No wonder the Burro floor is rotted

[Andy B]

[QUOTE=Jane D.;268743]

Originally Posted by Andy B

Great that you got the body off the frame, hope the screws didn't give you too much trouble. You will need to correct the door spacing before bolting back on the frame. When the new floor is glued/fiberglassed in place that will hold the door spacing in place before attaching to the frame. There was someone here that had their door spread when they removed the floor, mine did not change at all.

Andy,
All but 3 of the bolt heads snapped off from being so rusty. I lost some sleep last night thinking about that door. I was thinking if I do the glass work attaching everything together won't that hold the door opening in that misaligned position? Just wondering how it can move back if that is done since the door opening is part of the outer shell that gets glassed to the floor??? This problem has me going around with no solution right now.

After I got the frame loose I was really glad that I decided to do this. One wiggly, weak, tired frame. I have new parts rounded up to make it better. Coupler, tongue jack, corner stabilizer jacks and add new metal to it like you did. Also, any recommendations for getting a new axle and do you think that I could use the same one that you did?
My information sponge has plenty of room left for input so if you folks are talking I'm listening..........
Thanks much,
JD

I guess I didn't say it clearly in my last post, but you have it correct, the time to change the door spacing is not when it is bolted to the frame, it must be adjusted when the floor is glued in place. There are various types of clamps that can push things apart as well as squeeze them together. You could cut a temporary spacer out of wood to hold the doorway at the right size while the floor is glued in.

The following link in post #6 tells where I got my new axle and the price.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...xle-42849.html

[Rusty01]

Jane, If you can pry your window on the door open, then lift the screen you should be able to get your arm inside. I' m sorry I don't have the correct terms for this but Find where the door latch goes over the latch plate and push the actual latch back into the door while pulling on the door handle. You may be able to get the door open. This seems to be a spot where the door binds. If that doesn't work, unscrew the hinges. good luck. rb

[Jane D.]

Rusty Baker

Thanks for the idea for getting this thing open. I will try your method and see if it works.
Thanks much,
JD

[Jane D.]

First off: Where would us know nothing newbies be without forums like this ?????

I owe a big round of thanks to Andy B for his help thus far with my Burro project. Yesterday I downloaded Andy's frame photos and had them printed out for my welder. He came by today to discuss what I wanted done and they helped a great deal for him to see the type of repair I was interested in. Kuddos to you Andy!!!

Andy if you're out there, I need one more big favor of you. Could you tell me the measurement of far it is from the most rearward back edge of your bumper to the edge of your step support? My trailer body is across town from the frame and that is one area that I didn't measure. As you know the step support can't go too far towards the rear or it will run into the wheel well. Don't want that.

My welder says that he could make a good guess from marks on the frame but with that 1 number he can do all the other stuff just fine.

Thanks again for sharing all this info.....
JD

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Jane D.

First off: Where would us know nothing newbies be without forums like this ?????

I owe a big round of thanks to Andy B for his help thus far with my Burro project. Yesterday I downloaded Andy's frame photos and had them printed out for my welder. He came by today to discuss what I wanted done and they helped a great deal for him to see the type of repair I was interested in. Kuddos to you Andy!!!

Andy if you're out there, I need one more big favor of you. Could you tell me the measurement of far it is from the most rearward back edge of your bumper to the edge of your step support? My trailer body is across town from the frame and that is one area that I didn't measure. As you know the step support can't go too far towards the rear or it will run into the wheel well. Don't want that.

My welder says that he could make a good guess from marks on the frame but with that 1 number he can do all the other stuff just fine.

Thanks again for sharing all this info.....
JD

67.5" , I made it so that the edge of the step support is at the edge of the door opening.

[Jane D.]

Well, took the frame and all the upgrade items to the welder yesterday. Will show you all what it looks like when it comes back!!

The hard part is yet to be done, flooring and fiberglass but oh well, just part of the learning curve. Spotted another little, lonely FB trailer on a road trip this week. It's a sickness I think, had to really work at not going back to check it out.

Thanks again for all the help.
JD

[Andy B]

Hi Joel (idiotsniff),

You have the option to receive private messages turned off so I will post the answers to your questions here in case others are interested in the resin and glass that I used.

I used epoxy resin, in my opinion it is much better than polyester resin. It costs a little bit more than polyester but there is very little smell so I was able to avoid buying a respirator and filters so the final cost was about the same.

I got all my supplies from ebay, much cheaper than buying locally.

