So, DW (dear wife) would not relent, firmly closing the door on my very reasonable request. To be fair, I began to suspect her rather expensive Singer “Brilliance” sewing machine might be a little inadequate for punching through several layers of heavy vinyl. Having previously witnessed bent needles and tangled stitching from some of my own enthusiastic “sewing excursions,” I knew a bit of research was in order.
In a previous life, I had actually taught sewing machine use to various groups of village ladies during our humanitarian time in Port Vila, Vanuatu. We would train them on basic machines and then distribute donated units to each village we visited. It was a genuinely enjoyable experience and very much appreciated by all involved. Those memories are brought to life in our Shekinah House page.
After some digging around, I came across a machine from Toyota.
A model whose sellers confidently proclaimed it suitable for my intended abuse. The STF39 boasted more bells and whistles than I knew what to do with: 39 stitch functions, denim capability, a free arm for trousers, and more. It sounded promising… but time would tell.
Before long, the 100-foot roll of vinyl arrived, along with sunproof heavy-duty thread and zippers that could be cut to whatever lengths I required.
If you’ve spent any time travelling in a fifth wheel, you’ll know that comfort often comes down to the little things — the modifications that make a space truly livable in all conditions.
This section of our RV Modifications journey looks at one of the more ambitious (and, as it turned out, entertaining) projects: designing and building a full vinyl skirt around our fifth wheel. What began as a simple idea quickly turned into a lesson in materials, machinery… and marital negotiation.
Looking back, what started as a straightforward idea turned into a thoroughly satisfying project — one that combined a bit of ingenuity, a fair amount of patience, and just enough trial and error to keep things interesting.
The end result not only improved comfort around the van but also gave us a flexible, modular system that can be adapted as needed. In the following pages, I’ll go into more detail on the materials, tools, and step-by-step process for anyone tempted to tackle something similar.
From past experience, I knew better than to measure attachment points at neat intervals — say, 12 inches apart — on both the vinyl and the van. That approach inevitably leads to the two drifting out of sync, creating wrinkles and frustration. Instead, it’s far better to punch the holes in the vinyl’s upper hem first. I used a set of inexpensive hole punches which matched the size of the fasteners. One punch would cut the middle oblong hole and the four ‘pin’ holes in one hit.
At left are the three parts to each fastener; The top two lines are for the vinyl hem and the bottom pieces are screwed or pop riveted onto the van.
The process is to punch the five holes into the vinyl hem then offer one (from the top line here), into that punched hole, from the Face side of the vinyl. Then role the vinyl over to press the ‘washer’ into the clip from the back side. Each washer has four ‘pin’ holes that lock into the first piece.
Then bend the pins outwards to lock the two pieces together. A light blow from the hammer would seal the two pieces together.
You can see how the two pieces, as a reinforced ‘hole’, would fit over the ‘turn clip’ fixed to the wall of the van.
Given the size of the fifth wheel — 34 feet by 8 feet, with a total perimeter of around 84 feet — I made the skirt in several sections 8 to 12 feet long. This kept each piece manageable in weight and allowed me to zip the sections together progressively as I worked my way around. I learned, from instant confusion and much head scratching, to permanently mark each of the eight or so pieces with a reference to where it belonged on the circumference of the van.
I also needed to incorporate zippered openings for the steps, as well as access points for various services beneath the van and around the three slide-outs.
One element of ‘over-thinking’ lead me to design hold down tags every three feet around the bottom of the skirt with three reinforced holes . This allowed me to ‘peg’ the skirt down for different ground levels around the RV and for possible windy days. They were never needed and the skirt sections, which were around six inches longer than needed to reach the ground, would just hang in place under their own weight.
As I’ve said before, “Think thrice, measure twice, and cut once” is a rule well worth following. Don’t listen to those who shorten it to “measure twice, cut once.” ( A throw away line that they probably never use!) They leave out the most important part — think thrice.
At the time of designing the skirt, I had been quoted figures of around $2,000 for third-party manufacture. While I can’t remember the exact cost of the vinyl (100 ft × 4 ft wide), it was somewhere around $200. My sewing machine came in at $300 delivered, and with threads, snap fittings, and a few specialised punches, I likely added another $100.
All up, a substantial saving—particularly for anyone retired, or perhaps just brave enough to head down this road.
If you need advice or encouragement, come back to me through the ‘comments’ section
That said, it wasn’t without its challenges.
I remember a few trying moments when even a slightly bent sewing needle would refuse to descend cleanly into the spinning bobbin. The weight and slippery nature of the vinyl had a habit of nudging the needle just enough off course. The machine’s feed dogs—the “grid” that pulls the material forward—also struggled under the load.
In the end, I found a rhythm that worked: manually guiding the needle through the vinyl on the downstroke, then gently applying the foot control to complete the upstroke. It made a noticeable difference and kept the stitching moving.
“Practice makes perfect”… I’d heard that before.
With hems along the top and bottom, around twenty-five zippers, and more ground tags than I probably needed, I estimate I stitched close to 250 feet—both straight and zig-zag.
But I’ve always been one to see a project through.
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