IdahoDoug

Shaping the face wall of the left side cabinets. The floor edge is now cut to follow the not perfectly straight floor, and you can see the green laser line I cut to keep everything perfectly level and square. The rear of this piece becomes the brace for the dinette, and in the second photo you can see the dinette brace also forms the front wall for a box where the inverters, solar controller, chargers and fuse box will live. The shapes of the various cutouts in the face wall will be drawn and cut, then I will temporarily mount it and measure and cut the top third, join the two halves with bracing, then start building the inner structures (closet walls, etc). I made this wall a few inches farther from the wall to accommodate the larger fridge, and fortunately the factory furnace has enough adjustability that it will be able to handle the change as well (thanks, Sunrader!).

Agree - no real or imagined safety advantantage in the randomness of a wreck - especially if as you say the valves are closed while traveling. In fact, probably from a statistical standpoint, the weaker they are mounted, the less likely they will be anywhere near you when everything comes to a standstill. I was talking to my Dad once (fighter pilot, career international airline pilot, engineer, etc) about the hold down straps on my 3 ton boat and whether they'd really be of help. He pointed out that if the boat trailer rolled in an accident, it would likely be better from a safety standpoint if the boat parted ways and you called the insurance company to tell them where they could find the pieces of their boat. Versus the boat lifts and flips the trailer, which then lifts the tow vehicle's rear tires off the ground and flips my family. FWIW, I've removed the metal propane box from the rear wall and am mounting my propane under the floor behind the left tire on a bracket. That's primo storage space, plus I'm leaving the propane door in place and can insert long things down the hallway like my steel hammock frame, fishing rods, lumber. Be safe.

Getting back on this after a busy period. Today, I ran new bolts through the new plywood subflooring at the 6 attachment points. Back two went fine, the the next cross member forward had a very unfortunate coincidence. I removed the factory structure under the dinette of course, for the extravagant "pit" thing and in a bit of poor planning, the spot I chose for the structure lined up perfectly with the factory mounting hole. I pushed the structure to the right a couple inches to preserve the hallway width as the left side cabinets will be a couple inches deeper to account for the larger fridge. My simple process with the new subfloor was just to lay underneath and use the old holes in the cross framing to drill up through the subfloor. This one did not pop through with the drill bit all the way in. Argh. Had to drill a new mounting hole slightly outboard and the only available location was tight up against the truck's frame member. So I had to go get a foot long drill to accomplish that. Argh - $20 hole. Then, over the winter the ground has settled here and there and the vehicle was slightly off level. So, I had to put new jackstands and wood chunks under it and the nose ended up high. With no way to jack it "down", I resorted to filling two 6 gallon water carriers and putting them in the cab. Now that it's level again (I have permanent reference marks), I can proceeded to the "face plate" for the cabinets, fridge, heater, closet and such along the left side of the hallway. The floor is not perfectly flat, so I made a 6 foot template out of a 2" wide strip of wood, using that age old technique of drawing a pencil along the part, that follows the undulations and draws a matching line. The face plate should now nearly touch the new subfloor with this adjustment, making for a solid glued and screwed connection. The leather components are back in the house as I'll be cutting, sanding and making a mess for the next couple months to build. Kind of a challenge to build a cabinet in situ in there!

Wow that is a weird arrangement, and since the BAT vehicle is definitely not the OP's above, it must have been original??

Wow, interesting vehicle. Will be curious what the headroom is down the center - it looks like they worked pretty hard to make it full standup height. The storage over the cab is also an interesting feature that did not come from the factory - otherwise why the front windows, eh? Looks like the Toyota part is in nice shape. What city up here in the PNW is it?

Just finished the lounge in the back of the RV project this evening. Replaced the rear dinette with a leather relaxation lounge. It converts to eating, but frankly this is a better use of space in this tiny thing. 2 and 1/2 Italian cowhides, it's 6'4 X 52" and will have speakers, twin flexistalk reading lamps, coffee cup holders, ceiling fan, a little bookshelf, phone chargers, and a place for binoculars as it has big windows on 3 sides. My fingers are sore, and I'm happy! Converts to eating with one of those swing arm tables, but we'll rarely eat inside, so I suspect this will be the 99% configuration. Center piece will hinge up on gas struts for storage, remaining leather will go on that curved ceiling section as padded diamond stitched just for show. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out, and this has me major motivated to keep cranking on the rest of the interior. Thanks for all the tips, encouragement, and help.

Thanks, RaderDog. So, got this "feature" cushion all sewn together and used the thicker batting as a gamble to see if I could stuff it all in. Worked and very pleased at the softer feel than the thinner batting I have on hand. It's coming together.

Pick up a razor knife and a sheet of auto grade weather sealing material. Use the lense to trace the pattern and cut it on a cutting board. Then use 3M weather strip glue to attach it to the body, nothing on the side facing the lense for future removal for bulb replacement. I think you'll find it easier than you think, and I also doubt you'll find a gasket to buy to replace what's in there. Depending on what the edge of the lense, and the surface on the body look like, you may also find a seal sold as a strip to use - putting the seam where the ends come together, on the bottom with a dab of caulk. You could also use caulking to adhere the lense, but this is a major disadvantage for future bulb changes, which become a pain.

