Trillium 4500 vs triple e surfside !

[spaghettiroad]

Ok I want to get ONE of these and GUT it. Looking to put kitchen in the front and larger bed/sitting area LENGTHWISE in the back; larger bed set up this way is a MUST HAVE. Which should I hunt down?....
Lighter the trailer the better. Any suggestions ? THANKS !

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by spaghettiroad

Ok I want to get ONE of these and GUT it.

One of the most terrifying statements to appear on the forum. Some time after these gutted trailers come up for sale, cheap. The structural integrity is long gone and even the trailer has lost the will to live.

[thrifty bill]

Gut it? Then get the Surfside. The entire interior on the Trillium is fiberglassed in, to the outer shell, to other cabinets and to the floor. Removing stuff would be quite difficult.

A Scamp or Casita rivets their cabinets into place, making them easier to remove.

On a full gut, the Trillium 1300 and 4500s would be my last choices. Hunter Compact, Scamp, Casita, Amergo, etc. are better gut candidates. Think wood interior (not just cabinet doors, but the entire cabinets).

Scamps are probably the most plentiful, so I would look for one of them, even though the cabinets are fiberglass on the standard model. How do you plan to support the shell and the roof? The cabinets, closet, benches, kitchen, etc., inside a fiberglass trailer are critical to the structure. The outer fiberglass shell is actually on the flimsy side. Think a bowl of jello going down the road (if the interior support is removed). Read one of the threads on roof collapse. Typically its snow load on top of the trailer.

Want a long bed? The Hunter Compact would be an interesting choice. Bed already runs lengthwise, rather than side to side like most FG trailers.

Trilliums also tend to sell for a premium, making it an expensive project. There was someone selling just the shell of a Scamp, cheap as I recall. Scamps tend to be lighter in weight than Trillium.

[spaghettiroad]

Again my two choices are Trillium 4500 VS Triple E Surfside. Anybody able to Share some history on the Surfside ? Think I've ruled out the Trillium
As for support same concept on either side just narrower and purposed for storage, heater perhaps microwave; undecided

[spaghettiroad]

I liked this design that includes support

[thrifty bill]

All that wood looks VERY heavy. One reason Scamp and others use fiberglass interior, its light.

[spaghettiroad]

Agreed
I like design. Materials will put weight into mind of course.

[Azurko]

I have both in my fleet. The Surfside is smaller with wood interior. It will be easy to gut. The 4500 have bigger windows and will require some fiberglass cutting to get the interior structure out. There is a guy in Nanaimo that I can get you in touch with who might sell you a 4500 if you want to start soon.

I think the 4500's are a better built trailer. Looks like you are skilled and have cool design ideas so I look forward to seeing how it comes out.
Give me a call if you want me to video the interiors or you have questions about differences.
I am also having an open house in Seattle this weekend Saturday the 15th.
My website has pictures of both trailers.
Gogocamper.com
I just took the front bathroom out of a 4500 for a couple and can speak to that process as well.
Sounds fun!
Azur

[toderash]

I have a '77 Surfside, have guttedn & rebuilt it. If anything, the shell is better-supported after the rebuild than before. The gut/rebuild isn't a straight-out bad idea, it's just that you have to account for support in the redesign. Basically where you have a floor-to-ceiling structure, you need to keep something there in the redesign - one on each side where the closet is and the fridge/heater/storage space).


The most difficult part of your remodel will be dealing with the heater. I removed mine, which took some figuring how it was installed & then some cutting and maneuvering to remove. The issue then is that you have to fill the hole in the fibreglass and patch it. If that doesn't scare you, then go for the rebuild! The space gained from not replacing that hold heater is significant. I used a chunk of it for a larger refrigerator.



In my remodel, I managed to get a queen-sized bed into the back and still keep the kitchenette along the side. This means the foot of the bed is a bit narrower than the head, but worked out fine for my project. Not sure if it matters to you, but moving the kitchenette to the front is likely to increase the tongue weight.

[Old Macdonalds]

I agree with Toderash. Structure is key in the Surfsides. The roof must be supported. I am currently reinforcing our roof which has caved slightly. Probably saw a snow load before we got it. As mentioned the wood interior is not glassed in, which I believe may be responsible for body sag on the door side. The fridge side has tabbing around the vents that seem to add structure as can be tied to the closet with fasteners. However, they used very flimsy wood on the door side closet.. not adequate for the roof even with reinforcement around the door so it has bulged out close to the window edge. This was present even before I removed the closet to enlarge the bed and was apparent when I could not use the same length of wood to support the roof during the tear out as I had on the other side without seriously pushing up on the roof and even then couldn't jam it in. Have had to do a gradual lift on that side. I plan on building support and glassing it to the shell once I have pulled the side back into position. Am hoping this will correct the door fit as well. There is an excellent thread by peterh from Oregon about how he reinforced his Surfside, though I think they kept the side kitchen. They did make Surfsides with the front kitchen layout and closets on the side so you will still need to maintain the structural integrity if you are doing a reno.

[spaghettiroad]

That's awesome info gentlemen and I appreciate the time and effort in the responses.

[spaghettiroad]

Now I'm thinking.....Can shorter side of couch/bed be made longer. In other words the counter/box trimmed down in size to and couch box frame be made larger on the right side to match left side thus avoiding a front kitchen revamp?

[Old Macdonalds]

That is what I am doing with our Surfside. Husband is tired of getting squashed against the wall and we cook outside anyway. Gotten rid of the stove and will move over the counter. put in the sink and probably figure out a nook for the microwave. Have a small induction hotplate as well but will need to hook up for electrical when we camp, for both. Otherwise, butane stove or mini bbq on the picnic table. Going to make the bed permanent with room for the dogs to sleep underneath and turning the front gaucho into a dinette. Ours had no upper cabinets so am adding those to help support the roof. Trailer is currently gutted to redo the floor so long term project for us.

[jschoffer]

This is how ours is done. We purchased it this way. There's only 2 of us and the dog, but it works great. The bed is quite large.

[Khalm]

Hi we have a surfside too. Pretty solid.
Want to do your dinette mod on the bunk area. Do you have advice. Is there a way to still keep the upper bunk

Also… your cabinets/ shelving above the counter top

How did you fasten. I have the wall carpeting that is In Awesome condition. Did you rivet it or fasten to existing cabinet.

I will see if can attach pic

[Khalm]

In process of removing wallpaper lol. Keeping stainless stark cabinets and painting rest. Upgraded flooring too

[David Tilston]

I'm sorry Keltir, I am responding to the original post from three years ago by spaghettiroad.

The Surfside is available in a front kitchen version. This is one of my favorite trailers that is not a Trillium. The furniture is all fibreglass, not wood. It has a king-sized bed, and a huge closet.

https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...hen-24887.html
https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...0-a-69675.html
https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...hen-64258.html

[Khalm]

Well a few changes new countertop. Shiplap abd started the bunk to dinettes conversion. Waiting for a lagun arm to mount the table top to