Who said this was the "fun part"????

They clearly didn't have a firm grasp on reality!   I have a new found respect for cabinet makers.  Planning and assembly is really HARD!  I think I took the kitchen cabinet apart at least 3 times.  And by number 4, I packed it up for the night.  That's right...  I had to put down everything and walk away, otherwise either the camper or me was going to be towed to the nearest mental institution!

We are finding it very hard to decide what to keep from the original shasta, and what to rebuild.  Many of the cabinets were in ok shape, but once we compared them to the "newness",  (yes, I am going to try that word on a Words With Friends game!)  of the paneling they looked really crummy.  So it would be nice to have it all new, but I still like the character of the original wood.

I was able to nearly complete the back couch/bed.   Its much stronger now.  Back in 1962 the average weight for someone my age was 172 lbs.  And I think if I weighed that much, (I wish) sleeping on that bed would still be iffy.  So, I went all McDonald's Super-size on it and made it stronger than it should be, but IIIIIII like it!

I also started on the cabinets on the street side of Bob.  Laying it out is a little tricky since most of the original stuff was missing.  So I built a frame for the bench seat on that side so I could visualize, and measure it all out.  I will cover it with birch later.  As for the bench, I decided to raise the height considerably.  Thanks to the folks on the Shasta Forums, I found out that original seat height was 11 3/4 inches.  That is super low!  And the table is really low too!  So I was able to determine that I can raise both the height of the table and the bench.  So I made the bench 16 inches tall.  A much more comfortable height, and more room for storage.  I sure hope that changing it doesn't effect something down the road!  Maybe have the "OHhhhhh, that's why it was so short" moment.  Pppht!

Brandi got a lot done on the cabinetry too.  She spent allllll day filling holes, sanding and repairing spots that were damaged or falling apart.  And there were a LOT of holes and damage!  So I'm sure that she will be doing that for a while.  But I was able to see one that she sanded and it looked fabulous!

Here is under side of the rear couch/bed.  I had to raise it about 6 inches in order to fit the A/C unit that I will be putting in later.

There are 3 compartments.  The right side will be where the A/C unit will be.  (Its a window unit that will slide out the baggage door when in use.)  The middle will be storage for inside the camper  And the left will be baggage door storage.  Probably jacks, boards, and outside stuff.

Here it is with the slide part on.  Creating this was deceptively tricky.  When it slides out it changes position and yet it still needs to be supported when its in both positions.  Also you can see the original color of the wood.  We are going to have fun trying to match that with all the new birch we installed!

So here is my lowly bench frame. 

However, it is very important since it will house the main systems.

The water tank and pump will be inside, as well as the electrical AC/DC converter and electrical panel.   Whoa, I just mentally processed that while I typed it. 

Water and electricity in the same place, possibly not the best idea...

We may have to send that back to the engineers to get a better design.  Oh wait, I didn't have it in the budget to hire a team of engineers.  Well, I will think of a way not to kill us, or anyone else that cares to enter our lil' Shasta.