Fiber Stream Update 2

[Victor Benz]

Here's what I've been up to. I removed the old battery door, and enlarged the opening to take an 11" x 24" baggage door. I built a wooden support frame inside, matching the trailer floor-to-wall curvature.




I also added a wooden trim piece on the outside, again matching the trailer curvature.




I attached both pieces with Powerfil 10 EH, a thick epoxy resin recommended by my fiberglass supplier. When that set, I applied fiberglass mat with the same resin.

[Victor Benz]

At the same time, I repaired the cracked floor at the entry door, with a small wooden ski slope that will make sweeping out the trailer somewhat easier. Using the same resin, I fiberglassed ths as well.

[Victor Benz]

I then began work on the floor. My fiberglass mat came in a roll 38" wide. I borke the trailer floor into four main sections. 2 widths at the front for the beds, one between the fridge - stove, and the entry way piece.




I carefully cut matching pieces for the individual floor sections.

[Victor Benz]

Now I was ready to fiberglass. I first rollered on a coat of resin in the first area. When it became tacky, I laid out the first piece on that resin. I then rollered another coat of resin over top, soaking the mat and bonding it to the layers below.




It took about 1 litre of resin to coat the first layer on the wooden floor, about 38" x 75". It took about 2.5 litres of resin to soak and seal the mat. At the same time as I soaked the mat, I continued and coated the area for the second piece. I worked in batches of 1 to 1.5 litres because the resin thickened so quickly, even when only using 0.8% hardener by volume!

[Victor Benz]

Over about 6 hours, I completed the entire floor.








I mainly used a very short knap paint roller (1/8" or 3/16") recommended by my fiberglass supplier, with a 3" nattural bristle brush for the hard-to-reach places.

Next, is finishing the baggage door area, painting, and then installing a new baggage door.

Then the whole floor will be lightly sanded, so that I can install linoleum. I find that carpet traps odors and dirt, but mainly holds moisture, leading to rot at the cabinet bases. Linoleum provides for a quick &b easy clean-up. We do use a few area rugs from Ikea.

Victor

[Suz]

Nice job, Victor. Looks likes a lot of work, but well worth it.

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Victor,
Thanks for the step-by-step description. I once made a copy of a '56 Chev pick-up rear window using the window itself as the "plug". I had to reduce the opening size to match the crawl-thru front window of our cab-over camper. The pick-up window was curved and actually larger than the windshield. I'd forgotten how I did it until your description of the same process!
Good job.
Kurt & Ann K.

[rondar]

Victor, I was going through post trying t find info on flooring. I just got my fiber stream a few days ago. I tore out the bunks in front and all the carpet because I had a soft spot. the wood doesnt look rotted. Did you use this mat and resin to firm up the floor?

[Victor Benz]

Rondar;


Before I used mat and resin on the entire floor, I replaced the bolts that I could reach with "elevator bolts". These are essentially carriage bolts with a very large, flat head. Then I fiberglassed over all. I did not remove the kitchen unit or the fridge unit, only the front bunks, which I totally rebuilt.


I still have the photos from all that I did. Let me know what you need.


Vic

[rondar]

I removed the bunks and the over head cabinets, they were barely hanging on the wall. I kinda just stood in there today for a while and wondered what have i done. I was thinking about laying another piece of plywood over the old stuff. I did not remove the kitchen cabinets either. Figured I better stop ripping things out for a while. lol. Im still trying to figure out how to turn stuff on. tried plugging the fridge in and nothing happened, been trying to find videos or instructions but nothing yet. This is my first camper so I know nothing.

[Jon in AZ]

If you can find the manufacturer and model number of your appliances, you may be able to download a PDF of the owner's manual from the Document Center on this website. The link is in the "More" tab at the top of the screen.

Before you start firing up propane appliances, it also might be worth paying an RV tech to do a "drop test" of the LP system and inspect & test the appliances.

[rondar]

I will check the numbers and see if I can find that. I dont have any propane hooked up, theres no tanks and we prolly need new lines. I just wanted to check to see if the fridge worked on the electric setting so I followed the directions inside the fridge.
Thank you both for the info. Its greatly appreciated.

[Jon in AZ]

RV fridges don't make noises like your compressor fridge at home. A heating element comes on and thermal convection of the coolant fluid does the rest. They also cool down quite slowly. I'd plug it in and leave it on overnight. If there's still no sign of cooling, then it's time for diagnosis.

The fridge plugs into an outlet somewhere inside the cabinet, so make sure that's plugged in and has power (test with a hair dryer or some such). If no power, check the circuit breakers, including the main breaker for the incoming shore power connection. Make sure the house outlet you're plugged into has power, too.

Older fridges are very sensitive to off-level operation, so make sure the trailer is level front-to-back and side-to-side before turning it on. Extended off-level operation can ruin the cooling circuit.

[Caroline L.]

Do you have any advice on finding leaks in our 1983 Fiberstream?
We sealed the roof vents and vent stacks. We still have water seeping in. A lot. Someone said water comes in the front clearance lights. We are checking those today. I think we need to seal all the break lights too.
Any suggestions?
Caroline

[Jon in AZ]

Caroline, how are you sealing vents, etc.?