New owner of a 72 Trillium looking for retore help

[carlyi]

Hey everyone!

We just purchased a 72 Trillium. Here are some pics http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=5114...mp;id=511497024

Our goal is to gut and totally restore the inside. I have some questions right now and I'm sure a million more will come up.

1. What is the best place to buy replacement windows?
2. What purpose does this ensolite foam have? Can I just bedline the inside instead or is there other options?


really looking forward to getting involved in the community. We are very involved in the Element Owners Club and love attending events and meeting all the great people we meet through the board.

[Roger C H]

You can go to http://www.trilliumrv.com/ and see pictures. Also Tom has been very helpful in answering questions about Trilliums. He was associated with Trillium in their glory days. Or you can just ask here and we will be happy to try and help, too. But do go to the website. He has some great pictures of the new Trilliums. PLUS he has genuine Trillium parts available.

[Raya]

I can't see your photos (it requests a log-in and password).

When you speak of "replacement" windows, are you talking about the individual panes or about the whole window with frame and all? The panes can be replaced fairly easily. It's hard to get the complete jalousie windows with the square corners anymore, so if you were trying to replace the entire unit(s), I think you would end up fiberglassing in the corners so that you could re-cut them into radiused corners (new windows have radiused corners, and are not cheap when you're talking a whole trailer's worth, just so you know).

Those old jalousie windows are irreplaceable "keepers" in my mind. They're the main reason I was looking for a Trillium when I was trailer shopping. You can keep them open rain or shine, for great ventilation.

Being an early model, your Trilium may have the jalousie windows on front and rear; or the Boler-like windows that are set in with a rubber molding and lock-strip. Also, very early Trilliums did not have a flat area molded into the fiberglass where the side windows are.

The Ensolite is a form of insulation and wall-covering in one. If you don't have insulation, the trailer will "sweat" in inclement weather. Like the windows, I'd advice keeping it unless you absolutely have to replace it (like it's been destroyed or something). You'd be AMAZED at the condition of the Ensolite some people have brought back to life. It can also be painted to freshen it up.

I'm not sure what you mean by "totally gut" the inside, but be aware that some of the fiberglass "furniture" is tabbed onto the hull, and serves a somewhat structural purpose. If you completely gut it, you'll probably run into sagging problems.

It sure would be nice if you could put some of the photos here, or at least someplace where everyone can see them. It's really hard to answer your questions definitively without them.

Welcome to the forum!

Raya

[carlyi]

Hopefully this link works http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1434...mp;l=2e3f5d85ee
Please tell if it doesn't and then I can put them on photobucket or something.

The whole trailer is in very good shape just dirty. It was a one owner trailer. The ensolite is in good shape but it's dingy. I guess paint it?

The windows are in pretty good shape. One of the side windows has a broken handle which I'm sure can be replaced. The front window near the small bed is just a bubble. It does not open and I don't think it's original.

We won't be taking any fiberglass pieces out of the trailer. If there is a safe way to remove them so we can clean and paint that would be great. We have ripped out all of the carpet and will replace cabinet doors and cushions. The fridge came out because it wasn't working and we also took out the stove because I see no purpose in cooking in a very small trailer. I would rather have the counter space.

[Raya]

That worked!

You do have one of the super-early Trilliums. I've only seen one other one, which a fellow on this forum bought about a year ago (with some searching you might find his threads which show his Trillium).

The main difference I can see is in your windows (they are like the other early Trillium so I imagine they are not added but are factory). Where you have two louvers in your jalousie windows, later Trilliums have three. Later Trills have a flat spot molded in where the side windows are and I think yours does not. Also, your front window is like a Boler window (as was the other early Trillium). That is, it's a one-piece window held in with a rubber seal and lockstrip).

I don't believe that your trailer would have come with all of the cabinets it has now, although I'd need to see more close-ups to be sure. The cabinets I'm thinking were added later are the one to the right (forward) of the kitchen (the big one on the side) and the ones around the ceiling over the table.

If your lining is Ensolite (not that I think it isn't but again a close up would be great), you would be amazed how hard you can scrub it. Of course "test an inconspicuous area" as the say, but people here have scrubbed hard and with all manner of solutions, so I would at least try that before painting.

The awning/tent you have is known as an "Add-a-Room" and is a real score! Nice!

Raya

[Stephen G]

Hopefully this link works http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1434...mp;l=2e3f5d85ee
Please tell if it doesn't and then I can put them on photobucket or something.

