13' Casita Trailer Off Restoration.

[CasitaInFL]

Originally Posted by EricAllyn

Great Job! what pressure did you paint at, and did you thin, and if so, what ratio. I have sprayed many of my wood projects, lacquer, polyurethane, and spar varnish, so may try to paint if the gel coat doesn't look good after I put it on and sand it.

To be honest I couldn't tell you exactly. Once I got the gun dialed in, I just left all the dials and adjustments the same for the most part. I know the instructions on the gun said max PSI is 10. I think that is at the tip of the gun because I couldn't get the paint to atomize and lay down flat untill I got the pressure up around 35-40psi at the gun.

I used Interlux Bright side paint which they tell you to buy their specialty thinner if you are going to spray it. If you read the chemical content on it, you can see it is just Xylene. So instead of buying a little one for $25, you can go to Home Depot and get a gallon of it for less money. You use a ton of it cleaning out the gun and stuff when you are done. I thinned the paint a hair more than 10% with the Xylene as it seemed to flow best at that ratio when practicing on the door.

I am going to gel coat all the interior pieces next.

[CasitaInFL]

Pictures!

[Jon in AZ]

Absolutely spectacular, Bill! That's one of my favorite color combinations.

Big question: one color or two on the door?
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...our-25293.html

[CasitaInFL]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Absolutely spectacular, Bill! That's one of my favorite color combinations.

Big question: one color or two on the door?
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...our-25293.html

I am going to paint the door the beige bottom color. I am not going to continue the two tone in a line across the door. I guess it ultimately comes down to personal preference. However, not doing the two tone door is quite a bit less work. The belly band stops at either side of the door on my Casita, so continuing that line would be a little awkward IMO. I really don't think you can go wrong either way if done properly though.

So now I will be working on restoring the windows and getting them back in. Also will be fixing/modifying all the interior fiber glass pieces then getting them ready to be gel coated white. AKA a bunch of more boring labor intensive work. I will take some pictures of what I do for the windows, as I am sure many are interested in that. I don't really have a plan yet, i just know the old windows cant go back in looking like they did lol...

In the meantime, here are a few teaser pics of some of the stuff in the works. Still working out the engineering on some of it, but I am pretty sure it will all come together in the end.

Left over material from a wood floor installation I am going to try to use for the cabinet doors.

3 x 280W monocrystalllin panels. Yes I know, I've been told it can't be done...

Inverter/charger and electronics for solar panels and batteries (two 12V Trojan T-1275).

[stude]

Originally Posted by CasitaInFL

To be honest I couldn't tell you exactly. Once I got the gun dialed in, I just left all the dials and adjustments the same for the most part. I know the instructions on the gun said max PSI is 10. I think that is at the tip of the gun because I couldn't get the paint to atomize and lay down flat untill I got the pressure up around 35-40psi at the gun.

I used Interlux Bright side paint which they tell you to buy their specialty thinner if you are going to spray it. If you read the chemical content on it, you can see it is just Xylene. So instead of buying a little one for $25, you can go to Home Depot and get a gallon of it for less money. You use a ton of it cleaning out the gun and stuff when you are done. I thinned the paint a hair more than 10% with the Xylene as it seemed to flow best at that ratio when practicing on the door.

I am going to gel coat all the interior pieces next.

:your going to become the maytag man for all of us. when my wife finished painting she used Acetone or Laquer thinner for cleaning her paint guns never had a problem. All gone now as we sold the house and moved to an apartment.
Stude

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by CasitaInFL

I am going to paint the door the beige bottom color. I am not going to continue the two tone in a line across the door. I guess it ultimately comes down to personal preference. However, not doing the two tone door is quite a bit less work. The belly band stops at either side of the door on my Casita, so continuing that line would be a little awkward IMO. I really don't think you can go wrong either way if done properly though...

The best two-tone door I've seen had a silver stripe decal the same width as the belly band across the transition. The door practically disappeared when closed.

But yup, definitely more work. No wrong answers, as you say!

[Ruth C.]

All of this snowballed from deciding to put in new flooring?! Remind me to leave our carpet as in!!
Absolutely beautiful!

[rbryan]

Originally Posted by CasitaInFL

3 x 280W monocrystalllin panels. Yes I know, I've been told it can't be done.

Let me guess - some sort of fold out mount, like a tri-fold?

I'm curious as to why that amount of solar though. Do you plan on a large battery bank to store power?

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by CasitaInFL

To be honest I couldn't tell you exactly. Once I got the gun dialed in, I just left all the dials and adjustments the same for the most part. I know the instructions on the gun said max PSI is 10. I think that is at the tip of the gun because I couldn't get the paint to atomize and lay down flat untill I got the pressure up around 35-40psi at the gun.

