Lil Snoozy Fiberglass Shell Construction - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
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Old 09-30-2014, 08:24 AM   #21
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Paul, I feel the same way about not using bolts or screws into or through the fiberglass. I use adhesive whenever possible, or attach items to existing structures (air conditioner frame). When I installed our larger overhead cabinets, I used adhesive for the cabinet dividers, and used the "pinch rail" screws on the windows to support them as well. We've gone 7,000 miles now without any signs of separation or leaking from the windows.
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Old 09-30-2014, 09:14 AM   #22
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Ummm... LOVE the clock. Very Daliesque.
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Old 09-30-2014, 11:00 AM   #23
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Paul, I'm considering the same thing with the Snoozy, basic shell with shower & walls installed and lower cabinet, sofa, and bed framing. I plan to do the rest myself. Now, I have worked with fiberglass before so I'm considering glassing in blocks strategically placed on the walls for mounting (screwing) upper structures to. That way I'm actually running my screws & L clamps into the blocks not the outer wall shell. I've seen others here working on similar mounting techniques for hanging cabinets, etc. Robert Johans: The Egg Plant ,has posted some build threads here where he glassed in blocks to the upper wall shells to mount cabinets in a Boler project. I can't see why the same techniques wouldn't work with the Snoozy shell. Just may have to sand off the inside gel coat to get at the raw glass so the new stuff will adhere well. Robert also has some great ideas about installing reflectix & hulliner to the interior walls for better insulation, something else I'm considering for the bed area. Good info if you plan on doing some customizing.
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Old 09-30-2014, 11:31 AM   #24
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Paul,
Now, I have worked with fiberglass before so I'm considering glassing in blocks strategically placed on the walls for mounting (screwing) upper structures to. That way I'm actually running my screws & L clamps into the blocks not the outer wall shell.
Several fiberglass manufactures use that technic to install cabinets.... Escape being one of them.
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Old 09-30-2014, 11:48 AM   #25
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I'm considering glassing in blocks strategically placed on the walls for mounting (screwing) upper structures to. That way I'm actually running my screws & L clamps into the blocks not the outer wall shell.
I am thinking along similar lines, but possibly using 3M bonding adhesive to adhere upper and lower cleats to the ceiling and wall, and then screwing into them. If those cleats are continuous, they should provide a lot of strength. My design would have floor-to-ceiling support at one end, and an end-wall attachment point at the other. I may design it for floor-to-ceiling support at both ends, just for grins and giggles.
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Old 09-30-2014, 12:08 PM   #26
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Trillium also bonded wood to the inside of the fibreglass, under the ensolite. This is how the front upper shelves of 4500's are mounted on the door side, also the bunk bar on the kitchen side is mounted this way. Everything else is either fibreglass, bonded to the shell, or it is mounted to the plywood frame on the inside of the trailer that the windows screw into from the outside.

For something as potentially as heavy as a cabinets, I would not just glue it to the shell, but use fibreglass over the wood as well. That would keep it on the wall.
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Old 09-30-2014, 12:31 PM   #27
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I do believe Robert bonded (glued) his blocks too before glassing over just for positioning and extra strength (correct me if I'm wrong Robert, if you are reading this). I may have to contact him for more helpful tips when the time comes to install the blocks. He's done some sweet renovations on popular egg models.

Paul: Wouldn't mind you elaborating a little more on your floor to ceiling idea. Sounds interesting, but I'm having a hard time visualizing.
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Old 09-30-2014, 09:59 PM   #28
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5/8"-3/4" on the bottom hull section and 3/8"-1/2" on the top doesn't sound so thin to me, in terms of strength. This is considerably thicker than a Scamp or Casita shell, after all. The fact that the Snoozy needs no inner supports to provide rigidity is a good indicator of the shell's strength.

Now, if someone rear-ends a Snoozy at decent speed I have no doubt that the shell will crack and break in places, but what structure won't? We don't want to tow steel-reinforced-concrete trailers, so no trailer we buy will be indestructible in the face of serious abuse.

As for the issue of attaching things, I can't see any good reason to use screws into the hull when one can attach wood with adhesive and then screw into that wood. My Hauley was built with a 2"x8" (IIRC on the width) running the length of each side, so I could screw some attachment points to it and tie stuff down with nylon straps. These boards are on the walls nice and solid, and I don't think I could ever rip them off without serious cutting tools. If I ever decide to finish the interior for camping, the boards would make great attachments for all the cabinetry. I'm sure more wood can be added wherever it's needed, too.
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Old 10-01-2014, 09:02 AM   #29
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Hey Mike, Are your wood strips glassed over and a permanent part of the wall structure or just attached with construction adhesive?
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Old 10-01-2014, 11:47 AM   #30
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Paul: Wouldn't mind you elaborating a little more on your floor to ceiling idea. Sounds interesting, but I'm having a hard time visualizing.
Not sure if I can make it very clear, but my gotta-have is a walk-around double bed. My big wanna-have is a home-like seating area.

