Trillium 4500 Belly Band Re-Do

[Shangie]

OMG what a worthwhile project this was! Between Dave Tilston's generous advice and CheaperJeepers UTUBE video on Trillium Belly Band Repair, we managed to get this done and couldn't be happier with the results. Knowing this source of leaks is gone is priceless peace of mind and, in my opinion, it looks better but to each their own on that subject.

Here's how it went for us: We experienced many delays between steps due to waiting for appropriate fiberglass and paint curing temps. It was not a difficult job by any means if you have the needed tools and patience. I've never done bodywork in my life and the job came out great. Hubs sawed out the steel plates and I did most of the fiberglass repair and finishing from there except for the rear where he did the work of adhering the wood to the fiberglass like CheaperJeeper did.

The picture you see here shows the first bit of fiberglass repair after the steel plates came out- will post the final result once I take some pictures of those.

After doing this job I would encourage anyone not to be afraid to tackle it if you know how to use the tools involved or are willing to learn how to and have the time. I would say this is a full weekend job for a newbie to body work due to the many steps involved and the corrections you will more than likely have to make to get the surface looking good for final paint.

Once you lay the different types of fiberglass the rest is all about properly sanding and fine tuning it and then finishing with the correct filling primer and paint. I recommend you don't skimp on quality sanding paper/discs and have plenty on hand. I went through a lot of 80 grit to take down overfill. For me it was better to do more coats than to take away heavier ones but that might of been because I was a terrified amateur! Use safety equipment (masks for dust, gloves, etc) and high quality marine or auto "filler" primer and paint and and just have fun with it.

Remember, skimping on proper supplies can result in failure or disappointing results so don't go there. Supplies ran us around $220 and we had all the needed tools so we felt this was not too expensive a job for such an incredible improvement.

[thrifty bill]

I found a flap sanding disc on a side grinder quickly did the prep work. I only used one disc (from Harbor Freight) for the entire job.

[ROBERT ONEILL]

Our 4500 just had some of the belly band pop loose in the drivers side below the kitchen window. We live in the desert so not much rain so it hasn't been a problem until now. I am wondering if you put the aluminum belly band with the plastic insert back on when you finished removing the metal tabs in the fiberglass and filling the holes? I don't do body work as I don't do a good job on painting and it looks terrible when I am done, runs in the paint, no shine in some areas, every known flaws possible are there. Could you post some more photos of the work in progress and on the finished project please. I like the work you have done. Did you only paint the belly band area and match the paint or contrasting color?

[Camprr]

Great job! We did our belly band repair last year. What did you use to cover the repair once complete? I have heard of people painting and others adding a 4 inch chrome strip around.

[thrifty bill]

It's detailed in a post I put up earlier, can be found in the mfrs section. Painted to match, and then a 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inch wide body side molding to cover the repair/paint mismatch.

Amazon, eBay, or your favorite body shop can supply a myriad of body side molding options.

Reattaching the old band is foolish IMO as it creates another possible entry point for water. Even in the desert SW, you can see rain. Right now, in SW Utah, we are at about 300% of normal rainfall this winter. Grass is growing in the BLM desert lands. When you put this much time into repairing the belly band area, breaching your repair with mounting screws is not something I would do. Body side stick on molding creates the same "look" without breaching the repair.


First picture shows my attempt at paint match. Second picture is an extreme closeup of the body side molding, and the last picture is a 10 foot away view. IMO, it keeps the same look without the nasty design flaws.

[spidermoore]

Originally Posted by thrifty bill

It's detailed in a post I put up earlier, can be found in the mfrs section. Painted to match, and then a 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inch wide body side molding to cover the repair/paint mismatch.

Amazon, eBay, or your favorite body shop can supply a myriad of body side molding options.

Reattaching the old band is foolish IMO as it creates another possible entry point for water. Even in the desert SW, you can see rain. Right now, in SW Utah, we are at about 300% of normal rainfall this winter. Grass is growing in the BLM desert lands. When you put this much time into repairing the belly band area, breaching your repair with mounting screws is not something I would do. Body side stick on molding creates the same "look" without breaching the repair.


First picture shows my attempt at paint match. Second picture is an extreme closeup of the body side molding, and the last picture is a 10 foot away view. IMO, it keeps the same look without the nasty design flaws.

Hey, just an aside thrifty bill, I noticed in your last picture that you have the old trailer jack mount empty, and a new trailer jack mounted behind it.


By removing the retaining ring on the new unit, you can put it on the factory mount... or at least I was able to with my Trillium 4500.

[spidermoore]

Here it is

[thrifty bill]

Yes, the mechanism was gone, just the mount was left. So I mounted a replacement. The old plate was welded on, and the new one didn't match up.