The resin I used is:
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

The fiberglass cloth I used is:
12 Square Yards of 20oz Fiberglass Cloth, $2 per sq yd | eBay

This is 20 oz cloth which is very thick cloth so it is very strong although it takes more resin to saturate it. I used a small foam roller to apply resin thinned with acetone on the wood so it would soak in good. I then rolled another layer of just resin on the wood, put down the glass and smoothed it then rolled on some more resin. After the resin started to set, I rolled on another coat of resin, that gave the smooth finish. Except for the seams, I did the fiberglassing before installing the floor, so I did not have to work overhead. It is very difficult to work overhead, the resin wants to drip. I mixed in some cabosil to thicken the resin when I did the seams. The cabosil was from West Systems that was left from a bridge project from several years ago.

This is my first fiberglass project of this magnitude so I am learning as I go along. I don't have any particular web sites for instructions, I just did some searches and started reading.

Good luck,
Andy

[Jane D.]

Well after taking care of some other things I finally got the Burro frame back and painted. I also have most of the bottom part of the fiberglass panel removed from the trailer body. It's in about 4 pieces so far but they are big enough that I can put them back together and use to make the template for the floor. No plywood to speak of to remove since it fell out in dust piles. Now on to removing the upper panel.

Have a question on the upper panel if anyone who is reading has ever done a Burro floor. The inside of the shell, all way around the edge, is glassed to this top fiberglass panel. Since this needs to be a strong joint, how close to the shell wall should I cut the panel to remove it, ensuring that enough is left to have a strong bond to the new floor?

Thanks for any help,
JD

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Jane D.

Have a question on the upper panel if anyone who is reading has ever done a Burro floor. The inside of the shell, all way around the edge, is glassed to this top fiberglass panel. Since this needs to be a strong joint, how close to the shell wall should I cut the panel to remove it, ensuring that enough is left to have a strong bond to the new floor?

Thanks for any help,
JD

Look at post #35, 2nd paragraph in this thread for how close to the wall that I cut the old floor out.

Andy

[Jane D.]

Andy B,

Reread post 35 a couple times, didn't see where you specifically mentioned the inner shell but if I'm getting it correctly you left about the same amount of overlap on the inner shell to meet the floor, as the underlap on the very bottom. Underlap being the flat part of the outer shell that wraps underneath the plywood floor. So, that would be about 2 to 3 in. looks like.

Pressing on......Thanks again.
JD

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Jane D.

Andy B,

Reread post 35 a couple times, didn't see where you specifically mentioned the inner shell but if I'm getting it correctly you left about the same amount of overlap on the inner shell to meet the floor, as the underlap on the very bottom. Underlap being the flat part of the outer shell that wraps underneath the plywood floor. So, that would be about 2 to 3 in. looks like.

Pressing on......Thanks again.
JD

Sorry if there was confusion. You are correct about the 2-3 inches. Since the floor is a sandwich of fiberglass/plywood/fiberglass, I used a reciprocating saw to cut through all the layers at once along the edge described in the previous post. With a different kind of saw, and careful control of the depth of cut, it would be possible to cut the top and bottom fiberglass in different places, but I am not sure what advantage would result for the added difficulty.

[Jane D.]

Well, I've not been able to do much over the winter on the Burro but back at it full steam ahead now. Frame is fixed and waiting on the new floor. Of course, I have a question for the Burro people who may have done a floor replacement.

I have fitted the front and back floor sections but now I am starting to work on the area that goes up to the door. I had to take the door off and block the body due to the fact that it was moving around so much so I don't have the door for the reference that I need. Door hinges were not originals, in terrible shape, and the screws would not tighten so the door was no help even when it was attached.

Wondered if anyone could give me a good estimate of how much shorter to make the piece that comes up to the door?

Thanks for any help,
Jane D.

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Jane D.

Well, I've not been able to do much over the winter on the Burro but back at it full steam ahead now. Frame is fixed and waiting on the new floor. Of course, I have a question for the Burro people who may have done a floor replacement.

I have fitted the front and back floor sections but now I am starting to work on the area that goes up to the door. I had to take the door off and block the body due to the fact that it was moving around so much so I don't have the door for the reference that I need. Door hinges were not originals, in terrible shape, and the screws would not tighten so the door was no help even when it was attached.

Wondered if anyone could give me a good estimate of how much shorter to make the piece that comes up to the door?

Thanks for any help,
Jane D.

