Weekend Warrior makeover

[81Sprint]

So i bought a 2006 26' Weekend Warrior about a month ago. I had a 19' Attitude back in 07, my first RV, then sold it when the crash hit in 08. Fast forward to 2018 and the wife and I bought a 36' Keystone 5th wheel and it served us pretty well, but it was not very well built in my opinion. With the market as it is, i got offered this past august more than what i paid for it brand new, alot more. Mind you i am a freak with my stuff everything is VERY well cared for, so the new owners got a damn near new RV. Wife and i almost immediately started missing it, and the hunt was on for a new one. I wanted another toyhauler, not to haul toys we have a built wrangler, but to serve our purpose better with on board genny and fuel station and bigger water tanks. We almost always dry camp, and with the 5th wheel we always got low on water. So i found a 06 Billet edition 26' front bathroom WW, got it for a good price considering the market on these things and paid cash, an RDP must . It needs some love, but it is damn clean on the inside. I am not good to leave things alone, so it will look like a new hauler very soon! more to follow as time goes

 

[81Sprint]

Interior

 

[81Sprint]

graphics coming off, they were sun baked and all cracked. Also changed the outdoor lighting to LED and got rid of the yellowed halogen lighting

 

[81Sprint]

 

[81Sprint]

Now comes the hard part, polishing the chalky gel coat. I didn't want to do this myself but having a really hard time finding a good reliable person in Vegas to do it. I have the know how but didn't want to do it, getting lazy i guess, but fuck it i got going on it today

 

[Fastdadtsmith]

Did the graphics peel right off or a little elbow grease required? I've been hesitating because I don't want to have to take a scraper to it. Yours looks great!

 

[82daytona]

Did the graphics peel right off or a little elbow grease required? I've been hesitating because I don't want to have to take a scraper to it. Yours looks great!

I’m not sure what he did, but you can get a gel/paste the removes the stickers and use a plastic scraper to help.

 

[81Sprint]

Did the graphics peel right off or a little elbow grease required? I've been hesitating because I don't want to have to take a scraper to it. Yours looks great!

I used this stuff called GraphXoff, it it is like a gel that you put on with a paint brush. if you youtube it, they suggest letting it set about 15 min or so, didnt work for me i let it set for an hour to get any decent results. You take a plastic razor blade and just scrape them off. The really baked on ones will take several tries, and the only problem i am having is some of the grey graphics are leaving a residue that i will wet sand off after i finish the rest of the trailer.

 

[81Sprint]

I’m not sure what he did, but you can get a gel/paste the removes the stickers and use a plastic scraper to help.

yep, i used GraphXoff. It is not cheap, was about $150 for a gallon and the scrapers and brush

 

[81Sprint]

More work on the hauler today, damn near all day. my arms are sore as f$ck! holding that buffer on oxidation is tough

have to do some wet sanding for some of the baked on adhesive, and then i will go over the whole thing again with a step 2 3m fine cut and wax. But this thing is already looking like a mirror, pictures really don't do it justice. The ghosting is now pretty subtle, i was gonna replace the graphics but i now think it looks pretty good without. I will however replace the WW logos on the front and rear

 

[81Sprint]

also on the list today was to replace the 3 vents, molding, and inside trim, all of them were yellowed and brittle. still waiting on the inside trim, but got the vents and weather molding replaced this morning. looking at al the caulk/lap seal it is need of attention as well, so that will be next weekends one of many projects

 

[stoker22405]

That looks pretty damn good....!

 

[riverroyal]

Climb under, do a very good inspection of welds and suspension.
These trailers re heavier than it showed on tags.
Consider new wheels also

 

[ChumpChange]

Nice! Looking forward ti following.

 

[rivermobster]

Climb under, do a very good inspection of welds and suspension.
These trailers re heavier than it showed on tags.
Consider new wheels also

And the shackles. Mine literally ripped apart on my FS 26.

I went with 16" LT tires. You have to be real careful to get the backspacing right to get everything to fit!

Tows a Lot better with 10ply 80psi tires.

 

[C08H18]

Looks fantastic already! Best financial decision too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Backlash]

Man that's one helluva transformation! Looks amazing!!!

