Renovating the Madhouse (1975 Boler full renovation)

[Eddie Longest]

Joe
Foam removal: Use a a multi tool to get the upper surface off. Then clean the fiberglass with a twisted wire brush on a 4-4.5" grinder. Wear mask and eye protection. Get the foam off, old glue will be left on the fiberglass if you are glueing on other materials I don't worry about getting the old glue off the glass. I do clean down to the glass if bonding resin to the shell.
Eddie

[Joe MN]

I was on the right track then. I have a multi tool that I was planning on using, but I hadn't thought of grinding afterward. I'll let you know how it goes

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[Joe MN]

Finally, spring in Minnesota is here and we've been able to get back to work. Over the winter I was able to get some work done on the nicer days, but not enough for an update. We had plenty of time to plan, and in doing so we decided on a few design changes. After seeing the floor, we decided to patch it up instead of replacing it. It will require me learning some fiberglass repair skills (but I'll need those later anyway). We have chosen pine wood for the cabinets, seats, and bunk. We will also be doing a bunk/bathroom which I have designed myself. Hopefully it works. We also decided to do "rib" supports instead of using the cabinets and closet for support, although it looks virtually the same. This was chosen simply so we could fiberglass in the rib supports and avoid more rivets through the frame for the overhead cabinet and closet.

Now for an update on current progress:

Completely cleared out the foam insulation using a sideways technique with a sawzall blade. I would not recommend this technique because there is still inherent risk of damage. We decided it wasn't within the budget to buy or rent a multi-tool when we had a good large oscillating blade at our disposal.

We removed all the windows, the belly band, and all associated rivets to get ready for repairing the rivet wholes and painting.

We managed after way to much work to get the body off of the trailer frame which allowed us to pressure wash the trailer. We decided that rather than pay for sandblasting and painting (again due to budget constraints) to use por-15 after some sanding to get the existing paint off. Seems to have worked like a charm.

We also made the rib supports this last week. We ended up using 3/4 in plywood to make these. We planned on 2 inch and 4 inch supports (hidden supports being 4 inches and visible supports being 2 inches). This was particularly hard because the template we had did not work for most of the supports.


Coming up next: Sanding the inside(to get the last bits of foam off and get the floor ready for fiberglass repair) and outside of the body (to get it ready for painting, and attaching the rib supports. Sanding will be done with a combination of orbital sander and detailing sander.


Some things to note: First I need to thank Sohkraites for his Haunted Mansion Thread. I have been using it religiously as a guide and it is magnificent work. I recommend anyone looking to this thread for guidance to also look at his work. I honestly would have stopped posting this thread if I didn't feel that our end products will be very different.

Secondly, we have decided that ultimately the trailers functionality and expense should take priority over beauty.Therefore, anything that can be done by myself or my wife (sanding, painting, fiberglassing, cabinet making) is going to be done by us. That being said any suggestions on how to make these processes work better/ look better are encouraged. Thank you all for checking in, and also for the suggestions thusfar.

[MRClaus]

keep up the good work

[slavandheather]

Nice start. Always good to have some inspiration on such a project. Robert Johans has made some stunning renovations and his work has really inspired and fueled our project. We still have a ways to go, but each time something is done the light at the end of the tunnel shines a bit brighter.

[Christian in FL]

Do you still have your fridge and heater? If yes, do they work? I am planning a reno on my Boler and might have need of them.

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[Sohkraites]

Thank you for the kind words! Glad our project can provide you with some inspiration! Keep up the good work!

[Joe MN]

Sorry. After keeping the everything for the winter just in case, we took all of our previous interior to the dump last week

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[Joe MN]

Hey all,

Time for yet another update. Today we got the fiberglass of the floor repaired. The biggest concern was that in the front middle where it looks as if rock damage combined with normal wear to create a large irregular hole. We put a small rectangle of plywood (3/4" X 3/4" X 20") in the cracked corner and fiberglassed it over. With the floor repaired, we can get it back on the trailer. We sanded the bottom of the trailer down to the green gelcoat. One thing we can't understand is that the bottom has green gelcoat and the top has white. If anyone can explain this I would love to know.

More patch work is still needed for the bottom half, but we got some of it done. Just in case anyone is wondering we have been doing quick acetone wipedowns of everything before sanding or fiberglassing and it seems to have worked well.

