Carpet & Headliner Replacement help - New Burro Owner!

[Armymomma]

Just bought my Burro & am happy as can be! The little guy is in pretty terrific condition but the carpet & the fabric on the ceiling has got to go.
1) So... what is the fabric that is currently up on the center of the ceiling called (kind of like a furry, matted carpet)? Mine is a nasty blue color & I'd like to put a red/burgundy contrast stripe in this area.
What else can i use to cover this area (what kind of carpet/coverings have others tried)? Also, do I need to cover this area with insulation first?
What is the best adhesive to get "stuff" to stick up there?

2) Any suggestions for replacing the carpet? Should I put foam padding down? Do i simply glue this stuff in place or do I need to tack it down like wall-to-wall in a house?

Sorry for the novice questions but I really want to do this right (read: Hate to have to recreate the wheel when I believe a number of you are "wheel" experts!)

Thanks in advance for your time & help!
BTW: I bought the burro from the guy in Texas who had the posting here. It was only 22 miles away from my home (no road trip to Vancouver or Oregon -- yea!!) & was everything he said it was. Super great guy to deal with -- honest & helpful. The 13" Burro cost me $4500 in case anyone was wondering what his "reasonable offer" arena was...

[LukeP]

Congrats! You can use the google search function for all kinds of threads on options and opinions of this very subject on these forums. Here is my experience:

1) I removed the old carpeting, scraped my fiberglass clean. Then used Reflectix (double sided bubble style insulation purchased at Lowes http://www.reflectixinc.com/basepage.asp?pageIndex=729#ReflectiveInsulations) glued with a Landau High Heat Resistant adhesive (there are threads on here discussing different areas of the country's heat/humidity having good/bad luck with many different adhesives/sprays/glues. 3M 77 or 3M90 have had mixed results depending on climate. You can also read these discussions on auto headliner forums) then used a marine carpet as a headliner... flexible for the curves of the trailer. If you're going to the effort of putting up new headliner - I'd highly recommend insulation. My trailer didn't have any before and it's helped keep it cooler/warmer since I re-did it.

2) I didn't use carpet as I wanted a hard surface, so can't help you on this one.

Good luck!

[Thomas G.]

Did we post the same question twice?

[Armymomma]

I did ... Wasn't sure which forum was the most appropriate so I posted on the 2 that seemed like relevant headings. Is this verboten? My apologies if so!

[Thomas G.]

It isn't tidy.

[Donna D.]

I've asked the moderators to merge the two threads together.

I don't have a vertical seam trailer, but always liked what Mike did using bamboo in his Burro. You could do the same in yours. Or use something else that you like, but this may give you some ideas.

http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ior-46625.html

[cpaharley2008]

done

[Armymomma]

Thanks for all the help! This is a terrific resource -- I really appreciate being pointed in the right direction for the headliner replacement

Another question: Looks like I'm leaning toward the faux wood laminate (will put throw rugs on top to shake out dirt, etc so will have the best of both worlds -- sweeping & shaking -- hopefully!). I found some at Lowe's last evening that would work great.

So...When I put this in, should I be looking at laying it straight on the existing floor or will I need to add an additional surface to adhere it to? I've read that some folks have put new flooring materials in on top of the existing carpet (don't want to do this) & some have put in a 1/4 plywood base & then tacked the vinyl down.
I haven't torn the carpet up yet so I'm not 100% sure how much gunk/old glue is down there. Just wondering if there is a base substrate that needs to go down so that the Vinyl flooring lies smooth...?

Thanks again for the help -- much appreciated!!!

[jen b]

Candace, congratulations on your new burro! I'm in the middle of a total re-do of mine. For the headliner thing, for this round I'm planning to stick yoga mats up there. Being closed-cell foam they essentially are insulation that doesn't need extra dressing. They come in a whole range of colors (with goofy color names like chai and ocean ) and thicknesses. I'm not sure what year your Burro is/how wide the interior ceiling gap is, but mine is about 23 inches give or take - the yoga mats generally are 24, and once you jam it up to the ceiling peak, that pretty much takes up the whole width of the mat.

[Pam Garlow]

I tore down the carpet and glued up reflectix with a natural grasscloth shade material spray-glued to it. The grasscloth can be cut with scissors. Then I finished off the edges with a decorative trim that I hot glued onto it. I bought an extra shade in case I decide to finish the area under my windows. You have a lot of choices beyond carpet, including material, vinyl, thin bendable wood, matchstick blinds, etc.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Armymomma

Thanks for all the help! This is a terrific resource -- I really appreciate being pointed in the right direction for the headliner replacement

Another question: Looks like I'm leaning toward the faux wood laminate (will put throw rugs on top to shake out dirt, etc so will have the best of both worlds -- sweeping & shaking -- hopefully!). I found some at Lowe's last evening that would work great.

