Triple-E Surfside '78 renos - plans and questions - Fiberglass RV
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Old 06-07-2019, 10:13 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Name: Liz
Trailer: Triple-E Surf-Side
Alberta
Posts: 8
Triple-E Surfside '78 renos - plans and questions

Our '78 Triple-E Surfside has been in the family for a very long time. I inherited it from my parents two years ago, we love it and want to fix it up. It's in pretty good shape but still showing its years. My dad's done a few "renos" in the past, including new carpet installed, new curtains, some work on the furnace, and replacing the interior wood's trim with laminate strips.

We have already done some work on the trailer, including recovering all the interior upholstery.

At present, the first order of priority is the windows - those 2-pane Jalousies need new seals and new cranks, plus a cleaning and polish. I also need to do something about the rock guard and shade on the front - that's getting pretty worn.

We intend to paint the outside, but that may be a while. Will also consider shrink-wrapping it as an alternative. So we will be giving the outer shell a fibreglass-specific treatment for cleaning and polishing the surface this weekend, as the interim measure.

And I will be sanding down the interior laminate surfaces in preparation for priming and painting, since the laminate is no longer in good condition. The laminate also has the t-bar type trim (plastic has warped with age and is mostly gone). I'm thinking of replacing it all with retro metal trim if it can be found in an affordable range.

The enamel on the radiator is terribly cracked and needs repainting too.

I have the following questions, if anyone can advise on resources or sellers:
- notions on how to go about replacing the undulated fibreglass shield in the rock guard without breaking the frame
- tips on protecting other surfaces while sanding, besides a drop cloth on the ground (like the vinyl/foam wall covering)
- Good places for metal furniture trim (t-bar type)?
-Any tutorials on stripping or prepping the metal furnace guard and range cooktop for repainting?

Will keep posting here as I progress in the adventure of renovating our Surfside.
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Old 06-09-2019, 08:33 PM   #2
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Name: Cate & Dan
Trailer: 1976 Triple E SurfSide "The Mutt Hut"
Manitoba
Posts: 66
We have had an unbelievably ugly '76 surfside for about 4 years. I currently have it half gutted and the man has been sanding away at the outside. Am reinforcing the saggy roof and trying to pull out some body sag on the door side because it has bulged out and the door doesn't fit properly. I think it is a design problem of not actually tabbing the wall to the closet because I have seen a number of them at the rallies and they all seem to have a bad door fit. The roof stress is a bit too much for the flimsy wood of the closet. It is more structurally sound on the fridge cupboard side which I found had reinforcing tabs around the vents. So if you find your door doesn't fit quite right, it isn't unusual. Also check your frame where it bends up at the front of the "egg" toward the coupler. That bend has proven to be a weak spot on a lot of Surfsides. Again a design thing. Ours had cracks on both sides and has been reinforced. Pretty simple fix for a welder. Anyway, as to your rock guard. We replaced ours when we first got the trailer and I remember just taking the frame off the trailer altogether. There are little square nuts holding it to the arms that you can see when you extend the arms out. undo those to release the arms from the frame and it should just slide out of the top rail. Then I believe the frame just unscrews. I went to Home Depot and bought a piece of the Sunshade lucite that they use for green houses or pergolas. It is rippled in the same way as the rock guard we had originally. I measured it and in order to not crack it while cutting I used a sharp knife and heated the blade with the bbq lighter so it kind of melted through it. Tedious, time consuming and you have to be careful the blade is good and hot because it will slip on the lucite otherwise and could lead to a nasty slice. Probably an easier way maybe with a wire and battery or someone has some brilliant tool to do that very thing but it worked for me. There was enough from one sheet to save for a second one if you feel like storing it or if you bugger it up the first time. You can get it clear, smokey, green and I do believe opaque white and it is UV stable. Had ours on for 4 years and so far no worries.
I am also looking at doing the windows. I know you can get the seals online from Vintage Trailer. I changed out the crank handles for knobs from the local RV place and have to look into replacing 2 of the actual crank mechanisms. Will be taking a look soon so if I find somewhere to get them I will let you know. Good luck with the reno. It can become addictive.
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Old 06-09-2019, 08:42 PM   #3
Member
 
Name: Cate & Dan
Trailer: 1976 Triple E SurfSide "The Mutt Hut"
Manitoba
Posts: 66
By the way, you will learn a ton from this forum. Lots of experienced owners and renovators. Any problems and you will probably find someone who has either tackled it themselves or has read someone else's thread about doing so. And should you actually discover something unheard of, there are plenty of people willing to put heads together to find a solution or at least lend support especially if you can supply pictures. Excellent community and great resource.
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Old 06-13-2019, 12:50 PM   #4
Junior Member
 
