85mirage Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 (edited) Well i've removed over 30 contractor bags full of rotted rv. The walls and ceiling were two panels thick. The floor two layers of plywood thick and a base layer of luan, the same material as wall. That contact cement is something! Being that it was mostly rotted it made it easier. The bad. I've removed the fridge which after being plugged in for 3 days theres only a little condensation in freezer. I assume broke. Removed hot water heater which is split at the seam must have froze. Also broke. The little pieces of 1x that sit sunken on the perimeter wall are rotted. They sit below the aluminum joist. Not quite sure how I'll replace it without removing siding. Any ideas? Removed heater/furnace, I have no idea on how to attempt to see if it works. The good. Floor joists are aluminum, rot free! The rv Ac blows cold which was good for the 90 degree day on my knees. If the ac works while plugged in, does that mean my convertor works? I tried removing interior generator cover but must disconnect 120v connection as well as choke nob and battery connection... Hope to put some 3/4 plywood down soon. That will make me feel good Has anyone lowered their shower trap to give more headroom while showering? Edited December 27, 2010 by 85mirage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoprat Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Wow ! Just Wow! Man, when you tear down, you tear down ! Be interesting to see it go back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Wow is right. Go-go-go-go-go-go, rip-rip-rip-rip-rip! What is that spaghetti nest of wires tho? I'd get some wirecutters and go nuts. NO MERCY! Why are those ptraps underneath the shower where you can never get to them anyway? I would think they would do better underneath the coach all together as does the toilet. Floor joists are aluminum....Hope to put some 3/4 plywood down soonIs the 3/4 plywood going on top of the existing floor? Is that ceiling laminated foam w/ plywood skin? Very interesting pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nibs Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 The heater is easy, hook it up to 12 volts, and propane & short out the thermostat, it will either light or not. I have heard it said that if you turn the fridge upside down overnight then try it............well you got nothin to loose. If you don't have a better idea, glass in the rotten structural member, then glass in a sister member beside it. The glass is to keep the rot from spreading. When I built my sailboat the deck was a laminate of fiberglass exterior, foam, then plywood skin, worked well under a much higher stress than in a motor home......Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 (edited) 3/4 ply will get screwed to the aluminum floor joists. I'm just going to leave the existing rigid floor insulation no need to waste. Many many wires I'm afraid to cut any as i'm no electrician. Hope to use same wires. There is a couple of extra feet of wires under the shower pan just curled up. The ceiling was 2 layers of luan same as walls and two layers of wallpaper then blue rigid insulation then another layer of luan touching the thin sheetmetal! Thanks for the encouragement! I'll try flipping fridge. Then heater is removed and the electronics i disconnected via easy plug unsure of how to hook up remote thermo? Wow is right. Go-go-go-go-go-go, rip-rip-rip-rip-rip!What is that spaghetti nest of wires tho? I'd get some wirecutters and go nuts. NO MERCY! Why are those ptraps underneath the shower where you can never get to them anyway? I would think they would do better underneath the coach all together as does the toilet. Is the 3/4 plywood going on top of the existing floor? Is that ceiling laminated foam w/ plywood skin? Very interesting pics. Edited May 1, 2009 by 85mirage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 3/4 ply will get screwed to the aluminum floor joists. I'm just going to leave the existing rigid floor insulation no need to waste.That seems like a prudent plan. The undercarriage/road shielding will be untouched as well which is pretty important. Greg screwed an additional 3/4 plywood to his sunrader floor as well. He also didn't use any glue so that it could be removed easily. Seems like a good idea.There is a couple of extra feet of wires under the shower pan just curled upWell if they are just curled up, you will prob be safe cutting those. I didn't say that tho. So the pictures of the ceiling are the leftover remnants of the thin plywood skin glued to the sheet metal? Are you going to be gluing new insulating foam to the ceiling again? You might look into a rigid insulation and somehow attach it. Getting it to stay up there will be a challenge. Are there any joists or anything to screw into up there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moms ruin Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 You Sir, are a brave,brave man. Rebuilt a few collectable trailers and know what you are going through. Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 Lot of work there! At least you can do it just the way you want you are on your own with every thing keep us posted! Your A/C runs on shore 120 volt power not the converter sorry but hey the A/C does works one less thing to worry about. Have you thought about marine ply wood for the floors? It’s pretty expensive but about as water proof as wood gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 Plan on ripping roof off, well whats left. Then frame ceiling,lay sealed plywood, Lay fiberglass on ply and have it overlap existing wall panels , epoxy resin fiberglass. Where can i get some new molding to cover seam? Just grabbed some 3/4 a/c ply at lowes.only 2$ more than b/c Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 (edited) Wanted to replace rotted skirts before i layed floor heres some picts. I used 3/4 pt ply.Old skirts were made of piece of 1x screwed to bottom floor joist. Then blue insulation then another piece of 1x which acted as nailer for exterior molding which sandwiched fiberglass siding to sheetmetal on other side. It was all rotted was able to salvage some sheetmetal. Glued ply to aluiminum joists before screwing. Edited December 27, 2010 by 85mirage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 WOW, and I thought I had a project. A note about the AC, it is 120VAC and will only run when connected to shore power. It really has nothing to do with the converter except that the converter has all the shore power circuit breakers in it. And again, WOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 (edited) Heres