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Dspchef · 07-26-2020, 12:59 PM

When we bought our AS the PO said that who he purchased it from pulled the AS underneath a low hanging branch or something and it ripped off the antenna and the A/C shroud. The question was to either purchase a new A/C or a try to find a replacement shroud. Since the A/C works great and I just had it refilled with fresh oil and R-22 and the fact that it cools the inside off rather quickly.....today is 97 and its 70 inside is like night and day in difference, I decided to make a new shroud from scratch. They have reproduced ones for this model at Inland RV, but I really don't want to spend $500 on it and then pay the cost for shipping. So.........here we go!

I did some measurements and drew them down to scale on a piece of paper.
Picked up a $17 4'X8' sheet of foam board and began cutting it into the size of the sides, and top of of the A/C. This is going to be our foam mold to lay the fiberglass cloth on then do the resin work. I have glued to of the side mold pieces together so I can shape and sand to get the shape and curves needed to make the shroud match the design of the trailer and to make it somewhat aerodynamic as best as I can without it looking half assed. Today is the first day to start.......I will keep this thread going with the progress.........

Mx468 · 08-10-2020, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dspchef

When we bought our AS the PO said that who he purchased it from pulled the AS underneath a low hanging branch or something and it ripped off the antenna and the A/C shroud. The question was to either purchase a new A/C or a try to find a replacement shroud. Since the A/C works great and I just had it refilled with fresh oil and R-22 and the fact that it cools the inside off rather quickly.....today is 97 and its 70 inside is like night and day in difference, I decided to make a new shroud from scratch. They have reproduced ones for this model at Inland RV, but I really don't want to spend $500 on it and then pay the cost for shipping. So.........here we go!

I did some measurements and drew them down to scale on a piece of paper.
Picked up a $17 4'X8' sheet of foam board and began cutting it into the size of the sides, and top of of the A/C. This is going to be our foam mold to lay the fiberglass cloth on then do the resin work. I have glued to of the side mold pieces together so I can shape and sand to get the shape and curves needed to make the shroud match the design of the trailer and to make it somewhat aerodynamic as best as I can without it looking half assed. Today is the first day to start.......I will keep this thread going with the progress.........

Awesome will be following closely. Have you considered making a aluminum shroud?

tbashin · 08-12-2020, 07:28 AM

following.

batman · 08-12-2020, 07:37 AM

I like the idea. Watching your progress with interest.

Dspchef · 08-12-2020, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mx468

Awesome will be following closely. Have you considered making a aluminum shroud?

Well Folks, the weather and my job (considered as "essential personnel" and "mission critical" during this Covid issue) has put this on the back burner the past couple of days. The time at work has given me a few ideas to do the shaping. I will get back to it when I get off of work tonight. I did have to move this project into the house and on the dining room table......at some point, I need to build a garage. Driveways + rain, snow, bugs at night with a bright light get old after awhile doing stuff like this.

I had looked into building one out of aluminum, but without some sort of access to an English Wheel, I wasn't sure how to make the corners smooth out like being able to do with the foam.......and I wanted something that is all one piece and not have seams with rivets sitting that high up.

One other thing I have noticed with the Armstrong A/C. On the top of the compressor is the overload relay. If that gets too, hot as if the compressor has overheated, it shuts of the compressor. On mine, if it has been sitting in direct sunlight (still has the galvanized cover on it) and is already hot, it cuts off the compressor. I am guessing the fiberglass wont absorb as much heat and transfer it down to the overload switch as aluminum sitting on top of metal. I'm not an engineer and don't know the specifics of metallurgy and heat transfer, but this is just something I have noticed.

I will post more on the progress soon!

Dspchef · 08-12-2020, 07:48 PM

I did a extra step on this part by reinforcing the sides while the top section is set in place and glued. So far so good. I have a few more pieces to glue in the front, back and then I will use a can of expanding foam insulation to fill in to make the curved front and rear end of the shroud. I also used frill picks to hold the pieces in place and will pull them out once the glue dries.
Tonight's progress..........

Sorry if the pics are sideways. They are not like that when I am downloading them. I have yet to master that problem on this website.

Dspchef · 09-13-2020, 02:38 PM

Life and Covid got in the way of progress. While I like the idea of being employed during this crazy time, being considered “essential personnel” sucks! No time for fun stuff! Anyway, I had a little time this weekend to work on the foam mold of the shroud. A little shaping in the rest and utilizing all of the initial foam board and even the scrap pieces.....all of those cut strips should make the contours of the front and rear. Glue and frill picks continue to get used.