The Bathroom

The Bathroom

The original toilet was broken beyond repair and we were unsure of the integrity of the built-in holding tank, so we decided to tear it all out and start fresh. 

The floor had to remain raised as it was originally, to low for passage of the electrical and plumbing supply lines (yet to be run in the above photo). The original floor was in good shape (thankfully), so it was simply a matter of putting some boards down, then cutting the plywood to fit.

Plywood fit in place. It is not secured to the floor joists yet. We're waiting until we finalize our plumbing/toilet decisions. 

For the time being, we set our Reenacting toilet in there. This was made for us by a good friend in Florida, Mr. Fowler, back when we used to do Civil War Reenacting.

The bathroom walls received a few coats of paint leftover from painting a room in iur house some time ago. Even though the color doesn't much the rest of the interior, the paint was already paid for and works fine.

We're planning on getting a proper camper toilet as soon as we find one that is a good deal.

The Final Countdown!

Here are some updates from another weekend working on the camper.  We've set the date for our first trip, just two weeks away! It'll be a rush to the finish line but were confident we'll make it.

Dinette Table

Made from 3/4" birch plywood and trimmed in red oak, the table came out well. I still need to apply the varnish, but had to make sure it fit beforehand. :-). If you look closely, you can see the red oak runner supports on the seats. They hold the table when it's in "bed mode". Here you can also see some of the curtains. They turned out great! I'll write a post just for the curtains at a later date.

"Bed mode". It's quite comfortable too! I'm glad we spent the extra money to get the higher quality and thicker foam.

Refrigerator

I built the shelf for the fridge to sit on last week, and finally got to install and trim out the fridge today. It's permanently secured by several screws and ready to go. "Why black?"  This fridge was given to us a few years ago and it would be ludicrous to buy another one just because of the color. This one is in great shape.  The wood surrounding the fridge is caulked and prepped for painting. 

The area below the fridge (where the storage box is sitting in this photo) is where the A/C will be blowing cold air into the camper. Not the best looking, but the best option we have with the camper.

A nice pano of how it feels to be in the camper.

Window Screens

My wife replaced the screens on the whole camper today. It'll be nice to keep out the bugs now.

Camper Security

The door was missing its original striker plate, allowing the door to be opened even when locked. I fabricated a new double-thick plate from some sheet aluminum and the door is now fully secured. Crazy enough, my father in-law had a camper key that also fit our door lock! We can mark that off our to-do list now! I'll add an interior deadbolt for added security too.

Thats the highlights for this weekend. 

-Sam

An Original Frolic Fender / Seatocaster

Here's another update on the fast-coming-along Frolic! :-)

Front Seating Bench Pt. 2

I completed the framing and paneling of the second seating bench. After going back and forth on whether or not to put a door on the top of the raised section (like it was originally), I decided not to. The incoming plumbing hookup is in that area, and it's only 7" deep overall, so it's not a huge storage space. In the event we find we want it, I made sure to frame the seat so as to let me easily cut an opening and make a door for it in the future. For now, the seat will be hinged and we'll have access to the storage below (roughly 36" wide, 30" deep, 16" tall).

Below are photos of

1. The framed seat (minus plywood seat panel and paneling topper)
2. The seat cushion "test fit" after framing was completed
3. The painted finished* seat.

*I have some small trim molding to add to it to truly be finished.

My wife worked hard today to finish all of the interior painting. All cabinets, doors, panels, etc. are now painted! Here is a quick photo of the front seating area as of today.

The Original Fenders

This section's credit goes to my father in-law. He is a master fabricator and capable of making anything from nothing. Without his hard work and help, we wouldn't have been able to put the original fenders back on.

Let's flashback to the Frolic on the day we brought it home...

This was one of the fenders. It was the most-damaged as well. Notice the rusty screw holes? Most all of them had broken through the fender (leaving holes in the fender the size of the screw heads) and only a few were actually doing their job to hold the fender in place. Also notice those dirty, rusty, ugly old wheels! :-)

Now let's fast-forward to today... Here is another photo of those nice freshly painted wheels/brake drums, and those wonderful-smelling new Load Range D tires. :-)

I used a heat gun to make quick work of the duct tape. It had been there since the siding was reinstalled several weeks ago. I cleaned up the surface, then laid down a few heavy beads of sealant/adhesive before pressing the fender in place.

