A wood van topper is nothing without fiberglass. In this video, I cover the fiberglass process for my DIY Van topper build. Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): uppbeat.io/t/h... License code: IMJUNBZI7K3TDNDD
There are special metal rollers to use when laying down mat. Roll out the air bubbles before the resin sets. Paint rollers cannot apply enough pressure.
Looking good! That sanding process sure can get tedious! When we were adding the plywood to our topper getting those corners as rounded as possible was the toughest.
I was always taught to put a coat, or several, on the substrate BEFORE mat placement. Put a coat on wait a few to let it soak in. Keep applying until resin "pools" on the surface. THEN place your mat. It should instantly change color. Put another coat on top and roll out well. This method takes more resin, but produces a far superior result. This ensures a good bond with the substrate and a mat "sandwich" instead of just butter on one side of the bread. It will eliminate delam problems later. There are lots of Great videos about fiberglass boat building on U tube.
Thanks, me too! 😄 just took her on a 200 MI maiden voyage with the new top yesterday. Got up to some pretty ridiculous speeds and got pretty unbelievable fuel economy!
Do you not want to fasten the lower part of the fiberglass to the metal of the "remaining part of the roof" with some screws? I dont know how much the fiberglass sticks on to the metal, but I got a feeling the most tension is going to be on the wooden parts. Perhaps that was the idea? I'm curious since I've been thinking of doing something like this, but make the lover part of the fiberglass rather thick so I can attach it to the metal and let it take the most tension. Thanks for a series of very informative and inspirational videos!
If you watch the foundation video and speed test video, you'll see that the base is heavily bolted, screwed, and adhered to the van. The fiberglass sticking to the metal is just a bonus. The front of the topper is also clamped and bolted from the outside.
Looks good so far! Not sure to be more impressed with the van or the video recording and quality LOL . Excited to see it coming along and looking good. Will suspension upgrades be in the future?
Hey i just had an idea.... get basic cuts on plywood.... glass it before install... then glass all the corners plus more layers.... Not being armchair here, nor disrespectful.... this is my third or fourth time watching and had the idea
That could work. If I were to do it again, I would use foam board or fiberglass board instead of plywood for the sheathing. This would avoid any expansion or contraction due to moisture levels.
Hi handsome. Don't beat up your work. It's looks good through my eyes. Also from Costco wholesale, get yourself some drinks in bulk, Starbucks nitro, gaterade variety pack and crystal clear water. Might as well pick up Neosporin triple antibiotics, bandaids and extra gloves a whole rotisserie chicken and a side salad. Finally creme brulee. . Have fun with a full stomach on your van project. God bless you
Also next time if you get some cabosil, mill fiber or even talc you can make a putty to wipe over the dry edges of glass before putting more glass (the front area where you ran out of resin) it helps alot with bubbles
do u mind sharing what the total cost of this build was? I know that having a high roof professionally installed can range up to a few thousand so I’m wondering how this homebuild cost compares
Hey there, I have saved all of my receipts for everything on this project and I plan on doing a comprehensive cost, time, weight, and fuel economy breakdown very soon. To give you a balk park, I'd say materials are between $1000-$2000 and it'll take a couple hundred hours to complete. More exact figures will be coming soon in another video.
@@danielepascarella6372 I went with polyester since it was widely available and cheaper. I don't really have any close up shots other than what's in the video, but it wasn't super pretty! lol. Since I was planning to finish with a coarse coat of bedliner paint I wasn't overly concerned with minor imperfections in the fiberglass.
@@samlacey540 I can't remember exactly how many SF it ended up being, but it was a lot! If you plan well enough in advance, it's more economical to buy a roll of it online instead of the small packets at the store. It will also vary with the height of your topper and length of your van.. Just do a quick surface area Calc based on your dimensions, multiply that by 3 and that should give you a good ballpark.
Hi @SisuVan Could you please put links to the Fiberglass materials you used? Besides maybe not using OSB (as you mentioned in a comment), is there anything recommend doing differently a second time around?
Hi Anna, I don't have any links to share as I just used the standard Bondo fiberglass resin & mat that you will find at every hardware store. If buying online, I like fiberglasssupply.com. There isn't much that I would do differently other than maybe using something other than wood for the paneling. I'll be doing a 2 year update soon and will fully cover the pros & cons then.
