makin a body out of fiberglass

hello, im considering turning a militray 6x6 deuce na half into a rv, i want to extend the frame 10ft or so, n make a 25-27ft "cabin" on it,  i was thinkin build a skeleton outa 1'' or 11/2'' tubing, then cover it with thin wood panels, and then fiberglass over  that, if i do it this way, how would i mount windows? what kind of windows would i use? in the back "master bedroom" i want a panoramic view with windows 180 degrees around the room, the rough size of the cabin will be 8.5' wide 7' tall and 27' long. its gonna be a simple camper with only two rooms. no toilet no water, just something to sleep/ party in. it'l have 53'' tires and a caddilac 500 set up to tow... 400 hp 600lbs of torqe.. and a 5sp od.

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"I can see down your shirt" *its painted on the bottom of my f-250's door*

good luck with that.

I would rivit the windows in.  That is, if you use house type windows with a surround.  For regular car windows, or conversion van windows, im not too sure exactly how they are set in there.

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Govenor of Jimcinati

93' GMC Safari XT

dont waste your time IMHO.

Why not just use wood and siding like the do for real campers?

mainly cause i don't like the way that looks, i don't want it to look like some cheesy boxy lookin thing, i was thinkin about lookin for an old bus at a junk yard... has to be older i want the rounded back, and then cuttin the front off and mating the two together, but that might sacrifice head room, and width, and wouldn't it be unsafe to have house type windows in there? wouldn't u want plexi glass or at least tempered glass?

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"I can see down your shirt" *its painted on the bottom of my f-250's door*

the only problemwith coving your wood slats with fg is it will takes months of block sanding to get it striaght itll be very wavy.   Think about doing this.  buiid your frame from 1inch square tubing.  then get a roll of stell.  (like on cargo trailers).   rivit it on.  paint it. look like a cargo trailer but you can get a much cleaner look imo.

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Ya my radio sucks.
Oh by the way I cant spell!!!

i mean steal ooops

sig says it all

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Ya my radio sucks.
Oh by the way I cant spell!!!

If you are going to be welding...which I hope so. Why not just cut, shape, and weld some sheet metal together? You can always ue your trusty reciprocating saw to cut out the windows. I personally wouldn't bother trying to fiberglass the whole thing; you'll hate your life for more than a year. Not to mention I would worry about you suffocating yourself with the resin fumes.

I'm forced to agree. I would use 1.5" square tubing though for the frame. 1" will not support a lot of weight. The F/G will just add WAY too much weight for it to do any good unless you have a F/G gun for spraying it on.

As for your windows, for simplicities sake I would use the plexi, but not just any plexi, this is in a moving vehicle after all. Look for Lexan or better plexiglass. It is a LOT stronger for the thickness and weight. Double pane it for insulation and sound control. Trim it with universal trim rubber for cars and seal it with silicone.

Skin that off with 1/4" outdoor graded ply and use R-tech for insulation. R-tech is like a bubble wrap made out of foil. I get mine from Lowes. It's relatively cheap and very lightweight. skin the inside with 1/4" and the outside with painted and shielded sheets of metal.

The insulation will defiitely make those party nights a lot nicer to sleep in. And should give a insulation factor of about R8-R12 depending on how clean the install is.

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Never send your ducks to eagle school.
The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
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