Fear of Fiberglaassing

[Kai in Seattle]

Originally Posted by Paul O.

After this project is over, He will fix Everything with fiberglass and bondo!

Is Shelly the name that may stick? When I google "shelly" I get pictures of Shelly, some good, some, well,.... When I google "carol", or "francesca" I do not get any pictures - why is that?

When I google "Look at me, Shelly, Lots of girls have" I get back here!

And I had some fun with "Semper ubi, sub ubi" - learn something new every day! (My small amount of Latin learning was done in a non-English speaking environment.)

The little "Legacy" or "Cadet" style motorcycle trailer has been dubbed Shelly for good, partly because she opens like a clamshell, and partly for that quote, "Look at me, Shelly, lots of girls have big feet" from Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, when he was talking to a little Shetland type pony. Our Shelly is much smaller than our travel trailer, so she's a "Shetland" size to the other's Clydesdale size.

Semper ubi sub ubi -- doesn't need the comma. A Latin pun, from "Frasier," I must confess I didn't think it up myself.

So, where did you pick up your Latin?

,Paul's already fixing other things with epoxy and bondo--he fixed up our old lawnmower one rainy day, there were huge holes rusted through on the deck, and now it's all whole again, painted bright red (leftover enamel paint) and back in the garden shed. I can imagine he's going to find more uses for this new-found skill!

Paul just came in and said he filled 9 more holes today.

It's moving along.

[Paul O.]

Fiberglass is amazing. The AC cover on top of my Scamp was cracked by falling branches (I guess) during its previous life. After I found that new ones cost hundreds of dollars, I fiberglassed it and sprayed white. From 20 feet away it looks like new!

It seems that nobody transcribed Mike Rowe's lines for the benefit of Google, so it only found this site, when entered in quotes.

I found the Latin pun predates "Frasier" who popularized it, and I bet it was invented by some (had to be English speaking) adolescent boys who were forced to learn Latin at a boarding school. Exposure to Latin was commonplace in the old country. When I was a kid my father would occasionally recite in Greek or Latin, having received real classical education. I still hear the sound of it, kind of. I don't know it but I am intrigued by it.

[Kai in Seattle]

HAD to be English-speaking, agreed! You and your dad sound very interesting!

Fiberglass IS amazing. Had read that once you got into it, you'd be very pleased to use it, and that's true.

Paul has now finished filling the holes beneath where the new ply will sit, and went and bought enough wood for bracing in the front "pontoons," and today scrubbed the area thoroughly, checking to see that his new weep holes (one in each pontoon) actually do drain. Found one area up on the "flat" at the back that held water, so he put another small (1/8") weep hole there, too. Hope we didn't overdo it.

Now we're waiting for it to dry. Then he'll give it a thin primer coat and we're about ready to lay in the floor. He'll use some industrial double-sided tape to set the 2x4s in place before screwing through the ply into them, and soon I'll be able to walk inside and get exact window measurements.

I think your AC fix sounds super...

Only about four holes left, overall, the huge one where the fridge vent was, a coupler smaller ones in the walls above the ply, and then, at last, the double-layered one.

[Kai in Seattle]

HELP, SUGGESTIONS?

Anyone have any suggestions about doing that hole in the side by the door, the old stove vent that runs right through a molded-in swoosh? I'd thought a two-layer fill patch, well-sanded, might work...what do you think?

Unless we have a mishap, it'll be the LAST hole..down to the 2 x 3 foot fridge vent hole, a couple smaller ones in the upper walls, and this one. WOW!

[SteveV]

I have a 10"x10" hole behind my door that I plan on putting a small access/trap door over. Since my gel coat is in good condition I don't want to do any repairs that entailed any paint work.

Since you're doing away with the refrigerator panel I'm guessing you are painting at least parts of it. If that's the case then I'd fiberglass it in using the same donor panels that you are using for the fridge opening.