The whole trailer is in very good shape just dirty. It was a one owner trailer. The ensolite is in good shape but it's dingy. I guess paint it?

The windows are in pretty good shape. One of the side windows has a broken handle which I'm sure can be replaced. The front window near the small bed is just a bubble. It does not open and I don't think it's original.

We won't be taking any fiberglass pieces out of the trailer. If there is a safe way to remove them so we can clean and paint that would be great. We have ripped out all of the carpet and will replace cabinet doors and cushions. The fridge came out because it wasn't working and we also took out the stove because I see no purpose in cooking in a very small trailer. I would rather have the counter space.

Carlyi, I recently purchased a 79 Trillium which like yours was in pretty good shape but the walls were a bit dingy after thirty years of use. I found that a good scrubbing with a fairly strong ammonia and water solution did wonders. I used a fiber bristle scrub brush which helped get down into the texture of the ensolite. It worked far better than just a sponge or rag. It's clean and fairly bright now. I had thought that I'd have to paint but that's certainly not needed now. Even if you are going to paint later you'll have to clean the ensolite or nothing will stick. Good Luck with it and enjoy.

[carlyi]

Raya, alot of the cabinets were added by the previous owner. I think the ones over the dinette will be coming down. You can't put much in them and they look horrible. I will take some more pictures later on today.

[Raya]

The only cabinets I would think were stock would have been the dinette benches, the front couch base, the tall closet by the door, and the piece that's the kitchen base and swoops up to form the upper two cabinets over the kitchen. (As you've probably figured out by looking at them).

The kitchen/uppers and the closet help to support the roof.

More photos! We likee

Raya

[Phil 4500]

Nice screen room, but boy that is one heck of a sealing job on the rear window - looks like they applied the silicone with a trowel!

Please, please, take your time, find out what's original and what's not before you rip too much out - try to attend a boler/trillium gathering - I think there is one scheduled for upstate NY in the fall - also live with it for a bit and determine what works and what doesn't. Good luck!

[Paul Richter]

Nice screen room, but boy that is one heck of a sealing job on the rear window - looks like they applied the silicone with a trowel!

Please, please, take your time, find out what's original and what's not before you rip too much out - try to attend a boler/trillium gathering - I think there is one scheduled for upstate NY in the fall - also live with it for a bit and determine what works and what doesn't. Good luck!

Carlyi, your trailer is very similar to mine. I have tried to contact Trillium 2 times with no reply, so I have relied on getting advise here. The windows you can take it apart quite easily. Your front window is the same as my front & rear, from what I've been told you can get this replaced & the seal replaced at any auto glass place so I've been told (lexan). We cleaned the inside with soap & water & it came up very nice. We have purchased "Poli Glow" to bring up the shine of the fiberglass. We will also do the inside of the trailer (fiberglass). Hoping to get this done while we are out next. It's a work in progress that has moved way too slow for me.
Good luck with your project.

Paul

[Raya]

Hi Paul,

You're the person whose name I was trying to remember, since your trailer and carlyi's are very similar (and somewhat different from later Trilliums). Glad you found this thread!

Raya

[Paul Richter]

Hi Paul,

You're the person whose name I was trying to remember, since your trailer and carlyi's are very similar (and somewhat different from later Trilliums). Glad you found this thread!

Raya

Raya, I kinda thought you were talking about me. The first thread that I had posted I thought it was the seal but upon better investigation I found the window was cracked now things have changed. I sent an email to Trillium but they didn't reply. I waited 2 weeks & sent another one & surprise they didn't reply so, I'll use this site to get my info...ect. But ya it's great to see a early "Trillium" that's is very similar to mine. I seam to have the only 1971 Trillium around...i guess they are rare unless someone speaks up.

Paul

[Raya]

Not that Trillium shouldn't reply, but I don't think the new Trillium makes any windows like your front and rear ones. I believe all the windows in the new Trilliums (and, indeed, all the Trilliums post 1973) are a framed type of window.

On the other hand, Boler/clones have and still do use the style of window that you have front and rear. Scamp is one manufacturer whose trailers are still being made with that style of window. I can't remember if the rubber and lockstrip Scamp sells are pre-cut (in which case they might be too short for you if your window has a greater circumference), but they might sell it by the foot. I know you can get the same profile by the foot at some industrial suppliers (but don't have a link handy).

