snail powered

Or you can do the KISS principle and get an adapter for the kitchen faucet that lets you hook a hose up to it and put a shower like nozzle with flow control at the end of the hose. Connect, stick the hose out the door or window, turn on the faucet and take your outdoor shower or do your equipment wash or give the dog a bath. You control the volume of water while outside with the ability to shut the flow off or on. No new holes in the RV are needed, only a small fitting to buy at a plumbing supply store. When finished turn off the faucet, empty the hose and stow it in back in the luggage compartment. The fitting can stay screwed into the kitchen faucet. No worries about insulation or location or the quality of the shower boxes. You very likely already have the hose and a sprayer end for it and already travel with them. This example is on the pricey side at this particular website but it does show you an example with good photos of what to look for at your local plumbing supply store or elsewhere on the internet. http://www.livingdirect.com/ADAPTER-Standard-Quick-Connect-Faucet-Adapter/ADAPTER,default,pd.html

My 34 year old mattress is still very comfy but the upholstery needs to be redone because of sun damage at the nose end. I need a firm mattress that is not so firm it sets off my nerve endings. It's just right so I think I will keep it and just redo the fabric. The original center board base is saggy. I have a piece of honeycomb fiberglass panel that was made for floorboards in Boeing jets. That will become my removable center section base,its lightweight and strong. But I will also build in a removable cross brace to go under it. The brace will slip into custom sockets that I will fabricate. This will give me the option of fully open, closed but OK for head clearance or extra support when sleeping or lounging up there as required.

You have to watch out for those quick and easy plumbing jobs or you could end up with a whole new interior because you can't figure out where to quit There was an Americana around a couple of years ago that had a custom interior in it and he did something I liked. He put a really long kitchen sprayer in at the kitchen sink and stuck it out the window for use as an outdoor shower or wash-up hose. I am thinking I will do something similar but with a different setup. I will screw a quick disconnect fitting into the kitchen faucet, like the ones used for portable dishwashers. Then put an adapter on the end of the shower hose that normally lives in the bathroom that uses the same quick disconnect. So one extra long shower hose but two locations to use it. No worries about putting holes in your rig or needing to add insulation. The exterior shower boxes are more convenient when you come in wet and dirty but unless you leave the pump on or are hooked to city water you have to go inside to turn on the pump. Of course you can create your own variation on the same theme of the kitchen faucet controlling an outdoor shower hose head by using one of the flexible expanding hoses and an adapter for the faucet threaded to fit it. It can even double as a car wash hose. But you can't use really hot water in those hoses or they won't contract back after a while. They do have the adapter fittings for that setup for kitchen faucets at plumbing stores. .

With the assistance of my professional product designer friend Don I am going to be creating measured drawing project plans for a DIY cabinet with lift off cover for mounting the Honda EU1000i onto the back bumper. We are good as a design team for figuring out what is going to work best for looks and for function. There is nothing on the market for that generator for a box, they are only out there for the EU2000i version. Plus they are very expensive. I will be able to detach the cover and run the generator in place without removing it from the bumper. I don't want to mount it in the way of the hitch area. Not only will it be quick to use I won't have to risk injury to my back moving it. I don't have a generator compartment or cargo door that is tall enough on my rig for the generator so I can't do a slide out drawer configuration without getting into a lot of expense for a new cargo door. The design of my new generator case will make it difficult to steal but still have it removable for servicing. I will make the exterior surface of fiberglass finished to match my Sunrader. So today I will take my computer with 3D CAD program back over to my Sunrader and create basic model of the generator and the back of the Sunrader exterior along with the bumper. Then we can design the cabinet components into that computer model. I already have my Wixey digital angle finder over there. Its come in very handy on the custom renovation project figuring out all the draft angles of the fiberglass shell.

