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Old 01-13-2016, 07:11 AM   #121
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Name: Gary
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So... that file I didn't have any luck seeing. Not opening in a new window or anything I tried. I downloaded it to a "pictures" folder, and could view it there, on my computer. [I guess we'd say that didn't work.]
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Old 01-13-2016, 07:29 AM   #122
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I can see it, Gary. And I hope, in your frustration with technology, you won't quit posting on this thread. I'm enjoying it a lot, and I'm sure it will help someone down the road.

I wish I could help more with the technology aspect... I'm not experiencing any issues, either via the website or the app.
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Old 01-13-2016, 07:40 AM   #123
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It downloaded to my computer, Gary. It is a really neat image, kinda looks like volcano lava.

I will give it a shot to upload.

Edit: I have tried uploading in the following formats: .png, .jpg, .gif, resizing, doing a screenshot and uploading that, changing it to pdf, and putting it into Word. Moving on to a different activity.

Gary, folks can download the image.

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Old 01-18-2016, 06:53 PM   #124
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Brief update.
I revisited the "fillets" I made on the inside rear shell recently. I thought, since they were basically just "gluing" the flexible inside shell in place, I should add some matte & resin over them. So I used a 3" coarse grinding disc to scuff the material either side of the fillet, and the fillet material itself... then bridged across the whole seam with 3 layers of matte + resin.
Still no luck with uploading a jpg of that... but it didn't really look much different from the previous pictures. No great loss.

Next go-round, I'll start laminating matte & resin across the other interior seams...........
Gary
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Old 01-18-2016, 08:21 PM   #125
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Here's Gary's latest picture
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Old 01-19-2016, 07:04 AM   #126
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Thanks, Donnna!

There's actually one after that, that I posted on the U-Haul Facebook site yesterday....... but the one you just posted is the more "fun" image of the 2 most recent.
It occurs to me that I haven't tried using my wife's laptop to post to FGRV. I'll do that with the next one, just to [hopefully] be sure that it's not some problem unique to my own computer. [Desktop--2-3 yrs old--Windows7]
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Old 01-19-2016, 09:16 AM   #127
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Just tried to upload a small image from my wife's laptop... that didn't work either.
Gary
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Old 01-27-2016, 10:00 PM   #128
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Just Bookmarking Thread...
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Old 02-02-2016, 01:57 PM   #129
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Well, the ability to load pics may have just returned!

If so, there'll be one or two below from my start on interior shell reinforcing, back on the 18th of January. [looks like loading pics works once again---sure wish I knew why it hasn't been]

Note: In the interests of "full disclosure" or some such... I haven't done a perfect job on all this cutting and splicing. After I added the fillet around the spare well, and then reinforced it with matte & resin... THEN I set the plywood cover back over the pair of openings in the middle of the back bench area... and it doesn't fit quite right. Not that it won't work... but I could have clamped a straight edge or angle iron across the surface and made it fit better yet.
"Measure twice, cut once." and all that.

Best wishes to all. We've survived January!!!!
Gary
Attached Thumbnails
16-0111-InnerPanelRepair-01.jpg   16-0111-InnerPanelRepair-02.jpg  

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Old 02-02-2016, 02:52 PM   #130
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Love your repairs and love your Eleanor Roosevelt quote, Gary! I teach at Roosevelt University in Chicago; I feel like it is named after her mainly. She was involved in its establishment when the original faculty set up the university after deciding that they would not follow the administration's push to limit enrollment and walking across the street and setting up shop as Roosevelt U. in a YWCA. She is a hero of mine.

Glad the pix are working again! Maybe that is why I could upload the images of my Bigfoot Silver Cloud on my register so easily during the weekend. Looking forward to more of your Uhaul rebuilding progress.

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Old 02-06-2016, 04:22 PM   #131
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Cindy,
Glad you liked the quote--and the info you shared about Eleanor makes it all the more interesting, so thanks for that, too.

Free Saturday, obligation-wise, so decided to do another "chunk" on the inside-shell repair. Didn't think I wanted to do the matte-n-resin thing today, so I focused on the cracks that have already been structurally repaired on the inside surface, and so just need filling and smoothing. First 3 pictures are of just one portion of that work, in the rear bench-seat area. [1] Ground a shallow bevel down through the gel-coat and maybe half-way into the original fiberglass. [2] Filled that with fiberglass [short-strand] filler, which I then ground down after a couple hours. [3] And then filled with "normal" auto body filler, which I'll sand smooth tonight or tomorrow.
I just thought this would be a visual/psychological boost, to prep my head for the somewhat more challenging [mostly just messier] matte-n-resin repair of the "seams" where I reinstalled the interior shell.

