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Camper Doors

jwstewar

Active member
Finally got the floor finished last night, though now I have to put the 1/4 round down. That is the plan for the weekend.

What a pain in the rump the floor was. Most of it wasn't too bad, but as I had to go around the diagonal part of the bed and then go around the benches for the booth. Those pieces took forever to do. I know one of the pieces around the booth took me an hour to cut. I wanted to keep it close, but it just wouldn't fit so I had to keep taking small cuts until it would fit. Measurement wise "it would fit," but putting it in was another matter.:pat: I'll try to get some pics of the floor tonight.

Monica has finished most of the curtains. She has also recovered a lot of the cloth trim pieces. She now is out of fabric to recover the booth cushions. Of all places, she found the fabric she liked at Wal-mart. Now they are out. She is visiting Wal-marts hoping one will have it so she can have it now. Otherwise she will have "our" Wal-mart order it in for her.

Now that the floor is done and I'll have a 4 day weekend, I'm hoping to wrap up most of the repairs/upgrades this weekend. Though I know Friday I'll have to mow.

Still need to put the kitchen faucet in, tub faucet (isn't here yet, but shipped Monday), put the booth back together, finish hooking the water heater by-pass kit up, install hatch for electric and water, install new bathroom vent (on backorder), finish rear clearance lights (fronts are installed and puttied), and install new breakaway switch. Also need to power wash/sand the tongue and bumper and repaint those. Also need to wash and wax the whole camper. Once the new bathroom vent is installed, I want to seal all of the items on the roof as well. Man there is still a lot to do.:smileywac :drink: :4_11_9:
 

jwstewar

Active member
The tub faucet, new bathroom door latch, and the electric cord hatch cover came today. I believe that is everything now except the bathroom vent. If that doesn't come before long the :shitHitFan: .

Monica went today and bought some trim. Instead of buying 1/4 round she like the cove. So that is what I'm installing. A little harder to install because of matching corners which I can't do well anyway and even harder in something that isn't square. She also bought a sheet of laminate. We are now going to recover both tables.:smileywac

Anyway, as promised here are a few pics of the floor and she can see some of the trim I got down. This allowed us to put the couch back in and the living room table.
 

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Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Looking good Jim. Boy, that trailer look LONG. I had to check the 1st post to see that it's 28 ft. You been busy for sure. Won't be long till you can have some fun with her (I am talking about the trailer! :D )
 

OhioTC18

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Looks like you are going to enjoy it Jim. Yeah the camper too........LOL
 

jwstewar

Active member
LOL at Jerry.

I was able to put my new schedule at work yesterday to some good use. Monica and I took the kids to school. We then went to breakfast visited my Aunt for awhile that we bought the camper from (took some stuff back that was still in it.), and then we came home and worked on the camper.

I was able to finish all of the trim around the floor. Monica put the tub faucet and shower head up. I put the faucet in the kitchen. Made a little boo-boo here. I put the faucet in the same location as the old one, but the new faucet is a high rise and it doesn't stick out as far. It is OK when you have the water on, but when you turn it off it will dribble back on the counter, but now that the holes are drilled I can't do much about it:pat: Since saying that, obviously you can tell WE HAVE WATER!!!! I was able to finish hooking the water heater up and test for leaks. Realized we hooked the bathroom lines up backwards. Had to switch those around real quick. But no leaks other than a small one at the water heater where I installed the by-pass kit. Fixed that and all was good.

Now it was on to gas....did I mention I hate gas. If water leaks, it usually isn't big deal, but a gas leak.... Any way, since we had had the oven and water heater had been disconnected I needed to check those as well. Took a little bit, but I finally got the air out of the lines to the stove. It started burning - though a couple of burners need cleaned. I then turned my focus on to the water heater. Took quite a while, but I finally got the air out of the line back there. Then the moment of truth........finally the pilot to lite and stay lit.......turn the dial and.........poof it ignites just like it is supposed to. About 15 minutes later we have hot water and it shuts off. Yeah.:coolshade I was worried about this because my Unkle had taken it out thinking it was bad. Turns out it was just a bad water line in the bathroom - thus part of the reason for the rotten floor there.

So I piddled a little bit and put the new cover in for the cord and took the connection off for the water tank to install a new one. The new one requires quite a bit bigger hole. Wouldn't be a big deal to cut (considering everything else that as been done), but I decided just to paint the old one and put it back it.