I'd glass in the first one (lower front piece) and make it larger than the "swoosh" section as you call it. Then trace the body line you need from the street side of the camper. After the first panel is cured and roughed in, cut the body line into the patch panel using the template from the street side. . Now you can bond the second panel behind the first giving you the body line desired. If the thickness of your patch panel isn't the same as the recces in the body line just double it up with a filler piece. A little bondo & primer then you're ready for paint!

Sounds easy anyway doesn't it?

[SteveV]

....you mentioned measuring windows, are you planning on replacing the originals? I'm redoing the window frames on mine now & thought this would be a great time for new windows? If I had to go with a slightly different size then no big deal at this point, I'm already re-framing and replacing the paneling. Then I got quotes of $700.00+ per window PLUS a $45.00 crating fee and another $125.00 shipping per window.

I guess I'm using my original windows!

[Kai in Seattle]

Hi, Steve,

If our outside had been better, we might have made the same choice to do access doors, but there were just too many repairs to be done. We had that decision decided before Paul began fiberglassing. AND it was dark brown, and although I'd been getting used to it, in the end it just was too much.

YES, your suggestion about the swoosh hole sounds good! Paul said there are only three holes left now, the fridge vent hole, the swoosh hole, and the hole in the inner ceiling where the bathroom vent was. (We have a Fantastic Fan at the other end over the big bed, so that old, broken up, battered, leaking vent could go.)

We'll paint the bathroom ceiling...don't really want to, but once patched, it'll need it. Had considered just covering the hole with a light fixture like the big star or moon from IKEA, but so far Paul's not on board. Maybe I can talk him into it, though.

The windows--Whoa! That means $870 each!? No, luckily, so far they're all functioning OK. Someone scratched up an area on the back one with what looks like steel wool, but Paul polished it up some with a pastic liquid from Harbor Freight...
that'll do unless and until we replace the plexiglass...

No, I'm measuring for exact sizes for the roll-up fleece panels I'll make as curtains...

Then we're thinking about cleaning the channel outside the windows really well, using aluminum primer in them, and painting them with flat black rather than trying to find that rubber covering. The amount of dirt under the old rubber was awesome, and every bit was soaking wet where the rubber held dirt and water against the screw heads.

Meanwhile, have been sketching out what bed / couch / settee configurations we most want; need these things figured out before we do the wiring, so we know where to run the wires.

Did you still want one of those original square light fixtures? I have a feeling we'll have at least one we won't be using (I need a different kind of fixture to read by at night).




What are you using to replace the paneling? We've been considering this all winter, and have decided to try re-laminating our old stuff, priming it to seal it, and then laying clean white fabric over it (folding it over the edges to the back) and rolling a really good clear sealer over it to glue it to the panels, possibly in a matte finish. It's an Ace hardware brand and is really tough; we used it on our coffee table top and it does great.




Photo is one possible bed configuration for the big back bed area.

[SteveV]

I haven't found the paneling I want to use yet, I may end up with luan & a vinyl wallpaper, just haven't looked that far down the project pipeline yet! I may check with a couple of local cabinet companies to see what kind of wood grain 1/4" sheets they have to do below the seats with. I didn't want to replace or redo all of my cabinet doors so I'll try to get a close match to them if possible.

I had bought some of the exterior vinyl window trim from this place, it's 5/8" width & the same as the old stuff. I plan on putting a little dab of sealer/caulk over each screw head in the channel before the trim goes back on. Black 50' Narrow 6" RV Flexible camper Vinyl Insert Trim Mold Screw Cover 357BK | eBay
I found the trick to putting the trim back in the channel is to lay it out in the hot sun to get it nice & pliable, then it snaps into the groove very easily.

Mr. Claus had kindly sent me some his old lights so hopefully I'm good but thanks for the thought!

[Kai in Seattle]

Update: February 17, 2016

Glad you got some lights, kind of Mr.Claus, he's another good guy.

