Belly Band - Lil Bigfoot - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
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Old 06-14-2010, 09:51 PM   #21
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Trailer: Lil Bigfoot
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Quote:
I wonder if the upper and lower halves are also fiberglassed together on the inside, perhaps behind the wood (I would think so).

Raya
Hi again, Raya -

My two halves weren't fiberglassed together. They just line up one over the other. Actually when I removed my belly band the first time the top half dropped about 1/8" - a bit of a pain to line up the holes again. I replaced the wood 'inner' band, so all of my holes are fresh. Good call on filling them though if worn a bit. I think I"ll just be butyl-ing and/or a good caulk as you say.

Carl:

When I went to remove my uppers, the PO had put long carriage bolts through the cabinets and out through the roof. He finished the job off with a nice 'bee-hive' of caulk, a good 3" high - one in each of the four corners on the roof. I had always wondered what the heck those were .

I realized by the end of my demo that the wood cabinet supports, like yours, were just glued to the inside of the fiberglass - what the ! Some almost fell off when I took the cabinets off. So when I stripped the walls down, I traced around these with a Sharpie, and sanded a good 6" around them to remove the pink glue. I cut new wood while replacing the belly band inner. Again, these had to be cut every few inches in some spots almost all the way through (I still don't know what carpenters call this) but it allowed the wood to follow the contours of the trailer. I rubber cemented all my wood in first to keep it in place, and then just used strips of fiberglass to tab over the wood, attaching it to the trailer wall. It wasn't the neatest of jobs, but it'll stay. That's all covered by the hull liner fabric, which, by the way, covers over contours very well. It has some give to it as it's fibrous. Imagine the consistency of an SOS pad - lots of give in terms of stretching and following odd shapes.

Sounds like you've got things all in line for your trailer!

Mike
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Old 06-14-2010, 10:25 PM   #22
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Mike,

Thanks for the additional info - satisfied my curiosity

Quote:
I cut new wood while replacing the belly band inner. Again, these had to be cut every few inches in some spots almost all the way through (I still don't know what carpenters call this)
It sounds like you cut kerfs into the wood (the partial cuts to allow it to bed).

Carl, on the two-part paint, just a note: The Interlux two-part LPU, called "Perfection," was developed by them with "do-it-yourselfers" in mind, and they envisioned that those folks would be rolling and tipping, not spraying. So most professional boatyards will probably be using something like Awlgrip or Alexseal, or maybe Sterling if they are using a two-part LPU. Not that one couldn't spray Perfection, but I don't think many would do.

You may also run into Imron, or Awlcraft - these are also two part paints, but slightly different (softer, which means they are easier to repair and buff out; OTOH, Awgrip, et al, form a hard "shell" that is more scuff resistant and (even) more maintenance free than Imron types (but harder to buff out, etc.) Either are good, just slightly different.

Raya
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Old 10-05-2010, 04:37 AM   #23
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Name: Mary
Trailer: 1988 Lil Bigfoot (13ft)
Oregon
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I just bought a 1988 Lil bigfoot and wanted to say that your posts have been tremendously helpful with the repairs I have had to do on it so far. My trailer was missing the outside trim around the belly band and was really starting to panic that I would not be able to find something to replace it. As luck would have it I was shopping at Camping World and found a trim (black) that fits perfectly!!! I’m not sure what the original looks like but I wanted to share with everyone this option for replacing the trim. You can go to campingworld.com and search “insert trim” and it will come up. I bought a roll and can tell you that it fits perfect; it will just take a little time to work it in the slot. It comes in 1 inch wide by 25 ft or 100 ft rolls in black and also comes in white if you want to be different.

Happy camping!
Mary
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Old 10-05-2010, 05:08 AM   #24
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This stuff Mary? Search - insert trim - Camping World
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Old 10-05-2010, 11:00 AM   #25
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Thank you Mary! Good to hear from a fellow Lil Bigfoot owner. I'll be posting quite a few pictures soon as I am about to begin my major renovation.

Carl
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Old 04-22-2017, 10:51 PM   #26
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Name: Leonard
Trailer: Bigfoot
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Bigfoot belly band

I know this is an old post, but I have questions that I hope someone can answer. I have a 1987 Bigfoot F20 5th wheel. The screws that hold the belly band on are so rusted that I am going to have to drill them out. Thas rv is new to me and I am starting to do a complete remodel, inside and out. The band has leaked for some time as the wood strip is delaminated in places and rotted away in others. Has anyone had any experience with removing the band, sealing the holes and putiing a new band on. I know that all the wood on the inside will have to be replaced. Is this a reasonable idea, or am I better just fiberglassing over the area. Thanks
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Old 10-24-2017, 10:09 PM   #27
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Name: Matt
Trailer: Bigfoot
Montana
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Just glass it...

Quote:
Originally Posted by cassel01 View Post
I know this is an old post, but I have questions that I hope someone can answer. I have a 1987 Bigfoot F20 5th wheel. The screws that hold the belly band on are so rusted that I am going to have to drill them out. Thas rv is new to me and I am starting to do a complete remodel, inside and out. The band has leaked for some time as the wood strip is delaminated in places and rotted away in others. Has anyone had any experience with removing the band, sealing the holes and putiing a new band on. I know that all the wood on the inside will have to be replaced. Is this a reasonable idea, or am I better just fiberglassing over the area. Thanks
Hey, what did you end up doing? I'm thinking I'll just fiberglass the belly band on the inside of my Lil Bigfoot. I'm already itchy from glassing in a new subfloor, so why not? I'll probably do 6" sections at a time so that the top doesn't drop when the screw are removed and I'll probably tape over the holes on the outside to minimize drips.
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Old 10-25-2017, 02:17 AM   #28
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Name: Dave
Trailer: Casita SD17 2006 "Missing Link"
California
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Originally Posted by MattyB View Post
Hey, what did you end up doing? I'm thinking I'll just fiberglass the belly band on the inside of my Lil Bigfoot. I'm already itchy from glassing in a new subfloor, so why not? I'll probably do 6" sections at a time so that the top doesn't drop when the screw are removed and I'll probably tape over the holes on the outside to minimize drips.
Hi Matt, IMHO you're going to take a lot of excess time and effort doing 6" pieces. Pull a few screws and do the four corners with 2-3' long glass strips. That should be more than enough to keep the everything in place. Doesn't take much to keep things from moving in a static mode.
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