They are good, many thousands of boats and RVs have them. Don't install it the way it is shown in the photo as the photo is upside down. The outlet for the shower hose has to point down in order for the vacuum breaker to work. If you are going to get an add-a-room you might need to install it on the other side over by the bathroom so you don't get water inside the add-a-room. You could put an access panel for it inside the closet next to the bathroom. As those boxes are not insulated you will need to figure out how to add it since you do a lot of winter camping. Looking forward to seeing the photos of your new outdoor shower installation project

Great progress today. It was the annual rummage sale at the marina in honor of national marina day. I bought a Honda 1000i generator with only a few hours on it for $400.00. I never dreamed I might get one for that kind of price so I am doing a happy dance. As it is a gasoline generator it was not something the boat owners were interested in. Sometimes you do get lucky Working on spray painting all the trim and panel in my cab. Should finish up with all the removable pieces today.

You can measure slope using an app on a smart phone or tablet. Very handy gadgets!

They have been making changes to the 12v compressors in the last few years to make them use less power so they can run more efficiently on solar. So the old units are not necessarily the same as those in previous years. I will have to discuss what you said about the converter in them with a local dealer in my neighborhood who sells and services the units that have Danfoss compressors. It will be interesting to see if that is still the case with the newer compressors such as the BD 35 series that is more efficient than previous technology and the newest model the BD micro. Danfoss was recently bought out and is now a company called Secop but for now they are using some crossover names to avoid confusion. The new micro sized compressor is 60 percent the size of the BD 35 and uses less power. They are using it to power travel boxes of 14 to 18 liter capacity. These are not thermoelectric units, they can be used as freezers. They are more energy efficient than previous versions of small portable 12 volt fridges. For now though it only looks as if Webasto is using that micro compressor. Seems like a good choice if you don't need a large fridge, want to be off grid on solar panels and don't have the room for a large battery bank. The Engel company that makes 12v fridges for recreation also has a different style compressor they call a swing motor that is energy efficient.

You could always attend UT University and learn how to figure out which circuit has the problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcRG-XBzk7U

A lot of caulks are formulated to be paintable. Do a test spot with the paint you want to use. If it is paintable caulk then latex will stick to it. Or you could ask your painter if he used paintable caulk. Did he give you a touch up kit? Maybe he even has some leftover paint still around. Or if it is paintable caulk you could even put clear acrylic varnish over the caulk to seal up its inclination to be sticky. Acrylic is a good choice in that it is by nature a rather flexible film surface coating. As to caulking...do it this way with tape. Note how he pulls the tape, it is almost straight back on itself. You do need to pull it while the caulk is still wet and not wait until it is dried. Also note he has a wet rag in hand and yes you do need to keep your finger wet too or the caulk with bunch up on it and won't smooth out properly. As with any new skill, take the time to do some practice before you start doing it on your project. Don't give up on learning how to caulk, you can master this skill and it is a skill you will need. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TFqzLWdyUE

Some of the city water connections in Toy homes already have a water pressure reducing capability built into them. My Sunrader which still has its original 1980 fitting has one of those types meaning its nothing new. No point in spending extra bucks if you already have what you need so do figure out what type you have before you rush out and buy something you might not need. Here is an example of one of the types of connections with built in water pressure reducing. http://www.amazon.com/SHURFLO-183-029-14-Chrome-Filler-Regulator/dp/B002OUPFOU/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434041756&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=shurflow+rv+city+water

Seems very likely that they could have tapped into the wires that came up into the overhead cabinet which provide power for the stove vent hood. You can pop out the bottom panel inside that cabinet and see the wires in that hollow between the bottom outside of the cabinet and the inside lower surface of it. But you won't need to do that unless there is no power at the wires. In my Sunrader that wiring to the vent hood came from the lower kitchen cabinet. It ran up behind the wall to the upper cabinet at the end over by the door.

That looks similar to the shape of the Bargman lights in their 80-30-?? series. However as it is surface mounted with two screws you can remove what is left of the old light and replace it with a new LED outside light. They are not all that expensive so it would be a good option over trying to fix it up. My 1980 Sunrader does not have an exterior light so maybe that was something a previous owner put on which would explain why you have not seen it before.

