ACT Trailer Rebuild Part 4
Is this the first time you’ve stumbled upon this rebuild? CLICK HERE to go back in time, and check out part one!
It feels like it’s been a while since the last installment, and I guess it kind of has been! Last time we visited the camper trailer I was planning the electrical system. And the time before that we had just completed the chassis build. Well now the body is on, and we are talking about prepping for paint and tidying up the body!
With one person per corner, lifting the body on was easy
The body screws straight to the chassis with some of the most epic screws in the world. It won’t (or shouldn’t) go anywhere! There was a minor issue with the body catching on the supports for the roof arms. This required them to be cut off and re-welded, but these things happen! Once it was all screwed down I got straight into the body repair.
I love a good rub…
As you can see in the awesome photo featuring mostly me; I have stripped off every exterior mounting there was. The large hole in the front there was patched up with a fibreglass kit – it used to be the 240v power point, but we’re going all 12v now. The stone chipping is just visible under the layer of bog, and there were MANY layers of bog that went into the front end.
The water filler hole needed some attention, having been torn up and covered with a piece of plywood and there were a few tears which needed to be neatened up.
A patchwork of body filler
With neither of us unsure of the proper way to go about painting fibreglass, I took to the internet for some research. I found very little help there, and what I did find was confusing! One thing I did take away from my net-surfing session was that I should have a chat to a place that sells boat paints. So off to freo (Fremantle, for those of you not familiar with Perth) we went, to a little store called Gary Martins Boat Paints at 372 South Terrace, Fremantle.
SO. MUCH. KNOWLEDGE!!
At first it was a lot to take in, but with patience from the staff we began to understand the route we would need to take. Unfortunately the quick rub back and spray I had hoped for would not work out, I can’t remember the science behind it but basically; the old paint below the new paint would cause it to craze and be ugly. Probably had something to do with about 4 layers of old house paint being on there.
While I lobbed into the sanding, John repaired the wheel arches
SO.MUCH.SANDING!!
We’ve burned through two sanders that couldn’t hack the job, and so much sandpaper! The roof needs some attention as well, and the roof is tricky being a composite of plywood and insulation sandwiched between two layers of fibreglass. There were a couple of holes which needed patching, some bubbles that had to be repaired and the wood had rotted away in the corners. We found that fibreglass resin worked quite well to run down into the less rotted pieces of plywood; to stiffen them back up.
The old canvas tore away from the roof like tissue paper!
So where do we stand now? The camper seems to be in a constant state of “nearly ready for paint”. You’ll go in ready to put the paint on, find an imperfection; and end up spending the entire day sanding! As a result, it has taken a back seat to other projects for a month. Coming along next will be the completion of the drawbar and the accessories mounted to it. I’ll just be glad when this load of sanding bollocks is over and we can get stuck into the interior fit-out!
Part 5 is now up! Read it HERE!
Alex
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