The BIG push!

I am working like a fool right now!  We don't have much time to go until our camping trip, so hopefully we will have a camper to go in!  :)

We've been able to cross off some exciting things from our "to-do" list.  The electrical is nearly done.  We just need to order 1 more light that we added later.  As well as make all the wiring at the panel nice a neat.  But having the electrical done allowed us to see all the lights work!  How EXCITING!  It wasn't all peaches and cream though.  After I got the new electric panel hooked up and installed it kept tripping the breaker in my house.  Arrrgh!  It only took me about 4 hours to find the issue.  It ended up that they style of 30 amp plug that I bought from Menards was a hunk of junk.
As you moved the plug around, one of the contacts would wear thru the insulation on another conductor and make a tiny pin sized cut that would eventually short out.  Once that was all figured out it went much better!

We also put most of the cabinet doors back on.  Looks GREAT!!

Finally I rebuilt the door.  The only thing I re-used was the aluminum.  The rest was very rotten.  Now it blends in nicely with the rest of the interior.  We used the old back splash above the old stove to make a cool looking kick plate for the door. 

OH!  I almost forgot about the upholstery!  We got a quote to do it.  $870.00!!!!!!!  Man, I about fainted when I heard that.  I think for now we're going to buy the foam on our own and use that until we figure out what to do.

I very excited about the "BIG Push", but man is it expensive!!!  I took it to 5 Seasons Tire and they said the tires are SUPER old and need replaced asap.  I'm also going to buy a spare and have the bearings re-packed.  Say adios to $370 bucks!  I've been putting off some the expensive stuff till the end, and the now its time!  ;)

Shellac + Birtch = Coolness!

Oh WoW!  Now I understand why they put shellac in these trailers!  It really makes the natural wood grain stand out.  I bet if you put on a TON of coats of clear after the amber it would almost give it a
3-D effect.  So far I've put 3 coats of amber on all the new birch, and 1 coat of amber on the existing birch.  I'm pretty happy with how close the new and old look.  Now, I know I can't get it 100% perfect, so I'm looking for reasonably close.  I may do 1 more coat of amber on the new birch, but I'm undecided as of right now.  Either way, I'm going to run everything over with 0000 steel wool, clean it, and do a final coat of Clear Shellac on everything. 

Spraying the shellac was quite and experience in itself.  Thanks for yet another good tip Chuck!  I must admit I've thought about blowing up my trailer, but never with me in it.  So....I setup fans the best I could to get the air circulated and prevent spontaneous combustion.

  I had some problems with the spray gun for the first coat.  Lets just say it was a very THICK first coat.  But I found the problem and the following coats went much better.   Time for a mini rant....  Why can't anybody sell the Bullseye amber Shellac in GALLONS?  Its like double the price when you have to buy it by the quart.  Arrrgh!   I feel better now.  :)

I can't wait to be done with this stage!!!!  I'm looking forward to getting the lights hooked up, and the electrical setup.   Lets just hope it all works since all the wiring has been covered up now. 

Maybe I should change the hair color on my Driver License to Amber...

Let the countdown BEGIN!

JULY 21st!  That is the offical "leaving for camping trip" date.  So it had better be ready or at least usable by then.  It just hit me this last weekend how little time we have left to work on it.  So its time to DIG DEEP!   We have to priorities to get it usable by then....

Priority list:

1.      Air Conditioning  (no need to explain this one, right!)
2.      Shellac, Shellac, and more Shellac.  (We're thinking about spraying it on to speed things up)
3.      Finish electrical.  (Install Lights, switch, outlets)
4.      Order foam and cut so we have something to sleep on!
5.      Rebuild the door.

Hmmmm, after I made that list I have my doubts if I can get it all done by July 21st.
I really hope that we can!  I think that tomorrow night I will get all the woodwork done so on our day off on Wed. we can start filling holes and shellacing.


I started installing the A/C just to make working on it possible in this heat.  Its basically a huge solar oven!  So after about 3 hours @ 350 degrees I'm cooked.  You can see the basic plan for it in the pics.  The ultimate plan is to install the HD drawer rails and a locking system to let it slide in and out.
Also I have to make a duct system to get the air seperated and try and circulate the air. 

Here are the newly installed upper cabinets...

This is the lower kitchen cabinets.  Tonight I modified the bottom drawer to be short enough to fit.



Finally got the end piece made for the bench.  I like the look of it since it appears kinda orginal.