I used Interlux Bright side paint which they tell you to buy their specialty thinner if you are going to spray it. If you read the chemical content on it, you can see it is just Xylene. So instead of buying a little one for $25, you can go to Home Depot and get a gallon of it for less money. You use a ton of it cleaning out the gun and stuff when you are done. I thinned the paint a hair more than 10% with the Xylene as it seemed to flow best at that ratio when practicing on the door.

I am going to gel coat all the interior pieces next.

We just sprayed my trailer with Interlux Brightside. Different sprayer, we found it went on best without using any thinner. We needed to use a fine tip, the tips that put out a heavier spray produced too thick of a coat that sagged. So begin testing, with unthinned paint. We used some flattened cardboard boxes propped up to vertical position as a test surface. It took one quart of the Interlux Brightside to do one coat on the upper half of my Trailswest Campster. Xylene is good for the initial cleanup. You can also run regular paint thinner through the tip for a final cleaning of the pieces. Harbor Freight sells heavy weight nitrile gloves, color black thickness 9mil. You definitely should get a box of those for use on this paint job. The thinner blue nitrile gloves will quickly fall apart when used with Xylene. The blue ones will only last for a short time and then suddenly the gloves will split apart. That is going to be very annoying to have happen while you are in the middle of spraying.

Get some empty gallon size plastic paint containers with lids to use for your wash buckets. One for full strength xylene, the other for regular paint thinner as the final cleanup once the majority of the paint has been cleaned off with xylene. Also get a funnel so you can pour the waste liquid into a container with a screw top lid so you can take it to your local hazardous waste collection site for disposal.

[CasitaInFL]

Originally Posted by rbryan

Let me guess - some sort of fold out mount, like a tri-fold?

I'm curious as to why that amount of solar though. Do you plan on a large battery bank to store power?

Not quite...That was my original idea, but it ended up taking up too much roof space. The way that I am planning on doing it is to stack all three op top of each other in a rack, having the bottom two being on mounted on a set of 48'' heavy duty locking drawer sliders like you would find in the back of a pickup truck bed. This way they take up minimal space while mobile, and can be expanded once in place, and also create a small canopy over each side of the camper.

The reason I am trying to get so much solar on here is because I live in FL and it is HOT for all but 3 or 4 months a year. I do a lot of bike riding, kite boarding,hiking, tailgating ect. and plan on using the camper as a refuge from the heat four at least a couple hours a day. With this amount of solar, and 4 12V batteries, I should be able to run the 5000btu air conditioner I have for a couple hours to cool off without having to start up a generator. Also, the panels will be able to run the fridge/lights/accessories non-stop without ever having to hook up as long as there is good sun out and you aren't running the AC.

Lets be honest, I probably don't need all that solar and it probably is easier to just run my little Honda 2000 generator anytime I want to run the AC. I know this... At this point it is just something that I want to see if I can do, and I think it will actually be quite functional and a pretty neat feature.

I inherited this camper for free, so other than my time, I still have relatively little money into this project, considering what they sell for new. I got the solar panels dirt cheap from a local guy I know that does installations for a living (that is what started this, him telling me how cool it would be). The big money I am going to have in the system is batteries, charge controller, wiring and drawer slides. I will build the rack system out of aluminum tubing. I will also have to build a support system inside the camper to transfer the load of the rack and panels to the floor/frame of the camper. Good thing I am not charging myself a labor rate....

[rbryan]

Obviously it's not about which way is more practical, but about whether it can be done. Sounds cool, and I'm looking forward to watching it progress.

[k0wtz]

That is just fantasic. what a job!!

bob

[CasitaInFL]

Well, it looks like I will be putting the project on hold for at least a couple weeks. Tore something in my knee today and I can't walk or really get around at all. Stuck in bed at the moment and it's boring me out if my mind. I will be going to the doctor Monday. Pretty sure it's going to need surgery to fix as it feels similar to last time I did it. So the trailer will have to wait untill I can at least bear a little weight on my leg again.

Hopefully I can work on some of the interior pieces, cabinet doors and other little things as start to heal. We will see.... Until then, I will be living vicariously through some of the other builds on the site. Lots of internet time in my future I think. Lol

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by CasitaInFL

3 x 280W monocrystalllin panels. Yes I know, I've been told it can't be done...
Inverter/charger and electronics for solar panels and batteries....

Beefy MPPT set-up I am totally jealous! You'll do it.

I just put that Victron Monitor and Bluetooth dongle in my rig and it works great. Fun app to stare at.

Get well soon. Keep a pad and paper handy while you're icing that knee, those circuits will be building themselves in the back of your mind for sure!