Thinking about doing this for my van as well. I see a few problems with coating it with fiberglass though. 1. It's dangerous. the particles can get into your lungs and cause cancer. Also the dust can be carried by the wind for other people to breath it in as well. How do you contain that dust so it doesn't cause any issues? 2. Do you have an alternative to fiberglass that will work almost as good? Thanks again for the build videos :)
You can get a $40 ventilator that will make it safe to work around (don't use the cheap paper masks). If you do that and work in a well ventilated area away from others, you should be fine. There is not much else for an alternative - epoxy based resins don't need to be sanded but are expensive. There is a reason why most off the shelf toppers are fiberglass.
I have a hightop on my van and am lookin to trade someone the hightop on my van for there roof there gonna cut off or if u still have the stock roof u cut off i will trade my hightop for the metal roof
Good questions. I relied mostly on mat because it soaks up more resin, goes on easier, and is less prone to air bubbles. Weave is more consistent, but much thinner and takes far more layers. For thickness, I just kept adding layers over the aluminum flashing until I was satisfied with the strength - as in I could hit it with a hammer. This ended up being 3-4 layers over the aluminum and around the base, and about 2 layers over the plywood. For the body, I exposed the steel as much as possible to get a better bond
![[[OFFICIAL MV]] เอิ้นขวัญให้อ้าย- อ๊ะอาย สกุณาพร | ค่ายเพลงเป็นหนึ่ง](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/83x6L3X3qh0/mqdefault.jpg)
There are special metal rollers to use when laying down mat. Roll out the air bubbles before the resin sets. Paint rollers cannot apply enough pressure.
Thank you
The dog clips make this 1000x better ❤🐶🌼🐶
When sanding fiberglass use baby powder to fill in your pores on your skin. It helps stop the itching
That's a great tip, ill have to try that next time, thanks!
Looking good! That sanding process sure can get tedious! When we were adding the plywood to our topper getting those corners as rounded as possible was the toughest.
Corners are definitely the most time consuming! Ended up doing a lot of hand sanding in those areas.
Tysm for the pro tip.
I was always taught to put a coat, or several, on the substrate BEFORE mat placement. Put a coat on wait a few to let it soak in. Keep applying until resin "pools" on the surface. THEN place your mat. It should instantly change color. Put another coat on top and roll out well. This method takes more resin, but produces a far superior result. This ensures a good bond with the substrate and a mat "sandwich" instead of just butter on one side of the bread. It will eliminate delam problems later. There are lots of Great videos about fiberglass boat building on U tube.
Thanks for the comment - I started doing this intuitively towards the end. It did help a lot especially with the mat.
Your suggestion makes physical sense.
Hello. Can’t wait to see the rest. With this height, full bath is a must. Make it behind the driver seat.
I'm still debating on an indoor wet bath. This is going to be a combo work / camp van so I'm hesitant to put permanent space- taking features in it.
Awesome progress, loving this build.
Thanks, me too! 😄 just took her on a 200 MI maiden voyage with the new top yesterday. Got up to some pretty ridiculous speeds and got pretty unbelievable fuel economy!
Nice one!
Do you not want to fasten the lower part of the fiberglass to the metal of the "remaining part of the roof" with some screws? I dont know how much the fiberglass sticks on to the metal, but I got a feeling the most tension is going to be on the wooden parts. Perhaps that was the idea?
I'm curious since I've been thinking of doing something like this, but make the lover part of the fiberglass rather thick so I can attach it to the metal and let it take the most tension.
Thanks for a series of very informative and inspirational videos!
If you watch the foundation video and speed test video, you'll see that the base is heavily bolted, screwed, and adhered to the van. The fiberglass sticking to the metal is just a bonus. The front of the topper is also clamped and bolted from the outside.
the wood should be saturated in resin first then matts applied- look up boat builders how they do it. it prevent delamination later on
Looks good so far! Not sure to be more impressed with the van or the video recording and quality LOL . Excited to see it coming along and looking good. Will suspension upgrades be in the future?
Thanks! Getting ready to do the Sway Bar upgrade in a few days. Will definitely be looking into suspension upgrades as well.
Hey i just had an idea.... get basic cuts on plywood.... glass it before install... then glass all the corners plus more layers....
Not being armchair here, nor disrespectful.... this is my third or fourth time watching and had the idea
That could work. If I were to do it again, I would use foam board or fiberglass board instead of plywood for the sheathing. This would avoid any expansion or contraction due to moisture levels.
Can you explain this more please? I’m building mine currently and want to implement your improved ideas :) thanks
Hi handsome. Don't beat up your work. It's looks good through my eyes. Also from Costco wholesale, get yourself some drinks in bulk, Starbucks nitro, gaterade variety pack and crystal clear water. Might as well pick up Neosporin triple antibiotics, bandaids and extra gloves a whole rotisserie chicken and a side salad. Finally creme brulee. . Have fun with a full stomach on your van project. God bless you
How many gallons of resin did you use? Im almost finished with my 24in hightop
I think it ended up being around 5 gallons - a lot more than I had planned, and at least one of those gallons ended up in the air from sanding!
