the oak pulls that can be dangerous to use when the cabinet door sticks, stuffing them, sanding them, and covering the edges with birch veneer in a Shaker style.

On the camper, I took ideas for extending the counter, gave them to hubby, and he engineered a cupboard extension out of cheap Walmart cutting boards.

Following this thread with interest. Hey, want to know how to turn your cabinet doors into a Shaker style? I can tell you.

CindyL

[Donna D.]

Love, love, love it! I guess I have no imagination... I see a dog bowl... and it's a dog bowl. The other fabulous "MacGyvering" I've seen is where peterh (and Lynn) took metal Tiki torches and changed the supports from the lower to upper cabinets with those.

Good for you!