A bread knife will also cut the foam. Some tool rental stores have the tall, jigsaw like saws that are made for foam cutting. A foam shop will also cut foam that you bring in to them.

The temperature is rising so I got my Sunrader properly set up to help beat the heat. Price was right as I already had everything on hand. Reflectix went back over the outside of the windows on the south and west sides. A 20" box fan is on my workbench in front of the sliding window. As the workbench top is only an inch below the window opening it is very easy to position the fan to direct the air flow to where I am working. I have a smaller fan for up in the overcab area. Don't laugh at my new roof vent fan too much. It works great, it moves a lot of air and I can still walk under it. Remember its just a temporary setup for this summer's remodel work. A couple of zip ties,the kind with built in screw holes, is all it took to hang it up there. I can still reach up and open and close the vent with the crank as the fan is not a wide as the vent opening. The twin motor, 110v fan is made for putting in window openings. It was sitting in the garage gathering dust so I might as well get some use out of it. This fan has a switch on both sides so you can turn it around to direct air in or out. I have it set up as an exhaust fan. Even without the cabinets finished the motorhome is earning its keep as a good place to work in with lots of tool storage space and big enough work surfaces. Plus I have a reclining backrest now setup on my rear bench. I lay down on that bench seat that goes all the way across the rig lengthwise and I use it like a lounge chair with my back propped up at various angles depending on what I am doing. It will likely take a half dozen prototypes to get the back support cushion contoured just right for my personal needs. The drummer's throne with backrest I got is proving to be a good, adjustable height workbench chair that is not a big space hog. Air conditioning would be nice but I am "borrowing" power from the neighbor's building next to where I keep the motorhome. I can't run up the bill too high so no air conditioner. I paid for this summer and fall electric use by trading him my 1980 vintage converter so he can create a mini camper in his truck's canopy cover.

Godzilla?

I was just in a rig yesterday where the owner had put in hand scraped oak clickable vinyl flooring. Nice looking material but in the heat (only 80 degrees outside but that is enough to build up heat in the interior) the vinyl was all wavy up and down off the surface of the sub floor. It felt horrible to walk on it and it looked not so great with that wavy surface. Perhaps he did not do the installation correctly. The ones I read said to use hand roller on all seams then after the floor is laid use a 100 lb roller and go over the floor with it in both directions. It also might be that he did not have the temperature warm enough when he laid the floor. You need it warm enough that the adhesive is soft. So not a cold weather project unless you have the interior nice and toasty and all your materials have been inside in the heat to get them properly warmed up. But even then you are still facing an issue where if your interior gets really hot in the summer that the adhesive will soften and the flooring will raise up and buckle which is what I suspect happened to the floor I saw yesterday.

I measured the angles of the tilt of the sides of the shell today. My 1980 18' Sunrader is fiberglass that was laid up in a molds one for the upper half, the other for the lower half. In order to be able to easily pull the sections out of the mold they create an angle on the sides of the pieces in the mold. If you are creating custom cabinetry for one this information something handy to know. Along the length of the vehicle the walls tilt at a 2 degree off of the vertical on both the upper and lower halves. On the rear wall the upper half is tilted at 4 degrees off the vertical. I did not measure the lower rear wall because there are quite a number of various angles on that surface but at the top of the seat base I do have the 4 degree angle change relative to 90 degrees vertical to the top of the seat base. I wanted to know the angles so when I cut trim moldings that go on the counter at the edges against the wall I can tilt my tablesaw blade to match and have the top and bottom edges parallel to the counter top surface. I also wanted to know the angle for when I create my upper cabinets. Along the long sides I can cut the cleat that goes against the wall at 88 degrees to match the tilt of the wall and for the cabinet at the back I will cut that cleat at 86 degrees. Knowing these angles will also help with laying out end panels on the upper and lower cabinets.

