Hallo

[AnimalisAnimus]

My wife and I just got a original Trillium camper and are trying to find places, preferably local, to help get it restored and/or potentially upgraded. We don't mind doing some of the repairs and restoration but i also expect we wont have time for many of the major projects it will take to get up to working order let along some of the upgrades and improvements I've got in mind(solar, AC, etc). We live in eastern KY and love to go camping/hiking among travelling far and wide. I've submitted several inquiries to some standard RV/camper places but and always looking for better places and new ideas. Looking forward to connecting with this like minded community and learning from those who have "been there and done that" already. Thanks for your time and consideration.

[Phil Underwood]

welcome to the forum.. lets see some pics of your camper

[David Tilston]

Lots of Trillium resources here. I second the request for pics.

If you want to share your serial number, check out this thread:
Serial numbers on a Trillium

[Borden]

Hope you enjoy the site as much as we have

[AnimalisAnimus]

Sorry a lot has changed since i first started this thread. Finally got the house done and moved in and just got the Trillium on site with us so I'm actually able to get a good look at it let alone start working on it. Hopefully in the coming weeks I'll actually start posting some images and be able (with everyone's help) to narrow down what I've got and what I need to do to get it in good working order let alone upgraded to modern amenities or features.

[AnimalisAnimus]

Please send me any advice or details you may know about what I'm dealing with here. First plan is to get it sealed and functional. Might shoot for original restoration if possible but not sure how much work let alone chance there is in that.

[David Tilston]

Thank you for the picture. Some observations:
1) You will need a front rock guard. The original ones are very hard to find, but Joe Thoen at Trillium / Outback, (https://trilliumtrailers.com/) sells a fibreglass version with gas struts. It's not on their parts page, so it is probably expensive.
- On edit, (I hit post after you posted more pictures).
I see that you do have the rock guard. However, I don't see the frame that the guard mounts to. It is a U-shaped partial frame that includes the sides and top, but not the bottom. If you don't have that, I can send lots of pictures of what it looks like. Maybe you can recreate it from aluminum angle. Or is it still installed on the outside of the front window?

2) The fact that you have a roadside logo on your trailer indicates that you have an icebox, not a fridge. If you install a 12VDC compressor fridge, you don't have to destroy the logo.

3) It looks like your trailer had a furnace, but, since the exhaust hole is cut below the step in the side, not the factory Duo-Therm 65512-2. I'm a bit of a nut, but were I you, I would fix the exhaust hole and install the Duo-Therm gravity furnace. They are still sold second hand. They’re not very efficient, but there are no electrical requirements.

More observations for the new pictures:
4) Your Ensolite is detached in places. This can easily be fixed. Detach it till there is a flap. Clean it and the fibreglass. Paint with contact cement. Follow the instruction to wait till it is dry then reattach at the furthest point first and smooth it into full contact with the fibreglass shell. Ensolite is, in my opinion, the best insulation for fibreglass trailers. It well worth saving.

5) The seams between the Ensolite pieces is warped. Also easily fixed. Pull it off, (it snaps back on) and boil it. This will soften it up and allow it to be flattened out.

6) No door on your closet. Is it anywhere? The reason I ask is that on the inside of that door is where the data sheet for the trailer is found. I would ask that you post a picture of that data sheet. I have a bit of a resarch project regarding Trillium serial numbers:
https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...tml#post680419

7) You will need new foam and a cover for the back of the front bench / upper bunk, (the poles in your closet are the supports for the upper bunk). I can give you the dimensions of the foam for that.

8) Your fire escape window is screwed shut. Not much of an escape route.

Other than those observations, there are five items that all Trillium restorations involve:
1) Window frames: The wood on the inside of the trailer, that the windows are screwed into, are exposed to condensation and commonly rot. The wood is ¾" plywood. Nothing special. If it is rotted, then it easily separates from the Ensolite. If it is not rotted, I would just leave it.
I did a thread on this:
https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...ead-65342.html

2) Mounting Bolts: The six bolts that hold the coach to the frame will need to be replaced. Most will have rusted through, or nearly through. I replace them with stainless steel bolts and stainless nylock nuts with nylon washers to prevent galvanic corrosion. I also install them with the nuts inside the trailer and the heads of the bolts on the outside. This is to keep the threads out of the weather.

3) Trailer Axle: The torsion axle on Trilliums lasts about 20 years. After that it either collapses as the rubber in the axle crumbles, or the rubber hardens and no longer flexes. Either way, a new one is in order. I would go with one that has brakes.

