1989 Palomino Mustang-CR Rebuild
- Thread starter geoffm3
- Start date
I am also going to have to take the top rails back off (grr) because I forgot one critical component: the metal strapping at the corners. The beds are partially supported by the top boards/metal channel on the front and back walls. If you think about it, when the beds are out, there's quite a bit of pulling force on the top of this board, and without the metal straps, the only thing holding the top board to the side walls are four wood screws. So, the factory installs a 1" wide metal strap to the top framing member of the side wall and wraps this over the front edge. This is stapled in place.
That looks great!! I have a 1986 Mustang, same configuration we are working on. Our first trip out this summer the queen bed pulled away from the frame, and dropped my wife and I on the pavement outside the camper! So...after rebuilding the king bed side, I'm now rebuilding the queen side.
When we purchased the camper it had been gutted, and only had the queen side intact. Do you happen to have any pictures of the bed rail stops on yours? I'm about 90% sure I'm missing all the stops on mine.
Thanks in advance!
When we purchased the camper it had been gutted, and only had the queen side intact. Do you happen to have any pictures of the bed rail stops on yours? I'm about 90% sure I'm missing all the stops on mine.
Thanks in advance!
sure… this isn’t the best picture and maybe yours is different, but the bed stop mounts to the end of the bed board and is an aluminum extrusion with a lip that stops against the end walls of the camper. This is why I said I think the metal strapping from the side wall to the end wall is necessary, because otherwise you only have about four wood screws keeping you from falling on the ground!
https://flic.kr/p/2mr8Jgd
https://flic.kr/p/2mr3yZm
bobinfleet
Super Active Member
That's a great job. Can't wait to see the finished camper.
That makes perfect sense, thanks!
Some new pics... we are putting some teal striping on the side walls, and we have started installing the cabinetry after a check of the box and top appeared to work. Here's hoping that stays the same after rebuilding the top, but we are cramped for space and need to get the box put back together to free up some space.
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on FlickrNot much has happened on the camper the past week and a half or so... we were on our fall trip, but we're about to start back at it again. Still need to work on the frontmost dinette booth seat and the corner cabinet. We intend to use the existing tabletop as a countertop for the corner cabinet so that it matches the other countertops and replace the dinette table. We got some nice panels from a local thrift store from a book case for $6 that should make for a nice tabletop. The idea there is to replace the dinette table post with folding legs to make the table freestanding, and to put a nice contrasting piece of wood in the middle of the dinette tabletop running lengthwise. The roof is mostly prepped to rebuild now. Hopefully we'll be done before our next camp at the end of the month and we can make that our maiden voyage.
Some progress… my wife made up a new set of bottom cushions for the dinette using innerspring baby mattresses for some additional support, and upholstered them. I am mostly done rebuilding the dinette booths.
https://flic.kr/p/2mzTA6K
https://flic.kr/p/2mzTA6K
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on FlickrOn thing that is a bit of a 'lolwut' moment: the dinette table no longer fits! This is not a big deal in our case because we are replacing the dinette with another table we're making. The reason for this is because the stock paneling in the camper is 1/8" thick. The new "paneling" is, ahem 5mm thick. The original framing was all used as much as possible. The stackup of cabinetry and end walls front to back is about 8 panels thich (so each end wall has a panel each - 2 , plus the kitchen cabinet - 2, the pantry cabinet- 1, the dinette booth to the kitchen - 2, and the dinette booth to the front wall - 1), so you end up "losing" a little over half an inch for the gap for the table (0.57" to be "exact"). I could have compensated for this with the dinette booth framing, but nevermind. Moving on!
Lots of progress this weekend that I unfortunately don't have pictures for just yet. I'd take pics now, but there's a bunch of stuff piled on top of the camper currently. lol Maybe later this evening. The good news is that as things are getting put back into the camper box, the garage is getting a lot less cluttered. But to summarize what's happened:
- We installed the rest of the pinstriping around the exterior.
- Edge banding applied to the dinette end caps
- hole cut for converter in dinette
- holes cut in sidewall for electrical and gravity water feed
- one drawer built (mostly). Ran out of material for the second.
- cabinet doors cut to size and veneer rough cut for laminating
- lots of staining for drawer doors and cabinet doors
- Rest of the kitchen cabinet countertops installed and kitchen backsplash/foot board cut and tile installed (needs edge banding still)
- Finished building framing and cutting cabinet paneling for the corner porta potty cabinet.
Pic of the inside thus far... did some work on it this weekend...mounted all the cabinet doors. Just need to finish trimming out the interior, finish the potty cabinet/countertop there and that will be done, but if it were left in this state it would likely be mostly useable (not that I would, but it would be serviceable). Laminated up the side boards for the top. I think that will require some shimming under the bottom edge due to crowing of the boards. This construction is a little different than new. Original used a laminate of the sheet metal skin with three pieces of 1x3 boards contoured and glued with spacers. It seemed like that would save a negligible amount of weight and makes the construction harder I think without a big jig to set up (since you have to bend the top piece). I understand why they did that, as cost wise it's probably cheaper since you can get 1x3s that length a lot cheaper than 1x8s. But, in the event of a water leak I think this will end up being more durable than the composite original. I'm a little concerned that the roof will be a little wonky looking when done, but it's done and I'm not redoing it since it's $25 a side. lol. I followed the contour of the original sheet metal when cutting the side boards, so I guess it can't be worse than it was originally. ha.