Here is the better-than-new fender mounted! Better-than-new, because my father in-law re-fiberglassed the fender, bondo'd the cracks, and then laid several more layers of reinforcing fiberglass on the fender to stiffen it up and support the screw mount area better. The fender was screwed to the camper with 2" stainless screws and stainless trim rings. Nice, huh?!?!  You bet'cha! :-)

That's all for now, I have another update to write about that my wife did over the weekend, but want to wait until I can get good photos of the final result.

Stay tuned...

Wheels/Tires Done... Bathroom Begun...

Mounted the tires today and they look great! I'm glad we went with the colors we did.

We also pulled out the old toilet tank/shower pan from the bathroom. We only plan to put a toilet back in the bathroom. Here is the damage shortly after my wife extracted the fiberglass monstrosity. 

I'll build a new floor a few inches above this one, so as to still allow the electrical and plumbing lines (to be installed) to run in their normal pathway.

Tongue and Wheels... No Cheeks

The new tires and trailer wiring items arrived today, which in turn dictated what I did to the camper this evening after work...

I began cleaning, grinding, and sanding the tongue of the camper in preparation of repainting and installing the new wiring. I removed the propane tank mounts, propane regulator and hose, and the safety chains. We do not plan to put the dual propane tanks back as they originally were, and will likely downsize to only a single tank on the camper for a heater or grill in the future. We plan to mount a metal box on the tongue for storage of jacks and other "dirty" items. We will be painting the tongue and frame white again.

The starting point.

Crusty rust hiding under the propane tank holder's base plate.

The tongue all grinder, sanded, and ready for painting. All rust was only surface and the frame is in really good shape. Must be the bajillion layers of paint! :-)

After the tongue, I turned my focus to the campers wheels. They were in desperate need of the same attention as the frame. I was able to prep them and put down the first few coats of paint tonight as well. I went with the Rustoleum High Performance spray paint in the Stainless Steel color. The brake drums will be gloss black and we think they'll accent each other well.

Before.

After much work with the wire wheel and side grinder.

Two coats down, probably two-four more to go. Obviously these are the old tires and I wasn't concerned about overspray with the paint. :-)

I'm hoping to get the tires mounted in a day or two--as soon as the wheels are ready.

All for now,

Sam

One Small Step, And Another, And Another, And Another...

The past few days have been spent doing somewhat smaller projects on the camper. They're just as important on the to-do list, just not as glamorous or interesting. I've patched a few more holes using the leftover roofing sheeting and rivets, put on new reflectors on the sides of the camper, trimmed excess putty tape from the door, etc. Like I said, not that glamorous. :)

Our new trailer tires and complete wiring kit are scheduled to arrive in a few days, so hopefully this weekend we can knock-out those two projects among others. I'm kicking around wheel/brake drum color ideas... they need painted before the new tires are mounted. I have two main thoughts in regards to colors:  "plain" and "coordinated". Plain would be something like a gray brake drum with a black wheel, while coordinated may be something like a black drum with a green wheel (to match our planned green vinyl striping and new Frolic decals). I'll probably play it safe and go with the plain scheme. :)

This weekend we discovered that our toilet was broken beyond repair and that our shower drain wasn't even connected! I'm glad we didn't plan on using the shower! :)  For the time being, we're going to take out the toilet (done already) and shower pan and re-plywood the floor and leave it. We're going to try and find a good deal on a camper toilet and are okay waiting a little bit for it. We have a porta-potti from our Civil War Reenacting days that will work as an emergency / middle-of-night solution. :)

So for now, we're going to plumb in the sink and drain... nothing fancy, no hot water (right now), just plain cold water supply. While it's not conventional camper, it's what we're going to do right now. It's already July and we are chomping at the bit to go camping a few times this summer.

In addition to the above items, I received the exterior door / hatch from ebay and was very pleased with it. I installed it and it fit like a glove, seating between the two wall studs. Photos of the install are below.

 

If you look closely, you can see the outline penciled on the siding to cut out.

Working my way around the outline with metal shears.

Dry-fitting the door.

All done!  These exterior photos remind me of how much work is still ahead with the Goo Gone. :) The majority of the marks on the camper are from adhesives during the major renovation and duct tape.

