"Exo Egg" Fiberglass Camper Build

[WV Jeeper]

Did you design the decals or are they off the rack?

They are a mixture of ideas/things I found online and my own to customize the look I wanted. I have a vinyl machine so I have the freedom to play around with designs until I found something I liked. Heres a pic of what the original Uhaul camper (not mine) decals looked like. I wanted a different look but I did keep the "UHAUL" name as it was as a nod to the original.

 

[WV Jeeper]

I got the screen door installed yesterday. The curvature of the doorway creates a good bit of fabrication if we were to try to use a traditional door for the opening so I went with a vinyl screen door. The fit and quality are nice. It was custom made by a guy in WI that makes boat covers. I got a lead on him thru the u-haul camper group I'm on where he made one for another guy so he already had a template from doing his. It attaches inside with 3M tape so no holes or fabrication to install which really appealed to me. Goes on and off easily. Its light and I can roll it up and store in the closet when not using it. The zippered door works as intended so all and all I'm happy to have a bug free solution. I also have little dogs so having a barrier to keep them in with the door open is a plus.

I also proceeded to gluing the floor down yesterday. I was going to leave it dryfit but after walking on it, it appears to have streched and doesnt fit as nicely. So, I decided to glue it down to keep things from shifting around again.

We are also going to attempt to add some insulation to the wall cavities where possible as there is nothing and the fiberglass does have a tendency to condensate under the right conditions. There is little to no room in many areas between the inner and outer fiberglass walls but some areas have some space we are hoping to push some insulation into. We will be using a reflectix type of material on a roll. Its thin with a silver backing on one side. Others have done this and said it helps so we are going to see what we can do. Hubby wanted to use a low rise foam to spray into the areas since its so tight in many spots but several people on the camper forum are concerned it will damage the fiberglass during expansion. Basically nobody has tried it and we may still be the ginny pigs if we arent happy with the rolled insulation.

 

[bigskypylot]

I got the screen door installed yesterday. The curvature of the doorway creates a good bit of fabrication if we were to try to use a traditional door for the opening so I went with a vinyl screen door. The fit and quality are nice. It was custom made by a guy in WI that makes boat covers. I got a lead on him thru the u-haul camper group I'm on where he made one for another guy so he already had a template from doing his. It attaches inside with 3M tape so no holes or fabrication to install which really appealed to me. Goes on and off easily. Its light and I can roll it up and store in the closet when not using it. The zippered door works as intended so all and all I'm happy to have a bug free solution. I also have little dogs so having a barrier to keep them in with the door open is a plus.

I also proceeded to gluing the floor down yesterday. I was going to leave it dryfit but after walking on it, it appears to have streched and doesnt fit as nicely. So, I decided to glue it down to keep things from shifting around again.

We are also going to attempt to add some insulation to the wall cavities where possible as there is nothing and the fiberglass does have a tendency to condensate under the right conditions. There is little to no room in many areas between the inner and outer fiberglass walls but some areas have some space we are hoping to push some insulation into. We will be using a reflectix type of material on a roll. Its thin with a silver backing on one side. Others have done this and said it helps so we are going to see what we can do. Hubby wanted to use a low rise foam to spray into the areas since its so tight in many spots but several people on the camper forum are concerned it will damage the fiberglass during expansion. Basically nobody has tried it and we may still be the ginny pigs if we arent happy with the rolled insulation.

Looks great!

Where in Wisconsin is this guy located by chance? Wisconsin native here

 

[WV Jeeper]

Looks great!

Where in Wisconsin is this guy located by chance? Wisconsin native here

He's in La Crosse. I was born in Marshfield and have family in Tomah. I only lived in WI a couple years and have only been back a couple times since though.

 

[Mark Harley]

Very cool build....The graphics turned out great!

 

[bigskypylot]

He's in La Crosse. I was born in Marshfield and have family in Tomah. I only lived in WI a couple years and have only been back a couple times since though.

Ah okay. Wisconsin native here. Mostly in Lake Geneva area and Madison. Most my family is originally from the southwest part of the state. Love what you've done with the trailer.

 

[Coachgeo]

So Uhual Eggs did not have the spray on rubbery insulation on the walls like some other Egg trailers did? oh, wait... was that not spray on but stick on sheets ..... I forget. Now think of it.... think it was stick on cause the seams between sheets were hidden with a double stick tape over them and the outer part coated with baby powder fluffed onto the exposed outer portion to stop the stick.

Ohh and on your next vinly sticker experement on this egg change it too "I-HAUL" One; cause it's cool..... two; cause U-Haul is a registered trademark. It will only take one Arsehole lawyer to give you grief. I use to run a U-Haul biz. They are very picky on trademark, signage etc.

We-Haul? hmmm.. Azz-Haul? Haul-n-Azz?, My-Haul? 4x4-Haul, Haul-Offroad, Egg-Haul? Haul-n-Egg? (yeS those are not intended to be Z's; but could not use S's)

 

[WV Jeeper]

So Uhual Eggs did not have the spray on rubbery insulation on the walls like some other Egg trailers did? oh, wait... was that not spray on but stick on sheets ..... I forget. Now think of it.... think it was stick on cause the seams between sheets were hidden with a double stick tape over them and the outer part coated with baby powder fluffed onto the exposed outer portion to stop the stick.

Ohh and on your next vinly sticker experement on this egg change it too "I-HAUL" One; cause it's cool..... two; cause U-Haul is a registered trademark. It will only take one Arsehole lawyer to give you grief. I use to run a U-Haul biz. They are very picky on trademark, signage etc.