So, here is my idea for a layout -- as you walk in the door, the bathroom is on the left, and is a standard Snoozy bath. Just forward of that is the galley. It would be fairly small. Forward of that, in the nose cone, is the double bed, positioned fore-and-aft.

As you walk in the door, on the right, would be just an open floor space, with a fold-away table and two comfortable, movable chairs. Overhead cabinets would run from the back wall, up to a small floor-to-ceiling wardrobe cabinet about a foot short of the foot of the bed. That would be my one floor-to-ceiling mounting point. The overhead galley cabinets could be supported down to the counter top. The only other point would be the rear wall. I am considering a narrow floor-to-ceiling cabinet there, by the door, for jackets, etc... It can't be very wide, as I can't afford to lose much floor space.

At the front, on either side of the bed, would be night-stand cabinets. Those would easily glue into place.

I should also point out that the Snoozy A/C install does not appeal to me, and I don't plan to have it. I will use a ClimateRight portable unit that is connected to ductwork I have concealed in the cabinetry.
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Old 10-01-2014, 01:12 PM   #31
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That ClimateRight a/c idea sounds appealing. I've also considered installing an a/c unit in the side cabinet somewhere and vent through the lower side wall like a lot of the eggs do.
Got a link to the Climate Right site for the unit you are considering?
Your floor plan idea sounds nice and well thoughtout. My better half has brought up more than once the idea of a closet for hanging clothes, coats, broom, etc.
We've also considered the sofa area for a small dinette.
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Old 10-01-2014, 02:18 PM   #32
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The ClimateRight site is Products |Climate Right Air. They are a bit spendy, but that will just be part of the build-out cost. By building my own cabinetry, I'll save more than enough to pay for that.

The standard Snoozy has the water tanks under the sofa. My design will require significantly smaller tanks to work them into the space I have in the galley cabinets. I plan to use a cassette toilet, so I will only need fresh and grey tanks.

The double bed will lift up for storage underneath.
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Old 10-02-2014, 07:18 AM   #33
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That ClimateRight a/c is nice. I wonder how one could incorporate it into an inside installation on the Snoozy. It appears most owners mount it outside on the front frame or just sit it on the ground and plug it in. Since it would need good air flow coming in & out of the unit to perform well a lot of thought would have to go into it's placement within the camper, but it's possible I would assume. I have seen the regular window a/c units like Snoozy uses for their trailers used in other campers as well. Parkliner has their's positioned inside underneath one of the dining area seats. There's a tunnel behind the unit to the outside for the air exchange to flow in and out. It seems like the air flow would be restricted since it has to travel so far to get out, but maybe not. I did notice someone here who owns a Parkliner complaining that their camper didn't cool so well during hot weather but that may have been a BTU issue, not restricted air flow. ALiner trailers have a window unit mounted in the side wall with a flat grill on the outside covering the back of the unit's hot air outlet vent. It sits inside the unit and doesn't hang out the outside wall. That's what I would like to incorporate within the design of the Snoozy. Maybe under the wider kitchen cabinet area. Mount some type of unit on the floor with a condensation drain of some kind through the floor. The face and controls of the a/c would be flush on the interior cabinet face. Then have it either vented to the outside lower sidewall of the trailer or through the bottom floor out underneath the trailer. The ClimateRight unit design would allow for the in & out flexible air exchange pipes to be mounted anywhere within the cabinet face, where the standard window unit wouldn't. Just thinking of other ways to maybe eliminate having the a/c hanging out the back wall of the Snooze. I can live with Snoozy's design. It doesn't look all that bad, and I do like the flexibility of an easy switch if the unit went bad and had to be changed out. Just whip into your local home supply center and purchase a new one. They are way cheaper than the roof mounted units and I know they work. I have one in my popup that freezes us out. Anybody got any suggestions, ideas, or seen this done before on a Snoozy? Wouldn't mind exhausting all my options before having one built. Once you cut out the hole in the fiberglass there's no putting it back. Paul: where do you plan to position the ClimateRight in a Snoozy?
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Old 10-02-2014, 08:45 AM   #34
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Our personal usage needs may not match those of other folks. But, we have a small PetCool A/C unit for our teardrop. It is similar to the ClimateRight, but smaller. We have found that we use it infrequently, but when we need it, it is a wonderful thing.

