Pat B's U-Haul renovation

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Pat, great to see you back and wishing you luck on your renovation.

EXACTLY

[D Davis]

Pat I second and third that, WELCOME BACK! I have had to take breaks on mine as well. Life...

[Pat B Ohio]

Well you start and somehow it goes on and on...
I thought I would pull off that old solar panel. When I pulled off the old carpet, I found the bolts glassed over. Well the panel does work, so I guess the solar panel will go forward. Maybe I can add wiring for a movable panel.

[Pat B Ohio]

So we start cutting the fiberglass. I am using a hack saw to remove the mid-line ridge. A grinder would make way too much dust at this time. Since I removed the windows, I have found that some of the leaks were caused by lack of fiberglass and shrinkage of gaskets at the corner radius. I think they cut the window holes too big at construction. Some of the window glass is really just resin a few mm thick. The halves have about a 1/8" offset.

[Pat B Ohio]

When you get tired of one job, your mind wanders. Oh look, more fiberglass to cut up. I think my previous life was a fiberglass termite. The closet is on my hit list to modify. I removed the old heater. Too rusty and old. Got a Mr. Buddy heater if I really need to heat it up. The void space next to the wheel well has been cut to accept 2 drawers and the side will be modified with a panel to accept a folding screen door. The original was a zippered screen. Someone made a very nice folding screen (Raya?), but I have to make a square hole. I can not do a curved screen to mirror the door. Maybe one of the cabinet makers has the skills, but I don't. That would be way cool......

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Pat B Ohio

Well you start and somehow it goes on and on...
I thought I would pull off that old solar panel. When I pulled off the old carpet, I found the bolts glassed over. Well the panel does work, so I guess the solar panel will go forward. Maybe I can add wiring for a movable panel.

One option is to leave the elevator bolts untouched in the roof, but remove the Philips head screws from each end of the solar panel mount. With these screws removed, you can remove the end pieces and gently slide the glass out.

I found that the mount was sturdy, so I added two cross bars, which I mounted the 60 watt panel to.

[Pat B Ohio]

Thanks for the great idea. It is great to know the mount is reusable. I will have to upgrade the wire though.

[Pat B Ohio]

Following Tom's guidance, I pulled the solar panel. It did not come easily, but the panel finally surrendered. The rails are very sturdy. I also pulled the vent to put in a fantastic fan. However, there is a slight rocker I need to deal with. The halves do not line up exactly on any axis. Since the old vent had a metal flange, you could bend it to meet the surface. I will have to cut a wood gasket, then sand it to meet the surface and glass it on.

If anyone has a better suggestion, PLEASE feel free to jump in. The gap bevels from the center to 1/4" on the outside edge. It can not be too thick I do have to get the trailer out of the garage . Maybe I should find a piece of scrap fiberglass? Since I am new at this, all suggestions are welcome.

[Kevin A]

Our roof AC sits a bit uneven, too, due to the natural build of the trailer. While it offends my eye, I've just let it be. Good luck with your continuing project!

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Pat B Ohio

Following Tom's guidance, I pulled the solar panel. It did not come easily, but the panel finally surrendered. The rails are very sturdy. I also pulled the vent to put in a fantastic fan. However, there is a slight rocker I need to deal with. The halves do not line up exactly on any axis. Since the old vent had a metal flange, you could bend it to meet the surface. I will have to cut a wood gasket, then sand it to meet the surface and glass it on.

If anyone has a better suggestion, PLEASE feel free to jump in. The gap bevels from the center to 1/4" on the outside edge. It can not be too thick I do have to get the trailer out of the garage . Maybe I should find a piece of scrap fiberglass? Since I am new at this, all suggestions are welcome.

Wow, good work in getting out that old solar panel.

I wonder if you could carefully cast a wedge shaped spacer in place by curbing the perimeter and pouring in fiberglass resin. It would automatically level if the trailer was level. You could also use bondo and sand it flat.

Given the amount of angle, I can't see you being able to just sand off the crown as it is right now. Time for a fiberglass expert to jump in.

[Roger Kimble]

In here tells about my solor upgrade http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ate-50041.html

[Pat B Ohio]

I contemplated cruising for a hunk of old shower stall to act as a flat surface then level with wood wedges. Then disassemble, and resin in place. The final layer is glass cloth. Or I could only do a one sided wedge and leave it canted about half an inch. Bother.

Be nice if I had some experience in fiberglass.......

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Pat B Ohio

I contemplated cruising for a hunk of old shower stall to act as a flat surface then level with wood wedges. Then disassemble, and resin in place. The final layer is glass cloth. Or I could only do a one sided wedge and leave it canted about half an inch. Bother.

Be nice if I had some experience in fiberglass.......

Fiberglass work is really not too difficult - sort of like stinky paper mache.

You might find it useful to look up fiberglass molding on YouTube - lots of instructional videos there.

[jen b]

You are whacking off your center mold flange - out of all the modifications I've done on my Burro, that's one of the top most useful ones, I think. I used a Dremel cutting disk to hack it as close as safely possible, and then a palm sander to smooth it all out.

And Thomas is right about fiberglass work not being very difficult. Messy and stinky, yes. Difficult, no. Do wear breathing protection when sanding anything fiberglass, though. The papier-mache comparison is a good one. It's relatively forgiving and you can sculpt to you heart's content.

[Pat B Ohio]

Yes fiberglass stinks! I am being a good girl. Mask, goggles, minimizing dust, long sleeves and a dedicated fiber sweatshirt. I did have hazmat 40 training...... I am working on my fan-roof adapter this afternoon. But, that is just sawdust.

[mary and bob]

I just ground down the center ridge slightly, then installed the new Fantastic Fan with butyl tape. No leak, but there was a flaw in the seam just a little to the rear of the roof vent and under the solar panel that did leak. I removed the panel, left the rails on, Fiberglassed over the wire hole and the seam flaw.