Next time you should hot coat the wood before glass. Great job overall
Also next time if you get some cabosil, mill fiber or even talc you can make a putty to wipe over the dry edges of glass before putting more glass (the front area where you ran out of resin) it helps alot with bubbles
Nice build my friend, now you just need to paint it yellow lol.
I gotta mix it up a little bit! Stay Original 😉
do u mind sharing what the total cost of this build was? I know that having a high roof professionally installed can range up to a few thousand so I’m wondering how this homebuild cost compares
Hey there, I have saved all of my receipts for everything on this project and I plan on doing a comprehensive cost, time, weight, and fuel economy breakdown very soon. To give you a balk park, I'd say materials are between $1000-$2000 and it'll take a couple hundred hours to complete. More exact figures will be coming soon in another video.
Hi mate, fantastic project!! how many layers of fiberglass did you put in?
Hey there, I did a minimum of 2 layers (over most of the osb) and a maximum of 5 layers (over the aluminum flashing and around the base).
@@SisuVan thanks a lot for the answer!! Epoxy or polyester? Do you have a close pic of final texture? Much appreciated your answer ☺️☺️
@@danielepascarella6372 I went with polyester since it was widely available and cheaper. I don't really have any close up shots other than what's in the video, but it wasn't super pretty! lol. Since I was planning to finish with a coarse coat of bedliner paint I wasn't overly concerned with minor imperfections in the fiberglass.
@@SisuVan How much resin and matt did that end up taking? Trying to ballpark my upcoming build, thanks in advance!
@@samlacey540 I can't remember exactly how many SF it ended up being, but it was a lot! If you plan well enough in advance, it's more economical to buy a roll of it online instead of the small packets at the store. It will also vary with the height of your topper and length of your van.. Just do a quick surface area Calc based on your dimensions, multiply that by 3 and that should give you a good ballpark.
Hi @SisuVan Could you please put links to the Fiberglass materials you used? Besides maybe not using OSB (as you mentioned in a comment), is there anything recommend doing differently a second time around?
Hi Anna, I don't have any links to share as I just used the standard Bondo fiberglass resin & mat that you will find at every hardware store. If buying online, I like fiberglasssupply.com.
There isn't much that I would do differently other than maybe using something other than wood for the paneling. I'll be doing a 2 year update soon and will fully cover the pros & cons then.
Thinking about doing this for my van as well. I see a few problems with coating it with fiberglass though.
1. It's dangerous. the particles can get into your lungs and cause cancer. Also the dust can be carried by the wind for other people to breath it in as well.
How do you contain that dust so it doesn't cause any issues?
2. Do you have an alternative to fiberglass that will work almost as good?
Thanks again for the build videos :)
You can get a $40 ventilator that will make it safe to work around (don't use the cheap paper masks). If you do that and work in a well ventilated area away from others, you should be fine. There is not much else for an alternative - epoxy based resins don't need to be sanded but are expensive. There is a reason why most off the shelf toppers are fiberglass.
I have a hightop on my van and am lookin to trade someone the hightop on my van for there roof there gonna cut off or if u still have the stock roof u cut off i will trade my hightop for the metal roof
Would have given it to you for free if I still had it - went to the scrap yard.
How thick was ur fiberglass
5 coats of mat on the corners, 3 coats on the rest of it.
Best test, use a wrecking ball
How'd you decide where to use the chop vs matte vs the weave?
Also, how did you decide on layers?
How did you glass the body top to the body? Did you sand the OE paint or grind down to metal?
Good questions. I relied mostly on mat because it soaks up more resin, goes on easier, and is less prone to air bubbles. Weave is more consistent, but much thinner and takes far more layers.
For thickness, I just kept adding layers over the aluminum flashing until I was satisfied with the strength - as in I could hit it with a hammer. This ended up being 3-4 layers over the aluminum and around the base, and about 2 layers over the plywood.
For the body, I exposed the steel as much as possible to get a better bond
OSB wood makes me sad.
If I do it again, I would choose a different material. Will explain why in another video.
@Sisuvan, in which video do you talk about why you’d choose not to use OSB?
About how much did it weigh?
Around 300 lbs, on par with off the shelf commercial toppers
Do you do this for other people
No I do not. It would be more expensive than an OTS topper when factoring in labor.