 

[81Sprint]

Climb under, do a very good inspection of welds and suspension.
These trailers re heavier than it showed on tags.
Consider new wheels also

That is one of the things i plan to do. I am going to load it up and take it to a CAT scale and weigh it and go from there on wheels/tires. I've read alot on these things recently and definitely don't want issues pulling, my truck is more than capable so no issues there. The previous owner put new 8 ply tires on it, but i would rather have 10 ply Goodyear's, that's is what i put on my 5th wheel right off the lot and run on my boat trailer as well.

 

[Icky]

I just replaced the bolts and bushings on the leaf springs before I sold mine. They were in better condition then a few I've seen but I was already there so I changed them.

 

[Hardly Satisfied]

Sides came out nice looking

 

[81Sprint]

Today was somewhat productive, sold my Nordic this morning, and then got to work on the trailer. The awning was shredded, and the previous owner decided to take tek screws and screw the fabric into the channel. So on top of new fabric i had to reseal all the holes they made. This is not an easy job, and i am still not finished, found a broken piece in the slider arm so that will have to get replaced which prevented me from retensioning the springs. Did get the new fabric installed, with help from my wife who hates ladders lol. Hopefully this weekend i can finish it up

 

[endobear]

Looking good.
Good on you for doing the awning yourself.
I've done a couple. It's a little sketchy the 1st time.
Use a heat gun to help remove the old lap sealant. Just try to avoid heating up the roof material to much.

 

[81Sprint]

Replaced the wheels and tires today, went with Goodyear Endurance 10 ply and Raceline aluminum wheels. Better weight rating and tow a little better, plus a little piece of mind.

 

[81Sprint]

Finished pulling off most of the stickers today, and wet sanded the stubborn grey adhesive that was baked on. Started with 800, then went to 1500 and 2500. Finished off with cutting compound to bring the shine back. It is a little nerve wracking taking sandpaper to your stuff to say the least. Also got in the new rear logo yesterday, breaks up all the white.

 

[LazyLavey]

Good job!! Now you can sit back have a beer and admire your work!

For those dried out graphics I've used these erasers with great sucess

Amazon.com : graphic eraser wheel

 

[81Sprint]

Good job!! Now you can sit back have a beer and admire your work!

For those dried out graphics I've used these erasers with great sucess

Amazon.com : graphic eraser wheel

Thanks! i tried the eraser but it wanted to turn the gel a yellow tint. I've used the eraser on automotive paint and it worked great.

 

[LazyLavey]

Thanks! i tried the eraser but it wanted to turn the gel a yellow tint. I've used the eraser on automotive paint and it worked great.

The eraser did the same to me in a couple of spots, like it over heated and discolored the gel.... the next day the discoloration was gone...

 

[ChumpChange]

What you do with the old wheels? Might want to pick up a spare.

 

[81Sprint]

What you do with the old wheels? Might want to pick up a spare.

I sold them already.

 

[81Sprint]

Well, went to the CAT scales today, very interesting. Filled the trailer with water and fuel, truck fully fueled and 36 auxiliary tank full.

Truck by itself- 8760 lb
Trailer by itself- 10300 lb
Combined- 19060 lb
Tongue weight- 1560 lb, 110 lbs over the rating on my B&W tow and stow hitch. Guess i will be using the weight distribution hitch

 

[riverroyal]

wow, nice work and effort!! You should start flipping RVs

 

[riverroyal]

trailer is 10300 with no cargo??

 

[81Sprint]

trailer is 10300 with no cargo??

yep, it's pretty heavy. I was really surprised. It weighs more than my 36' Fifth wheel by almost 2k lbs.

 

[81Sprint]

So we went camping this weekend, for the maiden trip a short and sweet trip to Dumont dunes. It's close to the house, so if anything went wrong didn't have far to come home. Everything went great, no issues with the trailer. Ran the genny for 31 hours cause my girls don't like the cold lol, but i wanted to put it through the paces before we really go out in the boondocks. I need to figure out some solar for this thing to keep the batteries charged during the day. Even let my daughter drive the jeep around for the first time, 11 years old and i have created a monster! Now she thinks its gonna be her first car, which it probably will.