We-Haul? hmmm.. Azz-Haul? Haul-n-Azz?, My-Haul? 4x4-Haul, Haul-Offroad, Egg-Haul? Haul-n-Egg? (yeS those are not intended to be Z's; but could not use S's)

No, there is no insulation on the U-haul. Just the inner and outer fiberglass shells seamed in the middle. Some eggs do have an interior carpet type material over the interior walls and I'm honestly not sure what others might have inside their walls as far as insulation. That rubber spray on would have been an ideal option. The only way to fully insulate would have to have been done before they joined the two shells during manufacturing. Not sure why they didnt consider insulation as a vital component back then?

As for the U-Haul sticker. I understand the legalities of your argument and don't disagree there is probably someone out there that may decide to give me grief over it someday....but at the end of the day it is a "U-Haul" and it was on the trailer to begin with and when I bought it. The branding was not removed when they sold them off to the public and of those that still exist, the majority of them still say U-Haul on them. Many of those that own them have replaced the original sticker as it was fading or flaking off (like ours). If it had not been on there originally or it wasnt a U-Haul trailer, I would certainly feel differently by replacing the U-Haul sticker. But, the frame, manufacturer plate, door badge and several other components on the trailer all say U-Haul so it is what it is..... and what it is is a U-Haul. I feel its like my Jeep. Like many jeep owners, I have several modifications on my jeep to customize it and make it unique and my own. At the end of day its still a Jeep, just different than everyone elses. lol

 

[azscotts]

Interesting discussion about the branding and logo. I kind of think you're on to something here. U-Haul didn't remove the branding when they sold the used trailer - so in that case, they weren't really seeking to protect their brand. What if you put spinner rims on it with Christmas lights while still keeping that logo on there. If anything, you're just giving them free advertising or creating "fan art". Kind of like people who dress up like Star Trek characters and go to Comic Con, you see some realistic costumes but there's no lawyer from Paramount wandering around handing out cease and desist orders. Now, if you tried to make money from it - then that changes the game.

 

[Coachgeo]

gotta agree... if nothing was removed orginally then seems to me your fine.

 

[L57]

Outstanding work, Congratulations!

 

[FosterWV]

Cool build! And that expo cage is ************.

 

[WV Jeeper]

Thanks everyone. No trailer updates this week. The weather has been nice which means real work that pays. lol

I did put some decals on our coolers though. Can't wait to use the new Rtic one. The quality is impressive and we will surely use less bags of ice while camping compared to standard coolers.

 

[WV Jeeper]

Sorry I haven't had much for updates lately. There have been a few updates I'll post pics of below. I can't believe it but we are actually at that stage where we are waiting on good weather to bring the egg out of the garage to finish. We can't install the rooftop fan or the rack inside because the camper will not clear the garage door so the rest will need to be done outdoors. After the rack is installed, we have the solar panel to mount to it and wire up, along with the pod lights. We also have a front rock guard for over the window to install and the tires and wheels. Other than that, dare I say we just might be done!

As for recent updates, we added insulation everywhere we could access and as far up between the two shells as was possible. Hopefully this will help with any condensation issues that might arise. Not sure why the manufacturer didnt think insulation was necessary?

I finally got around to painting the wheel inserts red to match the ones on my jeep. I also painted all of the window frames a gloss black as they got a bit scratched up upon removing and reinstalled all of the windows. Hubby welded some tie off points on the rack for strapping down our kayaks and some light mounts on all four corners for led pod lights. We have already ran the wiring to two switches inside the door that will functon the rear and front lights seperately. Oh, I also got some propane tank covers to make em look a little cooler. I originally wanted to paint the tanks red but my husband brought up a good point that its easier to find a place to switch out tanks than to fill them when we are on the road so I found these magnetic cover things. Cheap enough at $13ea so we will try em out I guess. Oh I redid the floor inside also. I don't have a pic but I didnt like the wood like vinyl entry by the door that I did before. It seemed to throw off my whole look so I ordered another roll of the foam I used on the rest of the flooring and redid the layout so the seam falls under the bed now (where you don't see it) instead of by the front door which is what prompted the different flooring at the entry. I like it much better now that it is all uniform. I think that is pretty much all we have done. Like I said, just waiting on some nicer warmer weather days to finish this project up! Next update will be from outside!

 

[WV Jeeper]

BIG things are happening with the egg this weekend. We moved it out of the garage finally to finish up the rest of our modifications. We are in the home stretch now...finally!

So, the most obvious update is the installation of the rack ofcourse. We have also mounted the solar panel on the rear and rock guard on the front. We are considering blacking out the diamond plate rock guard to tone down the bling and glare so that may still happen. We have mounted the tires and wheels also.

Next, we will be installing the rooftop fan and hooking up the wires we pre-ran for the led pods on the rack. Also need to install the ARB awning. We removed the kayak mounts as we will only need them when we plan on bringing our kayaks with us and the mounts are easily installed in a few minutes.

Other than the few remaining installs above, it's just a matter of cleaning everything from sitting in the garage and dare I say we are ready to roll...on the road that is! First stop will be the weigh station in town to see what our final weight is and its a good test run to see how everything pulls down the road. I'm thinking we will take it on an overnight or two to one of our local campgrounds to test out the camping experience and see if there are any changes or fixes we need to do before we plan a longer road trip.