It was then time to head out to the high school football game. My daughter who chears for the Pee Wee team (she is in second grade) got to chear with the big girls last night. She loved being out on the field as all of the big boys ran by. You could tell she thought she was hot shit down there chearing for all of those people. They were allowed to cheer the entire first half of the game. She did good keeping up with the girls even though she didn't know all of their cheers. Too bad we lost the game 42 - 21. Our football teams always :toilet: , basketball they usually do pretty well.
 

jwstewar

Active member
Woohoo!!! I knew they hadn't used the furnace in awhile because the last few years it has only been used one week out of the year in early August at the County Fair, so I wasn't sure if it still worked or not. It was chilly enough this morning (57) that I could check to see that the furnace was working. It took a couple of tries because of the air in the lines, but after that it fired right up. That thing puts out some serious heat. I power washed it yesterday, but it still needs a good hand washing. We are going to put to laminate on the table(s) today. If my weedeater will start today I'm going to do that, otherwise I will work on start to sand the bumper and tongue. Other than that, we are starting to load it and Monica is still doing some decorating of it.

We are needing some screw button snaps. Lowes have some but they are too short. I might head to a Michael's Craft Store next week on my lunch hour to see if they sell the right size.
 

jwstewar

Active member
Had a bit of a change of plans on Sunday. I did get the laminate on the table and while it was drying I started sanding the tongue and taking stuff off. Then Monica came out and said Best Buy was having a Labor Day sale and they had a special on a TV for the camper. Ended up making an entire day of shopping. It was a fun day with the kids. Anyway, we ended up with a 19" HD LCD with a digital tuner for it. Regular $329 on sale for $229 and I had a $100 gift card from work.:coolshade Those wall mounts are expensive. So we came home and ordered one from ebay. It should be here today or tomorrow as it shipped Tuesday. I played with this in the house with the antennae I also got a BB. Wow, those digital HD changes are pretty cool, even though we are on the fringe and hard time getting any TV signals.

We also bought 10 yards of a leather type material for the booth/bench cushions so Monica can start covering those.

Monday I trimmed the laminate that we put on the kitchen table and got that put back in. That helped the looks a lot. I also started rebuilding the back door. Got it back on but it wasn't closing just right. Fixed that Tueday night. Last night I "finished" the door by screen door magnets, the prop rod, and the awning roller on.

I need to get some pics of the stuff that we've finished. I should be able to finish everything between tonight and tomorrow except for the new screws in the fenders, new hubcabs, and packing the wheel bearings. I'll get them done though. Probably spring.

I think we are planning on going out next weekend with it. I still can't believe how much different it looks.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Wow, sounds like you guys are really 'pimpin' it up. :D :poke:

I bet it will look great. What a good buy on the TV. Wish I had a best buy closer to me. Closest one is in Lancaster.
Are you going to pull with the TV mounted?
 

jwstewar

Active member
That is funny Doc, I actually used the term "pimpin'" it the other day. We wanted an undercabinet radio/CD player. Found one at Elder-Beerman for $20. They also had one with a TV for $50. Monica picked it up yesterday. We (ok, me), were thinking it had a DVD player built in it, turns out it didn't. But we were joking that it was going to have 2 flat panel TVs in it. Since the undercabinet TV only had an analog tuner and 2 inputs + MP3 input, we decided to take it back. As having to hook everything to it defeats the purpose of having a small all-in-one unit under the counter. We will go back to just the AM/FM/CD and only 1 flat panel. We'll be so deprived and the camper won't be nearly as pimped.:yum:

For a DVD player we will take one of the kids portable TV/DVD combos (they have 3 for 2 kids). They will also take their slimline PS2. I know the PS2 will play DVDs, but then we have to buy a remote for it and we have the portable all ready plus it can go outside for the kids to watch a movie.

As far as towing with the TV hanging, I'm not sure yet. I would like to, but I'll have to wait and see when I get it mounted. I think I'm actually going to mount it to the side of a cabinet as I think I can get a better anchor there vs. the wall. One thing I've thought about is an additional support for the TV. Something like a bungy or something to take the strain off the wall mount. If the mount had a pin or something that I could pull to disconnect vs. having to take screws out that wouldn't be bad either......Still working on that one.:idea:
 

jwstewar

Active member
I've been meaning to give an update, but haven't had a chance. I was able to get the back door rebuilt to match the front door. I actually think it turned out a little bit better than the front one. Go figure.

