Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Sidewalls going up

Been working on the sidewalls.  Matte finish panels are really not that bad to work with.  They sand easy.  I have a sacrificial, finishing sander purchased from Harbor Freight to use for sanding the panels.  It uses 1/3 of a sheet of sandpaper and usually takes 2 sheets to sand one side thoroughly.

Basically just knocking the matte luster off each side.


As far as cutting the panels for the 'birds nest' (sleeper overhang), I've run into a kink.  The 45 degree angular cuts needed are presenting a problem.  The circular saw, as with all circular saws, only possesses directional tilt of it's base for setting angled cuts in one direction.  The orientation of the blade to table conflicts with the direction needed to be cut.  I can very easily cut the angle on one side of the panel but not the other. 

To eradicate this altogether, I decided to go another route.  In the bedding area region, where the underside panel will be installed I decided to cut out a swath on the interior of both side panels to accept the underside panel, without using angles here.  I set my blade depth to keep exterior skin intact while cutting the swath to remove interior portion.  Now the panel which will actually serve as my bed can just simply be glassed in without having to use 45 degree bevels. 

The 4" grinder with standard grinding wheel worked well to cut through the polypropylene honeycomb underneath to release the strip.  Then used a flap sander disc on the grinder to clean up the remains of polypropylene.  [always wear leather gloves when using the flap sanding disc, just trust me..it will eat finger flesh with ease]

 
 

Managed to get one of the side walls up and the glassed in this evening.




The weather has been so nice today with nighttime temps around 75-77 degrees.  For now!  A tidbit humid but not too bad, so I decided to work nightshift to accomplish a little more progression.


Now have both side walls up with the appropriate overhang for the camper sleeper area.  Cantilever physics...cut from whole sheets.  I decided to reserve necessary splicing for the sidewalls, towards the end of the camper rather than in the sleep area region.


Awaiting the arrival of some more 1/32" Milled Fibers and Aerosil so that I can move on to the sleep area underboard install.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Fiberglass "Structural Peanut Butter" Recipe

As you have read through my posts you have heard me make mention of Fiberglass Structural Peanut Butter. Well here is the recipe:

This stuff is great for filling in crevices where panels join together leaving small voids, just fill in the voids with this mixture prior to installing fiberglass cloth tape.  Also, great for filling in a hole, various types of repairs, creating reinforced areas for bolt through and so on.  Not only does this mixture fill in but it is actually structural in its composition when cured.  Thus, leaving you with a very strong, high load, high tensile strength region when cured.

You will need the following materials which are readily available at fiberglass supply stores online.  I purchase all of my stuff from USComposites in West Palm Beach, Florida because of their high quality resins and cloth, quick shipping, great packaging of items shipped and you can speak with a Fiberglass Technical Representative anytime by simply making a phone call.  Very knowledgeable tech reps by the way.

This is all you need to make the mixture:
  1. Aerosil - resin thickening agent (AKA Cabosil)
  2. Glass Bubbles
  3. Glass Reinforcer material:  (choose only one of these)
    • 1/32" Milled Fibers for very small cracks and voids
    • 1/4" Fiberglass strands for cracks 1/4" wide and wider
    • 1/2" Fiberglass strands for cracks 1/2" wide and wider or for filling large areas where greater strength is needed such as reinforcements for bolt through and larger voids
  4. Polyester Resin
  5. Catalyst
  6. A couple of hard plastic (2 cup) measuring cups for mixing mixture in.  The type that are sold at most Dollar Stores work really well.
As far as the mixture reinforcers are concerned, simply choose one dependent upon type of repair at hand.  
showing three parts used to make runnier type mixture for small voids



showing three parts used to make mixture for 1/4" cracks and larger

Glass Reinforcer Agent Choices
(the pictures below are close up views of #3 ingredients above)
These agents really give the mixture its strength, without which the polyester resin would simply become too brittle and crack.  These agents not only bind mixture together through a chemical matrix but provide structural strength that yields high tensile strengths. 