We bought a new window AC unit to replace the original one... it was noisy anyway, and the new one looks prettier and was only $62 at target!
I am itching to put the canvas back on it before we finish the top.
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
We bought a new window AC unit to replace the original one... it was noisy anyway, and the new one looks prettier and was only $62 at target!
I am itching to put the canvas back on it before we finish the top.
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on FlickrThis is an update a long time coming. We have been working on the camper as we can between other trips and commitments. We are nearing the end of our build. We had hoped to be done before a trip to Pigeon Forge a couple of weeks ago, but after I'm sure many of you saw in the national news, I'd say it worked out that we didn't make it! Extremely windy conditions that Sunday there, and I'm sure that wouldn't have been a pleasant experience in the pup, so we took the big camper instead. Plus, Pigeon Forge is a good 250 miles away, which we decided was probably not the best idea for a maiden voyage to make with a camper we've towed (pre build) all of about 15 miles.
Anywho, here's how it looks thus far... we reassembled the roof (mostly) and painted the roofing with elastomeric paint. We will, in the very near future need to replace the vent. The previous owner must have replaced the roof vent at some point, because the roof vent is installed backwards: the opening should face toward the back for obvious reasons while towing (so you don't rip it off if you leave it open). They drenched the lid with dicor to seal it up. I'm tempted to replace with the bigger style roof vent for a couple of reasons: 1. they are half the price, 2. replacement covers are easier to come by. I'm just not sure how much of our trouble it'll be worth to save $25 replacing it with the cheaper bigger style vent. Front and back metal frame pieces and the side screw trim needs to be installed and the latches, and then we'll be able to shut it up. Applying sealant to the sides and then it should be weatherproof again while shut and we can get it back out of the garage and not worry about rain.
My wife replaced all the smoked windows in the canvas with clear, but then our delightful little malti-poo decided to chew a hole through one of the finished windows! So, we had to seam rip that back out and replace it. That is still an ongoing project. Inside, we need to finish the wiring and plumbing (low voltage and towing wiring is about 80%, AC is about 50%), and construct another (or two) drawers, finish the potty cabinet, finish screwing the sidewalls to the floor, grease wheel bearings, and then, finally, I think we will be complete.
December by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
December by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
December by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Anywho, here's how it looks thus far... we reassembled the roof (mostly) and painted the roofing with elastomeric paint. We will, in the very near future need to replace the vent. The previous owner must have replaced the roof vent at some point, because the roof vent is installed backwards: the opening should face toward the back for obvious reasons while towing (so you don't rip it off if you leave it open). They drenched the lid with dicor to seal it up. I'm tempted to replace with the bigger style roof vent for a couple of reasons: 1. they are half the price, 2. replacement covers are easier to come by. I'm just not sure how much of our trouble it'll be worth to save $25 replacing it with the cheaper bigger style vent. Front and back metal frame pieces and the side screw trim needs to be installed and the latches, and then we'll be able to shut it up. Applying sealant to the sides and then it should be weatherproof again while shut and we can get it back out of the garage and not worry about rain.
My wife replaced all the smoked windows in the canvas with clear, but then our delightful little malti-poo decided to chew a hole through one of the finished windows! So, we had to seam rip that back out and replace it. That is still an ongoing project. Inside, we need to finish the wiring and plumbing (low voltage and towing wiring is about 80%, AC is about 50%), and construct another (or two) drawers, finish the potty cabinet, finish screwing the sidewalls to the floor, grease wheel bearings, and then, finally, I think we will be complete.
December by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
December by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
December by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
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We did some more work on the camper this past weekend. I need to update pics. All of the electrical is done, all the lights are installed and work, the converter is reinstalled, and the 120VAC outlets reinstalled. I added a GFCI for the main circuit that wasn't present in the original, and then an AC outlet by the door includes USB charging ports. I do have a couple of additional 12V plugs to install: a cigarette lighter + USB charger outlet for the main bed (the cigarette lighter plug is primarily to power my CPAP machine if/when we put batteries and solar for this thing), and another USB only for the other side of the camper. Those are purely optional though, we could use it as is without those easily.
We got a great deal on a king mattress locally, brand new from a couple that had just purchased a 5th wheel and hated the mattress it came with: free! Luckily, this mattress core was the same type that those "teddy bear mattresses" are made from, stacked two high, so we got two beds for the price of one! Jennifer sewed up some new curtains and we have those installed now.
Plumbing is "mostly" done except for final leak checking. I think I have a leak at the fitting to the faucet. I want to check that again before calling that done. Wheel arches installed on the outside, so at this point, all of the holes are plugged on the outside of the camper, minus the spare tire carrier for the back. That would have been done tonight except that I got bolts that were too short! Back to the hardware store, again.