And pic 4 was a selfie after grinding down the cracks just before starting the filling--covered in fine fiberglass dust, from head to toe and coating my glasses. "Just call me 'Dusty'."

Happy trails.................... Gary
Attached Thumbnails
16-0206 crackFillin 0396.jpg   16-0206 crackFillin 0398.jpg  

16-0206 crackFillin 0401.jpg   16-0206 crackFillin 0394a.jpg  

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Old 02-08-2016, 06:44 PM   #132
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Got up the gumption today to glass most of the interior seams that I glued together when I reinstalled the interior shell pieces...

I used a coarse disc in a 3" dia grinder to bevel a shallow trough where the seams/joints were. Then cut strips of matting into various width strips. [I intended to put 3 layers down, but 2 layers of matte & resin filled the bevel to slightly above the level of the original skin... so wasn't reason to add the 3rd layer.]
And then I just brushed some resin on the bevel'd surface... added a narrow strip of matte, and wetted it throroughly with more resin... and the same with a 2nd strip of matte. If there was a little resin left over [usually the case], I brushed it on top of the matte to use it up.

Did the "flat" joint at seat level first... then the slightly longer joints at window-top level... then the long vertical joint between them. All went well... the little "egg"s getting stiffened up more & more all the time. Just a few short bits of joint remain, and then a bunch of sanding & falling.........

Progress. Best wishes to all... stay warm... Gary
Attached Thumbnails
16-0208-seamsGlassed-0402.jpg   16-0208-seamsGlassed-0403.jpg  

16-0208-seamsGlassed-0406.jpg  
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Old 02-09-2016, 04:48 PM   #133
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2 Days in a row working on the camper!... starting to act like a retired guy.

I opted to work on the outer skin this time, just because I see that any time I'm in the shop, and it's been half-done for a long time now.
First 2 pics below are a couple of the half-dozen cracks prepped for working on. These have already been reinforced on the inside with matte & resin, so just need to be beveled down, filled & smoothed. I had applied "band-aids" of metal roofing repair tape long ago to moisture-seal the cracks when the camper was sitting outside, so I had to remove that first, and that left a fair bit of tarry gunk down in the cracks. So I used a wire wheel to dig that out, without dissolving it and spreading it around--that's what those 1st 2 pics show.

Pic 3 is of the 3 tools used to prep the cracks: the wire wheel... then a small-diameter grinder... then a 6" grinding disc to spread that bevel out some.

4th Pic is of cracks beveled & ready for filler. [2 layers of filler---1st a fiberglass-based, waterproof filler to "seal" the cracks... then conventional filler, which is easier to sand smooth.]

And a final pic of that one area, smoothed up reasonably well. Felt good. Nice break...... now, back to the final customer's project.
Gary
Attached Thumbnails
16-0209-outsidePatches-01a.jpg   16-0209-outsidePatches-01b.jpg  

16-0209-outsidePatches-02.jpg   16-0209-outsidePatches-03.jpg  

16-0209-outsidePatches-04.jpg  
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Old 02-13-2016, 04:46 PM   #134
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Now I've done it! My better half asked yesterday about the possibility of going on a camping getaway, end of March or first bit of April..... and I said "Sure, we could probably take the camper, even if it's not all done."

That's been added incentive to spend much of my spare time, last couple days, out in the shop. Got the exterior patches sanded down and primered yesterday evening...... today, got the interior seams that had been matte-n-resin treated--then ground down--then fiberglass-based filler'ed--all sanded down.... and applied a [hopefully-final] layer of regular body-filler. Probably get that sanded smooth tonight... leaving only a few short seams and odd-bits still to do inside.

So, still much to do, but structurally at least, it's getting sounder all the time. A few pics below........... Gary
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16-0213-ClosingIn-01a.jpg   16-0213-ClosingIn-02a.jpg  

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Old 02-13-2016, 06:05 PM   #135
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What you've accomplished is really amazing/admirable. And I love what you've done with the tire! Good luck on finishing in time to boogie.
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Old 02-15-2016, 01:04 PM   #136
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Thanks for the good wishes, Ellpea in CA... probably won't be finished by the time we head south for our first outing, but should be well along.

