Fiberglass bottom or wood in the Pacific Northwet? - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 04-26-2012, 06:06 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
Quillian's Avatar
 
Name: Jasson
Trailer: U-Haul CT-13
Washington
Posts: 8
Fiberglass bottom or wood in the Pacific Northwet?

Hi gang! I'm pretty new here, been lurking for a week or 2 and posting for the first time. I'm looking at little eggs and love the look of them. A friend of mine recently got one and now I am looking to get one for summer camping as well. But the question that I have is this, is the fact that the underside of the egg is made of wood an issue at all here in Western Washington? I know that the Trilliums have fiberglass all the way around, but it seems like the others are all wood floors between the fiberglass egg and the trailer frame. Does it make much if any of a difference for maintenance or longevity in this area? I anticipate using it mostly here along the coast in Washington, Oregon, and some up into BC.

Thanks in advance for the advice!
Quillian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2012, 07:19 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 1,578
As for scamp, the wood is resin soaked at the factory. But then there is also dry rot from the inside to watch for. Some use dry-z-air to combat that. Interior photo attached.
Attached Thumbnails
Dryrotflooring3.jpg  
Ken C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2012, 07:25 PM   #3
Junior Member
 
Quillian's Avatar
 
Name: Jasson
Trailer: U-Haul CT-13
Washington
Posts: 8
Yikes, good point. My parents house had a major case of dry rot at one point. Was a huge mess since it was one of the main support beams. I believe that the Trilliums have the fiberglass underside, do any of the other trailers also have that? I thought I heard some, but not all of the uhauls did?
Quillian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2012, 07:32 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Ed Harris's Avatar
 
Trailer: 1982 Fiber Stream and 2001 Casita Spirit Deluxe (I'm down to 2!)
Posts: 1,989
Casitas have a fiberglass belly too.

I have had both and both can be trouble.

I had 2 Trilliums that had water in between the fiberglass shells but you couldn't easily tell it was there!
Then once discovered I had to drill small holes to let the nasty water out.
No telling how long it had been that way but the water was gross and poured out for a while both times.

While it is true that the Scamp resin soaked wood is more exposed I a not sure how much better off things are when not exposed.
Ed Harris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2012, 09:43 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Name: Daniel A.
Trailer: Bigfoot 17.0 1991 dlx
British Columbia
Posts: 741
Registry
Bigfoot is fiberglass.
Daniel A. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2012, 10:30 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Cathi's Avatar
 
Name: Cathy
Trailer: Escape 19' sold, 21' August 2015
POBox 1267, Denison, Texas
Posts: 807
Ed, how did you discover the water? Did you have floor repairs then to make or some other repairs?
Trilliums, like Escapes, are supposed to have a couple of holes in the bottom to let out water. I am wondering if that was always the case. Maybe older Trilliums are different.
Cathi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2012, 11:21 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
David Tilston's Avatar
 
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cathy View Post
Ed, how did you discover the water? Did you have floor repairs then to make or some other repairs?
Trilliums, like Escapes, are supposed to have a couple of holes in the bottom to let out water. I am wondering if that was always the case. Maybe older Trilliums are different.
Boy am I interested in the answer to this question. If I have water pooling up, I want to know about it!

We need specifics here; model, year, heck, pictures would ROCK!
David Tilston is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-26-2012, 11:43 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
David Tilston's Avatar
 
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
Registry
To address your question Jasson, the Trilliums do have wood in the floor. It is, I think, fiberglassed into the inside of the lower storage, like under the dinette and the front gaucho, (couch / bunk). I have not pulled up the plywood that is the floor, under the carpet, but I believe that also has a glassed in sheet of plywood under it.

The point is that if the trailer leaks, this wood, where the water gets to it, is also suseptable to rot. It is also, I assume, difficult to replace. Take a look at this thead;
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ons-49422.html

freddo411 posts are like a 411 of everything you need to know about restoring a Trillium. Also worth looking at;
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ion-49308.html
David Tilston is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 06:03 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Ed Harris's Avatar
 
Trailer: 1982 Fiber Stream and 2001 Casita Spirit Deluxe (I'm down to 2!)
Posts: 1,989
I have had both a '73 1300 and a '78 4500 and both had similar issues from similar problems.