Today we discovered the belly band is leaking. To keep the rubber in the channel, they when ahead a shoved screws through it in all the corners and at the ends, without any sealant at all, plus they painted the aluminum channel to the outer fiberglass and sealed that with silicone. Paul was pretty angry when he saw the water running down the inside wall...luckily, the weep holes he drilled the other day let it all run out...and here this AM we were debating maybe filling them in after all.

Last straw for working without at least a temporary floor. Paul got the subfloor all primed with fiberglass primer (stinky fume-off!) he got some old ply from a neighbor and is making a temporary floor, too much worry about flexing and maybe cracking the subfloor...plus he can use the pieces for good patterns when we do finally cut the marine ply. We were beginning to be hopeful we were making real, reassembly progress, but this is a setback...Drat.

BUT, on the good side, we've found a source of local Douglas fir (said to be a very sappy , rot-resistant wood,) for new belly band wood, and we think unless we can get the brown paint off it really easily, we'll just paint the aluminum channel black, use butyl to seal it, the bees wax on each new screw, and then touch up each screw with black paint if we decide we don't like the "studded dog collar" effect of the silver screws against the black band. We might like it and leave it.

Paul will go ahead and lightly sand and prime and paint around where the belly channel will sit before replacing it--once he gets all the old screws out, of course, which as of this afternoon has turned out to be one slow and trying job.

Necessity is the mother of invention...Hmmm. "Nessy." That might be a good name for her!

[SteveV]

Well it's better that you found the belly band issue now before you started re-assembly. Hopefully your bag full of surprises is empty now!

I did make full size floor patterns on heavy construction paper from my plywood, if you need to use them just let me know.

[Kai in Seattle]

Say, thanks!

It IS good to have found those leaks now...

All we haven't undone yet is take down the upper cabinets and take out the ceiling...Oh, and disassemble the door.

I dread doing any of those things. Did you go that far?

If so--how?

[SteveV]

Mine has the one piece fiberglass ceiling. That part was originally installed before the top & bottom halves were joined together & it's bonded to the upper shell w/styrofoam insulation between the panels. If yours is the same style & in good shape then leave it be....you don't want to stir up that hornets nest!

The wood behind my door frame was completely rotted from years of water leaking around the aluminum frame. It's sealed to the shell the same way the windows are with butyl tape. Since you're this far into the project it'd be a good idea to check that area good on your FG16. The sides of the door framing is 3/4" plwood & we know how that holds up to water leaks. I'll be replacing mine & coating it with either fiberglass resin or oil based paint to try to protect it a little longer.

The upper cabinets on mine had to be dismantled to remove them, they are for the most part stapled and screwed together. Unfortunately to completely remove the window frames ~ wall paneling you will have to remove the upper cabinets first.

[SteveV]

.......and an easy way to check the door frame is to open the door about 6" then try to push the top of the door forward towards the front of the trailer while watching the hinges. I had about an inch of slop in mine where they attached to the frame. The strange part was the door opened/closed just fine. I first tried reinforcing the hinge area behind the closet wall with steel plates but there was just too much wood rot to help it.

[Kai in Seattle]

OK. Our door "feels" really good, too, but we'll do the slop test. The doorway wood is quite rotted at the bottom. We were thinking some Doug fir dimensional, well-coated.

Today Paul's making whole grain muffins, then he'll go out and finish the pre-floor, then I can get in there and measure for the curtain panels while he works at taking out those old screws outside--he spent all afternoon at it yesterday and managed six or seven. Wow. Slow. Shawshank Redemption kind of thing.

[SteveV]

Kai, I hate to say it but if you see rot at the floor level it's likely rotted further up too. For a couple of reasons I'd recommend pulling the door frame off. First is just like all of the window frames you'll want to replace the butyl seal around the perimeter. Unless it was recently done it's probably dried up and leaking, something you don't want. Second is the side support boards actually set on the floor and to replace the plywood floor while trying to slide it under those would be difficult and frustrating.