Between yesterday and today I tackled a nuisance-some joint in the interior, and in a different way than before. The left-hand splice, down by one's calves if you were sitting back there, had ended up with a buckle in it... so I pulled and pried and got my backup piece of plastic off--which wasn't glue-bonded very well on the forward side of the splice [where the buckle was]. Maybe I hesitated too long when gluing that particular splice in, and the adhesive had started to harden??? Don't know, but I decided to re-do that joint, and use thickened fiberglass resin as the "glue" to hold a treated plywood [approx 5"x15"] patch to the backside of the fiberglass. [aged bit of treated plywood--preservatives long-since-dried]

See pictures below. I made 2 of the plywood patches--one to be bonded to the underside of the fiberglass, and one to be bolted temporarily on the topside just to uniformly squeeze the mess together. Clamped the 2 pieces together, and drilled 5/16 holes through both... then temporarily clamped one piece to the fiberglass, and drilled those holes through the fiberglass as well. [I'll assemble the patch with 1/4" bolts, so I've got just a bit of room for error with the slightly bigger holes.] Used a coarse grinding disc to roughen up both the surface of the plywood and the underside of the fiberglass. Then used masking tape to seal the joint on the good side, so the resin doesn't wholesale gush through.
Assembled patch panel shows bolts pushed through, with a bit of "rope caulk" on each to both hold them in place and hopefully prevent the resin from gluing them to the plywood. I also lightly greased the shank of each bolt.

Then I brushed catalyzed resin on the plywood and the underside of the camper fiberglass. Then thickened the resin and smeared it over the patch, semi-uniformly.

And assembled! I just tightened the bolts to "snug"--wanting the panels to be level & straight, but not wanting to squeeze nearly all of the thickened resin out. What did squeeze out, I brushed smooth all around the perimeter of the patch, which should just further seal everything up.
No major mess made, and a lot more "open" time before the adhesive starts to set--compared to the glue I used before. I wouldn't think you'd want to do a long splice this way, and not one on the exterior skin... but for a 15" seam on the interior, I think it'll work fine.
I'll figure to disassemble the patch pieces later today... hopefully the bolts aren't glued fast. Final step will be bevel-ing the seam & bolt-holes on the "topside" of the patch, and filling & sanding them smooth. [If it proves to've been a disastrous approach, I'll fess up to that later today.]

And now, back to work............ Gary
Attached Thumbnails
16-0215-somethinDiffernt-01.jpg   16-0215-somethinDiffernt-02a.jpg  

16-0215-somethinDiffernt-02b.jpg   16-0215-somethinDiffernt-03a.jpg  

16-0215-somethinDiffernt-03b.jpg  
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Old 02-16-2016, 04:24 PM   #137
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'Little weird-feeling today from this morning's root canal, so put off client job another day and made up 3 more splices.

1st pic below shows the shapes cut & scuffed that would span the joints still needing to be reinforced. These were cut from a flat sheet of cloth, matte & resin I'd made up a long time back, and only used half of. 4 layers & about 3/16" thick--quite stiff. As with yesterday's plywood splice, I treated both the camper joints and these 3 pieces with straight resin first--then buttered them up generously with thickened resin and clamped them in place... spreading out most of the excess that squeezed out.
One more chunk done.

Gary
Attached Thumbnails
16-0216-3moreSplices-01.jpg   16-0216-3moreSplices-02a.jpg  

16-0216-3moreSplices-02b.jpg  
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Old 02-16-2016, 07:07 PM   #138
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awesome sauce!
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Old 02-19-2016, 07:05 PM   #139
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Hallelujah! Last of the joints/breaks needing matte-n-resin treatment, done this afternoon. Still some grinding and filling of a few spots that have previously been reinforced on underside---but that's back to more normal-for-me body fillers, and sanding smooth, etc.

So, it feels like something of a milestone. And it hasn't made me much crazier than I was before! [Opinions on this may vary.] Temps near 60 for today and tomorrow don't hurt, either..........

Gary
Attached Thumbnails
16-0219-lastJointsInFG-01.jpg   16-0219-lastJointsInFG-02.jpg  

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Old 02-22-2016, 07:02 PM   #140
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[just posted the following on the Facebook U-Haul page]

"And now for something completely different." [some of you baby boomers know where that came from]
Today, "The Scrambled Egg" gets a custom license-plate-holder/spare-cover. Recipe follows..............

Take 1 used '03 Crown Vic wheel cover, and remove chromed metal outer shell & center... cut rectangular hole slightly bigger than standard license plate in center of plastic cover remaining... round corners of same-sized piece of board & paint, then apply mold release... tape board into plastic cover from front, then flip... fiberglass back side of board and surrounding, roughed-up plastic... take lunch break... pop board out of glass, and smooth up miscellaneous rough edges... fabricate tee connector from tubing, flat strap & nut, to tie cover to protruding bolt holding spare to camper... and install!

Smooth further and paint to match body later. [someday I really have to finish up that customer job, so I can have fun messing around like this without any guilt!]
And so it goes. Happy George Washington's birthday................
Attached Thumbnails
16-0222-LicenseHolder-01.jpg   16-0222-LicenseHolder-02.jpg  

16-0222-LicenseHolder-03.jpg   16-0222-LicenseHolder-04.jpg  

16-0222-LicenseHolder-05.jpg  
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