You can also see the table after the new laminat was dry and cut. Of course then Monica goes and covers it up.:smileywac

Behind the booth there had been a mirror. Following the western them we replaced it with this picture. It was a poster that was mounted. Monica bought a sheet of plexiglass for the front and we used some prefinished fake lumber for the frame.
 

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jwstewar

Active member
We couldn't decide how to "finish" the bottom of the new shower walls. We ended up putting the old trim back around it, but we used new stainless steel painted white screws screwed through putty to prevent water from seeping through.

Next is the new tub faucet. We reused the old shower and hose. Wish they were white, but I couldn't believe how expensive new ones were. Maybe later, but for now these will do.

Next is how I made the transition from the hardwood floor to the floor in the bathroom. I think the transition turned out pretty close. Considering all of the different materials used, I can't believe it came out this close.

It took awhile, but we finally got the vent for the bathroom. That really helped the looks of the bathroom.

This is now what the kitchen looks like after the clock radio was installed and the curtains were finished.

This is the view as you come in the front door now.
 

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jwstewar

Active member
Here are some pics of the new battery box. I installed a little larger box & battery than was there originally. It was originally a group 24, I installed a box that would hold a 27 - 31. I install a group 29 battery. Eventually I'll cut the one bracket out and have some weld it back in. You can also see the tongue frame after sanding a paint.

Next is the new break away switch I installed. The wires had corroded off the old one and since it was 23 years old I just replaced it.

Here is the other side of the tongue frame along with the weight distribution clamps after repainting.

Next is the back bumper and the spare tire cover. We just went with a cheap generic vinyl cover vs. one of the metal ones like was on there. I also went to the tire shop and got another used tire for a spare. The one that was there was used when my uncle put it on and it had been there for 22 years. Didn't figure it was much good.:toilet: I'm probably going to move the tire off to the right side as I've got a 2" receiver I'm going to put back there to haul our bikes.
 

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jwstewar

Active member
Finally are some pics of the TV.

First is the TV in "travel position." It is back flat against the wall directly inline with mount. The TV itself also rests on the valance for the curtain. There is actually an angle bracket directly below it. That keeps the TV from "bouncing" on the mount.

Next is a pic of it pulled out for viewing from the couch.

Third is a pic of it flipped around to see it from the kitchen.

Lastly is a picture of the TV mount.

We actually had our first outing with it last weekend. Everything went pretty well. Pilot blew out on the water heater once, but that was about it. The TV stayed on the wall - which was a good thing.

Still would like to get it waxed before winter. A friend came over and used a commercial sealant around the vents. He is going to come back and cover the rest of the "roof stuff" seams with a different sealer and then we are going to coat the whole roof. These are all commercial products unavailable unless you are license for them so they should last a really long time.
 

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jwstewar

Active member
Don't know, but here is one just like it on ebay.http://cgi.ebay.com/Swingout-Arm-Wa...ryZ48656QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

We did the bid and got it for the $9.99 price + shipping. He usually has a bunch of them so I would try for the $9.99.

Just looking, that wasn't the same person we bought from. We bought from this guy.http://myworld.ebay.com/warehouseseller but he doesn't have anything right now, but the other mount looks to be the same. Actually is even the same display. Wonder if they could've been suspended from ebay for awhile for something?
 
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jwstewar

Active member
I know, I thought that was a rip-off, but compared to what they cost in the store, the $30 seemed pretty cheap. I actually think it is a better mount than the ones I looked at at Best Buy and Wal-Mart. And those were $100 or more.:drink:
 

jwstewar

Active member
Little follow up to this thread. Not sure why we bought this camper, but it sure was a life safer to have as a closet when the house burned. It also was nice to have a toilet there at the land. The night of the fire the bathroom got use a lot.:yum:

We took the TV into the trailer we are living in. It works pretty well. Love the 1080i picture off the antenna we are getting. I've had the simulated surround sound before but felt it never worked. On this little TV on a digital station the simulated surround sound works pretty well. I find myself looking behind me.