So...When I put this in, should I be looking at laying it straight on the existing floor or will I need to add an additional surface to adhere it to? I've read that some folks have put new flooring materials in on top of the existing carpet (don't want to do this) & some have put in a 1/4 plywood base & then tacked the vinyl down.
I haven't torn the carpet up yet so I'm not 100% sure how much gunk/old glue is down there. Just wondering if there is a base substrate that needs to go down so that the Vinyl flooring lies smooth...?

Thanks again for the help -- much appreciated!!!

You will need to tear out the carpet to determine the floor condition underneath. There maybe glue patches that may have to be removed or sanded smooth. Generally a floating wood floor can be installed over plywood sub flooring. It does not have to be perfectly smooth, but clean and any staples or nails removed. I painted mine first to make it consistent. If you want tile you can install with glue over the cleaned subfloor, just make sure there are no seams or wide cracks.

[Thee Jimbo]

Originally Posted by LukeP

2) I didn't use carpet as I wanted a hard surface, so can't help you on this one.

Can I ask what you used, I want some thing easy to clean/wipe down, as I see mine getting very very dusty, and I dont think carpeted walls and ceiling would be that easy to get all that dust out of.

Thanks!

[LukeP]

Originally Posted by Thee Jimbo

Can I ask what you used, I want some thing easy to clean/wipe down, as I see mine getting very very dusty, and I dont think carpeted walls and ceiling would be that easy to get all that dust out of.

Thanks!

I was referring to the original posters question on carpeting the floor. I used marine carpet on the walls/ceiling and have had no issue with vacuuming the dust out... but that's all relative depending on camping conditions comparable to yours.

If you were meaning the floor surface - I used an industrial tile so it'd take the beating and be cleanable Standard Excelon MultiColor by Armstrong

Sorry if this isn't answering your question!

[Tommy Gun]

Originally Posted by jen b

Candace, congratulations on your new burro! I'm in the middle of a total re-do of mine. For the headliner thing, for this round I'm planning to stick yoga mats up there. Being closed-cell foam they essentially are insulation that doesn't need extra dressing. They come in a whole range of colors (with goofy color names like chai and ocean ) and thicknesses. I'm not sure what year your Burro is/how wide the interior ceiling gap is, but mine is about 23 inches give or take - the yoga mats generally are 24, and once you jam it up to the ceiling peak, that pretty much takes up the whole width of the mat.

Hi Jen,

I am a new Burro owner and was curious how your Yoga matts on the roof solution worked out. Are they still up there? Any issues? What kind of glue did you use?

Thanks!
Tom

[Burroman]

Just replaced mine, with the help of a friend who does wall papering for a living.
Used Reflectix, with contact cememt in 2 pieces- relatively easy.
Bought indoor / outdoor carpeting from Home Depot. 6X8 precut piece.
Put it up in two pieces and was glad to have the "experts" help. When you get to the curves it has to be cut to relieve the crinkles. Goes together and you cant see the cuts-friend knew exactly how to do this. I would have ended up with big wrinkles, and later would have cut them to make it smooth.
I've done a lot of building, but this was a technical challenge.
I'd like to trim the edges, but not sure what to use. Don't like the idea of using screws into the fiberglas, so,will check craft stores for some cloth ribbon to glue along the edges.
Any ideas anyone?

[samuelm]

I used the plastic edging from bathroom wall material (like whiteboard). I had to epoxy it in place, but it looks good and I left a gap for strip led lighting. . I don't have a picture with the lights but it works quite well.


'79 Burro, Rochester NY

[Burroman]

ThanksAn idea I hadn't considered.
Will look into it.
Thanks

[Burroman]

An unexpected byproduct of the indoor/outdoor headliner is that Velcro sticks to it very well.
I glued two small pieces of Velcro to the top of a LUCI solar inflatable light and it illuminates the area over the table so well I could read for hours.
Saved trailer battery. 5 days of camping and used trailer lights for 20 minutes.

[openthegates]

Originally Posted by LukeP

Congrats! You can use the google search function for all kinds of threads on options and opinions of this very subject on these forums. Here is my experience:

1) I removed the old carpeting, scraped my fiberglass clean. Then used Reflectix (double sided bubble style insulation purchased at Lowes http://www.reflectixinc.com/basepage.asp?pageIndex=729#ReflectiveInsulations) glued with a Landau High Heat Resistant adhesive (there are threads on here discussing different areas of the country's heat/humidity having good/bad luck with many different adhesives/sprays/glues. 3M 77 or 3M90 have had mixed results depending on climate. You can also read these discussions on auto headliner forums) then used a marine carpet as a headliner... flexible for the curves of the trailer. If you're going to the effort of putting up new headliner - I'd highly recommend insulation. My trailer didn't have any before and it's helped keep it cooler/warmer since I re-did it.

2) I didn't use carpet as I wanted a hard surface, so can't help you on this one.

Good luck!

What did you use for your hard surface

[openthegates]

Luke, what did you use after the reflexit?