In the Trill the floor is a sandwich of Fiberglass belly outside,3/4" plywood as the "Meat" and then a fiberglass tub inside that serves as the floor inside where you put your feat. The inside tub also has the benches as part of it all molded as one huge part sort of.

I word it like that for a reason,the plywood meat in the middle gives the fiberglass a base on both sides making the floor strong for sure but then the plywood extends beyond the inner tub on both ends and is visible in the underseat storage areas on both ends.
On the tongue end it is the exposed floor in that compartment and is almost the same in the back but doesn't go quite to the side walls back there.

If you notice the rear side below floor level looks like a 'U" really and it is fairly obvious. The same is true in the front but it is a little less obvious.
I have to think these are really there as a channel for water to run under and away from the inside floor area in case water does get in and start to pool up?

I tried and never found any weep holes where the water could leave these channels in either of my Trill so I ended up drilling my own and in both cases water poured out for a long time.
I don't know how long it had been in there but you don't really want it at all and who knows what starts living and growing in there,it seems like a perfect breeding ground for nasty things. On top of that as is mentioned above Dry Rot is caused by Moisture(ironic?) and this is how it starts.

On my 1300 the plywood did not look too bad but on the 4500 it did. The floor was solid though and tough to get too without gutting the trailer which was out of the question for me then so I sought to find the cause and fix the problem there.

Luckily maybe it was the same in both rigs.

I ripped the windows out,replace the framing which holds them in and re-installed them using Butyl rubber and stainless steel fasteners.......Problem Solved!

I also had to repair the Belly Band on the 4500 which is a common issue I needn't go into again here but the bottom line was that once I removed the problem all was dry again.

I then drilled a million 1/8" holes in the exposed plywood in the storage compartments and rolled on a really runny epoxy/resin to cover the somewhat dry rotted wood and once dried I screwed on an indoor/outdoor carpet to cover it up.

I don't think this did much really but it did seal the dry rot in? and provide a cleaner surface in the storage areas.

My original point was that because it is sealed underneath,this may actually further the problem unless you are careful to look for it going in.

Now the Casita does not seem to be designed with these channels for drainage? I am not sure Trillium didn't have a great idea and design it in and overall I found the design and build of the Trill to be amazing compared to other egg's I have seen.

I don't know if I have any pics as it has been a while since I did all of this but if you have a Trill and go look at it you will quickly see what I am talking about.

Hope this helps.

Ed
Ed Harris is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 09:58 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Name: Fred
Trailer: 1978 Trillium 4500
Washington
Posts: 232
Registry
Thanks David. I either learned what I need here on this forum, or I figured it out the hard way.

I live in Western Washington, so i would recommend a trailer that has fiberglass all the way around. If by chance your had a boler with an exterior exposed plywood floor I'd use truck bed liner to cover it (exterior). Interior I'd coat with fiberglass resin, possibly with a single layer of glass too. I did this on my compartment floor boards.

Oh, and the obvious, the less water gets into the trailer, the less that this is a problem.

As my 77 trill suggests, nothing is immune to rot after 30+ years except fiberglass.
__________________
Cheers

--Fred and Natalie
1978 Trillium 4500 "Bernerwagon"
freddo411 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 10:46 AM   #11
Junior Member
 
Quillian's Avatar
 
Name: Jasson
Trailer: U-Haul CT-13
Washington
Posts: 8
Lots to look for and think about. I'm leaning toward Fred's suggestion of fiberglassed bottom since I plan on using the trailer mostly around here in Western Washington and the Oregon coast. I'll be sure to look in the storage under the seats for any signs of trouble when I'm looking at trailers.
Quillian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 11:16 AM   #12
Senior Member
 
David Tilston's Avatar
 
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
Registry
Trilliums ROCK!
David Tilston is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 12:15 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Byron Kinnaman's Avatar
 
