Outsourcing Trillium window repairs

[Kelly H]

We finally agreed that with a toddler and a baby running/crawling around, we're never going to have time to replace the rotten wood around the windows of our '75 Trillum 1300. I have an appointment at a local RV repair shop next week and another at a different shop the following week for quotes.
I had to set up the appointments over a month ago so my question is this: Has anyone else outsourced this repair before? What should I expect to pay? If the first quote is "reasonable", I'd rather have them start working on it right away. But I'm certain I'll have sticker shock so I'm curious what to expect.

[David Tilston]

I have done it a few times. Experience is good. My last window was way faster then my first. I would look for someone who has done it. Also, It is easy to damage the Ensolite while changing the wood. I would look for someone who also has experience repairing Ensolite.

It is also a time consuming process. Maybe four hours a window. Maybe a bit less. At $100 per hour, that could add up.

Please let us know how it turns out.

[Kelly H]

I dropped it off at a place today and I'm expecting a quote on Monday. They told me they've done the same thing on a Burro before, but I don't know how similar the two are.

I'm getting more and more tempted to try to do the bulk of the work myself with the baby strapped to my back and the toddler playing in the yard and having my husband help me in evenings when he can. But then I think I'm getting in way over my head. Am I crazy?

[David Tilston]

Kelly, I have never worked with fibreglass before I bought a Trillium. I don't claim to be any kind of expert, but I am happy with my work.
A nice thing is that the tools are cheep. The window job needs a screw driver and some cleaning tools. Buy some new stainless steel, pan head, 3/4" screws and some butyl tape. The screws are best purchased at a fastener store, bolt shop. They will have a box of 100 for what Home Depot will charge you for 20. The butyl tape can be purchased at an RV parts department. Get the 1" stuff. The 2" is too wide. Though the extra can be cleaned off.

Unscrew the windows and throw away the screws. The old butyl tape will hold them in. Pull them out from the bottom. They have a funny shape to them and probably won't come out if you pull them from the top. Clean off the old butyl tape from both the window, and the fibreglass. I put the new butyl tape on the window flange.

Before reinstalling, check the plywood frames that they screw into. If the frame seems dry and solid, they are fine. If the wood is soaking wet, and / or rotten, they should be replaced. This is a time consuming job. You need a sharp putty knife and lots of manual dexterity. Separate the Ensolite from the wood with the putty knife. This process is time consuming and I found it difficult to get the corners of the frame to separate from the Ensolite. I think a gouge chisel would be useful for this. Something like this:
http://www.timberbits.com/robert-sor...dle-gouge-hssl

The frames are made of 3/4" plywood. They don't have a 45° cut where they join. The top and bottom pieces are long and beveled on the ends and one side. The side pieces fit between the top and bottom pieces and are beveled on one edge only. The cross section of each piece of frame is 2.5" on the face that is against the fibreglass and the bevel is 45°. Marine plywood makes sense in this application, but I just used regular plywood and painted it with floor paint.

The presence of kids will be a distraction, but you can do it. When you run into road blocks, we will be here to help. It would help to have a dry place to work. I have a double wide carport tent that I use for this.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/do...l#.VTaAvfAw3KM

[Kelly H]

Thank you for all your help! If I have more specific questions, should I post them on a different thread (like your window replacement thread), here, or start a new topic?