1973 Boler 1300 updating

[bobdobqb]

Glad to help Marya. Have you started a thread on your reno yet? I really recommend it if you haven't already.

[bobdobqb]

Progress is progress, right? I've been meaning to build a mount for my new 100w Renogy solar panel and finally got around to it. It's a good break from doing bodywork.

With some scrap aluminum I built a mount for the tongue of the trailer that allows the the panel to swivel and tilt to get the best sun. Also if Lita's parked in the shade I can remove the panel from the mount and stand it elsewhere. Looks like it's going to work fine. Have a bit of tweaking to do but

[bobdobqb]

A couple of weeks back after we returned from a very nice visit to Salmon Beach here on Vancouver Island I decided to start getting the lower half of Lita's shell prepped and ready to paint. Turns out it's been a lot more work than I initially thought it would be because the gelcoat on the lower half of the shell in quite a few areas is very thin and down to the underlying fiberglass. So a lot of grinding and filling for sure!







But with it all filled and with the primer on Lita already looks a whole lot better





Still a lot to go but I did take a bit of time off last week and now I want to get back to it and get it done!

That being said it drives me mad to do bodywork all the time so I did take a bit of time to work on Lita's security recently and fabricated a new hitch lock for some heavy duty theft prevention!!

It may not be totally theft resistant (what ever is?) but I think it'll maybe give a thief second thoughts and maybe they'll head on to easier pastures. My favorite part is that even if they get through the main lock I've still got a secondary masterlock on the hitch lever itself!



Things progress!! Can't wait to start painting for real!!

[eldame]

Hello Bob. We bought a ‘73 Boler 13’ a couple years ago. Brought it from Winnipeg to its new home here in Whitehorse, YT. Boy, so much looks like yours even down to the upholstery. We knew we would have a lot of work to do and are just getting started. Had a new axle put on and two hairline fractures repaired on the frame and new spare tire rack put on.
My biggest concern is leaks. Appears to be leaking around roof vent and I think running between roof and ensolite. I was reading your post and you don’t really mention the “how to” of when you got the mildew taken care of. We are fairly new at this. Can you give us any pointers of getting in between the layers?

[bobdobqb]

Hi Lesley!

Wondered if my upholstery was original Yep an axle and frame work were pretty much the first things I did with Lita. Sorry for the delay in replying I was out of range the last few days.

I actually didn't go beneath the ensolite because the mildew was all on the top between the ensolite and layers of crappy paint. . I do have a couple of areas where the ensolite has pulled off of the fiberglass. I thought I might try injecting some contact cement but haven't bothered yet. In a couple of places where I did have some ensolite peel back a bit contact cement did the trick. Have also heard good things about 3M 90 spray adhesive but haven't tried it.

For the mildew I used an ammonia solution and a rubbermaid reveal rotary scrubber. Worked well but took a lot of time. Removing the old paint was a mix of a little bit of heat and some citrus type stripper. It was a LOT of work to clean it up before I painted but so worth it now.

Feel free to direct message me if you have any other questions. More than happy to pass on any information that might help.

Bob

[bobdobqb]

Not anytime soon but soon enough this thread should be finished. Over the last couple of weeks I've finished up Lita's bodywork (thank goodness that's done because my wrists were just about shot) and primed the bottom . Even with the grey primer she looked a lot less like a patchwork princess!

I rolled the Interlux pre-kote without tipping and it turned out pretty good. A couple of experiments I did with the gravel guard and door made it seem like the way to go and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.



Just today finished coat number 1 of her paint. One more coat to go and the bottom will be done (unless of course I decide to do 3 coats )

We picked a green that we thought would pop and we really like it. Rolled and tipped it. It's Cloverdale marine enamel and for the most part went on well but I'm not 100 percent happy with how it tipped. Maybe that was me because it's the first time doing it or maybe I didn't get it thinned down enough but since I had to buy a gallon of it (they didn't have the base in quarts and had no idea when they might get some) I have plenty of extra to get it right.

I also find the first coat of any paint over primer doesn't look great which is why I always put at least 2 coats on (Certainly could be my technique so no need to dogpile on me. Just how I see it )





Finally I recently got a friend who has a sign shop to do me up some decals for Lita to give her even more style. One for the gravel guard and one more smaller one for the entryway side (that will get put on when the top gets painted). My son's partner did the graphic and I thought it was fitting since Lita's pretty much going to remain an island girl. She may head to the mainland sometime in the future but the plan has always been to explore Vancouver Island more with her.



Once the bottom is finished we're hoping to get a few more trips in before the rainy season hits but will hold off on painting the upper half until spring. I also have to rebuild the drivers side jalousie and want to do some work on the belly band so we're not quite done yet but not many things left on the to-do list at this point.

Thought I'd throw in a pic of the patchwork princess at a friend's place on the water in Comox. Best free campsite ever.. Or almost free... I had to help build a deck



So it hasn't been all work this summer

[bobdobqb]

Well fall crept up on us a little quicker than I had planned. We didn't actually get any more trips before the insurance ran out on Lita. The weather was really nice the last couple of weeks but we had some commitments (and the chinook were running up the Campbell River) so camping plans turned to fishing



But it hasn't been all fishing. I did get time to finish the primer on the upper shell of Lita. Now at least once spring arrives again I'll be able to do the topcoat first thing. But I'll tell you even with the primer on she's looking good now. No more patchwork princess!