  • 1/32" Milled Fibers for very small cracks and voids
  • 1/4" Fiberglass strands for cracks 1/4" wide and wider
  • 1/2" Fiberglass strands for cracks 1/2" wide and wider or for filling large areas where greater strength is needed such as reinforcements for bolt throughs and for larger voids






To make the mixture I would suggest starting out with 4 ounces of resin.  This amount works good for providing you with ample amounts of work time so you do not have to worry about your resin pot life.  You can take your time and work the repair properly by filling in with this compound, not having to worry about your mixture starting to set while you are in the middle of a job.  So this is a good amount to start with.
  1. Pour 4 ounces of polyester resin into measuring cup
  2. Add appropriate catalyst 
  3. Stir thoroughly 
  4. then add your Aerosil, glass bubbles and choice of glass reinforcement material using the small medicinal cup that is provided with materials at purchase
Stir all the agents thoroughly with small tongue depressor until it is obvious that all elements have mixed well. 

You can tweak the mixture by adding more fiberglass fibers, fiberglass strands or if you need a little thicker mixture - add some more aerosil to the mixture.  Aersosil (Cabosil) will change the consistency of the mixture making it thicker.  It takes quite a bit to change the consistency of mixture so when ordering Aerosil, order twice as much as the other ingredients.  

You can make it to any consistency that your repair needs. - Need to inject the mixture into a tight crevice with the use of syringe, just mix loosely.  Need to repair larger void mix more Aersosil and make to consistency of peanut butter.  Hence, Fiberglass Structural Peanut Butter.

 
 
 
Now this mixture is a little loose.  I wanted this mixture to be a little loose because I am using it for filleting inside corners and need the capillary action of the mixture to be drawn into some 1/16"-1/8" cracks.  It contains 1/32" Milled Fibers for structural strength and bonding.

However, if you were to add the 1/4" or 1/2" fiberglass strands to the mixture along with more aerosil (cabosil)  it would indeed begin to be comparable to Peanut Butter in consistency, whereas this particular mix is not because I've made it looser on purpose.

By the way, wear a good respirator which possesses dual filtering capability:
 - fine particulate matter filtration
- and organic vapor filtrations
We certainly don't want to be glass spheres or milled fibers.  I like to wear a combination particulate matter filter/organic vapor filter in my respirator. Has both filters made into one cartridge, breathing in the styrene vapors from polyester resin is extremely hazardous to our central nervous system.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Mini Disaster occurred during recent thunderstorm

Unfortunately I do not possess the great fortunes of having a huge workshop to work on a project of this capacity.  So the build is being constructed outside.  Due to the overwhelming heat and humidity in North Carolina the past week or so, I could not tolerate standing in the direct sun while cutting and sanding.  Therefore, I temporarily erected my $130.00 festival tent to block the sun and to prevent resin from being destroyed from dew fall when working at night.

I had been watching the weather and understood we might be in for a severe thunderstorm within a couple of days. "No problem, I'll remove the tent in time."  In a perfect world this would have worked. 

But....my world isn't.

I was attending other matters at the time mother nature showed up, picking up my tent and camper and hurling it at my utility shelter.  "of course."

Good news:  The Nida Core panels were not damaged at all - tough stuff. 
Bad news:  My new $130 tent was destroyed

To reveal just how strong cured out fiberglass cloth layers are, the only seam holding the vertical riser panel in place is the butt splice seen in photo below.  This one seam supported this entire ordeal.  The panel never shifted and none of the corners were even lain.   


If you'll take notice really close - picture below - a large portion of the camper weight is on that butt splice and it there's not even the slightest hint of the inverted camper weight stressing that single layer joint. 
Inverted and painted the bottom with white, marine grade Pettit EasyPoxy. I originally wanted to spray the camper but without having a large shop, I settled for rolling with foam and mohair rollers.  Looks ok, but i must change brands of the mohair roller.

found a brand at Jamestown Distributors that supposedly work fairly well with this Pettit Easy Poxy leaving an orange peel effect. I can live with that, so I will more than likely be going that route.