[Gator Egg]

For years I drove by a Patriot sitting in a yard in my parents neighborhood, in Seminole. I watched as it whithered away. Finally, after completing the major work on my boat, had some free time, I made the decision I would try to save her. I knocked on the door and tryed to convince the guy who answered to sell it. He said the family wanted it. I stopped a couple more times over the months. Same answer. One trip past it was gone. I hope it was you or someone with the same plans.
Great job so far. Will be following your story.

[k0wtz]

bill bad news on your knee pretty disabling to say the least. we just don't want to give up sometimes.

after 2 major back surgeries time to slow down for me!

bob

[CasitaInFL]

So last Wednesday I had surgery to repair my meniscus in my left knee and tendon in my thumb. After the surgery, I developed a substantial pain in my calf and foot. My calf and foot we're slightly swollen, but I thought it was just built up fluid from my knee. The doctor told me I had a bakers cyst behind my knee that was likely causing the discomfort. I waited a couple days to see if it would pass, but it didn't. By Sunday, I was in excruciating pain that I couldn't bear anymore whenever my leg dropped below my heart. The blood would pool in my leg and couldn't get back out.

Had my fiance drop me off at the ER and they did an ultrasound on my leg and found I developed a blood clot in my leg, also know as a DVT (Deep vein thrombosis). Since then I have been unable to do pretty much anything. I am on blood thinners and untill the clot breaks down in my leg, I will be dealing with the pain in my leg, which is debilitating.

I am 32 years old, in great physical shape and have no history of this in my family. A blood clot was really the last thing on my mind. Since this has happened, I am finding out that these DVT's are often times misdiagnosed (like my bakers cyst) or go untreated causing permanent damage to the valves in the veins or even causing death if the clot breaks off and travels to the lungs. If I had waited longer, it could have taken my life. Since this has happened to me, I feel like I should make others aware so they can get the appropriate medical attention in a reasonable time to avoid permanent damage or death.

I guess that's just my public service announcement. I'm dying to get back to my normal life again, however I feel like I'm pretty far off from it at this point. Will keep everyone updated as soon as I can get back to work on the camper.

[rbryan]

Thank you for your post. DVT is nothing to mess around with. You're more susceptible to it the older you are, but your story is a good illustration that it can happen to younger people as well.

It's one of the reasons I don't fly coach on long haul flights. Being cramped up in the same position for hours at a time means the risk of DVT rises. If my customers won't spring for business class on a long haul flight, I'm not going.

[k0wtz]

I cannot figure out what to say or how to help you just time to pass I suppose.

I am sorry for all your health problems but I can tell you honestly with todays drs and all things will definitely improve for you as time goes by. I know the waiting is the rough part.

good luck

bob

[CasitaInFL]

Hey everyone. Been a rough couple days but I figured I would update this thread because I am BORED OUT OF MY MIND!

Shortly after posting on here about my DVT, the clot went to my lung and I ended up with a pulmonary embolism. Still sitting here in the ICU as I type. The good news is that we caught it early, and they feel it should resolve with no long term complications. The pain is gone for the most part, and I know this sounds weird for being in the ICU, but I am excited to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel as I may go home tomorrow. Anyway, no more health stories as If i am sick of it, I'm sure you are too...lol

As I am sitting here I found a few pictures of where I started working on the interior pieces. You can see how bad of shape they are in because they got wet outside (my fault).


If you look along the bottom of this piece, it has a brick, gas can and some fertilizer bracing/straightening the whole piece out. (it is what was available and heavy lol) It will not stay straight just leaning against my work bench. It is very important to make sure the interior pieces are straight before fiber-glassing new large panels into them. You can pre-load the panels with stress and cause all sorts of mess if not. Also I have found storing fiberglass pieces for extended periods with a load on it will create permanent bending, curving ect...


I am not sure if this vent was here from the factory or not but it is hideous. Bye bye vent.


The cut out in this panel was for the original inverter/charger. I wont be using the original so that hole will be filled too.


I used a scrap piece of fiberglass to cut the pieces out for filling the holes. The fiberglass panel came from the original back-splash piece that I will not be using.


I like using this metalic duct tape for holding the pieces in while i fiberglass them. It is incredibly strong, doesn't flex much if you put it on real tight, doesn't absorb the resin, and still comes off easily. Plus you can see really easily if your filler piece is too deep or too shallow.


Flipping the interior piece on its side allowed me to use the floor in my garage as a flat plane to keep everything level. A little wax paper makes application and cleaning up a breeze. I usually cut two inch strips of cloth and do two layers of strips on each joint line. The strips only overlapping about an 1' over the center of the seam.


Nice and smooth finish with no bondo added yet. Getting things as smooth as possible on the finish side will save HUGE amounts of time when it comes to finishing and painting.

I actually have most of the panels done with bondo at this point. Just no pics. As soon as I can, I'll be working on it again.