Somewhere near Yuma

[rruff]

I'd guess Bondo would work fine to fill chips. You can buy gelcoat as well. I've never tried to do fine finish work.

 

[ponderosa1]

I'd guess Bondo would work fine to fill chips. You can buy gelcoat as well. I've never tried to do fine finish work.

I see, I got a boat chip fix kit from Amazon earlier but it mixed very thick despite following instructions, like very heavy putty, solidifying very rapidly too and was impossible to apply in a fine manner, and impossible to clean up/wipe off where it went on wrong. Is fiberglass supposed to be that thick during application or should it be kind of flowy?
I wonder if it was just a bad product and I better get Bondo (some boat chip kits from amazon allow to blend to the right shade with a pigment, though, unlike plain white bondo, a big plus)

 

[rruff]

What you were using was probably polyester resin (with MEK added to set off the reaction) with something in it to make it thick. This is what Bondo is as well. If you use too much MEK/hardener, it will set up very quickly. The amount of hardener required varies with temperature.

I'd just fill the chips, paint them or put a vinyl sticker over them, and call it good. Best to not get too attached to cosmetics on something you actually use offroad. I worry about breaking things, not scratching them. My rig is covered with scratches.

 

[ponderosa1]

What you were using was probably polyester resin (with MEK added to set off the reaction) with something in it to make it thick. This is what Bondo is as well. If you use too much MEK/hardener, it will set up very quickly. The amount of hardener required varies with temperature.

I'd just fill the chips, paint them or put a vinyl sticker over them, and call it good. Best to not get too attached to cosmetics on something you actually use offroad. I worry about breaking things, not scratching them. My rig is covered with scratches.

I actually will sell my camper soon so need to fix things up for that.
I see, looks like I should just use less hardener.

 

[ITTOG]

Mine has 1.5" PVC foam walls and top, and the windows are covered, no vents. Thinking of the places I've traveled, it probably has never been over 100 inside. On the other end, below freezing the plastic can get brittle. Pounding over rough roads at low temp might not be a good idea either.

Sounds like insulating first will most likely prevent any issues. Right now the roof is just galvalume so it is like a radiator in the summer. Putting in some radient barrier and the 2" xps should resolve that.

I actually will sell my camper soon so need to fix things up for that.
I see, looks like I should just use less hardener.

If the chip went through the fiberglass I would just use bondo with fiberglass in it. You can but it as a kit.

 

[ponderosa1]

Have you camped at KOFA, and if so, how is it?

I do every year.
This is my last year as I will be leaving US of A forever, at last.
KOFA has 14 days per year camping limit.
Lots of ohvs like to ride there so I only go there during Quartzsite off season times, when it starts getting too hot for all the crowds and they leave or before they are in, even from a big distance ohv noise drives me crazy.
You must camp within 100 feet from designated road in KOFA so there are limited opportunities to avoid vehicles.
The worst starts around Christmas time and eases up some time in March.
It's not as lush as near Colorado of course even during wet years.

 

[rruff]

^Thanks! Ya, the combination of ohvs and strict camping didn't seem ideal to me either. I may go to Kofa next week, since it's supposed to hit 97 in Yuma, and be over 90 for 6 days. Hard to find elevation around here...

I've found good spots elsewhere near Yuma. The current one has been very quiet for the 2 weeks I've been here, and nice.

 

[ponderosa1]

^Thanks! Ya, the combination of ohvs and strict camping didn't seem ideal to me either. I may go to Kofa next week, since it's supposed to hit 97 in Yuma, and be over 90 for 6 days. Hard to find elevation around here...

I've found good spots elsewhere near Yuma. The current one has been very quiet for the 2 weeks I've been here, and nice.

Those pictures look like my previous spot, very lush and green.
I'm just getting out of low sea level elevations myself, just in time.
A few OHVs do ride even in the 90s in KOFA pretty much until most crowds leave Q but there shouldn't be as much traffic.
I sort of welcome it getting into the 90s so early, it should get less crowded faster around Q.

 

[ponderosa1]

The only thing about this heat wave, rattlers had been active because of warm winter, just nearly got bit by one right next to my rig 6 days ago on a cooler stormy day. I bet rattlers will be out in full force next week.
Funny I walked to my rig back from the desert thinking rattlers surely should be down in the burrows during storm like this and next thing it was rattling at me inches from my foot at the rig corner.

 

[rruff]

Lots of photos. These are from the same area as the last ones I posted. The sunrises and sunsets are really incredible; nice to have a good view of the horizon if possible.

These are from a new spot that was the easiest to access, was very lush, and also quiet... no atvs were seen or heard in the 2 weeks I've been here.



The last two were the same sunset. My phone is kinda cheap and the colors are off a bit, but the intensity is real... actually more in person.

The following two photos need a little back story. I was relaxing and watching the horizon to the SW, shortly before sundown. There were 4 jets with huge contrails heading west, and several other contrails that appeared to head the same direction. I wistfully wondered what a missile attack would look like. Then I pondered where these planes might be headed. Possibly San Diego or TJ, but otherwise they must be heading across the Pacific. I considered military planes, but they were definitely over Mexico.

Later after sunset I saw a very bright white object rapidly ascend from the WSW horizon. It was behind a tree, so I couldn't see it that well, but it left a contrail of similar brightness, so it looked like a growing line heading SE. I was quite confused and shocked! Couldn't tell what it was, and had no explanation. I had my phone with me so could have gotten a good video of it, but I was too much in the ******?! zone for that. When it got closer I was pretty sure it was a rocket, but still had no clue what it was doing. It seemed to be traveling almost horizontal and turn S when it got closer to me, but that could have been an illusion.

Turns out it was a SpaceX launch from Vandenberg, about 400 miles away. The bright white plume was the exhaust freezing in the upper atmosphere.




And... more photos looking east at sunrise and one afternoon, and sunset when the moon was out.

 

[ponderosa1]

I could see that Space X launch clear from 100 miles East of Yuma too. Thought they finally decided to bomb Quartzsite lol. I just passed through Q and it's packed and crazy like it's Jan 1, incredible.

 

[ponderosa1]

I actually had setup in KOFA area myself but not going into the refuge yet, staying on the outskirts for now. SxS activity is pretty low for this time of the year, the heat wave is working already but I'm saving using up my 14 day/year limit for the future time when most are gone from Q, then I can go in and setup 100 ft from the road like required Strategic planning!