Diamond pleating came out very well. Wow that's a lot of work. Glue special fabric lined foam to the back, mark with chalk roller, then sew a LOT of stitching - perhaps 10 times as much as the other cushions - knowing any screw up turns it to scrap. Didn't know I could hold my breath that long. Here are the base cushions out in the Sunrader, and the diamond panel clipped in so I could decide if cosmetically this is what I want to do. The base cushions are a perfect friction fit: I've decided with success here, I will go ahead and do diamond pleated padded leather as an accent above the back window on that weird convex ceiling/wall shape, and also on a small perch at the doorway for a place to sit and get shoes off/on. Headed out to cut the plywood for the back plates..

Getting the seal of approval! So the smaller center cushion will come out to allow 3 people to sit and eat in the U, and a 4th in the hallway. I am going to see if I can have the removable cushion become the seat in the hall, as it is correctly sized for that. Table will be a swivel arm from that Swedish company.

All 4 dinette base cushions done. Might lay them out so you can see how I've converted it into an upholstered lounge area for the 99% use, that converts to a dinette for 3+ one can sit in the hallway: Started to get pretty straight with my staples near the end!

2 of 4 base cushions done. Got a little frisky with an edge and did not watch my tension as I got to a corner - whoopsie: Fixed and secured the corner better after this pic:

Thanks! Having never done upholstery, I'm really pleased. I'm really looking forward to seeing how flat/sleepable these base cushions turn out. Extech - thanks for the assist. The batting gives them a mildly rounded contour, which I like from an appearance standpoint, but I was not prepared for how much it gives that classic leather softness as well - major bonus. I hope when they're all laid out the surface is flat enough for comfortable sleep - hope I struck a happy medium. This evening was a bust. Low on batting, I only had enough to do one more before I have to make the trek to Spokane to get more. Got the batting stapled on 3 sides and while pulling to staple the 4th, I tore the batting. Argh. I also picked up a better staple gun. This is going to be a LOT of staples and my big outdoor construction gun is just too risky with my fingers close by the tip all the time. I also have plans for a cool surprise on the upholstery if I can pull it off... Stay tuned.

Whew. Starting to fully respect why the high end upholstery shop's estimate was $4400. Not that I'm truly surprised - I always appreciate a craft. Here's the dacron batting going over the foam. So glad I changed my mind and got the best stuff: The piece I'm working on with batting, versus a cushion without it for comparison for my family to feel. Shocking, Takes it from an ordinary boat cushion to suddenly feeling like a piece of fine home upholstery. You couldn't have convinced me there would be THIS much difference. Well worth the added hassle: With the batting on and pulled properly tight, the corners all were pulled down. Inevitable, I think. So I made 16 of these little corner fillers because I'm anal and wanted the dinette to present as a flat surface for sleeping, not lumpy. Glued with 3M, and worked perfectly to fill the corners crisply: Ready to pull and staple the leather. You can see the two holes I drilled. Tested and they work perfectly - no upholstery "ballooning" when you sit abruptly: First completed cushion - the largest one. Very happy the edges are straight, the leather seems pulled about the right tightness, and the fit is fantastic - WAY better than I'd hoped for. I was prepared for adjustments and errors. It was this "subjective" portion I was most worried about. Could I watch enough YouTube videos of grizzled fine upholstery folks pulling and stapling leather and swinging rawhide hammers I've never seen before, to discern how much they were pulling, how hard, and duplicate that on my first ever? Could I eyeball the seam every visitor to my Sunrader will see as I go along with the stapler and get it straight? Would the cover be off center if I stapled the first side too tight? Very pleased so far...

So, 2nd cushion's cover stitched. Also built the "fill in" cushion of wood and foam, which is the last of the seating surface. Still marveling at Extech's tip on leaving a tail on the boxing. Used that again this evening, of course. In fact, a definite God thing happened with it. I somehow messed up on the measurement for the length of the boxing I needed for this piece. As I have various lengths of boxing precut - from 97.5" to 45", I am choosing which lengths to use to minimize boxing seams and maximize use of the pieces. Well as I got close to the end, I looked in my lap, and was shocked the remaining boxing was ending short, and I'd expected to trim off 3" of excess! Stoically and trying not to be upset, I completed the sewing and stopped where I'd have enough tail for ExTech's tip. I laid the tails together, and - what's this? - not merely close to what I needed, EXACTLY what I needed. The two tail tips came together with a 1/2" flap on each side as if I were the most talented upholsterer in the western hemisphere and had precisely precut them. He has a sense of humor - this I know. So, here's the leather cover just fitted like the other to see if I got the fit right. It's a great fit - not stuffed with the batting yet, nor stapled on, obviously: