1978 Beachcomber in Alberta

[Lisa_Pizza]

Hello Everyone,

My partner and I are starting a from-the-ground-up restoration of our 1978 beachcomber purchased in Alberta. I hope to document every step of the repair and utilize the incredible wealth of knowledge available from people on this site.

I'm posting most of the process on Instagram @bushcomber.trailer

There are some attached images, I'm not sure how to embed them in the post...!

[David Tilston]

Attaching the pictures inserts them at the end of the post. Once attached, you can use the paper clip icon to put them in a specific location.

I'm also in Alberta, (Calgary). If you want some pointers on fibreglass repair, I have some experiance.

I don't have Instagram.

[Lisa_Pizza]

Hi David! That's wonderful I am in Calgary too Nice...now I can attach some pictures.

I'm hoping to utilize the Protospace in Calgary (if you are a part of it?)

That would be wonderful...we will need to do extensive fibreglass repairs the front has suffered from being pulled around the oil fields for the last two decades.

As you can see, the bottom of the front has a crack and the fibreglass is thinned from gravel.


We won't be able to see the full extent of the damage but demo has been underway for the last few weeks.
A sneak peek at a water damage+mould+crack combo at the rear of the trailer



My main concern is getting it structurally sound, there's a lot to do!

[David Tilston]

I have never heard of Protospace before. I checked out their web site. Very interesting. How do they schedule the large projects bay? I see that they expect you to be out the same day. The kind of work you will be doing will take longer than that.

Fibreglass is not your primary problem. What you show in your first picture could possibly be taken care of in one day. The rest of it will be longer. I would start with some support jacks to get the roof on it's way to settling into the correct shape. Something like this:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/45-t...t/PA0008822124
I would wait till Princess Auto has a sale on these, or just use 2x2's cut to size.

What are your plans? Do you have a floor plan in mind? Are you looking to do a restoration, or a new, orignal design? How many people are you planning to accomadate? Are you looking to do this on the cheap, or do you have excess funds?

Please note that Trillium trailers are my area of expertise. A very different beast.

That said, I do have some ideas for you. I see fibreglass insulation. It looks like the structure was all in the wood framing and the fibreglass. I would sugest going for SIP, (structural insulated panel) construction. This is a sandiwch of fibreglass, (the shell) foam and another structureal layer, (FRP, (fiberglass reinforced plastic)?). This is much stronger than the individual components.

[Dudley]

It looks very much like a Ventura and the roof is very weak design, When I did our Ventura, I added 3/4" aluminum square tubing that I pre-arched and screwed to the sides of the roof crossmembers to get the roof back to a arched profile. The cupboards and closet on the Ventura also added support to the roof and without them its very weak. If storing outside, prop the roof up with 2x4's to give some support for snow load. Good luck on the redo and keep the pics coming

[pault]

Welcome Lisa!
I also live in Calgary and rebuilt my fiberglass 1966 Buco a couple of years ago. I did the same thing, stripped to the shell due to extensive rot under the windows, new framing and had to reform the sagged roof due to snow loads over the years.
Dave T suggestion of the spreader from Princess Auto is a good one, or do like I did and use a small jack like one from a car, stand a T made from 2x4 and slowly reform the roof over a couple of weeks. Dudley's suggestion to add extra supports to the original roof framing is also a good idea.
Princess Auto is also a great source for lights, wiring and connectors as well as almost anything you may need to rebuild your trailer. Decent prices too if you can wait for sales.
A good source for fiberglass repair products is Industrial Paints and Plastics here in Calgary.

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by pault

Welcome Lisa!
I also live in Calgary and rebuilt my fiberglass 1966 Buco a couple of years ago. I did the same thing, stripped to the shell due to extensive rot under the windows, new framing and had to reform the sagged roof due to snow loads over the years.

Paul, Please start a thread about your Buco. I have never even heard of that trailer.

[Dudley]

I agree, please start a thread on your Buco, inquiring minds would like to see more , especially that it was made in Calgary from what I found.

[pault]

Not trying to hijack Lisa's post, but if you search buco on this forum, there are some pics of my trailer before and after the rebuild. Look on pages 45 and 46? of the show us your rigs section. I don't know what else to call it. I have only seen pictures of two others. One was posted on this forum, spotted on Vancouver island 2-3 years ago and another was for sale on Kijji this summer. Here are a couple of pictures of what it looks like now.

[Lisa_Pizza]

Heyyyy there,

We are trying to demo the floor after getting all the wood framing pieces off... but the floor is impossible to get off. Do you have any ideas?

[Lisa_Pizza]

Also, thanks for this tip! I got some used jack-alls from someone and am proceeding to fix the roof!

[Lisa_Pizza]

This is super cute! I'm so glad Calgary is full of these beautiful fiberglass trailers

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Pizza

Heyyyy there,

We are trying to demo the floor after getting all the wood framing pieces off... but the floor is impossible to get off. Do you have any ideas?

I assume that the plywood on the floor is glued to the outside shell, (is there an outside shell under the trailer?). If so get on your N95 mask, gloves, and bunny suit, (protective cover all):
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/hdx...-xl/1001536796

Grab a grinder. I'm fond of flap disks:
https://www.princessauto.com/en/4-1-...t/PA0009057894

That is a very rough disk. There are smoother ones, but that one will remove a lot of plywood fast. I would go till I see the fibreglass shell, then move on. Leave some plywood and clean it up with a finer grit disk:
https://www.princessauto.com/en/4-1-...t/PA0009057910

If you don't have a grinder, you should:
https://www.princessauto.com/en/4-1-...t/PA0008551244

This will be a long and dirty job. Do your best not to grind through the fibreglass. If you do, that can be fixed.