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Those older tag toy haulers were fucking heavy compared to new toy haulers. Pretty wild when you look at the weights between the old and new.

I think the first toy hauler my parents had (a '01 Wanderer Wagon) weighed in at just under 8k empty and it was only a 21 footer!

 

[t&y]

Wait, are you trying to tell me your Jeep fits in there?

Great project they way. How hard was the roof vent repair?

 

[DLC]

Wow I am amazed at how well it turned out!
it really looks fantastic!! 2 questions -

1- how many hrs do you think you spent on pull off the stickers / graphics?

2- how many hrs do you think you spent cutting and polishing the exterior

we don’t have an RV right now but thinking I might buy something a little older and 81sprint it! This has inspired me! Thank you!

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Wait, are you trying to tell me your Jeep fits in there?

Great project they way. How hard was the roof vent repair?

No they followed in the Jeep I believe.

 

[81Sprint]

Wait, are you trying to tell me your Jeep fits in there?

Great project they way. How hard was the roof vent repair?

No, it would be to heavy even if it did. Roof vents were really easy, i just bought the new plastics and seals off amazon. Hardest part was getting the interior seal off due to it being damn near melted on.

 

[81Sprint]

Wow I am amazed at how well it turned out!
it really looks fantastic!! 2 questions -

1- how many hrs do you think you spent on pull off the stickers / graphics?

2- how many hrs do you think you spent cutting and polishing the exterior

we don’t have an RV right now but thinking I might buy something a little older and 81sprint it! This has inspired me! Thank you!

I would say a good two weekends pulling the graphics off, but it was a learning process as well. The driver side of my trailer obviously was stored toward the sun just due to the stubbornness of the adhesive to get off, that's the side i had to wet sand. Cutting and buffing is just one of those things i took my time at, probably all in all could have done it faster, but i was in no rush and i am super picky. Probably about a month of my weekends spent on the outside of it.

 

[81Sprint]

wow, nice work and effort!! You should start flipping RVs

Actually i have thought about starting something on the side just doing graphic removal and cutting and buffing. It is kind of relaxing to me as crazy as it sounds, my biggest problem is i would want to do the work at home but my rv parking won't fit another trailer.

 

[Maestro]

Tongue weight can be adjust by hitch height adjustment. Also when you put a toy in the trailers garage area the tongue weight should lesson some.

 

[81Sprint]

Tongue weight can be adjust by hitch height adjustment. Also when you put a toy in the trailers garage area the tongue weight should lesson some.

Ya that was another factor, we have no counterbalance in the trailer (toy) which is why the tongue weight is so high

 

[BIG MIKE]

Replaced the wheels and tires today, went with Goodyear Endurance 10 ply and Raceline aluminum wheels. Better weight rating and tow a little better, plus a little piece of mind.

View attachment 961449 View attachment 961450

What off set do you have on the wheels? I just bought a 4005 and want to put Racelines on as well.

 

[AZmike]

Nice work, I can't believe how many people buy trailers or boats for that matter and let them go to shit! Great job Bud!

 

[81Sprint]

What off set do you have on the wheels? I just bought a 4005 and want to put Racelines on as well.

Don't remember the specs on them, I bought the package from Discount tire.

 

[81Sprint]

Nice work, I can't believe how many people buy trailers or boats for that matter and let them go to shit! Great job Bud!

Thanks! I have since sold this one, it had some water damage from the previous owner not keeping up on the exterior sealant that I found after I cleaned it up. Didn't want to tackle all that, sold it to a guy who didn't care just wanted the trailer.

 

[BIG MIKE]

Actually i have thought about starting something on the side just doing graphic removal and cutting and buffing. It is kind of relaxing to me as crazy as it sounds, my biggest problem is i would want to do the work at home but my rv parking won't fit another trailer.

You should people are paying good money to have it done. I was quoted $2500.00 by two companies to remove graphics and buff my 40' WW.

 

[E4L]

What off set do you have on the wheels? I just bought a 4005 and want to put Racelines on as well.

I just put new raceline rims and 14ply tires on mine as well.

 

[E4L]