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Old 01-28-2018, 11:34 PM   #101
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
Thanks Eric. It will be interesting to see what it looks like after the wood panel is removed. It might be rough but I will patch and fill as necessary. The wood ribs I put in to straighten the deformations in the body are complicating things a bit because they come up to the edge of the hole so I cannot simply lap over onto the fiberglass on either side. Fiberglass doesn't like to fold into a tight 90* inner corner so I am added a little extra material in the corners with scrap to round the corner a bit before the mat rolls up the side.
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Old 01-28-2018, 11:44 PM   #102
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Name: Eric
Trailer: 1987 Casita 16
Illinois
Posts: 503
When I needed to get a 90 degree bend, I would use wax paper, and then use something to hold the bend till everything cured. Worked pretty good for getting a better bend.
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Old 01-29-2018, 12:18 AM   #103
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
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Thanks for the tip Eric. Will try that tomorrow.
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Old 01-29-2018, 03:49 AM   #104
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Name: Dave
Trailer: Casita SD17 2006 "Missing Link"
California
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Nice looking form Mike, you followed the curvature very well.
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:29 AM   #105
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
Thanks Dave, The panel is made of some cheap composite paneling that is not quite 1/4". It is mounted back side in. The stiffening strips are made of scrap of 3/8" plywood siding. I at first had set the panel up with cheap iX4 firring board but decided to switch to the plywood because it is more flexible. I think it contoured pretty well although there is a gap at one spot on the bottom edge that I couldn't pull tight without some kind of hardware fasteners. This method of forming is very similar to work I used to fo as a form carpenter in the hydro electric generation end of our local utility, PG&E. We built panel forms like this to form the contours where canal banks transition to headwalls with catenary shaped openings where the canal ties into a flume carrying water to a hydro powerhouse. Of course those were much larger, sometimes up to 16 ft long and 5 ft high. We poured concrete into those forms that was most often delivered by a gondola suspended from a helicopter due to their remote locations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. That concrete came out of that often swinging and bouncing gondola pretty fast so the forms had to be build exceedingly strong. I think the concrete was easier than fiberglass. But I am a newbie at the latter.

I know that I am likely to do some finish work on the outside. I may need to grind down below the surface at the joint and bridge the joint on the outside with a strip of overlapping cloth. I'll know how much work it will take after the panel is pulled.
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Old 01-29-2018, 03:48 PM   #106
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Name: Eric
Trailer: 1987 Casita 16
Illinois
Posts: 503
When I needed alot of stuff remover on the outside, I used a belt sander with 60 grit then 120. The 60 moved the really big humps and stuff, then I could get it pretty smooth with the 120. Palm sander worked pretty well for the contours if I moved pretty consistently. Pouring concrete was a summer job, I had the business end of the wheelbarrow, when we were doing slabs around the pools and some sidewalks. I put 9 yards in a back yard one long day, was ready for bed that night!
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Old 01-29-2018, 07:08 PM   #107
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
We'll see what shows up after the panel is pulled. I think the panel is tight to the body fore, aft and top with one 6 inch section on the bottom where the existing fiberglass wanders in for some reason. I don't think anything is high. If anything, I think I will see low spots. If so, I will lay in a little glass the outside to build those areas up.

I had to drive all of the way down to Tap Plastics in Santa Rosa, a 75 mile drive from my house to get more epoxy resin. I couldn't find anything but polyester resin closer. I will go back to fiberglassing tomorrow. It was interesting that there was another gentleman in the store buying fiberglass products to do repairs on his fiberglass travel trailer. It is a small world.
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Old 01-29-2018, 11:50 PM   #108
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Name: Eric
Trailer: 1987 Casita 16
Illinois
Posts: 503
I used Amazon for all of that, it shipped usually the next day from the company, and I had it within two more. saved driving around Chicago looking for it. Hope all goes well tomorrow. Still in the 20's here and since it is on the frame I can't get it in the garage to work on it.
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Old 02-10-2018, 06:04 PM   #109
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
I made another major change yesterday and today. Because I am building a side dinette, I wanted a large window there. Being able to sit at a table while reading a book with a nice big window with a view was my primary dream when I decided to get another travel trailer. My base 16ft. Casita had only a tiny window in the dinette location. Because the trailer dis not come equipped with a bathroom, it had large window across the front of the trailer, I decided to move that window to the side as a dinette window. I first traced the open hole in the front of the body after the window was removed to provide a template for the
new cut that would be made in the side. After cutting out the new window opening, I moved the cut out piece of fiberglass to the front of the trailer and after bending it into more curved shape at the front of the body via some
shaped temporary wooden ribs on the back side, I laid in my first layer of glass to the interior. Here are some pics.


Hole Filled With Fiberglass Cutout

I fine tuned the curve using several 1/4 pinch bolts with flat washers between the panels. This pulled in the high spots or pushed out the low spots. The first layer of resin and matt were applied between the bolts. I will pull them before adding a first layer of glass to fill the gaps where the bolts were, followed by a second a layer of glass to cover the whole thing. I am using a slow cure epoxy resin from Tap Plastics with a medium weight fiberglass matt. The epoxy resin sticks to the old glass like nobody's business.