This whole incident eased a few of the concerns I might have had about the overall strength of the panels and camper geometry.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Creating Reinforcement Understructure for Eyebolt Anchor Tie Downs

Needing to mount the galvanized eyebolts securely in the camper for tie down points.  The minimal thickness of the fiberglass skin covered polypropylene honeycomb calls for some reinforcement measures to be taken. 

So I rounded up a 4" hole-saw, obtained appropriate measurements for the placement of the 1/2" eyebolts and cut out the marked regions.  I only cut the interior side of the fiberglass panel, leaving the exterior fiberglass skin intact and undisturbed.  


I simply used a screwdriver to dislodge the cut out section and to pry out the honeycomb.  Basically, just created myself a pot in which the Bondo and structural peanut butter resin will be installed.  (note: i used the bondo with fiberglass strands which adds greater strength than ordinary Bondo) 

I did not want to use the Bondo simply because I would rather make my own 'structural fiberglass peanut butter mixture'.  But, I am really pressed for time and cannot wait until the components arrive in the mail for the composition of my structural peanut butter recipe.  It may be a few more days still, until the most recent order arrives and I need some advancement on the project.  

I buy most all my fiberglass related resins, cloth, etc; from USComposites out of Florida.  These guys sell thousands of gallons of resin daily and are always getting in fresh stock.

If I was not planning on placing a piece of flat iron over this poured pocket later, I would have altogether steered clear of even using Bondo in this region.  I did have some 1/4" chopped strands left which I added to the mixture to beef up the structural element.  The Bondo already had some, I added even more to beef up the compound.

 
I cleaned out all of the honeycomb and vacuumed the hole thoroughly.  I'm not overly concerned with struggling to remove all remnants of the polypropylene attached in the bottom of the hole.  It would be ideal if I could in order to achieve a better bond to that fiberglass bottom but considering the time consumption, I have to move forward.  The bondo will simply serve as a filler plug to prevent crushing of the panels and so it really is not all that critical if it bonds to the bottom of the holes or not.


You can see the plug in place.  I have four areas to do.  I used Bondo mixture for the front two plugs and the quart size can ran out.  I ended up just awaiting the arrival of the necessary ingredients to make my fiberglass structural peanut butter for the remainder of the plugs that had to be poured.   

Got some sleep to grab guys -- see you around!

Friday, July 20, 2012

A little more progress on the bottom portion of the camper

Managed to get the bottom of the camper assembled, glassed the corners using two layers of a 7-8 ounce fiberglass tape followed by a 6" (6 oz.) tape.  The interior corners were filleted with a structural fiberglass peanut butter to fill in small voids and to create an internal radius for the laying of the cloths.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Received HappiJac System Turnbuckles

I located some HappiJac Stainless Steel Turnbuckles on Craigslist.  I actually found a number of listings but none of those Craigslisters would accommodate by packaging and shipping for some odd reason, no matter how I asked.  I was willing to pay ample amounts for the shipping as a measure to motivate them in that direction.  But, no one was willing. 

Of the listings I found, they had to be shipped because there was no way I was going to drive halfway across the nation for four turnbuckles.

I thought it strange to list items for sale on a world web and national base, yet not be willing to package and ship. 

Anyway, after a continued search for another week and a half, and sending just one more email I was finally able to secure a purchase from a nice gentleman out in Texas.  This guy was extra cool and boxing up the turnbuckles and shipping them was no big issue with him.

HappiJac stainless steel turnbuckles

The hassle I had to go through was well worth the efforts.  I paid $55.00 for these; new ones are at least $127.00.

Message in the bottle - "perseverance" 

HappiJac turnbuckles are specially designed for truck campers.  The front pair (longer barrels) possess a shock absorbing spring inside the cylinder.  The rear pair (shorter tie downs) are called 'stressguard tie downs'.  Not quite sure why they are called that.  I never could derive an answer.

