Stretching my 1988 17 ft Bigfoot - Fiberglass RV
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Old 12-26-2010, 07:55 PM   #1
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Stretching my 1988 17 ft Bigfoot

I am adding 42 inches to my trailer. Thought about it for awhile , then stripped the inside out . Just before I cut it in half , I did hesitate but it was already to late . Here are some pics so far
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Old 12-26-2010, 08:19 PM   #2
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I guess I need help with my pictures .Can any one give me some advise
Thanks
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Old 12-26-2010, 10:45 PM   #3
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I guess I need help with my pictures .Can any one give me some advise
Thanks
I'm not expert but maybe I can help. You need to have your pictures uploaded to an image hosting site, then use the "insert image" button (it's yellow) above the reply box to enter the web address for the image. You may want to keep your images under 100K or 200K size.
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Old 12-27-2010, 03:47 AM   #4
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Actually you don't need them uploaded to an image hosting site, they just need to be small enough to upload. If you don't have a tool to resize the photos to under 100k, and you're on Windows, just right click the photo and select send to mail recipient, choose make my pictures smaller, then just save them back to the desktop.

When you post your message, click go advanced and manage attachments.

Donna has a tutorial if you need more help. I'm looking forward to the stretched egg. I always thoughtbabout going the other way and hacking down an Airstream!
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Old 12-27-2010, 05:50 AM   #5
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Oh please don't use a picture hosting site, if you post them here they'll be in the archives. Click here for info: Picture posting help by Donna D.

Can't wait to see pictures!
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Old 12-27-2010, 09:54 AM   #6
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Well here we go
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Oh please don't use a picture hosting site, if you post them here they'll be in the archives. Click here for info: Picture posting help by Donna D.

Can't wait to see pictures!
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Old 12-27-2010, 09:59 AM   #7
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Well here we go
I think this may work, Thanks
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Old 12-27-2010, 10:21 AM   #8
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Whoa---unbelievably gutsy! Sweet!
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Old 12-27-2010, 10:23 AM   #9
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Wow, it looks like you're adding a second axle, too?

I have been reading a lot about fiberglass repair. It appears you need to "dish" out the interior margin of the existing fiberglass. So if you're 1/8 inch thick you're supposed to grind it back a couple of inches, tapering out from the edge to get a good bond with the existing glass. Apparently, slapping on a new seam is not strong, structurally. It's probably the first thing I would have tried doing, myself, though. Try looking up fiberglass repair in YouTube if you're not familiar with the process.

Whenever they stretch cars or chop tops for convertibles, they gave to really beef up the existing frame, so maybe look at doing that first, while things are in parts.

Can you get far enough away to get a straight on profile picture?

Looking forward to seeing how this progresses!

Regards,

Matt
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Old 12-27-2010, 10:56 AM   #10
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Another place you might check is boat yard's that stretch fiberglass boats.

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Old 12-27-2010, 04:52 PM   #11
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Ken, this qualifies your work area as a Chop Shop. Pretty amazing!
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Old 12-27-2010, 06:20 PM   #12
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Some more pics

Here are some pictures I took along the way. It was started in Oct. of this year . And yes I did spend a few nights on utube before I began, watching videos on fibre glass repair.
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005.jpg   011.jpg  

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Old 12-27-2010, 11:10 PM   #13
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I think by doing it with one cut in front of the axle the balance is going to be way off. Tongue weight could be way too high. I think might work two smaller extensions on each side of the axle. This way just doesn't feel right.
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Old 12-27-2010, 11:14 PM   #14
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I think Ken's got a second axle already bolted on in the last photo in the earlier post, Byron, but I'm interested on how the weight distribution was anticipated.

Regards,

Matt
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Old 12-27-2010, 11:28 PM   #15
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I have some pictures of the welding done , it was cut behind the axle and then the saddles for the front spring mount were cut and moved 12" backward . I copied the layout from a trailer of the size.
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Old 12-27-2010, 11:30 PM   #16
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I hope to get this pictures figured out soon.
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Old 12-28-2010, 01:26 AM   #17
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There's already a lot of thought and work in this! From the early posts it sounded like you just went for it! Do you have a revised floorplan in mind for the new space?

Regards,

Matt
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Old 12-28-2010, 08:05 AM   #18
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Matt, just wondering---how long has replacing your 25 year old frig been on the "to do" list
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Old 12-28-2010, 08:13 AM   #19
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Yup! I've seen that under Matt's posts and decided that it's a "Rountuit". Got a couple of those myself.
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Old 12-28-2010, 09:56 AM   #20
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From past posts I can tell you have a lot of practice with working on the trailer. You can do a lot bigger bed area at back and more. What was the original layout? Was it similar to a boler?
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