You could probably use your old (broken) window for a template, cut new plastic, and then re-install it with new gasket and lock strip. There is a special tool for installing the lock strip (I think it's called a lacing tool, but can't remember for sure).

If you search the forum with Boler and Scamp in mind, you might find some of the threads talking about replacing the front or rear window. The consensus is that it's a bit of a #(*%, but doable. One note is that I would not use Armorall to lube the gasket during installation, as it contains the dreaded silicone (I think I've read a suggestion to use it). I would think soapy water would work, but I have not replaced the front or rear window in my trailer.

With car windshields you can use a trick where you put a piece of twine in the groove, then start installing the window gasket and "zip" the twine out as you go, but for some reason I don't think this is the way people do the gasket for these windows, because of the lockstrip.

I'm pretty sure school buses use this type of gasket, so you could perhaps get some tips from a place that does those.

Raya

[Donna D.]

Scamp is one manufacturer whose trailers are still being made with that style of window. I can't remember if the rubber and lockstrip Scamp sells are pre-cut

You could probably use your old (broken) window for a template, cut new plastic, and then re-install it with new gasket and lock strip. There is a special tool for installing the lock strip (I think it's called a lacing tool, but can't remember for sure).


Raya

Scamp sells the gasket material and lock strip by the foot.

The tool is called, interesting enough, a locking strip tool: http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/lis47000.html. You can buy one with several different heads that accommodate different size lock strips. It's my understanding without this tool, putting in the lock strip is a BEAR.

Kevin61 has some great YouTube videos that show how to put in the windows:
Installation of Boler front/rear window part one video, installing a Boler plexiglass window
and Installation of Boler front/rear window part TWO video

These videos are VERY helpful for any brand of trailer using gasket and lock strip.

[carlyi]

I have posted more pictures of the camper in more detail. The seal around the window looks horrible but I read above that I should be able to have an auto glass place fix this. The window is fine but the seal makes me nervous. The two green cabinets over the twin size bed were made by the previous owner. I think we are keeping them because he actually did a nice job. The ones over the dinette are coming out because I think they look horrible. Here's the link to the pics again: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1434...mp;l=2e3f5d85ee

Is it a huge PITA to remove the original cabinets to paint and clean?


Where can a I find a new lock for the door? It fell out.

Also, I was told this was a 72 but my title says 1971.

[Robin G]

Carlyi, Sweet trailer! Congrats! Love the awning. Do you know the manufacture of it? Thanks Robin

[Raya]

Being as it is so early, your Trillium may be different than later ones. But typically, the original "furniture" is fiberglassed in, as far as I know. This is actually a good thing as it eliminates any hull penetrations in that area (such as for rivets). Not that there's anything wrong with rivets, but furniture tabbed in with fiberglass is even more maintenance-free. However that means its not easily removable.

Again, yours may be different because of being such an early model.

And, not to be a downer, but I can only imagine that the windows leaked, and the PO felt that caulking around the outside was the way to fix it. Unfortunately, that's not true. What needs to happen is for the windows to be taken out of the camper, the caulk cleaned up, and then the windows reinstalled. In the case of the framed windows, this would be with new caulk or butyl tape. But not around the outside of the window -- it should go under the flange, between the flange and the trailer shell, and not on the outside at all.

I would say that the fixed window with the rubber seal should also be removed, cleaned up, and then reinstalled (or replaced) with a new seal and lock strip.

This sort of thing is regular once-every-decade-or-so maintenance, but people often feel they can get by with just globbing caulk on the outside (or they genuinely don't understand that's not the way).

Robin, I'm not sure who made the Add-a-Rooms, but they were options that came along with the Trillium. I looked at one Trillium that had an entire "flower power" Add-a-Room (carlyi's has one "flower power" panel, it looks like).

Flower power!
Raya

[carlyi]

Oh trust me, the whole inside is flower power! The outside is yellow. I found a Trillium brochure that shows the exact add a room we have. I just want to know who the heck came up with that color scheme!!

http://www.geocities.com/bolerama/tr...hure1974a.html


Looks like we might have had the original curtains too!

[Carol Ann in TO]

Oh trust me, the whole inside is flower power! The outside is yellow. I found a Trillium brochure that shows the exact add a room we have. I just want to know who the heck came up with that color scheme!!

If you have to ask then you're not old enough to remember. Those were typical colours back then!

[carlyi]

Born in 78 so old enough to remember but I guess not old enough to understand why....hehehehe