Although I appreciate possessing an intimate knowledge of any systems which I utilize, I rest my anxiety in this one.  The business has been around for over 35 years so they must know something about tie downs. 

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Constructing Camper's Slide-In Portion

I've been cutting the sheets for the slide-in portion of the camper and bonding them together.  All has went fairly well except the July heat and humidity has been putting a damper on my progress.

Fiberglassed, both the interior and exterior corners using structural fiberglass peanut butter, filleted in the inside corners then followed with three layers of cloth.  All lain while wet to obtain a better bond.  I am using a 7-8 ounce industrial weight cloth for the layup followed by a third, lighter 6 oz cloth 6" wide on top.

The interior corners are going along perfect; I've been obtaining really good bonds.  However, the exterior corners are leaving some air pockets which i will have to grind down later on, after cure out and rework.  There are a couple of spots which I noticed which would not lie down.  Those exterior corners are subjecting the cloths to a 90 degree bend whereas the interior corner has a radius fill of structural peanut butter.  This radius allows the cloth to gracefully change it's lay. 

I'll have to make some type of adjustment to my exterior corners.  Not sure just yet what i will do to resolve this issue, other than reworking after cure up.  I will find a solution and of course keep others current.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Best way to remove fiberglass fibers from skin

Anyone that has ever worked with fiberglass in any intensive capacity is familiar with the nagging fiberglass fibers which work their way underneath your skin.  A great way to remove them:

---------Shampoo------- the ticket!



Yep, get yourself a bottle of cheap shampoo with the viscosity similar to Suave Shampoos.  These work great by the way.  After working with fiberglass, DO NOT rinse or otherwise manipulate the fibers that have landed upon your arms and hands.  You can attempt to shake off excessive fiberglass dust but go no further.





  1. Get a good sized amount in the palm of one of your hands
  2. Pat the shampoo along your arm, covering the fiberglass - do not rub the shampoo, 'Pat It On'
  3. Pat it over your entire arm in this manner
  4. Then without rubbing, scraping or otherwise doing anything to entice fibers to gain derma access - rinse the shampoo off of your arm with cold water only
The thick viscosity of the shampoo holds onto those annoying fibers lying loose all over your skin. Rinsing the shampoo with water only and not touching the shampoo during any of the process, will rinse away almost all those annoying fibers. If you were to rub in anyway, forget it....it's worked its way into your skin at that point and the shampoos will not be of much good.  Remember pat shampoo on and rinse with cold water.

I have had my arms completely covered in fiberglass many times over.  Every time, this method has worked extremely well for me.  Sometimes I may have one or two itchy spots somewhere along my arm but that is it.  This method works extremely well.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Creating Camper's Floor and Side Walls That Will Fit Truck Bed

Prepared and cut the camper's footprint for the truckbed, cut the piece for the floor to fit between the wheel wells and the vertical risers that will footprint.  The piece for the floor was cut on 45 degree angles about its perimeter as was the two vertical side walls.

This mixed array of angles that had to be cut, consolidated with the distance, a saw guide needed to be clamped in place for a guide. 

All corners are being cut with matching 45 degree angles, for nice tight corner joints and ready to be glassed in.  Currently, the joints are creating less than 1/16" crack between the fiberglass of each sheet, on the interior and exterior, as they form these corners.  I'm pleased.






Sawblade for Cutting Nida-Core Honeycomb Composite Panels

For the past week, I have been wading through humidity here in North Carolina, trying to find dry pockets so I could attempt cuts on some of the first panels.  The humidity consolidated with the heat has been unbearable to say the least.

We have been dealt a blessing for today and the rest of the week; some cooler air has moved in.

So I tried my hands at cutting some of the first Nida-Core Honeycomb Composite Fiberglass panels this evening.  This stuff cuts really well with a circular saw fitted with a 40-60 teeth carbide blade.  I purchased a sacrificial 7-1/4" circular saw for the job because of all the fiberglass it's motor armature and field would be exposed to.  I had originally tried a steel blade with approximately 100-120 teeth.  The cut went fine with the steel blade but towards the end of the 48" pass, the blade pretty much resembled a butter knife.