The final project before putting Lita to bed was removing the drivers side jalousie. I figured I better have at least one boler project for the winter. This time the window removal went a lot smoother and I quickly had it out.



Disassembly of the window went super quick as well. Having already done the window on the other side I was concerned about removing the frame screws but applied some heat and used some PBblaster and all except 1 came out nicely. The last screw I think was already broken before I tried removing it. But I managed to get the remains out with no problems so that's good.





With the window out and rain on its way I hurried up and took Lita over to her winter home in our friend's shop. Sure is nice to have an indoor space to keep her for the winter.



Did not know that Lita and Fred's tractor were close to the same colour!

That's it for now. Window refurb will take a while but I've got lots of free time this winter.

[Argus]

What a great thread, super job on the boler. It looks like you replaced the belly band. If so, where did you get it? My understanding is that it's 3/4" U-channel made of soft (bendable) aluminum. Even the local Nanaimo RV shops don't know where to get it... mine didn't come with one and I'd like to rivet a new one on. Thanks in advance!

[bobdobqb]

Hey thanks Dan! Glad you're enjoying the thread.

I actually have just removed the belly band that was on there for cleaning/polishing and will be re-installing it.

You're around Nanaimo so I'd probably try the Metal Supermarket there. They probably have it or can get it. You can anneal the 6061 aluminum with some heat to make it bend a bit easier so that might be the way to go.

If it were me I'd probably get a shorter chunk (3 or 4 ft) and do some experimentation with bending it around the corners. That's where I'd probably start and definitely post your results. Good or bad!

If you're ever in the QB area drop on by and I'll give you a tour of Lita

Bob

[Argus]

Ahh, hadn't thought of that store, was focused on the big box stores instead. Small world, I'm just in Qualicum Woods. Thanks for the advice!

[bobdobqb]

Well then we just happen to be neighbors

In Qualicum Woods as well. On Hawthorne

[Argus]

Originally Posted by bobdobqb

Well then we just happen to be neighbors

In Qualicum Woods as well. On Hawthorne

pm sent

[bobdobqb]

I finally got the second (and last) dinette jalousie cleaned up and resealed. Once again my decision was to do a decent job of cleaning and polishing and making it weatherproof but not go overboard. I'm not trying to make Lita look brand new and realistically with the condition the windows were in to begin with that would be pretty much impossible. But I'm happy with how it's all turned out. It's weatherproof and back to being shiny.



I'll admit to initially screwing up the trim installation when i did the first dinette jalousie so that one took more work than I had planned but I learned from my mistakes and this time glued up the interior trim before I drilled for the installation. I honestly don't know what I was thinking the first time but lesson learned



With the trim taken care of I had no problem installing the window and with the window installed it was now time to bring Lita home from storage!!





It's great to have her back home. And it makes it so much easier to do the few things I have to do this year before camping. I've been meaning to install a battery monitor to keep track of my usage but I just couldn't justify the cost of a Victron unit. So I figured what the heck, try out an "inexpensive" amazon unit. So far so good! Easy to install and seems to be pretty accurate from what I can tell. Remains to be seen how durable it will be but I'm always an optimist



What's up next you ask? Well I do have the belly band off so that will need to be cleaned up and reinstalled. And the upper half of Lita is all primed so I'll paint it once it warms up a bit. I also have some ideas about some smallish changes inside but might just roll with what I've got this year and see how it works out.

[bobdobqb]

And Lita's paint is now finished.....ish. Still haven't decided if I'm going to paint the taillight areas the white or the green but got 2 coats of Cloverdale Marine/maintenance enamel rolled on and it's looking good. It's definitely not spray quality but I don't care. It looks good and clean and quite frankly I'm not out to win a best in show. This little lady is set for camping on the island and we won't mind her getting a little dinged on a gravel road or scuffed up in the bush. She's meant to be used, not admired

She does look pretty sweet right now though. And the logo that my son's partner designed for us says it all!!



Also added a decal from a local clothing manufacturer. Republic of Vancouver Island.

Didn't realize that it was a color match when I picked it up but



Now to get that bellyband cleaned up and reinstalled and get rolling!! Got some Forest Service camping already lined up and been thumbing through the backroads mapbook.

Just about coming to the end of the thread. This renovation of Lita has been a great ride and I've learned a heck of a lot.

[MagdaTheBoler]

I have read your thread twice now and will re-read it more times I’m sure so thank you! I have recently acquired a 1973 Boler 1300 and will start refurbishing it. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I’m determined. I kinda wish I could come camp out in your driveway so you could supervise me

Anyway, just wanted to say thank you. Your thread will be very helpful.

Jeanett (owner of Magda the Boler)

[bobdobqb]

Hey Jeanett. Thanks! It's really been a labor of love and the thing to remember it's like eating an elephant.... One bite at a time 😁.

Don't know where you're at but if you're ever on Vancouver Island just stop on by. Also more than happy to chat via DM if you have any questions. Maybe I can help you keep from falling in some of the holes I did. 😁

Lita remains a work in progress as we make some minor changes that better reflect how we camp but we love how she turned out and works great for us.

The most important thing is to enjoy the ride and hide the sledge hammer when it seems overwhelming 😜

Bob