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89 Dolphin Fiberglass Skin Removal?


charsono

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Hi all! 

 

New Toyota motorhome owner (just got our little home on wheels in August; 89 Dolphin, 63k miles, fiberglass skin, wood framing, foam board insulation)! 

 

My BF and I are trying to rebuild the wood framing because it's pretty much rotted out. Our current problem is that we can't get to the very bottom beam of the wall (next to the subfloor. Originally, we were planning on removing the floor to get to the bottom beam and build our way back up, but the floor is in such great condition that we've decided to remove the fiberglass siding instead. The obstacle in our way at the moment is the fuel line and potentially the door, but we figure we can just take that off the hinges. Has anyone ever removed their fiberglass skin and can give us some tips as to how to move forward? Is there is a way we can safely disconnect the fuel line so it's not attached to the fiberglass skin? 

 

Thank you so much in advance! 

 

EDIT: Revised the year (thanks for the heads up) I had the numbers switched haha

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120201025_697126877817085_7361192910642995609_n.jpg

Edited by charsono
incorrect year
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Well it can't be a 98 cause they didn't make them then. So 90 something or 88 what is it. 

Do you mean your fuel filler, where you put the gas in? No screws on the outside? If not you need to get under there and remove the fuel line and the air vent hose connected to it. Look to see if there is a locking clamp on the inside. Then you just go around the outside with a putty knife and get it loose and twist and turn until it comes out. Can't be sure a close up pic would help. There is probably a rock guard underneath that will have to be removed to get to the fuel line. 

The fiberglass is going to be rough to remove without damaging it. Replacement is very expensive. Your going to have to remove your windows and anything else that overlaps it. You say the floor is solid. The sensible thing to do would be to rebuild with the fiberglass in place. Frame foam insulation and paneling and at least a chance of getting it back to usable. 

Check Odyssey 4x4's build on his camper. It's long but very informative

 

Linda S

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  • charsono changed the title to 89 Dolphin Fiberglass Skin Removal?

Hi Linda! 

 

Thanks for the correction, lol. I had the numbers switched on the year. Basically, there are two ways we can rebuild the wood framing:
- Remove the floor 

- Remove the fiberglass frame/skin 

 

We've basically done everything we can to remove the floor, but it's honestly in such good condition (no water damage or rot or anything) that it would be so painful to remove to basically redo later on. Would that still be the best option moving forward in your opinion? We have no idea the condition of the very bottom beam for the wood frame since it's covered by the subfloor and the fiberglass. So kind of at a loss at how to move forward on rebuilding.

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Remove the floor one layer at a time. Top layer appears to be just plywood. Cheap and easy to replace. Hard to tell not being there but is there any chance you could just remove the part close to the wall that's blocking access to the beam? New wood screwed and glue on top of it would strengthen it possible enough. I have repaired rotted wood with epoxy and they make penetrating epoxy just for wood. I just don't think your ever going to get that fiberglass back in place properly if you remove it. Maybe someone else here has some ideas

Linda S

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so the floor isn't just a solid piece of plywood. its two thinner pieces with foam sandwiched between them. considering i've been in your same shoes prior. if the floor is in great shape i wouldn't mess with you you wont get it that good again. if you need to redo the wood along the bottom, what i would do is pull everything all the exterior wall or as much as possible. i would then remove the J-rails along the bottom and up the side leaving the top attached and i would simply lift the wall SOME to expose the bottom edge. the reason you dont want to remove the whole wall is its two pieces seamed together and it puts alot of stress on the seam its also heavy, bulky and very hard to get back up in that perfect spot. 

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On 9/28/2020 at 4:32 PM, 86Dolphino said:

so the floor isn't just a solid piece of plywood. its two thinner pieces with foam sandwiched between them. considering i've been in your same shoes prior. if the floor is in great shape i wouldn't mess with you you wont get it that good again. if you need to redo the wood along the bottom, what i would do is pull everything all the exterior wall or as much as possible. i would then remove the J-rails along the bottom and up the side leaving the top attached and i would simply lift the wall SOME to expose the bottom edge. the reason you dont want to remove the whole wall is its two pieces seamed together and it puts alot of stress on the seam its also heavy, bulky and very hard to get back up in that perfect spot. 

Wow! Thanks so much! You literally saved us. We were just about to remove the top trim when we saw your post. It's exactly what we needed. Thanks 🙏 

 

If you don't mind, what did you end up using to reattach the fiberglass to your new wood?

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You're gonna wanna get one of those spray foam guns it's a handheld metal gun and we found that loctite spray foam is the best at adhering the fiberglass siding to the new wood sticks and we also adhered the new Styrofoam insuallation to the fiber glass wall with the loctite foam as well.

Edited by 86Dolphino
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oh just to add If i recall correctly we started out using great stuff spray foam which worked good and the metal spay gun made it go on nice, but i don't think the loctite spray foam comes in a can to use with the gun it has its own straw. either will work but loctite did hold stronger and you dont need a gun with that stuff. 

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