snail powered
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Posts posted by snail powered
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Picked up my will call order of 6' long aluminum angle from Online Metals this morning, less than half the cost of getting the materials at the local hardware store
. My friend came over and helped me get one piece up along the wall as the ledge that will secure the kitchen counter. Then we put in another piece on the floor that will secure the lower edge of the cabinet's front face. The hard part in a Sunrader is to get them relatively parallel to each other so that the cabinet will come out relatively square in height and depth. Perfection is not an achievable goal as the floor is not perfectly level and the wall is not straight. But a few shims and some slotted holes will make it all come right in my Toyhome world by allowing me to average out the small variations in distance. -
I drool over the sprinter vans and some of the Rialtas
:love: -
Not too big of a surprise, you did say you had initiated a search report pp to find a new motorhome that combines the benefits of a Westfalia with a Toyhome. It makes sense to help pay for a new one with the funds the one you just fixed up will bring.
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Just bought a 1986 Toyota "new world". It has a few issues. First I've seen a couple people asking about the New World campers and that they cannot find any information about them, I am in the same boat. I was told by the seller it was a mini winnie. It has been remodeled on the inside with all new appliances plumbing electrical and repainted on the outside, so I have ruled out the possibility of getting any kind of updated drawings. It's in great shape besides the plumbing line feeding the shower has come loose, a few small other things, and there's oil leaking from the engine. I plan on doing all these repairs to get it up to par. I have done my homework and have noticed that the freshwater tank is a 25 gallon which sits on top and the plumbing from the shower toilet and two sinks all run to one single black tank on the bottom. I am aware that this could be a nasty issue and not sure how I want to handle it yet. Any information about this camper or any advice will be greatly appreciated thank you !!!
I recall seeing a few tanks on this forum that initially looked functionally be a single piece tank but internally they were divided into two sections, one for grey water and the other for black. It seems likely you might have that style of tank. So don't get too stressed out thinking your waste water situation is not correct as it might be one of that type; unusual but not impossible. Our forum member "Debbit" had one of that kind that she discussed a while back.
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Good idea for you to be able to lock your converted propane compartment.
Bad idea for other folks with a real propane compartment.
agree !!!
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Working on some pieces for my new cabinets. This long piece of aluminum will be used at the floor to secure the face frames for the kitchen side cabinet. Wood would be a little less expensive but heavier and it is difficult to find a straight piece of it nowadays.
My folding sawhorse along with my work bench stool which is an adjustable height drummer's throne allowed me to sit down at the perfect height for the cutting job. I have a bad back so I have no choice but avoiding bending whenever I can. As the sawhorse is made with an I beam cross bar it is very easy to clamp to it for this kind of cross cutting to length job. The stool was a garage sale find last summer. This summer I will keep an eye out at the yard sales for a back for it from Ebay or one I can scavenge from an inexpensive office chair. I like it because the seat can swivel, the legs fold up, the top comes off so it will fit into a cabinet out of the way if needed and since there are three legs it is stable when used outdoors on uneven surfaces.
Nice sunny weather but rain is coming again. At least I got the winter mold washed off yesterday, the rig looks a lot more presentable now. A few chores to do on the exterior before I put wax on it. I cut a cover plate to put over the hole where the stove vent was but it needs to be painted first. Another free material piece from my friend's stash, its thin fiberglass, a scrap piece of circuit board material that came from Boeing Surplus a number of years ago. We did not have a suitable piece of aluminum on hand but this will do the job just fine.
Next small chore up, the metal catch piece that the lock on my propane tank door was bent over and fractured off when trying to straighten it. So I need to fabricate a small piece to pop rivet into place to do the job. I want to put a keyed lock on that door as it has been converted to storage and other stuff. Good place to keep the little bar-b-que grill, potable water hose, etc.
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@ Karen, I have been wanting to move my shower valves but had no idea where to move them inside the small bathroom. They are a pain where they are located in the Sunraders. I think your idea of moving them to the back wall is a good one. Where can I purchase a new faucet that has the 1/4 turns. I have seen these used on hose bibs for outside use but never seen this inside faucet in the stores. Who sells them.