Jane, my Burro is still under a tarp that is tied down and is not easy to get to. It will be another month or so before I get a chance to work on it so I don't have any pictures or measurements. I extended the floor at the doorway as far as the old floor was. When you removed the old floor that left a groove that the new floor will fit into at the doorway edges. If I remember correctly that is how far I extended the floor. I was planning on using a threshold to make up any difference after I rebuild the door so that the door curvature matches the Burro body.
Don't forget to post pictures of your frame rebuild.
Andy

[Jane D.]

Andy,

I'm taking your advice and just going with the lower slot that the floor slides into as the measurement point. Also, if you want to see what my frame looks like, you only need look at yours!! I told you I was "borrowing" your ideas for it and I most certainly did just that. Thanks for all that too.....No underside spare carrier and it's painted gloss black. Going to rework the gas tank holder after the body's back on. Planning on adding a battery.

You don't happen to have the part number of your new axle do you???

Many thanks,
Jane D.

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Jane D.

Andy,

I'm taking your advice and just going with the lower slot that the floor slides into as the measurement point. Also, if you want to see what my frame looks like, you only need look at yours!! I told you I was "borrowing" your ideas for it and I most certainly did just that. Thanks for all that too.....No underside spare carrier and it's painted gloss black. Going to rework the gas tank holder after the body's back on. Planning on adding a battery.

You don't happen to have the part number of your new axle do you???

Many thanks,
Jane D.

Jane,

Wow... you were not kidding, your reinforced frame has all the same features that I added to mine, the same added angle reinforcement, even the half chain links for tie downs and the same brackets for the stabilizers and the same entry way support. I have decided not to use the spare tire carrier under the frame because it would reduce ground clearance more than I wanted. Did you add the extra steel on the outside of the main frame members?

I checked my axle invoice and there is no part number listed. It is a Dexter #9 torflex with brakes.

Andy

[Jane D.]

Andy,

I had my welder add the outside reinforcement all the way back to just forward of the axle. Maybe you can see it a little better in this photo. Sorry to be such a shameless thief of your ideas but when I bought this little bucket of trouble I had no idea about the history of frame problems. With these improvements I don't think frame failure will ever happen.

I didn't add the underside spare carrier for the same reason as you, ground clearance. Also, I knew I didn't want to have to crawl under there if I had a flat!!

Thanks again.
Jane

[Creek Conley]

I may have an ignorant question, but here goes; how do you place the four pieces of plywood into the shell while it is off the frame? I just bought my fiberglass kit (3 gal.) and this is my only concern...
Thanks for your help!
I love all of you.
-Creek

[Jane D.]

Originally Posted by Creek Conley

I may have an ignorant question, but here goes; how do you place the four pieces of plywood into the shell while it is off the frame? I just bought my fiberglass kit (3 gal.) and this is my only concern...
Thanks for your help!
I love all of you.
-Creek

Creek,

My floor is in 4 pieces. I did all the fitting and sealing of the front piece and when it was fitted and correct, left it in place never to come out again. Did the same thing for the rear. Next came the street side piece and finally the piece that goes up to the door area. I cut lap joints in all to use to bond them together. Andy has some really good photos in this thread showing this.

The body held the front and rear as these pieces slip into the slot between the shells almost completely around. That's why I did them first. When I started to measure and fit the other pieces, I used a bottle jack to hold them in place for fitting. Pressed them up against the ones that they fit next to. I have some more trimming to do on the last piece then my plan is to use waterproof glue in the lap joints. Once glue is in will put jacks back underneath joint seams and let it dry for a couple days. Final finish will be with the fiberglass 4" tape and epoxy resin.

I'm sure there are other ways to do this but this is what I am thinking......
Hope it helps. I may have a photo later today that I can post.

Jane D.

[Creek Conley]

Jane D., thank you so much for your knowledge. That put the image in my head that I needed... I will post some before pictures soon.
Thank you!
-Creek

[Jane D.]

Creek,
Hope these help clear up what I did. There are lots of ways to do stuff, you may come up with a better way, if so remember to give us a heads up!!

I used 5 ply 1/2" plywood. It's plenty strong and the slots are not the same width all way around so after doing some initial measuring this was the best size for me. And, a boat builder told me to try to always use odd # ply as it is stronger. Not to mention the fact that if you don't have routers to set the cut depth for the joint all you do is count plys. Worked just fine for me.

Good Luck and as I quickly found out, nothing is square, straight or otherwise standard on these little things so be ready to do repeated trimmings.

Jane D.