Whew, it sure looks ugly now. Cannot wait to start putting her back together just the way I want it. Took everything out and I am so thankful my hubby is an industrial electrician and an amazing builder/fabricator because all of those wires and bare walls are VERY scary looking. We are going to patch all of the holes in the floor and seal it with Flex Seal and put down new wood look vinyl flooring. Took the walls out because he is going to rewire the inside to utilize shore power or a portable 4000-watt dual fuel generator that will be mounted to the front and is suppose to run on a 20 lb. propane for 9-10 hours. Going to add a little double bubble insulation in the walls while they are opened. Took out all of the gas and water on the inside and will be putting in new beadboard paneling in the sidewalls, cutting down and moving the dinette so that it does not take up so much room in the pop-up and is positioned in front of the back bunk instead of sideways using up all of the storage and cabinet space. Then building in all of the cabinets and storage so that all of my appliances and portable toilet can be used inside or outside. The only thing staying stationary will be the mini-fridge we purchased for it. Mounted a nice aluminum toolbox for storage on the outside where the old tank and battery used to be. Re-upholstering all of the cushions to make a slick country chic camper just for camping out with my Grand-daughter when my Hubby cannot get away to drag the big camper. She is truly going to be beautiful when we are done.
Dang, too late. I was working on it all weekend and didn't see this in time. It is on the inside and will be under the new sheet vinyl and cabinets and not really exposed to anything. It looks so nice and clean now. I sealed it because I had noticed when we pulled out the sheet vinyl that somehow the water had been getting in around all of the holes and around the edge of the pop-up itself. This camper had been barely used so the floor was still very solid but you could see where it was faded and the floor adhesive had dissolved around those areas. (clearly water-based adhesive because it got very sticky when I just used a damp rag to wipe off all the dust and stuff) I wanted to protect it from rotting down the road so painted the bottom and edges as good as possible. I hope I didn't make a mistake. We did get a quart of black Flex Seal to seal the boards we screwed to the bottom to seal off the wholes and plugs that we placed in them and it has not been used yet. I also bought some Gorilla Seal Tape to go around the bottom edges again to try and keep the water from coming in underneath too. I have not used that yet either. Do you have a better recommendation for those?
It is slow going with work and trying to paint the entire house at the same time. But we did get the new flooring down and the two new 20 Amp outlets put in on the outside. The one with the plate replaces the old little heater vent that use to be there. I generally set up a camp kitchen in that area and this gives me outlets for my electric skillet, Ninja Foodi, coffee pot, or whatever for cooking etc.
And YES folks, kcsa75 was 100% correct. The Flex Seal paint is not the way to go. It peels off so easily. Thankfully I had only put it down on the inside and it is underneath the new sheet vinyl. I hope I will not have an issue with it there since it is now covered and protected. But glad that I have not used it elsewhere.
Finally got the walls back in this baby. It's been a rough couples months and work has hammered us. I still have to caulk the seams and paint the walls. I am looking forward to getting the cabinets in so I can finally take her out this fall. This is so solid and not your standard Pop-up wall.
Thank you. I am so excited to get her done. My Grand-daughter starts in her AHG Troop in Septemper and I plan to take it to Texas for her first long haul for my Nieces wedding the first of Oct. I have my Lab Accreditation Audit on the 19th. After that I will be working on her steady in the evenings and weekends to finish it up. It feels huge with nothing in it. Lol
While the tent is in fine shape, the material used inside by the manufacturer really are minimum quality. I am glad I only have a "maintenance" project I often wonder how I could have done it with better materials. That would of course add significant weight but it would put my mind at ease about how it will age.
Bahaha...I too have that weight concern. My husband assures me it is not an issue. I did take out a lot of stuff as well. Fortunately we have a friend across the road that has a salvage yard and a scale that I plan to check it on once we are finished. He used 2X4's but ripped them down to 2X2's and only braced it around the two outlets and sides. But seriously much sturdier and the double bubble insulation I used didn't weight anything. I am a light packer as well so that should help. I will post the weight fully loaded once we get it done. Hoping the generator on the front will give me the additional hitch weight from moving the dinette to the back.
Just some food for thought on that "generator on the front" comment. I hope you don't plan to leave it running there under the front bunk? Don't want to see any carbon monoxide poisonings coming from that proximity and being under a bunk. As far as weight, as long as the trailer frame, and tires can handle the load as well as your tow vehicle then no problem.
No plan to run it there, it is just a place to haul it and store it when not needed. Haven't decided which generator yet though. Still need to do some research. Most of the time I camp where electric is available or use my propane campstove and battery operated camplights. Want a dual fuel for those rare occasions we will not but needs to be light enough I can manage it. Would like a small one I think for portable power uses elsewhere. Looking at the Champion 2000 watt dual fuel generator now. Supposedly runs 24 hours on a 20 lb. Propane tank. Worst case would need to run a little heater or portable AC but need to research more.
Isn't it? My first Pup was a 1993 Coleman and I really loved how easy it was to set up. It did not have this adorable logo on it. My Cousin recently bought a different brand and it took us so long to set it up that when I went looking I wanted to make sure I got one just like my old one. This one sets up exactly the same and came with this bonus super cute logo. I have even googled it to try and copy a similar design on pillows for the inside of my Pup that says "Happy Campers ONLY" And he is a happy-looking little guy, so I thought it was perfect.