I am locating the faucet just below the area where the medicine cabinet is. That makes it really easy to reach the connections when you remove the medicine cabinet. Since it is recessed back from that face on the wall your body won't bump into the faucet. Just leave enough clearance space above and to the side so your hand is not cramped when you go to turn the faucet.
The quarter turn faucet I am using is relatively new on the market. I spent a lot of time looking for a quarter turn last summer but this one was not available then. A lot of people are now selling this new faucet so you can search for the best deal. I chose the link to Amazon soley because it had a good photo but it is selling for as little as $12.00 on other sites so shop around. I ordered from a company on Ebay. Phoenix makes a lot of different RV stuff.
http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-R0477-I-White-Shower-Valve/dp/B000OKT6DS
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Thanks for all the input and compliments. I will make two bungee cords to length for each side and bicycle cord locks.
Webbing straps would be preferable over bungee cords. You don't want any give on the straps in this situation.
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Put in some spray foam support under my Sunrader one piece bathroom floor. That floor was too flexible where you step into the bath area just in front of the toilet. I have seen several postings on the forum where people had the floor crack on them in that area. I got tired of worrying about the possibility of more cracks in the floor so I fixed the issue, now the plastic floor is better supported and stable. I got the idea for the spray foam from what contractors do before they install fiberglass tubs. They put down spots of spray foam under the tub then drop the tub in place before the foam starts to cure. The spray foam supports the tub so that the bottom of the tub does not flex when someone stands in it.
After I bought my motorhome I discovered my shower pan was cracked where the toilet sits because it was not supported under that area. It had also cracked the plastic flange the toilet bolt go through. I repaired that area with fiberglass last year and also did what the RV store repair guy told me to do which was put wood blocking between the plywood floor and the fiberglass shroud next to hole in the shower pan where the toilet bolts in. The height was right at 3.5" so a 2 x 4's on edge worked fine as blocking supports.That took the stress off the fiberglass and transferred the weight of a person sitting there on down to the floor.
Next bathroom project is to move the shower faucet to the back wall so I quit knocking into it. I will fill up the old holes. I will be putting in all new plumbing this summer as part of the interior remodel so it is a good time to move the faucet. There is plenty of room behind the bathroom for the water lines but I do have to take the medicine cabinet out to reach the screw back fittings on the faucet to water line connection but that is easy enough to do. I bought a new quarter turn faucet for the shower control. It is nice looking but as my friend Don who is product designer observed why did they use an antique style font for the H and C on a modern faucet? I can live with it since I really like quarter turn versus standing there turning a knob around and around to turn a faucet off and on.
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Home Depot or Lowes will have shower wall paneling
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still dont know how to fix the @#$@#%ing sideways photos..sorry
First of all the typical cause...you are rotating your camera from the standard position. This happens most frequently when using the cameras built into cell phones and tablets. If you don't rotate the camera you probably won't have rotated photos. But then again technology often tosses egg on my face and it turns out to be something else and that something else is a bit of coding in the cell phones and how they save photos fast enough to do more rapid shots in succession. It is coding that apparently a lot of websites including forums, industructibles and facebook can't interpret when people upload the upside down (or sideways) photos.
http://iphonephotographyschool.com/iphone-photos-upside-down/
Prevention, don't rotate your cell phone when taking photos.
Fix open the image in a photo editing program and rotate it once around the clock then hit save. Don't ask me why that works as I did not write the software. Shake it up baby, twist and shout
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Yeah, either than penny is really big, or...
or....it qualifies as a fairy light?
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Hello Karin....very keen observation...the old Airstream & now Zappa from just his head....how do you like the lamp on the rear night stand? wired for 12 volts.....I am going to try a couple more photo sends to see if I really have it down.....Yes the interior is original, from the curtains down to the green shag carpet......The cabinet doors are my art work ....made from trash...junk jewelry, car parts & misc found objects...much fun,.........donnie
Now isn't it a real coincidence that I too have a 12 volt Art Nouveau bronze nude light fixture that will go into my motorhome? Mine is packed away but this one in the photo is another piece from the limited edition. The artist who sculpted the piece is a friend so I have several of his 12 volt light fixtures. His ex wife posed for this one. No problem finding space for it and it doesn't weigh very much either
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Update: I felt under the tank and found water so I pulled the whole unit out today. There was scale on the bottom of the tank so, it may be a leak in the tank wall. I also uncovered rotted wood directly below the drain plug and continuing back along the floor next to the outside wall. So now I have another question, (as the first is now moot) Who of you has replaced your floor or parts of it? Again, thanks so much for all the replies, its greatly appreciated!
you will find a lot of threads on the forum describing in detail various floor replacement projects. Always good to search the threads as well as ask since people come and people go and the answer you might need could be in the archives.
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I noticed a couple of days ago that someone had cut through the chain link fence at the yard where I keep my Sunrader. No one had any break ins, apparently they came in looking to siphon gas. The landlord will fix it this week. I put some temporary ties across the gap to keep the dogs in that come to work with some of the people in the main building. Pretty poor pickings for gas thieves as it is mostly trailers and boats and the few vehicles have locking caps or else they have not run in quite a few years.
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Remember that whatever you do you want to be able to remove the water heater from the motorhome in case you ever need to replace or service it. That means your new insulation if fixed in place such as a sprayed on foam should not be any larger than the opening you have in the side of the RV that it went into. That opening size is standardized on most RVs according to the size of the tank.
If you have rodent issues that most certainly needs to be addressed but I don't think it should necessarily determine your choice of insulation. I found a many years old mouse nest in my RV where they had chewed into the rigid foam insulation to create the nest. The mice did not attack my water heater insulation which was actually the only fiberglass insulation any where in the RV. Meaning they were not specifically attracted to it.
It is a good idea to inspect the motorhomes for potential entry points. In my case they were coming up through holes in the floor that were for the vent riser pipes for the two tanks. There was also a similar situation around the gas tank filler tubes where they went down though the floor. They were drilled to a diameter larger than the pipe itself. I used spray foam to seal around the pipes for draft prevention and then cut sheet metal to cover the gaps and screwed it to the top of the floor boards. Even if they clawed through the spray foam they won't be able to get through the metal. I did put grommet along the edges of the metal to prevent it from damaging the tube from any rubbing against the tube movement while on the road.
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Yeah that looks really nice. Kind of rare to see actual art in someones camper.
The poster of Frank Zappa on the refrigerator door? You can have your very own copy direct from Amazon
The interior is not retro '70's, its authentic and of course very fun. -
Went over to the rig to work today but realized it was too cold for doing the small fiberglass job I had decided on. Too cold all together to do anything. I will take my Mr. Buddy heater over there next time I go.
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I was disgusted with my water pump giving out! But when I pulled it the Shurflo pump date was 1986! Over 26 years of service!! Heck I went out and bought the exact same pump and Installed it. Man is it quiet.
Mine is on the list to replace this spring as part of the replace all the plumbing job. Its 6 years older than yours and still working so you had a lot of years left on yours!
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I like the extra light my bathroom overhead vent brings in. Plus I leave it cracked open a small amount to help with air exchange during the times I am not actively using the RV and also to allow a little fresh air in when I am sleeping in the RV and have the heater on.
As I have a one piece fiberglass RV I can leave my bathroom ceiling vent open and not be worried about water damage if it rains and I have the vent open far enough that rain might get in.
A windows that is partially open is more of a security risk so I really appreciate having the roof vents. As hot air rises they also help with getting built up summer heat out more quickly.
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Finished epoxying in more blocking against the fiberglass in my Sunrader. It is on the wall that has the cabinet for the stove and sink.
I have new blocking along the horizontal areas where the bottom of the upper cabinets are secured plus a couple of strips to secure things like magnet bars, towel holders, plate racks, etc.
After I was done adding the new foam board insulation that has foil facing against the fiberglass shell I added a layer of aluminum tape over the foam board and the blocking that faces towards the stove. I am wishing I had done that to all the foam board in other wall areas I previously closed up as it is very easy to do.
