Help! Trailer fell off truck/needs front corner fibreglassed - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-02-2018, 02:59 AM   #1
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Name: andrew
Trailer: 1973 13' Trillium
British Columbia
Posts: 28
Unhappy Help! Trailer fell off truck/needs front corner fibreglassed

Hi! Yes our 13' Trillium came off our hitch and decided to ride along side our truck (the last check indid was put the leg down/crank to see if the tongue came off the ball/it did notvso I thought I was good to go........NOT!)
Anyways.....the front corner above and belowv the belly band now need fibreglassing due to a large gaping hole. Has anyone done anything like this or know where I could take it for repair that won't charge 3 arms/4 legs?
Thanks for any help......I live on Vancouver Island, BC. (The other option might be to find a junk trillium of years ____________ and cut out the entire corner I need).
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Old 07-02-2018, 04:10 AM   #2
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Trailer: Casita SD17 2006 "Missing Link"
California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jagbor View Post
Hi! Yes our 13' Trillium came off our hitch and decided to ride along side our truck (the last check indid was put the leg down/crank to see if the tongue came off the ball/it did notvso I thought I was good to go........NOT!)
Anyways.....the front corner above and belowv the belly band now need fibreglassing due to a large gaping hole. Has anyone done anything like this or know where I could take it for repair that won't charge 3 arms/4 legs?
Thanks for any help......I live on Vancouver Island, BC. (The other option might be to find a junk trillium of years ____________ and cut out the entire corner I need).
That's not good Andrew. Being you checked the connection with the jack, I have to ask if the ball size is correct. If so, the couplers fork may need to be adjusted or rebuilt as it may be worn out. Really can't give you any good info on FG repair without seeing a few pictures of the damage. FG is a pretty easy material to work with.
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Old 07-02-2018, 10:01 AM   #3
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Name: George
Trailer: Trillium
Ontario
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Hi Andrew,

sorry about your trailer damage, it is hard to recommend a fix to your broken area without pix? and if you have the missing parts? Usually that would not be a difficult thing to fix depending on access from both sides. You might try a body shop that has experience fixing fibreglass cars like Corvettes and race cars. Next I would try a boat repair shop. Depending on how fussy you are, I would fix it myself using FG boat repair products from CTC. If you need to talk to someone let me know and you can call me. I am in Toronto (3 hour difference). I would paint the fixed area or whole lower front with a rock guard paint. Cheers George
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Old 07-02-2018, 10:02 AM   #4
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Name: Claire
Trailer: 1978 Trillium 4500
British Columbia
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Hi Andrew, not good news, but you are on the island. Any boat repair place can help you. If you type Fiberglass hole repair into YouTube you will find many video's on how to do it yourself. The thing I have learned with fiberglass repair is if you put too much on you sand it off and if you did not put enough on you add more. The trick will be getting the shape, and if you could get a mold of the other front corner then you will be half way there.



By the way if you are in Victoria, you can commiserate with the guy on Richardson near St. Charles who is repairing what looks like a hole and crack from a tree falling on it.



Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes.
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Old 07-02-2018, 11:25 AM   #5
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Name: Denis
Trailer: Bowler 17
Manitoba
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Its not that hard check the size of the hole tou can get the tuff you will need to do the repair at any bost shop fiberglass mat you want at less 3layers of mat so if the hole is 3 ft square than you will need 8 sq ft of mat resinyou can pick up at Canadian Tire and gel coat its very easy to do

hope this helps
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Old 07-02-2018, 12:20 PM   #6
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Name: Steve
Trailer: Scamp 13
California
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Did you keep the pieces of broken fiberglass that use to cover the hole?
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Old 07-02-2018, 12:27 PM   #7
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Trailer: Escape 21, behind an '02 F250 7.3 diesel tug
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I second the emotion re finding a boat repair guy who has experience repairing fiberglass hulls. and this should be much easier on an island than in a landlocked state
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Old 07-02-2018, 04:44 PM   #8
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Name: Anne
Trailer: 2014 Parkliner 2016 Honda Pilot
North Carolina
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So sorry to hear, Andrew. Hope you get things fixed soon. Two thoughts:
check out the “You can repair fiberglass” thread, http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ass-52498.html to see if it’s something you want to tackle.

And check that the pin you’re using to secure the ball latch has a large enough diameter to fill the hole. I had something similar happen, and my RV repair guy finally figured out that there was enough slack with a small diameter pin to allow the the hitch to release in a really severe bump/jerk. (Just bent the jack stand, thankfully).