We were expecting a new ceiling vent to come yesterday (and then today), but no dice. Once that's in the roof will be done.
Still need to complete the potty cabinet. That is fastened into place, but need to work on finishing up the side facing the door, and a new folding countertop for that.
We got a great deal on a king mattress locally, brand new from a couple that had just purchased a 5th wheel and hated the mattress it came with: free! Luckily, this mattress core was the same type that those "teddy bear mattresses" are made from, stacked two high, so we got two beds for the price of one! Jennifer sewed up some new curtains and we have those installed now.
Plumbing is "mostly" done except for final leak checking. I think I have a leak at the fitting to the faucet. I want to check that again before calling that done. Wheel arches installed on the outside, so at this point, all of the holes are plugged on the outside of the camper, minus the spare tire carrier for the back. That would have been done tonight except that I got bolts that were too short! Back to the hardware store, again.
We were expecting a new ceiling vent to come yesterday (and then today), but no dice. Once that's in the roof will be done.
Still need to complete the potty cabinet. That is fastened into place, but need to work on finishing up the side facing the door, and a new folding countertop for that.
jmkay1
2004 Fleetwood/Coleman Utah
Very well done. Now that you are seeing the end results I bet you are getting anxious to give it her maiden voyage. Thank you for allowing us to follow along on your progress. Good luck on the rest of the project.
Thanks! We are definitely antsy. Our maiden voyage is next week. Further than I would like (700 miles) for a maiden voyage, but I think she is road worthy.
Here's some updated pics. All cabinetry is done now with the exception of the potty cabinet. I have a decent punch list of little things to work on, but most everything is fairly simple, aside from the potty cabinet itself. We are also taking some cues on awning DIY from some of the other posts on here.
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on FlickrWell, it's pretty much ready for it's first outing. There's of course a few minor things left to do on it, but nothing that can't be saved 'til later. I think everything is in working order. This weekend we:
Finished the corner potty cabinet (mostly)
Replaced the existing lighting with LED lighting. It's not warm white, more daylight bulbs, which we aren't crazy about, but they'll do for now. I may order up another set and swap them out.
Finished attaching the latch side of the door frame to the side wall. I put a decent sized shim in there to make it latch... that was driving me crazy.
More trim pieces on the dinette to make it more purty.
Sealed all the corners and ports/doors on the outside with proflex sealant.
Replaced the quick disconnect gas fittings. We have a gas firepit we use with our big camper that has a quick disconnect on it, and wanted to use with the pop up. I discovered that although the quick disconnect would connect to the pop up, no gas would flow. Unbeknownst to me at the time, there are two styles of quick disconnect: 5LPN and Model 25 (this is what's commonly sold today apparently). They are dead ringers on the male ends, but they aren't interchangeable. I replaced the quick disconnects on the camper stove and the two inside and outside female receiver ends so that everything plays well together.
I am in the process of making two safety support poles out of PVC. Ours didn't come with them, and I didn't relish the idea of spending another $120 on two metal stamped supports. The PVC pipe was $12 for a 10 foot section which is more than enough. I just need to finish that out and other than some minor trim work that can wait 'til later, I'd say it's pretty well done!
Finished the corner potty cabinet (mostly)
Replaced the existing lighting with LED lighting. It's not warm white, more daylight bulbs, which we aren't crazy about, but they'll do for now. I may order up another set and swap them out.
Finished attaching the latch side of the door frame to the side wall. I put a decent sized shim in there to make it latch... that was driving me crazy.
More trim pieces on the dinette to make it more purty.
Sealed all the corners and ports/doors on the outside with proflex sealant.
Replaced the quick disconnect gas fittings. We have a gas firepit we use with our big camper that has a quick disconnect on it, and wanted to use with the pop up. I discovered that although the quick disconnect would connect to the pop up, no gas would flow. Unbeknownst to me at the time, there are two styles of quick disconnect: 5LPN and Model 25 (this is what's commonly sold today apparently). They are dead ringers on the male ends, but they aren't interchangeable. I replaced the quick disconnects on the camper stove and the two inside and outside female receiver ends so that everything plays well together.
I am in the process of making two safety support poles out of PVC. Ours didn't come with them, and I didn't relish the idea of spending another $120 on two metal stamped supports. The PVC pipe was $12 for a 10 foot section which is more than enough. I just need to finish that out and other than some minor trim work that can wait 'til later, I'd say it's pretty well done!
Here's a pic with the awning set up. We bought some new poles to use as rafter tensioning poles. We will probably go back and get some new poles for the uprights as well since ours are old and ratty.
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on Flickr
Untitled by Geoff Oltmans, on FlickrThe big day is tomorrow! 1st travel day and start of a 7 night camp. Safety supports are finished. We were able to purchase two of the additional support poles, but the third was not in stock. We will be driving past a few possible places to pick one of those up.. Staking the awning out? Absolutely important. We had a light wind yesterday and when I came out to the driveway to get something, the whole awning had flipped over the top of the camper and was laying on top!
