Glass Fiber Create Home on Wheels DIY Guide

Fiberglass perfectly suits motorhome construction. Produced from fiberglass saturated with polyester or epoxy resin.Because of its unique structure, fiberglass contains lightness, strength, durability, and high resistance to external negative influences.Key properties of fiberglass include:High strength at minimal thickness.A 2 mm fiberglass sheet can be comparable or stronger than 6 mm plywood.Good resistance to moisture and temperature swings.Fiberglass does not absorb moisture, does not rot, swell or crack at high temperatures.Possibility to manufacture complex forms and curved components.Compared to plywood and MDF, fiberglass easily forms any curves and shapes, enabling ergonomic shower trays, rounded furniture edges, and custom parts.Moderate weight. This contributes to reducing the overall motorhome mass, important for fuel economy and safety.Long-lasting use. With proper use, the service life can reach 50-100 years or more without significant damage.Minimal lifespanPlywood material.In poor conditions (moisture, heat, and no protection), the lifespan is up to 12 months with leaks.Under normal dampness conditions, lifespan reaches up to 2 years.When using waterproof plywood with condensation and heat, the service life may reach up to 5 years.If conditions are ideal: waterproof plywood with varnish, constant ventilation, no condensation or heat, lifespan up to 10 years.Exposure to condensation or leaks may cause lightweight plywood to delaminate and mold after 12 months.With waterproof glue and varnish, service life increases up to 5 years if coating remains intact.If plywood is in good conditions with varnish, ventilation, and moisture protection, lifespan reaches 8 years.Lightweight plywood is wood prone to moisture absorption, and even waterproof types can gather water, leading to mold after one season.MDF starts degrading after half a year,water-resistant MDF serves about 2 years,water-resistant MDF with varnish preserves properties up to 3 years,High temperatures severely damage MDF; at +50 °C glue loses strength and delamination begins,Under optimal no-heat conditions, varnished and ventilated, lifespan reaches 7 years,Not the best material but popular due to ease of production and processing.Under maximum aggressive use, the lifespan of ABS plastic is 1-2 years,the main cause is exposure to high temperature,at +60 °C mechanical strength is lost and severe degradation begins, especially with frequent heating to such or higher temperatures (which is quite common in summer),with moderate use taking into account conditions inside the van, the plastic’s lifespan may be 6-7 years.The material does not lose shape or deteriorate when exposed to moisture,vibration proof,and in the harshest conditions lifespan can reach up to 30 years.Minimum lifespans written by me, and maximum if driving rarely will be no more than 50% higher.Fiberglass can be better explained by the example of yachts that have sailed seas for many years and are made of fiberglass.Possibility of forming complex structures.Plywood, lightweight plywood, and MDF are known for low flexibility.Obtaining non-standard shapes requires complex and expensive processing, or they cannot be made at all.In essence, ABS plastic is an industrial production material requiring factory processing.Flat panels can be purchased for cladding, however the cost of such finishing is high.Moreover, ABS plastic is prized for its strength even in thin forms.But thin sheets cannot be joined with ordinary tools.Basically, for DIY construction ABS plastic is one of the most inconvenient materials.Using fiberglass, it’s possible to make any curved shapes by hand,which plays a key role in optimizing space and organizing functional zones inside the motorhome,but there are some nuances regarding manufacturing and production costs,prices may be both high and lower than standard plywood.Why is fiberglass often chosen for DIY conversions?The base of the material is fiberglass impregnated with polyester resin, providing parts with greater strength and unique advantages,which makes it indispensable for DIY work:Easy to process, the material is plastic before curing and very strong afterRational use of space by creating curved and non-standard shapes that remove bulky corners and excess space.A fiberglass shower tray can be created perfectly fitting the size and shape of the vehicle,side openings on vans that are usually covered can be made the same but leave more space,this opens the possibility to mount the bed in the highest position, which is difficult with plywood or MDF.Durability under vibrational and impact loads.While driving, the vehicle experiences constant vibrations, but fiberglass does not crack or chip.While other materials do not withstand vibration, fiberglass does not react to it.Minimal tools and learning materials needed; no complex equipment or professional machine park required, just basic tools and instructional videos.A tutorial video with explanation: most fiberglass videos are aimed at mass manufacturing, where a mold for a single part costs as much as the entire motorhome interior.Nevertheless, ways exist to do this about 20 times cheaper, even cheaper than plywood, but no one tells about them.Methods cheaper than plywood finishing do exist, but they are kept quiet, and I know them.Down below, I will provide a source where you can check out this method,Read carefully to the end to find the name of my YouTube channel.If you compare manual execution with factory execution, there is no difference, you can do exactly the same as in the factory.Summary and recommendationsFor those who want to build a motorhome or convert a cargo van into a passenger bus by themselves, fiberglass is the most rational choiceWhy exactly rational, you ask?Because buying factory products 30-50% more expensive, you acquire durability and won’t see rot in 5-10 yearsSometimes it happens that an MDF motorhome after vacation in a hot country becomes unusableThis really happens — I have seen paneling replaced after 3 years due to mold and rust on fastenersThis is an absolutely irrational approachOften self-builders believe that plywood can cover a motorhome in a couple of weeksWithout knowledge and recommendations, self-building often drags on for several yearsSometimes self-build with MDF and light plywood dragged on more than 3 years, after which it had to be redone because materials were damaged by moisture.I didn’t specify construction times for different materials since everything depends on knowledge.Many neglect knowledge, just buying expensive tools thinking it’s enough.Essentially, knowledge is always more important than any tool.As an example, info on working with ABS plastic is easy to find, but tools are very expensive and meant for large-scale production.For other materials, there are many tutorial videos, but how much will they help?.You can spend a lot of money just on tools.Plus, you will have to study hundreds of videos about working with the tool.Plus, there is a risk of cutting your limbs with a circular saw when working with such material.There are nuances about fiberglass that I already mentioned and few people know about,This information is not available on the internet, but I made a video on YouTube,I invite you to watch, perhaps you’ll decide to learn and build a motorhome yourself,You’ll find me on YouTube by typing (@) and the channel name (HardRefit), I won’t praise fiberglass any further, the decision is yours,I tried to be as accurate as possible and indicated the maximum service life under different conditions.If you need the right contractor for van-to-motorhome conversion, we are at your service,The link to the website is in the description of our YouTube channel.I hope my advice helped you choose the right material for building a motorhome,I would appreciate if you like the article and subscribe to our YouTube channel.