Fiberglass repair in British Columbia

[FrankR]

Does anyone have any recommendation for any repair provider in BC that will do minor fiberglass repair work on a boler body, which would be billed to ICBC?

I live in Vancouver, BC, and I own a '74 boler. During a camping trip last year had an unfortunate vehicular interaction with a deer. The car and the front right corner of the boler impacted the animal, which led to dents/scratches in the car and some impact cracks in the fiberglass of my egg.

As I have my car and trailer insured through ICBC, I had a very easy time getting the car's damage repaired with a modest deductible, and I have a claim for the damage to the boler too, but I can't seem to find anywhere that can (or is willing to) do the fiberglass repair for me.

I've checked with Travco RV Repair in Burnaby, as they've helped me with a suspension replacement and some minor improvements in the past, but they won't do the fiberglass repair work. They said that "the fiberglass for those old trailers is becoming obsolete". They offered me a number for a place that does truck repairs but checking with them they won't work on my vintage trailer.

Obviously, one avenue is to figure out how to do some fiberglass repairs myself and try to just roll up my sleeves and handle it on my own. I'm not totally against that idea if it's the only avenue left to me...

However, because my trailer was insured for collision, my repair should be covered by ICBC just with a modest deductible that I need to pay. So I'm much more motivated to find somebody... really, anybody in BC who can do a professional ICBC repair, so that I can resolve it that way.

So as I asked above... does anyone have any recommendation for any repair provider in BC that will do minor fiberglass repair work on a boler body, which would be billed to ICBC? I'd really appreciate the info.

Cheers,
Frank

[Larry H]

Frank,


I can't give you any specific company, but you will probably have luck searching for places that fix fiberglass boats. I don't think a traditional RV place would know how to do it and not sure how that RV place thinks that the fiberglass of a 70's trailer is obsolete. It's fiberglass and it's all still around.


It might take quite a bit of calling around but I'm sure there are lots of places in the Vancouver area that fix fiberglass and you just have to find one willing and maybe small enough to do it on a trailer instead of a boat. Now if any of the interior has to be removed in order to do the fix, that may be a problem for a boat shop.



Here is a quick Google search:
https://www.google.com/search?client...pair+vancouver


Good Luck.

[nancy and steve]

I was told to check with boat repair places also, which I will do. I was warned that it might be hard to find someone willing to do that small of a job.

But, like you, I live in boating territory so I’m starting to put out my feelers. I’ll let you know if I find anything.

[Shawn B.]

Have you tried Gilmay.ca? They work with ICBC and private insurers.

[Jim Park]

Boat repair companies will be able to fix or recommend someone. Auto body shops should be able to as well. Someone fixes Corvettes.

[Island Claire]

There is a fiberglass group in Vancouver area called BC Glass eggs Fiberglass group. They are on Facebook. They might be able to recommend someone.

[fishdeeper]

Had a tire blowout on my Bigfoot, and the debris damaged the fender skirt.
I tried to get my local RV shop to look at it, and they couldnt even give an estimate for 3 months. I found a local Boat Fiberglas Repair shop at Mosquito Creek Marina, in North Vancouver. Strong Mobile Marine Services. They repaired the skirt and colour matched to the trailer. ICBC covered it. Fiberlas and gelcoat colours weather over time, and colour matching is an art. They were fast, did an excellent job, at a fair price.

[F.Bishop]

Many years ago we owned a 1978 17’ Boler that required fibreglass repair to the back rear corner. At that time the Boler was insured by a rider to our home insurance so we do not have specific information about ICBC coverage but we did put in a claim with our insurance company and it was repaired and paid for by them. We took the Boler and obtained two quotes from places that specialized in boats and repairs and sent them to the insurance company for approval. The place that we decided to go with explained how they would fix it and they did an excellent job and you could not tell that it had been damaged. Don’t remember the name but it was a large and reputable company in Sydney on Vancouver Island that specialized in boat fiberglass repair. We also had them include the price to buff up the entire Boler which was also covered. The place that we did not use was also a boat repair business and they explained how they would do the repair and that it would be impossible to match the original Boler colour and they suggested that they repair it the best that they could and then paint over the repair and around the bottom. That did not feel right to us and therefor we used the first place. It pays to check around, see some of their repair work and trust your instincts. Hope this helps and best of luck to you.

[2morebeer]

"the fiberglass for those old trailers is becoming obsolete"....that's the first time I've ever heard that. So I guess nobody with a boat older than 1980 can get their glass repaired or older vette owners. I guess to them it sounds better than saying "we don't know how to do fiberglass".

As others have suggested, boat yards can do it, but will they do small jobs? Now is good a time to ask before they get busy repairing damage from docking or launch failures.

I hope you get it sorted.

Scott

[AP-Adventures]

Originally Posted by FrankR

So as I asked above... does anyone have any recommendation for any repair provider in BC that will do minor fiberglass repair work on a boler body, which would be billed to ICBC? I'd really appreciate the info.

Cheers,
Frank

Sounds like you've gotten a LOT of good advice so far! If you're still trying to come to a solution though, I would suggest you talk to the good folks at Armadillo Manufacturing in Armstrong. We own the third unit off their assembly line built in 2016. They own the original Boler moulds and that is what the Armadillo trailer is based on. If anyone would know how to do your repairs, they would. They're incredibly busy though, so I would suggest you call sooner than later.

[jeffwidman]

While I've never used them, Performance Fiberglass down in Bellingham has worked on a lot of Bigfoots and gotten excellent reviews from those owners... I'm sure it wouldn't be hard for them to work on trailer trailer too.

I'm planning to take our Bigfoot there sometime this year to get some work done.

Not sure how the billing would work, but it's worth giving them a call and see what they say: https://maps.app.goo.gl/k1xghX5cotgCbpew6

Heads up that since they do good work, and it's spring, they'll likely be pretty backed up with trailer/boat owners wanting work done before the summer season.