4) The Door: The door is screwed into thin sections of plywood that have rotted out long ago. There are several approaches to this. Currently my preferred method is to drill a ½" hole where screws go through the body and fill that space with resin and fibreglass, to give new screws something to bite into. Maybe use plastic screw anchors for something softer for the screws to screw into.

5) The Belly Band: This is the biggest job. The way that Trillium joined the top and bottom halves of the trailer is with metal plates inside the trailer that the belly band rivets into. Once the top and bottom halves line up, Trillium ran a strip of fibreglass and resin over the metal plates on the inside. In time the plates rust out, or multiple freeze thaw cycles cause water caught in the pocket that the metal plate sits in to expand and slowly rip the fibreglass till it leaks into the inside of the trailer. I have done a couple of threads on the repair that I did:
On a 1300:
https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...ead-58763.html
On a 4500:
https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...ead-59580.html

I hope that helps.

[AnimalisAnimus]

Oh my god thank you so much! this is so helpful. I've got so far to go but I'm excited to get working on it.

[AnimalisAnimus]

And definitely keep it coming. Any specific brands or items you know fit or work best/better. I'm trying to compile a list of items on amazon and lowes to get everything together. I'm off tomorrow and will look for the door/serial number/schematics but I do think that may be gone.

I had looked at several videos about the band, door and the windows all showing and suggesting exactly what you did. My plan is to tackle all those first to make sure I can then focus on the inside without worry.

Please send pictures of this rock guard and any and all details. I've done some work on cars but never anything like this so I haven't the foggiest about the furnace thingy or what you mean a bout the Ensolite Or what I will need to do come wiring time (hopefully it's just the fixtures need replacing). If you have pictures or links to any of these things, please forward so I can start weighing my options let alone know what I'll need to start saving up for.

Torsion axel, is that what the little wheel at the front attaches to(I think the wheel is broken anyway)?

Again thank you so much for the insights!

[David Tilston]

For an idea of what Trillium / Outback's rock guard looks like, take a look at their web site:
https://trilliumtrailers.com/previous-builds/

Ensolite is the liner on the walls of your trailer. The white ish stuff with a black foam under the white.

Torsion axle is what the wheels on your trailer are connected to. The thing on your tongue is a tongue jack, with a wheel.

Trillium wiring can get rough, depending on the ambient humidity. The fixtures are probably fine.

[AnimalisAnimus]

Ok, so if I understand correctly, the rock guard attaching points on the window are show in one of these pictures. I didn't get enough time to really inspect the guard and the points of attachment so I don't know how functional it may or may not be, I'm assuming not since it wasn't attached. Please send some of those pictures and I'll have a better idea of whether or not it's a repair I think I'm up for. I'd certainly prefer to be able to reuse it. Or should I just look into getting something like what the outback has?

So the Ensolite can really just be cleaned and reattached? That would be awesome!

I've included picture with the RVIA number listed but the schematics door is definitely long gone it would seem. Any idea where I could find out for sure which make/model I'm dealing with here and where I could get a layout of the schematics for it? Also, what is the tank (see picture) under the main bed bored on the passenger side.

Torsion axle is what the wheels on your trailer are connected to. The tongue jack is obviously missing a handle and I believe the whole thing is welded to it. Are there replacement parts I can easily get to fix or am I just going to have to get another all together?

It's just going to be the wife, me and two dogs. Any specific suggestions as far as changes or upgrades you think would be best or beneficial in place of the bunk/bench or any of it really.

Again, I can't thank you enough for all the insights you've given me.

[thrifty bill]

Tip:

Go to the manufacturers section of this forum (upper right). Then choose Trillium. That will bring you hundreds of threads on the Trillium, including dozens from David.

I followed David's advice and redid my Trillium. Body to frame bolts are first. Then re-do the windows. Door and belly band follow that.

For me, up next was sorting out the electrical. LED lights can be bought on Amazon for very little. They only draw 10% of the original lights power wise. I don't care for replacement bulbs, they are just too unreliable. I melted one fixture using a LED replacement bulb.

Rather than repeating the same discussion over and over again, I found I learned more by reading older posts.


Read the threads FIRST, then start working.


One of my mistakes was cleaning and polishing the outside. It gets exciting, but I should have done that LAST, certainly after the belly band was done.

Also, keep an eye out for Ford Ranger wheels, they will dress up the trailer a lot.