The good news:  the new door looks great!  The bad news:  it's about 1/4" too narrow and too short for the A/C to slide in/out of because of how the A/C is "stepped" in the bottom (it drops down for a condensation catch). After dis-assembly of the A/C case, it was discovered that we could not alter the shell at all. We had hoped for some wiggle room, but it wasn't there.  So... the A/C design will be far less magical and amusing:  I'll pick it up, walk around to the outside of the camper, and set it into the doorway/hole.  Oh well... at least it will work and when not in use will be stowed safely. :-\

I think that pretty much sums it up for now. My wife is nearly done with the curtains, and we devised a clever curtain rod system, but that'll be another post.

All for now,
Sam

Miss Us Yet???

It's been a while since the last update and we've been plugging along with the camper.  Looking back at our last post, it seems like we've done a lot! Which is a good feeling when it still feels like we have so much more to go. Let's get you up-to-date...

Kitchen Cabinets

I believe the last post showed them framed and sitting in the camper. Here is the base cabinet on paint-day, ready to go.

The hole in the side is for the microwave electrical cord.

A typical summer thunderstorm rolled in and the painting continued in my horribly messy workshop.  Maybe someday I will get it back to its clean and organized state.

Once the three coats of paint were done, it was time to mount the cabinet permanently in the camper. Here it is freshly installed and with the microwave in its cubby. Looks pretty good!

And here is a photo of the cabinet as of today. The doors will be touched up with paint again after I am done banging them around and getting them dirty. ;-)

We decided to paint the cabinet doors the same color as the walls, which is a slight gray color. The color contrast shows well on the cabinets and is just the right amount of color for us.  I still have to build the tip-out shelf/cubby for in front of the sink.  I have the door ready to go, but am waiting on the sink install to be finished.

The kitchen wall cabinet was next. I built it in the workshop, installed it in the camper, then we painted it.

Here is the cabinet after installing the doors (late night photo).

And here is the wall cabinet as of today. I am beginning to install the hardware, but was only test fitting it in this photo.

Front Bench Seat

Here are the front bench seat photos. I still have to install the door to cover the storage area.

Test fitting the frame.

Ready for paint.

Sitting pretty!  :-)

Front Wall Cabinet and Bench Seat #2

The front wall cabinet was built the same as all others and is just waiting some more paint.  The second bench seat is still being framed and designed.  There will be a storage box built into the back of it to fill the gap and hide the plumbing--you'll see.

Here are the two as of today.

Kitchen Sink

We found a great deal on a sink and faucet from the local Habitat Home Store! Sink $3, Faucet $15. I cut the opening in our countertop (still to be finished) today and snapped a photo.

Wheels and Tires

I also started to clean up the wheels in preparation of painting them and their new tires.  I ordered the tires and trailer wiring earlier this week and expect them early next week.  I was able to find some great tires with a load range D rating from etrailer.com. 

Wheels Before:

Update to the A/C Saga

I have changed plans with the A/C and am going with the below design. I ordered a camper hatch/door from ebay that the window A/C will slide in/out of on ball bearing slides on a tray.  This will allows to use the A/C in our home and camper as needed, and is a better solution than having one permanently hang out of the camper all the time.  I'll keep you updated on this (of course) as we go along.  Here is my plan for now:

See you next time.

Bearings, Primer, and Paint - Part One

Plans deviated slightly for Sunday, but in a good way.  My father in-law surprised us with a visit to re-do the wheel bearings for us. The camper had a set of Bearing Buddy's on the axle, but given the general shape of the camper, I didn't have much hope that the wheel bearings would be in good order. To our surprise and joy, the bearings, races and seals looked great! We replaced the seals just-in-case and exchanged the old axle grease with new fully synthetic grease. Not wanting to get in my father in-law's way, I was only able to snap a few photos mid-project:

 Meanwhile, my wife worked on sanding, priming, and painting the cabinets and doors. We used KILZ primer (2-3 coats) then Valspar Latex paint. All cabinets will be white.

 

I spent the day helping and building the wall cabinet for the kitchen area. I didn't complete it until later and we were all quite baked (by the hot Sun) by then and too tired to snap a photo. I'll share photos in the next post.