We want the coach to be completely covered in fiberglass for durability. It also gives it a wash and go kind of attitude which I like for maintenance reasons.
There are several ways to go about fiberglass but we decided on "Filon." Filon is a fiberglass product in a very thin (1/8") sheet that comes on a roll. It is the same product used by the big RV companies that is used on campers and RV's world wide.
The first step to putting Filon on the walls is to build a big plastic vacuum bag to put the walls in. The Filon is epoxied to the walls then vacuum bagged to suck out all the air and use atmospheric pressure to create a clamp that holds the Filon in place while the epoxy cures.
Here, Carrie is applying the epoxy with a roller to prepare the wall surface for the Filon.
The next photo is the wall laying on the plastic that will become the bag, epoxy now applied, with the roll of Filon ready to be installed.
The wall is now in in the bag, Filon glued down, sealed and vacuum is being applied.
Once both walls are bagged and the epoxy has had time to cure, we set them up on sawhorses and used the router to shape the Filon and cut out windows, doors and hatches.
This is a finished wall now wrapped in fiberglass!
By this stage we are really getting excited and can stand back and see the fruits of our labor! Exciting stuff! Notice the wall is now taller than our 7' garage door and it's not even on the trailer!
The next step was to seal up everywhere the router was used to cut away material. The router leaves a raw, unprotected edge so we masked up the edges and coated any exposed areas with epoxy.
The goal here is to seal up every nook and cranny to make this thing waterproof!
Here is a close-up of one of the edges, sealed in epoxy. Notice the layer of Filon now bonded to the wood.
I decided to go ahead and prime/prep the walls now, just to save a little work in the future.
The Filon is now Complete! Stay tuned for the next exciting installment entitled, "Hillbilly Camper Kit!"
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Happy Creations!
Michael & Carrie
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