Do yourself a favor-  buy a 40-60 tooth tungsten carbide blade, they work fine and only splinter the fiberglass minimally.  I was pleased with the cuts, no major disturbance of lamination at these new edges, just a little surface frays where the blade comes through.  Really not bad at all, now just a pass with a power sander and all will be well along these new edges.

There are circular saw, 'fiberglass specific' blades made out of tungsten grit, which resemble some of the masonry diamond cutting blades on the market.  However, they are significantly higher priced than a carbide blade and I am not sure they would or even could for that matter, do any better than the carbide, 40-60 toothed blade did. 

I have the flooring cut and the first vertical sides for the portion that will fit the truck bed....(see here)

(update 6 months later) I am still using the same sawblade, the carbide toothed blade, after 6 months of usage it is cutting this stuff just like day one.  "Carbide" is the only way to go when cutting fiberglass.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Camper Tie Down System - HappiJac Tie downs

As you know from a previous post, I was deliberating on which Tie Down system to go with.  Since my build will end up inherently lighter than the commercial campers on the market, I was looking for a good system that would serve my lighter camper need.  I decided on HappiJac Tie Downs without the stabilizer bar (torsion bar). 

During my deliberation I discovered camper owners which utilize HappiJac Tie Downs without the stabilizer (torsion) bar and have not had any issues and they're toting much heavier campers than what mine will be.  My projected weights for the camper build currently are somewhere in the 600-700 lb range.  Significantly lighter than even the lightest slide-in truck camper on the market, 'in America.'  Europe and other places across the pond have all sorts of nifty campers but not in the US where Bigger is Better reigns.  

I'll use HappiJac Tie Down plates mounted on the front bed wall in conjunction with spring loaded turnbuckles designed to absorb movement, yaw, roll, etc;  Should ease my concerns about windshear also.

There are only a handful of tie down systems on the american market that I could find.  There you go for a niche business...go and make your millions. 

I found some on Craigslist for $40.00.  Can you believe that?  The great folks at Walter's Travel RV were such a great pleasure to work with.  They were originally $93.99, so I was enthused and they were shipped really fast.

In the days prior to their arrival in the mail, I contemplated how I would mount them without assistance.  I always need three hands but very seldom have.  To my utter amazement, the design engineer had implemented measures for the consideration of the 'one man install'.  I was floored!  The plates themselves were held momentarily in place by small self tapping screws while you mark and drill your holes in the front wall of the truck bed. Plus, there are no nuts to struggle with in such a tight space (between that cab wall and truck bed).  The plate had tapped holes...hooray!

Unbelievable.  HappiJac camper mounts made in America with only one difference, apparently designed by engineers which spent time afield with their product line, as all should.  Install was a breeze!  

Such a simple install:

  1. measure and locate plate in bed appropriately 
  2. screw backing plate onto bed momentarily using a small self tapping screw which is provided
  3. then drill 4 bolt holes (hands free)
  4. have wife hold the front plate in place
  5. simply thread bolts into tapped holes
   there you go, about a 7-10 minute install, now move to the other side of the bed


As for the rear mounts-- they get attached to the rear bumper - on the ends.  Looks like a 1/2" hole will have to be drilled through bumper.  The neat thing about these, when not in use, the turnbuckle attachment point easily removes from the bolt.  Simply slip them off when not under a load.


Throughout the years I have constructed and made various structures, mechanical and electrical forms and been exposed to more aggravation than I care to discuss when it comes to product installs.  I was held in deep appreciation by something as simple as a camper necessity because of the fore-thought that went into the design phase of these tie downs.  Most often engineers design systems that need modifications on the user end.  That was not the case with these camper mounts, thankfully.

Thanks to HappiJac for creating a stress free install.