This morning I had finally decided the best way to approach establishing a reference surface for creating accurate measurements and fabrication of the cabinets in my Sunrader was to build a couple of nicely squared up boxes that would sit on the floor. Then I could tack them in place, use them for baseline measurements and have an accurate 90 degree from the floor surface vertical support to clamp my face frame to. Since I will be doing a lot of the work on my own I need that assistance to hold the pieces still while I install them. There is no other reference surface in a Sunrader other than the floor that you can take measurements off of to square up things. The side walls are sloped as well as a bit warped in places and they curve at the doorway and at the back corners, the ceiling is curved, the wheel well are not perfectly shaped as they warp coming out of the mold they were laid up in and they don't seem to be installed perfectly square to the walls. I put down a new floor layer last fall that was coated with fiberglass cloth on both surfaces. Its not dead flat but will be close enough with a little minor shimming here and there under the boxes if needed. I have 8' long straight aluminum T channel to check the floor flatness against as well as some shorter sections to check it side to side across the width.
I thought I was going to have to purchase a sheet of plywood to build my reference surface box shapes but as I drove up to the parking space outside the yard where I keep my Sunrader sitting on the sidewalk was a well built cabinet someone had put out as freebie. I grabbed it as I could cut it in two. It is made from 3/4" plywood, nice and strong and the two ends are perfectly square to the back of the cabinet. I had to take the shelf out of one half so I could split it around the middle. Good thing I had my jigsaw and saw horses with me. Also a good thing a neighbor was onsite in the yard to tote it in and boost it up on the saw horses as sturdy means hefty! So now I can get started on building lower cabinets and have reasonable expectations of their looking straight and level. Plus I will be able to clamp the face frames to them then custom build the side pieces and cabinet dividers back to the wall to match those oddly shaped side walls. Photo below is my free cabinet find sitting on the saw horses as seen before I cut it apart. I love free materials! When I am done I will salvage some of the plywood from the boxes and pass it on to a friend.
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Hi all,
I pulled the cardboard and insulation off my Atwood 6gal hot water heater looking for a leak and now need to re-insulate. I am thinking of using "Great stuff" low expansion spray foam for recovering the tank instead of rolled insulation. I was going to lay in cardboard underneath and start by spraying it there then working my way up, and taping cardboard over the outside of the finished job. Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.
The low expansion spray foam does not have terrific R value as it is not dense. It is formulated to be soft and not dense so that it won't warp the casings around windows and doors. It states right on the product information that it is intended for preventing drafts and that really is its sole function rather than being a dense insulation with high R value. It would also be difficult to control the application and cleanup.
However with a fiberglass blanket it is super easy to control the application and easy to avoid air gaps against the round tank. There is also easy cleanup and the installation of the fiberglass blanket only takes a few minutes of time. Then instead of cardboard you could create a box out of foam board. On the surface facing towards the tank cover it with aluminum duct tape. That shiny surface of the tape will reflect any escaping heat back towards the tank. Plus the tape will seal any air gaps on the edges of the box.
One of the advantages of removable insulation is you can inspect the surface of the tank should you ever wish to do so. But with sprayed on foam you can't do that.
. My friend came over and helped me get one piece up along the wall as the ledge that will secure the kitchen counter. Then we put in another piece on the floor that will secure the lower edge of the cabinet's front face. The hard part in a Sunrader is to get them relatively parallel to each other so that the cabinet will come out relatively square in height and depth. Perfection is not an achievable goal as the floor is not perfectly level and the wall is not straight. But a few shims and some slotted holes will make it all come right in my Toyhome world by allowing me to average out the small variations in distance.
:love:
Selling Our Sunrader
in General Discussion
Posted
The ones I have really liked were built out by a couple of different friends of mine. I don't care for any of the large commercial RV interiors of any kind that I have seen at an RV store or on an RV lot. The width of the vans is no so much an issue as they always put in a double bed arrangement which leaves no space for a work bench.