Side Dinette Window

I'll put another layer of glass over the joint on the inside tomorrow. After that, I will move to the outside where I will sand a 3" wide depression into the face of the joint and add a couple of layers of fiberglass cloth before finish sanding and filling of any depressions before paint. I plan to fill the hole with the little window that was installed in this panel when it was on the side.. I plan to install a shower and closet similar to what is done to Casitas with bathrooms. I currently have a porta potty so will use that in the shower for this year. Perhaps a proper toilet will be added later. The shower is my top priority.
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Old 02-16-2018, 11:30 PM   #110
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Name: Eric
Trailer: 1987 Casita 16
Illinois
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Looks really good on the fit. I'll bet when it is all done and painted it will look like it came from the factory that way, and people will wonder shy they can't get one like that.
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Old 02-17-2018, 08:10 AM   #111
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Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
Posts: 3,209
i wonder

Do you 2 ever go to bed? work and more work outstanding work!

bob
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Old 02-17-2018, 11:24 AM   #112
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
Thanks for the compliment Bob, but I must inform you that I do go to bed albeit sleep is somewhat somewhat erratic sometimes. I fear that things aren't progressing quickly enough however. I would like to have the trailer minimally livable by April. Our eldest daughter is getting married in middle May so my energies will be diverted very soon.

Yesterday I added a ribbon of fiberglass around the edge of the front window fill after having ground down a trough to fill. I will apply one more layer of glass today. After that It will be final filling any low spots with bondo and paint. I will probably just use white Rustoleum enamel initially to get the trailer more uniform color again before final painting in late spring / early summer when the weather is agreeable for such work. Current plans are to use a marine, single part polyurethane paint applied by the roll and tip method.

I also have been working on the dinette. Both sides are mostly completed and are actually sit-able. Final sanding and permanent attachment to the trailer will make the dinette ready for a satin urethane finish. I have not yet started construction of the actual dining table. It will hang off of the wall via some king of folding "L" bracket that will allow the dinette to be converted to a smallish bed. We don't yet have grandchildren but I reckon we might as well be prepared to go camping a kid or two.

The kitchen counter is about 80% built too. All of the major components are built with drawers and cabinet face yet to be started. I am still thinking about whether or not I want to try to use the 2 way Dometic fridge or use our Yeti ice chest while we save up for a better refrigeration solution. Since I moved the kitchen to the opposite side of the trailer, plumbing will have to be rerouted and some of the wiring extended. We will probably begin the summer without indoor plumbing. That is not a big stretch for us since we have been camping with either a tent or a little teardrop trailer for many years. I haven't owned a proper travel trailer with indoor plumbing for 25 years.
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Old 02-20-2018, 01:45 PM   #113
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Name: Eric
Trailer: 1987 Casita 16
Illinois
Posts: 503
indoor plumbing

We did the January trial trip with a portapotty, and it worked pretty good. Was much nicer than the tent at night. This Spring I hope to complete the regular toilet and black water setup for the big trip at the end of the summer. You are doing a great job on the FG stuff.
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Old 02-21-2018, 09:44 AM   #114
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
Thanks Eric. I have taught myself a lot about fiberglassing on this project. That is how it seems to often go. You take on a unique ( to you) project, Through the course of doing it, you make a few mistakes. Call it the learning curve. And by the time you are closing in on the completion, you finally have it down. You have patched up all of your flubs and laid the final coat of paint when you realized that fixing the flubs took as much or more effort and cost than the initial project. And know that you ha a minor amount of expertise on the topic, you realize you likely won't ever use that new found skill again.
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Old 02-21-2018, 10:17 AM   #115
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Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
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new skills

oh but now you guys will have so many new friends!!


bob
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Old 02-21-2018, 10:17 AM   #116
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nor Cal Mike View Post
And know that you ha a minor amount of expertise on the topic, you realize you likely won't ever use that new found skill again.
that is the way I feel, and probably like you it gives me the attitude that I can
take on the next project with the same confidence.
Keep up the great work and keep the pics coming!!
Fred
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Old 02-21-2018, 11:35 AM   #117
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Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
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form a company

you guys need to form a company sort of like a consortium of egg camper experts and starve to death!

bob
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Old 02-24-2018, 05:31 PM   #118
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
With all of the interior fiberglass work completed, I decided to take a break from fiberglass to do a little more wood working. Fiberglass is pretty cool stuff but I hate working with it.

I know have most of the side dinette roughed in, as is the kitchen counter and fridge enclosure. The forward bulkhead makes up most of the shower/ bathroom wall and it is roughed in as well. My plan is to get all of the major pieces built and fitted together then I will fall back to do the plumbing and new wiring before final assembly and detail work including application of the Varithane finish. Up next on the get'er done on the major pieces agenda is front corner the closet which also makes up the other bathroom wall. That is what I worked on today. The proof proof is in the pictures.

Here is the start of the closet face. As part of doing it, I also had to fit the bathroom partition which will extend a couple of inches further out into the main gallery.



Here is the bathroom partition. This is actually just a pattern. I built it out of misc. scrap pieces so that I could work out the curvature of the trailer body. The contours came out pretty close. I bought some 1X12 and 1X6 pine today to cut the permanent structural pieces from. I will trace the contours from these patterns to the pine.

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Old 03-02-2018, 02:07 PM   #119
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Name: Michael
Trailer: Casita 16ft.
California
Posts: 338
I am still making progress on the interior while I wait for better weather to finish the fiberglass on the outside. Today I worked on the new side dinette.




I will access the under seat storage by lifting the seat. This applies to both sides of the booth.


I also worked on the closet / bathroom partitions. They are now made of the permanent wood. The partition between the closet and bath will be sided with fiberglass paneling (FRP).



The carpeting will be replaced in the closet when all of the areas are ready for carpet as well. There was some water leakage from the holes drilled through for the old front window rock cover brackets. These holes have been eliminated. I will have to trim this carpet back a little more to get rid of the funky stuff. Because the new kitchen are will get paneling over rigid foam insulation, I hopefully will have enough carpet left over to do these carpet replacements.
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Old 03-02-2018, 05:55 PM   #120
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Name: Eric
Trailer: 1987 Casita 16
Illinois
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Looks good -- are you going to do shelves on the wall of the bath? I am using the door with plastic tubs, but with a shower curtain I think you could do shelves that might give a lot of storage.
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