So here you can see my latest issue.  As you can see I had to buy "pre-stained" molding for the corners of the paneling.  Its a foam-ish type of material.  Its the only thing that I could find to make the bend.   You can also see the new trim above the window to hide the panel seems.



Sorry for the delay, enjoy the pics!

Sorry we haven't posted lately!  Its been reallllllly busy.  We have gotten some work done on Bob though.  I'm nearing finishing all the rebuilding of the inside cabinets, benches, and rear couch/bed.

We also had someone come and take some measurements for making all the cushions.  I will be scared to open that estimate when it come!!!!


But here are the pics, sorry I don't have much time to write much.....

Bob is starting to feel more like a camper!

More and more of the inside work is getting done!  So now, I have most of the kitchen cabinets in, and most of the closet cabinets in.  Its really exciting because now its starting to feel like an actual camper again!  The closet part was MUCH easier than the kitchen cabinets since I re-used the old cabinet face.  The only think I had to do was cut off 1/2 inch to compensate for the new subfloor thickness.

Also, I had another round with the router.  And, thanks to the advice of Chuck, it put in a new bit and SHA-ZAM!  It works much better!  (thank you, thank you, thank you!)  So with my renewed confidence after the Coach Chuck's pep-talk, I was able to recreate the decorative detail on the sides of the closet cabinets.  I'm not really sure if they have any actual function, but I thought it would be nice to keep that original detail.  One of the told closet sides had been damaged, so I was able to cut out the other and use as a template to cut out the new ones.  I was really happy with the results.

In the lower right opening of the cabinet is where the original fridge was kept.  Since we moved it over to the kitchen side, we're going to make a "cubby hole" to store stuff in since I don't have a door.  Maybe a place to keep the heater?  Otherwise we mostly kept the same layout.  I'm surprised at just how much storage this camper has.  Especially since its only a 16 footer.  But I suppose it helps to travel light.  If you try and bring the proverbial "Farm", you'd probably run out of room VERY quickly!

Another bothersome problem that I've recently found is with filling the new freshwater tank.
the setup is supposed to be that you pour water into the Bargman Gravity filler on the outside, and water runs down a tube and fills the tank.  The original tank was missing.  Probably rotted long ago, so I had to buy a new 10 gallon tank.  But the inlet port sits higher than the gravity filler on the outside.  And the previous owner had installed a awesome Bargman Gravity filler that looks great, so I really want to use it.  But I don't want to cut another hole and raise it either.  The only thing I could think of is a hose that is smaller in diameter and can put fed up the filler, thru the hose and into the tank.  It may not move as much water, but it will make air escape easier, so possibly it will fill just fine.  I dunno...  I have a few more weeks to ponder it before I have to make a decision.

Slow and steady.... Then try again, and again.

Since my last post, I've learned that I'm not really cut out to be a cabinet maker.  I continually made mistakes and had to tear it all apart and make changes in order for it to work.  Then there was the router.....

Just as I had feared in one of my earlier blogs, the router and I are still not on speaking terms.  Mr. Router feels that I don't understand him, and I, on the other-hand, feel that if someone tries to kill me, its hard to want to "understand" them. 
Sometimes its smoothly pushed along with hardly any effort.  Other times I about have to stand on it to get it to move.  And then it doesn't.....route?.....very good.  (not sure on the correct word for that but you understand)  Instead of doing its thing, it just spins and tries to catch fire to my project I've been working on for the last 2 days, AND burn down my house!!!!  The last straw was when I got the ENTIRE cabinet front constructed, and the LAST thing I needed to do was put a small groove along the end for the 1/4 in birch panel to slide into.   All was fine and, I thought...."Hmmm  maybe Mr. Router isn't so mean after all", then BAM it went all crazy like Charlie Sheen on a 3 day bender!  So I had to tear it all apart YET AGAIN, and replace that piece.

I have much to learn about Mr. Router.....  Maybe we just need some time apart while I work on another project!


Alas.  The cabinet is done!  The drawers are in and so is the cutting board.  It was really weird building it since I was trying to follow the original design.  But I think the original design was the "hurry and slap it in" method.  And its not built like cabinets in your house because of the weight factor.  So its really just a skeleton that is covered with birch paneling.  I tried to add support where I could, but having the wheel-well underneath makes it a little hard to do. 
Over-all, I am happy with the outcome.  Fortunately, on the cabinet on the other side, I am going to reuse the existing front and just build all the insides.  Hopefully it will be easier, because I don't think I could handle a repeat of the last cabinet.

My Lovely Bride of nearly 9 years showing off her pride and joy....