We put four of the "ribs" in with loctite heavy duty construction adhesive. We will fiberglass those in even though the adhesive made them very sturdy.

We also took the tires off the frame to get them replaced and ready to go.

Next up, more repairs to bottom half, get it back on the frame and keep chugging away at the sanding. At least with it on the frame we can move it back outside on the nicer days. As a spoiler I've added a picture of the cushions my wife has been making.

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[Joe MN]

Here are the pictures as promised

[Sohkraites]

Those ribs look mighty familiar! Great job! Keep the photos coming!

[keithfwhite]

Looking great. How are you finishing the inside?


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[Joe MN]

The interior will look like a scamp 13 deluxe layout #2. The only difference will be that instead of the bathroom and closet in the front, the bathroom will be a front couch/bunk and the front closet will be a 1/2 bathroom. We will be using pine interior for bench seats and cabinets. We will be putting bamboo flooring over the original floor and rat fur for the inside.

[keithfwhite]

What is "rat fur"?

[David B.]

Originally Posted by keithfwhite

What is "rat fur"?

It is a short nap marine headliner used to cover ceiling & walls. It doesn't retain odors, and stains are easily removed.
Dave & Paula

[keithfwhite]

Thanks. I'm looking at options for mine. I'll check that stud out.
Thanks again

[Joe MN]

We started framing in the bench seats and the front couch/bunk. We still need to do framing of the cabinet and closet. We used plywood for the bench seat floors in order to make them easier to remove. We used carriage bolts with wing nuts to keep them in place. The bolts were drilled through the plywood and the floor. The wing nuts are probably not the best thing to hold them in place, but they are so easy to tighten if anything comes loose that it will serve its purpose. An added benefit is that if we eventually want to change the layout we are only 5 wing nuts away from having a blank template in the back half. We used regular washers underneath the trailer and rubber washers between the plywood and floor for moisture protection.

The front bunk/couch was framed in as well. We did not use the plywood in the front because it was such a small area that we would have ended up using the same number of wing nuts to keep it in place anyway (6). So when in doubt always keep the trailer as light as possible.

Next I began cutting out the wiring and installed the circuit breaker box. I was able to find a square d 100 amp 6 space breaker box at home depot, so that's what we went with, Even though we will only be using 2 of the 6 spaces. It also leaves us room to upgrade the 110 system for more accessories in the future. It also fit into my second rule, cheaper is better.

The wiring was surprisingly easy once we found out that we only needed two outlets for 110 and two outlets for 12v. We also had the fantastic fan on the 12 side as well as an exterior light. I thought about an exterior outlet, but decided against it. If it really bothers me later I suppose I will have to add it.

To finish out the wiring concept we bought a 150 watt cup inverter to charge phones mainly but also for the laptop, refrigerator (minimally) radio, and lights. Rather than upgrade to a larger inverter we would simply minimize usage to lights and fridge if necessary. That leaves one open dc outlet for phones.

We have a 100 amp battery with a 30 watt solar panel. It may seem mismatched but the battery was yet again cheaper than a 50 amp so bigger was better. Between trips we will have at least 4 or 5 days so we are hoping that the panel will keep up with usage. 6 days of charging and 2 or 3 days of battery use. The plan is to mount the panel to the roof of the boler.

We continued working on sanding the exterior to get it ready to paint. This seems to be the most boring task, so we try to only do a couple hours a day. We are also fiberglassing small holes as we find them when sanding ( from missing rivets or screws).

I think the pictures need up upside down this time. My apologies for that

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[Sohkraites]

Looking great! Are you finding that the piece that supported the bench seats around the outside are at different heights from the floor? Ours were off by 3/4" from side to side! And we feel your pain when it comes to sanding. That was the most painful task of the rebuild. But it'll be worth it in the end. Keep up the good work! It's coming together nicely!

[Ron Humerickhouse]

Joe U R doing great,,will be a dandy camper,,been following your posts and work progress,,??where did you find info on the solar panel & hook up,,i want one to keep my battery charged when boondocking ? Thanks Ron

[Joe MN]

Hey Tony,

It was quite a project to figure out the height of the bench seats. Unlike yours, our bench seats were even on both sides, but they dipped about 1/2 inch in the middle of the seat compared to the edges.