It is not unusual that you can't turn off thinking about it. It often takes a couple of years to break out of a chronic train of thought that always develops on those enjoyable long term projects. Its OK if it is a career or a hobby that is easy to manage. But not so good if you can't afford it financially and physically. One trick mental health counselors teach people that can speed up the end of the obsessive thinking is when you find yourself sliding into a thought train but you really don't want to go there just mentally say words to yourself such as "enough, stop, quit". Most people don't realize they can tell themselves to put a sock in it and that it is an effective way to break habits. After a short while of doing that you will break out of the habit of thinking about it all the time. Toyota Advanced Member 105 posts Posted Yesterday, 02:16 AM I took a quick look out of idle curiosity and found that article. It appealed to me as it was short, visual and informative. The reason I went looking was the variety of posts lately such as this one regarding buying another Toyo RV. In Many ways it seems odd but I would consider another one as I've plans to semi-retire soon. If I did the Sunrader has appeal to me. Reading the article I realized I already had most of the materials minus the gel coat. I picked up a decent sized can of marine epoxy to do repairs to the aluminum skin on the Itasca. It was $38. I knew nothing about gel coat but from reading, it seemed similar to working with lacquer. Otherwise paint is the other option and likely easier to get color matched (don't know if you can get custom quarts of gel coat). To me it just seemed within my abilities either way. What I really need to do is possibly get my head examined for just having idle thoughts about buying another toyota but that is a whole other topic.

If you are in a ship yard then you have the right materials on hand which makes that article useful. For a few small repairs in a driveway it would be an expensive way to go as you would have to buy sizes way larger than the amounts needed. I tried finding a gel coat color match for my Sunrader. I went to the large supplier in Seattle and they did not have anything that was close. I went to the marine supply store where they sell small quantity kits and they did not have a close color match. As the company that made Sunraders is long gone there is not information as to the original color mix which did vary between the older models and the later models. I was able to get a historic chart of the industry standard gel coat colors from the late 1970's and the 1980's but there was not a close color match on it. But I did find an auto touch up spray paint that is very close so that is what I choose to use for the minor repairs I made to the fiberglass. You can't see the repairs I made unless you specifically go looking for them and it has held up perfectly during the 3 years since I made the repairs.

I filled the cracks and dings on my Sunrader by using epoxy putty sticks. The kind that look like a tootsie roll with a center you knead into the outside ring of material. I used the beige colored one they sell for patching holes in wood, it is good on fiberglass too. Then I sanded it smooth, primed with an all purpose white latex wall paint primer first as it stuck well to epoxy whereas the automotive primer did not. Next I did put on some auto body primer and another light sanding until very smooth then sprayed with automotive paint that was a very close color match. Now if you could find one of these over the door LED entry lights or make one with LEDs and an over the door drip cap it would cover over the patched area. Its a Fiamma product but I don't know if Fiamma US carries them. Pretty pricey but it has inspired me to think about installing a motion sensor marine LED strip under my drip cap that is over my Sunrader door. I would add a switch inside the door and use a small solar panel with battery to power it. http://www.amazon.co.uk/CARAVAN-MOTORHOME-AWNING-LIGHT-GUTTER/dp/B005NY5QM0

Go to the craft store, Buy the "fun foam" type of sheets. They come in two choices of thickness and lots of colors including black and white. It is a closed cell EVA foam and will be very suitable for the task as it does not absorb water. We make various types of gaskets out of it quite often as it cuts beautifully on the laser. It is of course not suitable for gaskets on hot engines. But great for things such what you are doing and it is inexpensive. As far as getting grimy goes, its washable.

I would still pick the fiberglass Sunrader. I have seen way too many instances of wood rot in the overcab area and on the lower area rear walls in this forum to ever consider buying a wood framed Dolphin or any other make of wood framed motorhome at any time in the future. Most especially since I don't have a garage to store one in.

Mini blinds do have some advantages over curtains. You can adjust them so you can see out but other people can't see in. You can adjust them to block glare while still being able to see outside. You can't do that with curtains.

Ellary, you might want to start a new thread topic to talk about cooling the vehicle with solar power. It is really an entirely different subject from someone's personal adventures in a 4 x 4 Sunrader and as such deserves its own focus of conversation centered around the cooling with solar topic.