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!