We plan to use the Snoozy to avoid temperature extremes, and we are outdoor-leaning people, so I anticipate that our infrequent use of the A/C will continue. As such, I do not plan to mount it inside the Snoozy, but instead I will fashion a tray for it that slips into sockets on the frame. The A/C unit will ride in the tow vehicle, and be pulled out and hooked up on nights that we need it. This is how we do it on our teardrop, and it is no problem -- I can pull out the A/C and hook it up in under 3 minutes.

So, the ClimateRight will sit on a tray, and there will be connection ports through the sidewall that then distribute the air throughout the Snoozy.

I am not a fan of big grills cut into the camper shell. Doors and windows close, but A/C and fridge vents are always open, allowing some degree of water into the unit when towing in heavy rains. It usually isn't a lot, but if the wind is right, it can really soak the inside of the camper. I would prefer to avoid that.

Plus, cubic footage is at a premium inside the camper so moving the A/C to the outside saves several valuable cubic feet.
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Old 10-02-2014, 09:11 AM   #35
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......regular window a/c units like Snoozy uses for their trailers used in other campers as well. Parkliner has their's positioned inside underneath one of the dining area seats. There's a tunnel behind the unit to the outside for the air exchange to flow in and out. It seems like the air flow would be restricted since it has to travel so far to get out, but maybe not. I did notice someone here who owns a Parkliner complaining that their camper didn't cool so well during hot weather but that may have been a BTU issue, not restricted air flow.

I was dissatisfied with the air flow around the side closet mounted A/C in my Scamp when I “upgraded” to a larger 6,000 BTU unit. It worked well, but there was a LOT of trapped heat around the unit. I had plenty of clearance on top but it was tight on the sides and the screened louver vent to the outside restricted flow somewhat. Not a good atmosphere for an A/C unit to be operating in. As I had a few inches behind the unit I installed a 10” 12V electric automotive auxiliary radiator cooling fan to help exhaust the excess heat. It works well and although noisy cannot be heard or noticed when the A/C is running. With the wire, switch, and fuse I consider it a worthwhile $30 addition to my FL, GA, & AL camping rig. Looking at the Parkliner A/C install it should work well for that application also. Personally, I would not mess with a portable A/C unit. But then we use our A/C a lot and I want my stuff simple and self-contained.
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Old 10-02-2014, 10:53 AM   #36
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Greg, I to do not really like the look of the window air conditioner hanging out the back of the Snoozy either, but do like the fact it can easily be replaced with a unit found at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, or other places like these. This fact makes it easier to put up with the looks. We have camped in Scamps here in Arizona for 25 years without any air conditioning, and it really wasn't needed, as we travel to elevation to escape the heat. When I was working on the inside of the Snoozy here in the Phoenix area in June & August (over 100 degrees), I ran the air, and although it did not freeze me out, it did manage to keep it comfortable inside. I had thought of using a split unit air conditioner or the dog house style unit, but these are more expensive and take up more room than I wanted to give up on the tongue.
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Old 10-02-2014, 01:01 PM   #37
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The availability and price-point of the window A/C units are obviously the advantage that they bring to the table. I can't fault them there. What I don't like is the huge hole in the wall (or floor, depending on which camper we are talking about), and the added weight behind the hitch ball.

Another advantage that I see is that window units put the cooled and return air within inches of each other, which reduces their efficacy drastically, particularly in a long, narrow space such as an RV. With a portable unit, I can install ductwork to put one set of vents by the ceiling, and one set by the floor. For cooling, I can put the cold air high, and the return air low, and for heating, I can put the warm air low, and the return air high, both with multiple registers, for better distribution.

The portable units also have heat built in, eliminating the need for the ceramic heater.

Prior to our teardrop, I tried to make a window unit work well in a Scamp. I was ultimately successful, but it took a lot of baffling and venting, and two pancake fans to make it work to my standards. It also cost me a lot of cabinet space to accommodate an air conditioner plus the requisite space for airflow.

This is clearly a "whatever works better for you" kind of thing. I currently use a portable unit, and when I see the lengths people go to try to make a window unit work in a teardrop, I kind of shake my head, because the portable just does the job so well. I like the solution in my teardrop, and I expect to like it equally as well if I get a Snoozy, even with the extra cost. YMMMV
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Old 10-02-2014, 01:01 PM   #38
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Thanks guys for the input & things to ponder!
Sort of off topic: Does anybody out there know exactly what size (0"x0") windows the factory puts in there Snoozy's? The large ones and the small bedroom ones.

Paul: I like the frame tray idea for the outside a/c ~ ummm ~ something to think about.
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Old 10-02-2014, 01:08 PM   #39
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Paul: What about the unit being exposed to the elements during rainy weather?
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Old 10-02-2014, 02:03 PM   #40
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It is designed to sit outside. Obviously, the electrical connection needs to be weather-protected, but other than that, it is good to go. It is controlled by wireless remote control from inside the camper.
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