Here's some pics of my frame to give you a little insight to it. It's really not that hard to remove, first take the door off the hinges by lifting it straight up when opened. There are maybe 25 screws under the vinyl trim on the outer edge & another dozen or so in the jamb of the frame itself. The six hinges bolts need to come out also. The top of the aluminum frame straddles the outer shell & the inside headliner so after you get all of the screws out, pull out on the bottom of the frame. Once it's pulled out past the floor let it drop down a few inches then completely remove it.

I had cut some 3/4" plywood for the side boards but I may end use using some 1" x 8" treated wood instead because all of the screws from the outside are going into the edge of the plywood and it tends to split the plys apart instead of gripping into it. I'm redoing my window frames right now & plan on doing the door frame once all of the windows are done.

[SteveV]

Here's the old side boards, all of the rot was behind the aluminum frame. There were also spacer boards or fillers in the channel of the frame to fill the void and everyone of those were so rotted that when I pulled the frame they fell out & disintegrated when they hit the floor!

[Kai in Seattle]

Hi, SteveV,

Oh, lord. Nothing like photos to tell the tale.

This trailer is the gift that keeps on taking...you make a great case for pulling it all apart. There was virtually no slop...it moved maybe 1/4 inch, but...

At least at this point we're leaving the ceiling alone. Though we have the vent hole in the loo to fill; I don't really want to paint the ceiling even in there, it's such nice pretty white fiberglass, so for now I found a flat rectangular section of basket that Paul can put up to cover the hole using the old vent screw holes and some washers...for now.

Today it was pouring rain, so he did some other chores, got some new burr things to cut the old screw heads off, took Shelly, the little one, to work and showed off his skill -- they were all suitable admiring, which felt good to hear about. He did do a nice job, and learned a ton. Shelly, however, has NO wood.

Amerigo gave us the best and worst of both worlds there, egg and home. BUT...as I plan layout tweaks, it also gives us some leeway and options we wouldn't have in a completely fiberglass shell with the molded-in furniture.

Thanks--Paul will give your advice a thorough go-over and study!

On the plus side--he got the temporary 1/2" ply floor in and for the first time in five months I was able to go inside...I stood in there so long he got worried. I was just looking at it all and thinking of all the work he's done and plans we've made for fixing things.

(I'm heavier than Paul and have smaller feet--was afraid my PSI load would hurt the subfloor if I were to go in without any ply under me. .)

These are ongoing works of sculpture!

Kai

[Kai in Seattle]

2 25 2016 update

Paul is sanding that 2 x 3 foot hole now, where the fridge vent was...he's ready to fair it in a few minutes, let it set, then wash, acetone wipe, and prime it. I pointed out if he were to install the belly band wood inside, and the tape holding the 2 x 3 foot patch closed leaked, his new belly band would get all wet. SO he moved to the patch to get that closed up before proceeding with the band.

He bought the belly band wood, and enough butyl tape to go around the trailer.

The belly band aluminum is completely, shiny black now. He has the screws to re-install it. (We gave up trying to clean it back to aluminum. Just too much work for what it would be worth.)

So progress continues...but Paul told me he's sure if he takes out all four sides of belly band wood and trim, the entire top of the trailer will fall off. Is that even possible?

Not that it really matters, he's going to do it one side at a time, and would have to work somewhat that way anyway.

[Kai in Seattle]

Glad we pulled the doorway apart. Rotted throughout.

Today Paul got the floor ply in and bolted down. At last!

Tomorrow he'll fiberglass it to the walls--any suggestions?

[SteveV]

Kai,
I figured your door frame would be about like mine was. I think plywood wasn't the best material to use there, when you run screws into the edge of plywood it's almost a guarantee it'll split.

The good thing is there isn't much wood left to replace!
I sent you a pm.