Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Dear friends

Im about to install the fiberglass Kit Fenders - Where do I start and how do I go about it?

And is there a correct height to follow... I certainly dont want to mess these up since they came over from so far away...and as you know the only ones in all of this area..


Is it best to install them 1st and then have them painted?

Classic Finn

Where be all them dar Kit Fiberglass Folks... I know there are some here some where ...

Classic Finn

Finn...I stack up some wood scraps on top of the wheel to give me the fender clearance I want, then mark the interior flange on the fender with a marker so that I don't have a hole hanging out with nothing behind it...also note bulkheads so you don't end up putting a bolt right into one...drill the holes in the flange. Position it on the blocks again and mark the side of the trailer...drill those holes and bolt it up...at least that's how I do it...others experience may vary....Doug

doug hodder wrote:Finn...I stack up some wood scraps on top of the wheel to give me the fender clearance I want, then mark the interior flange on the fender with a marker so that I don't have a hole hanging out with nothing behind it...also note bulkheads so you don't end up putting a bolt right into one...drill the holes in the flange. Position it on the blocks again and mark the side of the trailer...drill those holes and bolt it up...at least that's how I do it...others experience may vary....Doug

Is there a specified clearance that you use or is it a matter of individual taste?

Ok since the walls are not insulated, how does one cover up them ol bolt holes? Doesnt it look - well sort of out of place while inside looking at them bolt heads?

Garsh I wish I could see some real live tears so I could compare to ...and see what they look like in real life...

Ok I,ll give it a go... any special size or type bolt recommended? any photos of some around Doug? Close Up?

How does this look? I know they should be tilted over to the front more.





Thanks
Classic Finn

Hi there CF! Glad to see you're back. I've got similar fenders on our tear that I bought from R.W. Johnson. The way Doug described is basically what I did, too. Once I got the location of the fender where I wanted, mostly for clearance and eye appeal, I marked & drilled my holes. The only difference is that I epoxied some "blind nuts" or "t-nuts" on the inside of the camper after recessing them, and THEN put my 1/8" finish birch over them for a clean inside look. Hope this makes sense. Check our our album, there are pictures of the fenders, flanges, fender welting (really adds a nice classic look) and the blind nuts. Let me know if we can be of further assistance. Again, glad to have you back in the loop!!

Heikki,
Glad to have you back.
This is the way my husband did it, but I wouldn't call us experts.
We used carriage bolts, because the head is pretty smooth and not too ugly. We used stainless steel, size 5/16 of an inch, not quite sure what is equal in metric.
Others probably do it differently, I don't know???
First is picture of bolt, a little fuzzy but I think you can get idea.

Next is where you see the 4 bolt heads, that part of our teardrop is open at bottom.

Next is a little closer picture of 2 bolt heads

Last picture is taken inside fender of end of bolt with nut and washer.

My husband put a very little rubber spacer between fender and teardrop.
Hope this helps you Heikki. Also if you check my album, you can see my newest pictures. We have taken it on a test drive. You can see the Ford fenders, white wall tires and everything.
Good luck, Martha

Tim & Lori wrote:Hi there CF! Glad to see you're back. I've got similar fenders on our tear that I bought from R.W. Johnson. The way Doug described is basically what I did, too. Once I got the location of the fender where I wanted, mostly for clearance and eye appeal, I marked & drilled my holes. The only difference is that I epoxied some "blind nuts" or "t-nuts" on the inside of the camper after recessing them, and THEN put my 1/8" finish birch over them for a clean inside look. Hope this makes sense. Check our our album, there are pictures of the fenders, flanges, fender welting (really adds a nice classic look) and the blind nuts. Let me know if we can be of further assistance. Again, glad to have you back in the loop!!

Well hello there Tim and Lori .. thank you for your advice... yup I got mine from RW Johnson too via slow boat over..

Im real jittery about doing this since Id have to order another pair if I goof these up... Because these are not anywhere to be found here..But ok as I did a second hatch now I have to do it right the 1st time on this.

I have Mahogany interior already on the inside of mine... started doing things wrong in the beginning so it a lil scary if you know what I mean but ok got to grab the reindeer by the horns and just do it...

But thank you for the advice once again..

Classic Finn

martha24 wrote:Heikki,
Glad to have you back.
This is the way my husband did it, but I wouldn't call us experts.
We used carriage bolts, because the head is pretty smooth and not too ugly. We used stainless steel, size 5/16 of an inch, not quite sure what is equal in metric.
Others probably do it differently, I don't know???
First is picture of bolt, a little fuzzy but I think you can get idea.

Next is where you see the 4 bolt heads, that part of our teardrop is open at bottom.

Next is a little closer picture of 2 bolt heads

Last picture is taken inside fender of end of bolt with nut and washer.

My husband put a very little rubber spacer between fender and teardrop.
Hope this helps you Heikki. Also if you check my album, you can see my newest pictures. We have taken it on a test drive. You can see the Ford fenders, white wall tires and everything.
Good luck, Martha

Wow Martha you folks sure have done a very nice job on your tear as well. Im going to see if I can find some caps to put on the bolt heads after they are in place.. I can countersink the bolt in a lil and place a mahogany type cap to cover the bolts up but it looks like yours are not bad at all right from the start..

Now on drilling fiberglass .. is it better to start off with a smaller bit and then change over to a size larger .. Ive never drilled anything with fiberglass

Thank you for the instructions
Best regards
Classic Da Ol Finn

We used 1/4" bolts with larger "fender" washers to spread the torque a little better. When I was 200% sure that I had the fender holes marked, I did it one more time and then used a 1/4" drill to drill the fiberglass-go slow as the glass is easy to drill through. Have at it .

Heikki,
My husband said he didn't notice much difference between drilling a hole in the fiberglass and wood.
We used the larger fender washers too like Tim & Lori.
Good luck,
Martha

Tim and Lori as well as Martha ... I,ll give it a go... wish me luck

I understand now what kind of bolts you folks used.. How far apart are the bolts best to be installed at?

And is there any sense to put rubber welting behind the fender lip and wall? or will it cause moisure in between? And dirt and such?

Classic Finn

We used a total of 6 bolts per fender evenly spaced around the flange watch for spars & such on your walls when deciding where to locate the holes. As for the welting, it's all vinyl and gives the fender a more vintage look. It also compensates for any gaps between the trailer wall and the fender itself-a little more work, but I liked the finished (or is it Finnished?) look it gave.

Tim & Lori wrote:We used a total of 6 bolts per fender evenly spaced around the flange watch for spars & such on your walls when deciding where to locate the holes. As for the welting, it's all vinyl and gives the fender a more vintage look. It also compensates for any gaps between the trailer wall and the fender itself-a little more work, but I liked the finished (or is it Finnished?) look it gave.

Tim and Lori
I just spent about 20 minutes or so in your photo gallery, I really like what youve done, great workmanship..
It definately looks Finntastic with the nice Birch...

Ok get going on the fender install in the morning ... ohhh it is already morning here at 02:55 .. ok well when the rooster crows...

But thanks again to all of you for the schooling ...I guess I better go and get some beauty rest... ok maybe just rest..

Good Night from us here in Reindeerland..


Classic Finn and Family

Heikki...if it were me...I'd get the front and back of the fender horizontal on the same line...and from your pic, it appears that it is sitting too high to me...I stand back and check out the look...I fill the opening with the tire...there is enough lift on those fenders that you can run them down so that you have just a little space between the top of the wheel opening and the tire. make sure that you get the fender centered so that you have equidistant gaps all the way around the fender with the wheel...I have 15's on mine, so if you have smaller, you're going to have a larger gap...clear as mud huh? Doug