jfb1969 wrote:
I have an 87 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx that is finally showing it's age. I have some rot in a number of places and it's very outdated. I am seriously considering tearing it down and completely rebuilding it from the frame up. This way I could have a travel trailer that is exactly the way I would want it to be.
I have extensive construction experience and also a lot of experience with building wood furniture and cabinetry, so doing a complete rebuild is entirely within my skill set. I also have several decades of CAD (computer aided drafting) experience to make the design and planning of the rebuild accurate and more manageable. I intend to plan this out 100% (or as much as possible) so that I can calculate cost and also plan the construction time. So right now I am in the planning stage and am trying to gather as much information as I can so that I am as prepared as much as is possible before beginning. This way I can hopefully prevent and major issues from biting me in the butt after I start construction.
I will be looking to reuse as much of the hardware in my current trailer as much as possible. The roof top A/C unit still works great as does the elec/propane refrigerator, propane heater and stove/oven. The water heater also works fine but I will be inspecting it for corrosion and may replace if necessary.
The things I am looking for help in are those things that are specific to RV construction. I figure it is best to start from the outside in. My current trailer has aluminum siding/roofing and I am debating between using aluminum siding/roofing (since it had lasted so long) or going with a fiberglass reinforced plastic panel like Filon. I'd like to know the pros and cons of each. I'd also like to know about how to handle corner/roof joints for alum and FRP siding.
Having rebuilt not one but TWO TTs I would suggest perhaps instead of demolishing the entire trailer you should consider GUTTING the trailer and determine how bad the rot is.
Once cabinets, inside walls and paneling has been removed you now can assess the damages and determine how good or bad the structure is..
My current TT I was planning to build from scratch (IE have a new frame built to my specs then build on top) but I ended up finding this trailer for a fraction of the cost of a frame.
Yes, demoing the inside is a lot of work but so would be in demoing the entire trailer then building new on top.
You can view my rebuild
HEREThere were times when I thought it might have been easier to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch but that would have cost considerably more AND would have taken a lot more time.. As it was I spent nearly 2 1/2 yrs working on it!
I used FRP panels you can get at Home Depot or Lowes, worked pretty well but I would not recommend going that route unless you really like working with fiberglass and resin!
I even used it for the roof, but the winter before last I had a place crack over the bath tub where there is a roof vent.. Crack has been fixed and last year I coated the roof with Harbor Freight bedliner and a coat of white oil based Rustoleum paint.
One major drawback I have found to fiberglass panels is the expansion/contraction ratio is pretty large with outdoor temperature swings. This caused a lot of bumps/bubbles/ridges to form.
I am thinking that if I were to do it over again, aluminum siding and roofing would be a better choice over all.
If you decide to proceed, take lots of photos and document your progress.. Kind of nice to have records of what you did!
keep us posted also!
Good luck.
