GRP Make Van Build For Beginners

Fiberglass perfectly suits motorhome construction. It is a durable composite of fiberglass soaked with polyester or epoxy resin.Owing to its unique structure, fiberglass integrates lightness, strength, durability, and resistance to negative environmental influences.Key properties of fiberglass include:Exhibits high strength at low thickness.Thus, a 2 mm fiberglass sheet matches or sometimes exceeds the strength of 6 mm plywood.Resistance to moisture and temperature changes.The material resists moisture, does not rot, swell or crack when heated.Skill to create intricate shapes and curved parts.Compared to plywood and MDF, fiberglass freely takes any form and bend, enabling ergonomic shower trays, smooth furniture edges, and unique elements.Low weight. Thanks to this, the overall weight of the motorhome decreases, positively affecting fuel efficiency and safety.Durability. With proper care, service life can be 50–100 years or more without major damage.Minimal durabilityPlywood board.Under unfavorable conditions (moisture + heat + no protection), plywood serves up to 12 months with leaks.With dampness, plywood lifespan reaches up to 2 years.With waterproof plywood, condensation, and heat, service life reaches up to 5 years.Under optimal conditions, including waterproof plywood with varnish, constant ventilation, and no condensation or heat, lifespan reaches up to 10 years.With condensation and leaks, lightweight plywood is prone to delamination and mold within 12 months.If glue and varnish are waterproof and coating is whole, plywood serves up to 5 years.In favorable conditions: varnish, ventilation, and moisture protection — plywood lasts up to 8 years.Being a wood material, lightweight plywood absorbs moisture, and even waterproof types may trap water, leading to mold after one season.MDF can deteriorate already after 6 months,water-resistant MDF up to 2 years,water-resistant MDF coated with varnish up to 3 years,Heat strongly damages it and at +50 °C glue begins to lose properties and MDF starts delaminating,If heat is absent, with varnish protection and ventilation, MDF lifespan can reach 7 years,Not ideal material but often chosen for ease in manufacturing and handling.The service life of ABS plastic under aggressive use is 1-2 years,it is caused primarily by heat,above +60 °C ABS plastic loses strength and quickly deteriorates with frequent heating to such or higher temperatures (typical for summer),with medium load and considering conditions inside the van, the plastic lasts about 6-7 years.Fiberglass does not swell or deteriorate when in contact with moisture,withstands vibrational loads,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.To understand fiberglass, one can give the example of yachts that have served for decades and are made of it.Ability to produce complex shapes.Plywood, lightweight plywood, and MDF are characterized by low flexibility.To manufacture non-standard shapes, expensive and complex processing technology is needed, or they cannot be made.ABS plastic by its nature is an industrial material and requires factory manufacturing only.Certainly, flat panels are available for purchase and cladding, but the cost of such work will be significant.ABS plastic features high strength in very thin execution.However, thin sheets cannot be joined with common tools.Essentially, for self-builders this is one of the worst materials.With fiberglass, you can manually form any curved elements,which is very important for space optimization and arranging functional zones inside the motorhome,however, there are definite nuances in production and cost,prices can be high or below those of plywood.Why fiberglass is the best choice 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 craftsmanship work:Easy to work with — plastic before curing and strong afterSpace optimization with curved and non-standard shapes that eliminate bulky corners and surplus space.For example, a fiberglass shower tray can be made perfectly to the size and shape of the vehicle,side openings on vans typically covered can be made alike, leaving more room,which may allow installing the bed at the highest possible position, which is impossible with plywood or MDF.Resistance to vibrations and shocks.When the vehicle moves, vibrations occur which fiberglass endures without cracks or chips.Unlike other materials, fiberglass is not affected by vibration; vibration basically does not affect it.Minimal toolset and training materials allow work without professional machines or complex equipment, just basic tools and videos.A brief explanation and tutorial video show that most fiberglass videos target mass production, where the mold for a part costs as much as the whole motorhome interior.There are ways to perform this about 20 times cheaper than plywood finishing, but few people talk about them.These methods are cheaper than plywood finishing but almost no one talks about them, though I know these ways.Next, I will write where you can find information about this method,Read carefully to the end to find the name of my YouTube channel.There is no difference between manual and factory execution, you can replicate the factory level.Summary and recommendationsIf your goal is to build a motorhome or convert a cargo van into a bus by yourself, fiberglass is the optimal and rational choiceWhy exactly a rational material, you ask?Because even if you buy factory products 30-50% more expensive than other materials, you gain durability and in 5-10 years you won’t see it begin to rotHowever, it is possible that you encounter a homemade motorhome made of MDF, and if you go for six months to a hot country, returning you find the interior completely ruinedThis is reality and I have personally seen many times how people after 3 years completely replaced all the paneling of the van because it was covered with mold and rusty screw spotsThis method is extremely inefficientMany self-builders think plywood is an easy and quick way to sheathe a motorhome in a couple of weeksWithout knowledge and recommendations, self-building often drags on for several yearsThere were even cases, especially with MDF and light plywood, when construction dragged on more than 3 years and then everything was redone due to material damage from moisture.I didn’t talk about construction time with different materials because the key factor is knowledge.Many forget about knowledge buying expensive tools thinking it will be enough.The truth is that knowledge is the most important.ABS plastic is a good example — you can easily find how to work with it, but the tools are expensive and only suitable for large productions.There are lots of tutorial videos on other materials, but how useful will they be?.You can spend a lot of money just on tools.Moreover, watching many tutorial videos will be required.Also, when making from such material there is a high chance of limb injury with a circular saw.There are nuances about fiberglass that I mentioned earlier and that few people know,This is not on the internet, but I have my video on YouTube,I invite you to watch, maybe you’ll want to learn and build a motorhome yourself once and for all,Find me on YouTube by entering (@) and my channel name (HardRefit), I won’t praise fiberglass anymore, the choice is yours,I indicated as accurately as possible the maximum lifespan under various usage.If you seek a professional to convert your van into a motorhome, we are ready to help,The link to the website is in the description of our YouTube channel.I hope my answer helped you with the choice of material for a motorhome,In gratitude, you can like the article and subscribe to our YouTube channel.