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04-20-2017, 08:48 AM
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#41
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
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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.
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04-20-2017, 09:46 AM
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#42
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: ,, Oklahoma
Trailer: 17
Posts: 840
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Anyone who has been to the factory knows their are no robots walking around unless you have those they live john carpenter glasses
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04-20-2017, 10:44 AM
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#43
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Commercial Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gocamp
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Quote:
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.
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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.
__________________
Charlie Y
Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
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04-20-2017, 10:55 AM
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#44
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,567
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Quote:
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.
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I will check when back home. I thought the plywood was 5/8" though.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
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04-20-2017, 11:06 AM
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#45
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Commercial Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hillsboro, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 21 - "Felicity"
Posts: 2,945
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett
I will check when back home. I thought the plywood was 5/8" though.
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Tina at Escape emailed me yesterday that it's 1/2 inch.
__________________
Charlie Y
Need custom storage to your design? Don't drill holes!
www.RVWidgetWorks.com
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04-20-2017, 01:52 PM
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#46
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
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 .
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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).
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04-20-2017, 02:10 PM
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#47
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2013 19 Escape
Posts: 7,204
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Quote:
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?
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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
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04-20-2017, 02:16 PM
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#48
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2013 19 Escape
Posts: 7,204
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Quote:
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?
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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
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04-20-2017, 02:21 PM
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#49
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
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
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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.
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04-20-2017, 02:24 PM
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#50
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2013 19 Escape
Posts: 7,204
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Quote:
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.
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Oliver Pat
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04-20-2017, 02:29 PM
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#51
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Denison, Texas
Trailer: 2015 21'; 2011 19' sold; 4Runner; ph ninezero3 327-27ninefour
Posts: 5,136
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Quote:
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?
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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.
__________________
Cathy. Floating Cloud
"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.... "
Emerson
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04-20-2017, 02:29 PM
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#52
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Site Team
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 11,073
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Quote:
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?
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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
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward
2014 Escape 5.0TA
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04-20-2017, 02:33 PM
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#53
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Chilliwack, British Columbia
Trailer: 2008 17B Escape
Posts: 766
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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!!!
__________________
Anna-Marie
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04-20-2017, 03:01 PM
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#54
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Patandlinda
Oliver Pat
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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.
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04-20-2017, 03:08 PM
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#55
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Darral's carport work platform - which he described in FiberglassRV - was a clever setup.
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04-20-2017, 04:49 PM
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#56
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Site Team
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Portland, Oregon
Trailer: 2014 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 11,073
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P
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Coool! So that's where I "borrowed" the picture from...
__________________
Donna D.
Ten Forward
2014 Escape 5.0TA
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04-20-2017, 04:58 PM
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#57
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,567
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tractors1
Tina at Escape emailed me yesterday that it's 1/2 inch.
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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
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
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04-20-2017, 05:19 PM
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#58
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: North of Danbury, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2018 Escape 21C
Posts: 3,033
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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.
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04-20-2017, 08:16 PM
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#59
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Houston, Texas
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19 aka "Bon Temps"
Posts: 267
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Quote:
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.
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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.
__________________
Mike and Donna
Laissez les bons temps rouler
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04-20-2017, 08:40 PM
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#60
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 2,348
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P
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He has a second hobby: "C-clamping!!"
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