Fibreglass work is like mud pies. Lay down the glass. If you lay down too much, grind it off. If you grind off too much lay more down. Repeat.

[pault]

Lisa, be very careful when reforming the roof. Too fast and you could cause cracking on the 44 year old fiberglass. What I did was spend close to a week lifting the roof about 1 1/2 inches in the middle. Because I was working on it on my days off, what I did was go inside, lift the roof about 3/8 to 1/2 inch then leave it all day and then do the same the next day until I had it about back to the original height. Keep eyeballing the roof exterior until it looks about right. Extra bracing on the roof framing is a must if you want it to stay in the original position. Once you get the interior cabinets and closets in, they will also help brace the roof.
I second what Dave T said about the protective gear. The disposable body suits are fairly cheap and a good respirator is a must when grinding. Don't rely on those cheap paper ones they sell at the paint departments of the big stores. Minimum N95 or get a good rubber/vinyl half mask respirator with proper filters for the job you are doing. You don't want to mess around with mould or fiberglass dust! Make sure the masks seal snugly to your face. Good eye protection when grinding is also a must. Fiberglass dust is very fine and gets everywhere. A good idea is to use some masking tape around your ankles and wrists to help seal out the dust.
There are lots of videos and online info available that show how to do fiberglass repairs.

[CV_Beachcomber]

Hi Lisa,
I recently finished extensive fiberglass work on my Beachcomber B15. There are some great threads on the forum for fiberglass work so I wont touch on that.

If you are considering separating the upper/lower shells for fiberglass work on the floor, I would recommend against it. I had extensive damage (frame pushed through multiple floor "pontoons", multiple holes) and I decided to separate the two halves before fiberglassing the shells back together into a single unit.

I would not recommend separating the two shells, if you are considering fiberglassing the shells together to remove the belly band I would recommend FG in multiple areas along the outside before removing the inner wood band. Your belly band looks in far better shape than mine when I bought it (it was overlapping and the wood had fully rotted out on the inside) and would fairly easy to fiberglass over.

I would recommend a good shop vac (with disposable bags) and a grinder for the floor removal/all fiberglass work.

It would also be worthwhile to have a body shop to straighten and reinforce the frame. Removing the shell is fairly easy with a few jacks (it is very light).

There are plenty of good threads, and some Instagram accounts that cover all the issues you might encounter

[robeye]

Wow what a lot of work.. Ok I've restored three FG trailers .. All with posts on this forum.. I'm glad none of them had wood framing ! I'm looking for another one as a project But I'm going to avoid those with wood.. That said ..Princess Auto is your friend.. I shop at the North East location.

[Lisa_Pizza]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for all the responses to this thread... grateful for the words of advice on this project.

I would like to do something to support the roof temporarily for the coming snow fall. I took off all the interior framing and the roof is sagging quite bad now, the floor was very difficult to take off since it was rotting and it was all fiber glassed to the bottom of the camper. Mostly a crowbar and elbow grease for three days.

So I've noticed while doing it that the fibreglass frame is being held onto the trailer by steel pins that went through the wood frame on the floor under the plywood.

I plan on installing some temporary ribs with a couple of jack all's to prop the ceiling but I'm guessing I'll have to make a temporary floor as well so that it doesn't puncture the floor.

Someone mentioned grinding off all the floor fiberglass leftovers... is this really necessary?

I haven't taken off the metal frame around the door because I'm worried it will crack more.

Now I'm curious if I should hold out on doing the frame for the ceiling and floor in aluminium...

I was thinking a basic square structure around the interior edges and a couple of "main ribs", around the door, and possibly a couple of "main floor joists" where it would be bolted to the trailer frame.

I haven't welded before but I've met a couple of people that are excited to help if I need it with welding.

Ill upload some photos and a simple sketch of what I'm thinkin..



P.S. this is Lisa's partner Sarah talking, we share the account.

[Lisa_Pizza]

This website isn't the best when uploading photos but if anyone wants to see more updates feel free to look on our Instagram..

https://www.instagram.com/bushcomber.trailer/

[CV_Beachcomber]

It all depends on what work you plan on doing this winter?
I bought a small vehicle shelter from Cdn Tire to since the west coast is more rainy than snowy.
If you are not planning on working the inside of the trailer over the winter, than a few 2x4s in the floor pontoons and some plywood will allow you to add floor support, then add some roof support to prevent the shells from bowing outward from snow weight (a single kerfed/curved 2x4 lengthwise for the roof should do the trick). If you are planning on working on the floor, but need to support the roof you can build some wood "scaffolding" (assuming the trailer is undercover) that is both inside/outside of the trailer (I did this when I removed the bottom shell to work on it inside my garage). The wooden scaffolding consisted of 2x4's cross braced outside the trailer, going through the windows/door, with additional raised 2x4s that supported the upper shell is a solution.
I can post some pictures if you want?

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by Lisa_Pizza

Someone mentioned grinding off all the floor fiberglass leftovers... is this really necessary?

Sarah, that was me. It is a good idea to take it down to the fibreglass. If you use a grinder, or belt sander, or elbow grease, that is up to you. I like a grinder because it is fast, if a bit dangerous.

Originally Posted by Lisa_Pizza

I haven't taken off the metal frame around the door because I'm worried it will crack more.

Metal frame? I need to see pictures of that.

Originally Posted by Lisa_Pizza

Now I'm curious if I should hold out on doing the frame for the ceiling and floor in aluminium...

Because of the different expansion coefficients between fibreglass and metals, I like the idea of using fibreglass framing on fibreglass:
https://www.grainger.ca/en/category/...erials/c/21113

Originally Posted by Lisa_Pizza

P.S. this is Lisa's partner Sarah talking, we share the account.

Hi Sarah!