Now the bad news. Looks like the water heater is busted somewhere. I had left the pump on after the fire and it pumped 40 gallons of fresh water through the 6 gallon water heater. Also looks like the new vent in the bathroom is leaking. After the fire we did coat the whole roof like we were going to. I'll try to get up there this weekend and seal around that vent and get that stopped as the sealing looks like it is starting to mold. Guess we get to repaint the ceiling, time for the KILZ.
 

jwstewar

Active member
Well, a little follow up to this thread. We haven't used this camper any more other than that one weekend right after we finished it. I had trouble getting the roof to stop leaking, but I finally got some commercial sealant and coated the entire roof 3 times. That stopped the leak. Unfortunately, it ruined the new paint on the ceiling. We scrapped all of the loose paint again, coated it with Kilz and then 2 coats of fresh paint. I started to put the new water heater in Saturday. Man, apparently the water heater/toilet had been leaking for quite awhile. The whole floor in the bedroom is gone. I put some OSB down as the main support beams are still good, but the one wood piece at the side wall is gone. I think I'm going to put a piece of angle iron on this and tie it into the OSB that I put in. This then made it rough putting the new water heater in as then it was about 1/4" too high, but I finally got it in. Lastly, I think our final modification to it, is going to be a For Sale sign in the front window. I think we have decided we wanting something with a slide out or 2.
 

buckle97

New member
SUPER Site Supporter
We haven't used this camper any more other than that one weekend right after we finished it. ... I think we have decided we wanting something with a slide out or 2.

This sounds just like the logic my wife accuses me of using. Take something I have only used once in two years, sell it, and buy something even bigger that I might use twice in the next two years. I love it! :clap:
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
:D I could see it coming and like Buckle97 I understand. It seems like the obvious next step. Good luck Jim. :D
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
I'd try my luck at selling it privately. Even with the work you've put into it, dealers would only look at the book value and basically give you nothing for it on trade. It does look to be in good shape though. You'd have no problem selling it privately.
 

jwstewar

Active member
That is my thinking Brian. Most dealers aren't going to want a 25 year old camper sitting on their lot. It doesn't look "bad" until you set it beside a new one - then it looks horrible.:biggrin:

I finished putting a new water heater in it last night and got everything buttoned back up. I also picked the For Sale signs up. So it will probably hit the front yard tonight or tomorrow morning. I hope it goes quick.
 

jwstewar

Active member
I finally pulled it down to the end of the road last night. I priced it at $3200. 8:30 this morning phone was ringing. A lady was looking at it. I went down and showed it to her. She seemed really interested, she asked my bottom $, I told her $2900 and I would include the new microwave (Monica didn't want to include that). She said give her a few hours while she went to look for a truck, so I said I would. She called me back later because we went to Cincinnati to look at new ones. She then asked me to come down to $2700, I said I wouldn't do that. She said OK. I'm kicking myself now though, when we got home, I have 8 messages on the answering machine wanting to look at it. At this point I haven't called any of them back because I don't have any cash in hand. She is supposed to come tomorrow and pay and we'll go to the title bureau and sign it over.

BTW, here is the camper that we think we are going to buy: http://www.colerainrv.com/rv/jayco/traveltrailer/474.htm We've put a deposit on it, but we can still back out should we need/decide to.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Sounds like it's all falling into place Jim. Wow, that new one sure looks nice. :thumb: Good luck with selling the old one and buying a new one.
 

jwstewar

Active member
She came yesterday and gave us the money in cash. I signed the title, she signed, and we had it notorized. I towed it to her house for her this morning. She gave me $10 for gas to tow it about 6 miles or so. I didn't care about the money, but I appreciate the offer. At least she just didn't take it for granted - glad to see someone like that now days.:clap: I think we are leaning pretty heavily on getting the one that I posted earlier.

We are still going through brochures. We found another one we liked. Same layout out, different company but a couple of different features including fiberglass siding and a little better insulation, but it cost $2000 more and doesn't have as good as warranty and we don't care for the interior color as well. Here it is: http://www.holmanrv.com/inventory/65207/New-2010-Keystone-RV-Outback-Sydney-Edition-310BHS.aspx

Why can't decision ever be easy? This is almost as hard as what buying tractor was.:whistling:
 
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