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Old 07-02-2018, 06:18 PM   #9
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Smith Valley, Nevada
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Andrew,

Just wondering if the safety chains failed too, or were they not there at all?

As far a fixing a gaping hole, you may be able to make a mold off the good other side and use that mold up against on the bad side where the hole is. This technique is sometimes used with boats and allows a complex curved shape to be easily duplicated or large open holes to be closed. Also, the inside of the mold you make describes the outside finish of the new built up area, so the patch comes out pretty nice and requires less sanding and filling.
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Old 07-02-2018, 09:32 PM   #10
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Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
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Please post pictures. It is hard to give useful advise without visuals.
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Old 07-02-2018, 11:25 PM   #11
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Name: Kelly
Trailer: Trails West
Oregon
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Originally Posted by Raspy View Post
Andrew,

Just wondering if the safety chains failed too, or were they not there at all?

As far a fixing a gaping hole, you may be able to make a mold off the good other side and use that mold up against on the bad side where the hole is. This technique is sometimes used with boats and allows a complex curved shape to be easily duplicated or large open holes to be closed. Also, the inside of the mold you make describes the outside finish of the new built up area, so the patch comes out pretty nice and requires less sanding and filling.
great advice, that is how I would also approach creating a patch to fit into the hole.
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Old 07-04-2018, 10:36 AM   #12
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Name: jagbor
Trailer: Trillium
British Columbia
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Thanks for the info everyone.....sorry for the delay in responding but computer/acct set up problems. I will check the coupler fork as well as ensure the pin is large enough to prevent "play to possibly allow trailer to pop off. Safety chains were installed/inspected and ripped off the trailer + truck. Fibreglassing myself=?......may give it a whirl but am just going to drive from Vanc Island to Toronto as of July 9. I have pics of the damage on my cell phone but do not know how to get them attached to this thread....any help there would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 07-04-2018, 10:40 AM   #13
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Name: jagbor
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Also-i did manage to grab most of the pieces off of the front corner and have them at home.
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Old 07-04-2018, 10:52 AM   #14
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Go here:
Posting Photos - Escape Trailer Owners Community


It's a different forum, but the process of posting photos is the same as here.
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Old 07-04-2018, 11:09 AM   #15
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Name: jagbor
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Thanks Glenn.
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Old 07-04-2018, 02:06 PM   #16
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Name: jagbor
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Glenn.....
I followed your steps and see I have an attachment waiting but I can't find the Submit button or Preview/Submit? Can I call you?
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Old 07-04-2018, 02:15 PM   #17
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Once you have uploaded your picture and closed the browse window click on preview to make sure you've done what you intended and then submit.
It's at the bottom of the message panel.
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Old 07-04-2018, 03:57 PM   #18
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You'd have to form a backer in the correct shape, then lay impregnated FG mat over it. Edge blending can be interesting. If you must travel with it as-is, maybe get something stabilized inside the hole and lay strips of Gorilla tape over it to close it up? Seems like it might hold for a while if nothing hits it.
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Old 07-07-2018, 11:59 AM   #19
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We had fibreglass work done on a 17’ Boler a number of years ago at a large boat repair business in the Sydney area. I do not recall the name of the place we used. An excellent job was done, the repair was not noticeable and it was not painted as they matched up the fibreglass to the rest of the trailer.
We had insurance through our house insurance that also covered the Boler as an add on and the insurance paid for the repair minus the deductible. They did require a couple of estimates before approval of payment and we ended up going with the company we had the most faith in. One boat company wanted to paint the bottom half of the Boler as they did not think they could match the fibreglass colour. We did not go with that company!! As I recall, it was not an inexpensive fix. Best of luck.
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Old 07-07-2018, 01:01 PM   #20
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Name: Jim and Kathie
Trailer: 1979 Surfside
British Columbia
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Hi! Yes our 13' Trillium came off our hitch and decided to ride along side our truck (the last check indid was put the leg down/crank to see if the tongue came off the ball/it did notvso I thought I was good to go........NOT!)
Anyways.....the front corner above and belowv the belly band now need fibreglassing due to a large gaping hole. Has anyone done anything like this or know where I could take it for repair that won't charge 3 arms/4 legs?
Thanks for any help......I live on Vancouver Island, BC. (The other option might be to find a junk trillium of years ____________ and cut out the entire corner I need).
We had smaller repairs done by Randy Phillips, 5055 Culverton Road, Duncan. Good guy - does great work! 250 746-4777. We are very happy with what he did for us. Kathie Fielding, 250 749-4083
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