Name: Liz
Trailer: Triple-E Surf-Side
Alberta
Posts: 8
Oh yes, we're already so grateful for the forum's help on the Jalousie windows. Found the exact replacement for the mechanism cheap on amazon via someone else's comment, and can confirm they match! Ordering the gaskets right now and will get to work on the restoration of the windows when those arrive from vintage trailer supply in about a week.
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Old 02-17-2020, 12:38 PM   #5
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Name: Matthew
Trailer: Triple E Surfside
Nova Scotia
Posts: 4
Bunk bed

Hi there,

I am new to this site and recently bought a 78 Surfside, which luckily seems to be in excellent shape, however is missing the upper bunk bed. I don’t suppose you have any pics of how your upper bunk bed is secured by chance? I would like to have it replaced for extra sleeping space. Thanks in advance.
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Old 02-18-2020, 11:31 AM   #6
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Name: Liz
Trailer: Triple-E Surf-Side
Alberta
Posts: 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matty View Post
Hi there,

I am new to this site and recently bought a 78 Surfside, which luckily seems to be in excellent shape, however is missing the upper bunk bed. I don’t suppose you have any pics of how your upper bunk bed is secured by chance? I would like to have it replaced for extra sleeping space. Thanks in advance.
The trailer's out in storage right now, can get you pics in the spring. But for now I can tell you how the bunk bed is set up.

On ours, the back of the couch is a plywood board with foam cushioning glued to it and upholstered. There are two hinges at the top to secure it to the rear wall and allow for folding it up into the bunk position, the hinge is closed and not visible in the down position (for couch use). For supporting the front side of the bunk, there is a chain latch on each end (like what's used for door security in hotels/apartments). One side is screwed into the wall with the furnace /fridge, the other side is secured into the fibreglass of the trailer door. The 'keyhole' pieces the chain ends latch into are screwed to the underside of the bunk board.
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Old 02-18-2020, 11:37 AM   #7
Junior Member
 
Name: Matthew
Trailer: Triple E Surfside
Nova Scotia
Posts: 4
bunkbed

thanks for the reply. I may be overthinking it but it sounds like a hinge on the back side and a security door chain latch on the front wouldn't be very secure or safe. How much weight have you had on the bunk bed? I have seen in other similar trailers where the use posts that fit into small holes on the lower bed for additional support.....

Matt
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Old 02-18-2020, 08:57 PM   #8
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Name: Kelly
Trailer: Trails West
Oregon
Posts: 3,047
Just for fun here is a video showing relative strengths of some security door chains with a measured pull strength for failure. Of course the video was being produced to show a product that had superior strength. But it gives you an idea if you look closely at the size of the chains being used.S ome of the brands would have enough strength to be used as bunk bed supports. Of course you also need to have the screws fasteners going into something solid for gripping power.

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Old 02-18-2020, 09:31 PM   #9
Junior Member
 
Name: Matthew
Trailer: Triple E Surfside
Nova Scotia
Posts: 4
Bunk bed

Thanks for that video.... that does make me feel a bit better about the chain latch system. Thanks a lot for taking the time to share that link.... gotta love the community of people on this site!
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Old 02-19-2020, 07:54 AM   #10
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Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
Posts: 3,209
wrapping your trailer

I read your comment about wrapping your trailer. Did you get any quotes yet?

What do you think it would look like?

thanks

bob

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lizbun View Post
Our '78 Triple-E Surfside has been in the family for a very long time. I inherited it from my parents two years ago, we love it and want to fix it up. It's in pretty good shape but still showing its years. My dad's done a few "renos" in the past, including new carpet installed, new curtains, some work on the furnace, and replacing the interior wood's trim with laminate strips.

We have already done some work on the trailer, including recovering all the interior upholstery.

At present, the first order of priority is the windows - those 2-pane Jalousies need new seals and new cranks, plus a cleaning and polish. I also need to do something about the rock guard and shade on the front - that's getting pretty worn.

We intend to paint the outside, but that may be a while. Will also consider shrink-wrapping it as an alternative. So we will be giving the outer shell a fibreglass-specific treatment for cleaning and polishing the surface this weekend, as the interim measure.

And I will be sanding down the interior laminate surfaces in preparation for priming and painting, since the laminate is no longer in good condition. The laminate also has the t-bar type trim (plastic has warped with age and is mostly gone). I'm thinking of replacing it all with retro metal trim if it can be found in an affordable range.

The enamel on the radiator is terribly cracked and needs repainting too.

I have the following questions, if anyone can advise on resources or sellers:
- notions on how to go about replacing the undulated fibreglass shield in the rock guard without breaking the frame
- tips on protecting other surfaces while sanding, besides a drop cloth on the ground (like the vinyl/foam wall covering)
- Good places for metal furniture trim (t-bar type)?
-Any tutorials on stripping or prepping the metal furnace guard and range cooktop for repainting?

Will keep posting here as I progress in the adventure of renovating our Surfside.
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