Washing the trailer

[steve dunham]

Is the fiberglass / gelcoat in an Escape trailer laid up by hand or by robotics ? There are reasons that auto assembly plants has gone away from humans to robots and consistency is one of them .
The total weight of the fiberglass in a certain model trailer may be consistent but the application is not.

[gocamp]

Anyone who has been to the factory knows their are no robots walking around unless you have those they live john carpenter glasses

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by gocamp

https://www.youtube.com/user/GoldEagle303Products

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

The other two penetrations I made were just holes with a spade bit on the bottom of the trailer. You can see the shell is a bit over 3/16".
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...ness-9998.html

Plus, when I drilled with the sharp spade bit it went through the plywood like butter, but had to grind its way through the shell.

I'm curious about the total stackup of the floor materials; I know the plywood is 1/2 inch exterior rated, but with the glass and the flooring thickness, any idea of the total thickness? Would be good to know how long a screw can be and not penetrate that.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by tractors1

I'm curious about the total stackup of the floor materials; I know the plywood is 1/2 inch exterior rated, but with the glass and the flooring thickness, any idea of the total thickness? Would be good to know how long a screw can be and not penetrate that.

I will check when back home. I thought the plywood was 5/8" though.

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I will check when back home. I thought the plywood was 5/8" though.

Tina at Escape emailed me yesterday that it's 1/2 inch.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

Is the fiberglass / gelcoat in an Escape trailer laid up by hand or by robotics ? There are reasons that auto assembly plants has gone away from humans to robots and consistency is one of them .

I'm sure it's all by hand. I don't think there is an RV manufacturer which has the scale of production (and cost of labour) to justify robotic assembly or production of composite panels. The automotive industry has far higher levels of capital investment and design sophistication than the RV world.

When composite construction is automated, it tends to involve different materials - such as the sheet-molded composite used for Corvettes for 35 years - in part because traditional cloth and wet resin layup is not suitable for automated production. Although Corvette bodies are normally described as "fiberglass", some panels are carbon fibre composites, and even the glass-reinforced SMC contains other fillers (including calcium carbonate, which surprised me).

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Wow very thin. What does escape advise we tell any rv techs for roof a/c maintence? Kneel on a plywood piece?

I did take some pictures . I really can't answer that and it is a concern for the future , maybe for maintenance , like roof AC , etc. maybe someone has a answer to that question . I sure would like to know myself . Pat

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Wow very thin. What does escape advise we tell any rv techs for roof a/c maintence? Kneel on a plywood piece?

Also I can easily push in the side of trailer . Looking at other fiberglass trailers ,there sides were solid and didn't deflect as ours does . Pat

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Also I can easily push in the side of trailer . Looking at other fiberglass trailers ,there sides were solid and didn't deflect as ours does . Pat

Which trailers? Bolers were certainly not solid compared to an Escape; Scamps and Casitas are basically Boler clones. I haven't poked the sides of a Trillium, but I wouldn't expect one to be particularly stiff.

If you're talking about fiberglass-clad conventional trailers... yes, with a sandwich of plywood (or strand board) and foam behind the fiberglass sheet, they're much stiffer.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Which trailers? Bolers were certainly not solid compared to an Escape; Scamps and Casitas are basically Boler clones. I haven't poked the sides of a Trillium, but I wouldn't expect one to be particularly stiff.

If you're talking about fiberglass-clad conventional trailers... yes, with a sandwich of plywood (or strand board) and foam behind the fiberglass sheet, they're much stiffer.

Oliver Pat

[float5]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Wow very thin. What does escape advise we tell any rv techs for roof a/c maintence? Kneel on a plywood piece?

We would never get on the roof of a fiberglass trailer. Even snow load has ruined old ones.

We don't even lean on the trailer. (Many here do though.)
We have a free-standing ladder with deep and wide steps, and a long-handled brush for washing and long-handled mop for 303. We do not expect to ever do anything that would need us on the roof. Not a good place to be.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Wow very thin. What does escape advise we tell any rv techs for roof a/c maintence? Kneel on a plywood piece?

If I thought I needed to do major work on the top of my trailer, I'd rent scaffolding I could back the trailer under. Either lay on my stomach or sit with my feet on top of the trailer and work between my knees. I hope I never have to find out.

I did capture this photo from somewhere else. Since I have a carport like this one, I thought the photo may be useful

[amirie]

We want to take off the cover for the Mxxx fan to clean it---in order to get to the screws on the side to remove them---how do you do it?

Nigel told us to put a piece of Plywood on the roof to lean on (not stand on) to get to them...

Yes, it'll be Doug doing that--my arms aren't long enough!!

I removed all the old decals and put up the backsplash--he can do the fan!!!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Patandlinda

Oliver Pat

Thanks Pat.
Oliver - and Lil Snoozy - use cored composite construction for the entire shell. That certainly is stiffer , but not typical of fiberglass trailers - those two manufacturers probably represent less than one percent of the moulded fiberglass travel trailer market in North America.

[Brian B-P]

Darral's carport work platform - which he described in FiberglassRV - was a clever setup.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Darral's carport work platform - which he described in FiberglassRV - was a clever setup.

Coool! So that's where I "borrowed" the picture from...

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by tractors1

Tina at Escape emailed me yesterday that it's 1/2 inch.

Well, I went and checked and that is correct. I know I was told 5/8" before, but that was many years back. I was either misled (which happens easily) or they changed it up. Anyway, my findings are in the Wall Thickness thread.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...tml#post192899

[steve dunham]

When replacing my roof fan , I brought home 4 sections of scaffold from work . Put up 2 sections on each side of my trailer and ran scaffold planks over the top of the trailer from scaffold to scaffold . Very solid and much easier and safer than leaning off a ladder . No weight on the trailer roof.

[Mike & Donna]

Originally Posted by steve dunham

When replacing my roof fan , I brought home 4 sections of scaffold from work . Put up 2 sections on each side of my trailer and ran scaffold planks over the top of the trailer from scaffold to scaffold . Very solid and much easier and safer than leaning off a ladder . No weight on the trailer roof.

I like your idea. It's probably the best solution if you have to do major maintenance on your trailer. will keep that setup in mind.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Darral's carport work platform - which he described in FiberglassRV - was a clever setup.

He has a second hobby: "C-clamping!!"