Beachcomber B15 frame up resto - Fiberglass RV
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Old 03-31-2014, 12:16 PM   #1
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
Posts: 19
Beachcomber B15 frame up resto

I've been lurking on the forums for a while getting ideas for my Beachcomber that I am restoring. The back story is that I was looking at buying a backcomber in Cochrane AB. After taking it for a test drive I was about to go in a make the guy an offer when another guy was walking down the alley and commented that he had the same trailer. We chatted for a bit and he said he would sell me his (for a lot less than the one I was looking at). I took a look at the other one and after pulling up some of the flooring determined that the floor was rotten at least in the front section under the front bench seat. I wasn't sure I wanted to take on that big of a project unless the price was right and it turned out.. it was.

I started out by gutting the entire thing, the closet had been bolted right through the belly band to stop the shell from bowing out so that the door fit properly. The lock was broken so the door had to be bungeed shut for the drive along with a few other interesting mods. While gutting the trailer I noticed some interesting things. There was no leaking abve the belly band but the belly band had leaked very badly, about 50% of the wood that secures the top and bottom shells together was so rotten it was basically dust. Those leaks in the belly band caused the entire floor to be saturated so the floor basically came up as chunks of rotten wet wood and crumbs. Basically all the bolts holding it to the frame were rusted and hardly doing anything.

The floor had 2 big holes in it that you can see in other beachcomber rebuilds. So far I've gutted and cleaned the whole thing and patched all the holes in the floor with Fiberglass. On top of that i have fiberglassed the top and bottom shells together on the inside and outside with 3 layers each to make sure that my rebuild will never suffer the same fate. I think the fact that the shells were not originally fiberglassed togther is a huge downfall in the design and has led to a lot of the leaking problems you see in these trailers.

My next step is to take the shell off the frame and fix all the exterior rock chips and body damage on the bottom. I'll clean the frame up, paint it, inspect the axle and weld a trailer hitch to the back for a bike rack.

I'll try to get some pictures up here soon for you all.

Kyle
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Old 03-31-2014, 02:26 PM   #2
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
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Old 04-06-2014, 07:58 PM   #3
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Looking forward to seeing your progress.
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Old 08-11-2014, 08:40 PM   #4
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
Posts: 19
Here are some pics of my work over the winter, i'll update what i'm doing this week as well
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Old 08-11-2014, 10:16 PM   #5
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
Posts: 19
I've now removed the frame, took it to a DIY sand blaster and its now at Trillium/ outback having a new axle installed, paint, jacks, battery box and trailer hitch on the back for bikes.

Here are some pics I took this morning. There has been a lot of fiberglassing to fix holes in the floor, mainly caused by air bubbles in the manufacturing process the have been "popped" by rocks over the years.

I fiberglassed in the 2 vents you can see for the fridge since i'm going with a DC fridge and they are not required.

Enjoy the pics.
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Old 02-27-2015, 11:21 AM   #6
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
Posts: 19
Here are some old photos from the summer when I put my trailer on the frame, and some more recent ones from the last few weeks of work. Putting in lino this weekend and gluing in the bed so i'll have some more updates after that.
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Old 02-27-2015, 01:31 PM   #7
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Name: Rich
Trailer: 2015 Scamp 13D
Minnesota
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Kyle-

Thanks for sharing your pics. I'll be looking for more as things progress on your project. It's fun to watch what crafty people can do to preserve these old treasures.
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Old 03-01-2015, 03:00 AM   #8
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
Posts: 19
Some old pics and weekend updates
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Old 03-01-2015, 05:49 AM   #9
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Your making progress, looks good.
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Old 03-01-2015, 10:30 AM   #10
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Very nice work. It will be a pleasure to camp in when your done.


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Old 03-01-2015, 12:17 PM   #11
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Name: Rolly
Trailer: Beachcomber
Manitoba
Posts: 4
Hello,

Great job on the rebuild !

I too am rebuilding a Beachcomber. I see that you've changed the style of the support brace by the right side of the door. What did you use? Is it two 2 x 6 's spread apart with a piece of backing to screw to the inside wall (it's hard to see in your picture)? Are you keeping the closet on the other side?
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Old 03-02-2015, 09:02 AM   #12
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rolly D View Post
Hello,

Great job on the rebuild !

I too am rebuilding a Beachcomber. I see that you've changed the style of the support brace by the right side of the door. What did you use? Is it two 2 x 6 's spread apart with a piece of backing to screw to the inside wall (it's hard to see in your picture)? Are you keeping the closet on the other side?
Actually, I think that depending on the year there are different styles of supports. Some are metal and some (as was the case with mine) are wood. Its just plywood that has been bonded together to basically make a C channel beam that fits in there. It is screwed into wood that was PL premium'ed to the shell. I am keeping the closet and the gravity heater, it's good storage and it will help support my sagging roof!
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Old 03-02-2015, 10:31 PM   #13
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
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Some will smile, some will cry. Hopefully the people gouging for these are the ones crying lol.

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Old 03-03-2015, 04:36 PM   #14
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Nice! I'm grinning.


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Old 03-03-2015, 05:30 PM   #15
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I like it!
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Old 03-10-2015, 10:47 PM   #16
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
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Galley is glued in, bed glued in, 1 side of closet glued in. Shore power hookup installed.

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Old 03-13-2018, 05:49 PM   #17
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
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I finished this back in 2016 but got lazy and didn't post anything else. Hope this inspires someone!







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Old 08-23-2020, 07:24 AM   #18
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Name: Mark
Trailer: 77 Beachcomber
Hilton Beach
Posts: 41
Some questions about your Beachcomber build

Hi Kyle, We purchased a 77 Beachcomber and plan to work on it over the winter. May i ask a couple of questions about your build?
It looks like some of the cabinetry (galley and bench) in your build have been laid up in fibreglass. Is that correct? Did you do yourself? I would sure like to understand how you did this.
Regarding your elimination of the belly band, how did you go about this? is it glassed on the inside as well? Any pics? I have read that others who have done this experienced some cracking as time passed. Have you had this issue?
Thanks in advance for your help.
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Old 08-26-2020, 11:45 AM   #19
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Name: Kyle
Trailer: Beachcomber
Alberta
Posts: 19
The galley was an extra from trillium. I bought it from them as they are a 20 min drive from me. Fiberglassing the bellyband was one of the best things I did on this build. 3 layers of fiberglass inside and 3 layers outside. No way it will ever crack unless you drive into something. Its all about the prep though. Make sure after you sand (i used a flap disc and a grinder very carefully) that you use lots of acetone to clean and get the substrate ready to bond. Make sure you use the right amount of hardner, right resin (polyester) and have the right temperature and you should be good. Good luck.
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Old 09-17-2020, 10:48 PM   #20
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Name: Ryley
Trailer: Beachcomber
Saskatchewan
Posts: 6
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Cac View Post
Hi Kyle, We purchased a 77 Beachcomber and plan to work on it over the winter. May i ask a couple of questions about your build?
It looks like some of the cabinetry (galley and bench) in your build have been laid up in fibreglass. Is that correct? Did you do yourself? I would sure like to understand how you did this.
Regarding your elimination of the belly band, how did you go about this? is it glassed on the inside as well? Any pics? I have read that others who have done this experienced some cracking as time passed. Have you had this issue?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Great to see you're doing that this winter. I also just picked up a 77 B15!!

Awesome reno, Kyle! Thanks a ton for sharing a find it encouraging and helpful. How's it holding up?
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