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 7,056
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quillian View Post
Lots to look for and think about. I'm leaning toward Fred's suggestion of fiberglassed bottom since I plan on using the trailer mostly around here in Western Washington and the Oregon coast. I'll be sure to look in the storage under the seats for any signs of trouble when I'm looking at trailers.
There are lots of Scamp trailers around the PNW. Most have no floor problems. The problems almost always occur with water inside the trailer. I've never heard of any problems that started from the bottom.
One of the problems with fiberglass on the bottom, if it gets a hole in it on the bottom side, water can get in and not much of way out. I've never heard of it happening, but I think that more likely than with a resin coated bottom.
__________________
Byron & Anne enjoying the everyday Saturday thing.
Byron Kinnaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 07:34 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 1,578
Byron has some good points. It made me think of A few scamp owners who have said they prefer the open wood bottom since it dries out fast. Happy shopping.
Ken C is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 07:48 PM   #15
Member
 
DonFromTexas's Avatar
 
Name: Don
Trailer: 13ft Scamp sold looking now for something larger
Texas
Posts: 70
That really bothered me about the Scamp 13 I just purchased. When I crawled under it I was surprised to see the wood floor as good as it was 23 years ago! No sign of any problems inside or out, so I would not suggest passing on one with a plywood floor.
DonFromTexas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-27-2012, 11:50 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 13 ft Ventura
Posts: 103
On the wet coast I think that 360-degree fiberglass shell construction is best because our units are also often towed in the wake of driving rain and swirling road spray.

Under these conditions water gets a chance to penetrate the shell from all directions, not just from a vertical downward direction as a parked trailer would face.

I live on the coast - and rain is my enemy.
Darrell O is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2012, 08:14 AM   #17
Senior Member
 
jack maloney's Avatar
 
Trailer: 1986 U-Haul CT13 ft
Posts: 494
My 1985 UHaul CT13 floor is completely sandwiched in fiberglass. No exposed plywood, top or bottom. No problems, either.
jack maloney is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2012, 01:26 PM   #18
Junior Member
 
Trailer: U-Haul CT13
Posts: 19
Registry
MY Uhaul CT for sale in Austin TX is fiberglass all the way around.
__________________
eeeeemail
uhaulcamper9000 at yahoo dot com
Lisa D1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2012, 01:54 PM   #19
Senior Member
 
Thomas G.'s Avatar
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 5,112
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisa D1 View Post
MY Uhaul CT for sale in Austin TX is fiberglass all the way around.
Originally, it had a plywood floor with fiberglass mat on the top and bottom as described above.
__________________
UHaul and Burro owners, join the UHaul Campers on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/529276933859491/
Thomas G. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-28-2012, 02:49 PM   #20
Junior Member
 
Auchtober's Avatar
 
Name: Kate
Trailer: Trillium
Washington
Posts: 19
It occurs to me - one good way to tell if your egg is 'retaining water' might be to take it somewhere to get weighed. The original stickers inside my Trillium list the GVW as 1500lbs - when I went to register it in Washington state, they informed me that wasn't good enough, and that I'd need to go pay someone to get an empty weight. I took everything off that wasn't screwed down, and off to the local shipping company with a scale. $15 later, I had a piece of paper in my hot little hands that said it weighed 1490lbs.

Hadn't really thought about it before, but that sounds to me like it's not carrying water weight!

I know that could be a pain in the arse for folks with everything already stowed - but it might come in handy for someone!
Auchtober is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Question – fiberglass repair– gap between wood-floor and “wall” of ori lenny247 Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 13 04-06-2022 10:49 AM
wood to fiberglass glue? Gardner Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 15 04-26-2012 10:44 PM
bottom door bar hook Steve M K Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 4 08-10-2009 07:20 AM
Best way to secure wood to fiberglass TorreyT Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 7 04-25-2007 09:34 PM
Joining wood and fiberglass upper cabinets. peterh Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 2 02-20-2007 12:43 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.