some more picts.Replaced all skirts and floor starting framing windows & new compartment doors. I've got 6 compartment/access doors. It seems like alot Edited June 9, 2009 by 85mirage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky60 Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Plan on ripping roof off, well whats left. Then frame ceiling,lay sealed plywood, Lay fiberglass on ply and have it overlap existing wall panels , epoxy resin fiberglass. Where can i get some new molding to cover seam? Just grabbed some 3/4 a/c ply at lowes.only 2$ more than b/cThanks I put up fiberglass dippled sheet (white) on my Dolphin ceiling..glued with PL construction adhesive (works great) and a few aluminium button-head screws here and there. Lowes sells vinyl white T-moulding for the seams. I used treated lumber for the exposed skirting underneath. Boy ..I thought I did alot on mine....you got me beat partner...good luck tho..you seem to have it under control. When you get to sealing the roof if needed , check out the post on here about using spray truck bed liner. I wish I'd have done that on mine........later.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Well finally put some studs up , cut roof off, installed new 1x6 side sills, layed notched 2x3 joists 16 oc, glued and screwed blocking to sill filling gaps created by joists, and epoxyed 4 precut 1/4 inch sheets of plywood. I hope to lay ply soon although think glassing roof will have to wait for warmer weather. Will still have to tarp out over winter but now at least roof wont cave in with snow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillieD Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 I, too, have to say WOW. Thanks for including the pics. I am as scared as ever now to open the walls and ceiling. I think I'd be much obliged to raise the ceiling. Are you going to keep the same floor plan, or are you going take this chance to change it up? For myself personally, I don't need the couch... And I hate the placement of my fridge. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranger Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 Well finally put some studs up , cut roof off, installed new 1x6 side sills, layed notched 2x3 joists 16 oc, glued and screwed blocking to sill filling gaps created by joists, and epoxyed 4 precut 1/4 inch sheets of plywood. I hope to lay ply soon although think glassing roof will have to wait for warmer weather. Will still have to tarp out over winter but now at least roof wont cave in with snow. Tried to post photos of the interior of my 86 Shasta for your reference but had no luck. Everytime I would try to attach the file I would get an error message that read "No file was chosen". Do you or anyone else have any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? Ranger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 I plan on following the old layout with rear table/bed and bathroom behind drivers seat. Cant afford new gas/electric fridge ...maybe a dorm fridge although then id need inverter,but i'd like to replace old converter and purchase inverter. A little overwhelming thinking of all the new things i need after rebuilding it all. When i removed ceiling i made an internal frame tying three walls togather as i was worried of them all falling down HA! Do you have a Shasta or just similar layout. Where would you put fridge? any other placement recommendations? Hey ranger i'd have to post pict to remember how to post them so ill try now oh ok click browse then it should pull up your photos select one by clicking on it then click open at which point you should see words not image in space to the left of the browse button below. Then click attach this file. If you dont see words in space to left of the browse button you havnt selected an image oh it didnt work for me also although it didnt say no file chosen i think the image i tryed to post was to big... yep mine was to big so i resized photo ,hope this helps I, too, have to say WOW. Thanks for including the pics. I am as scared as ever now to open the walls and ceiling. I think I'd be much obliged to raise the ceiling. Are you going to keep the same floor plan, or are you going take this chance to change it up? For myself personally, I don't need the couch... And I hate the placement of my fridge. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 Finally got some paneling cut for interior walls. Its 3/16 4x8 mdf from cheapo.Which made me install some more missing studs for nailing. I used red rosin paper for a template then traced and cut paneling with jigsaw. Dry fit and applyed polyester resin to reverse side/exteroir side to waterproof,advise learned here. Have yet to install. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 lookin good! You planning on having a party on top of your rig? Those are some serious timbers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keitholivier Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Well, after much procrastination, I today demo'ed the coachwork on my Dolphin. Not wanting to be too subtle, I used the 10' reach backhoe on my TLB. There was nothing to save. I did try to remove the bubble front window over the bunk that so many seem to be looking for, but it was so brittle that it cracked just from its own weight when held by one side... The roof was rotted, the front bunk area was rotted, the floor was rotted, the sills were rotted, need I say more... Hopefully the mold spores don't kill me.... Unfortunately, everyone who responded to my earlier postings wanted it for nothing, so I decided that I would turn it into a flat bed truck. I will get a few pictures of the carnage tomorrow.. The next step is to surgically remove the fiberglass molding at the cab, the cab seats, the rear floor, cut off the frame extensions and get all the trash hauled away. The original cab and doors is still in good shape, I need to rip out all the carpet and deal with any rust issues in the front footwells from water ingress over the years. The frame seems to be at least 4" higher after removal of all that weight... maybe even 6" at the rear. If I was in CA it would probably be no problem to find a donor regular cab, but here in the midwest they are as scarce as heck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keitholivier Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 For sake of comparison to the OP, I today filled an 8x16x2 trailer with scrap, as well as a second 5x10 trailer. Unfortunately it rained all day and the temperature was in the 40's. By the time I got the trailers loaded up I was soaked. The last bits I shoveled using my snow shovel since there seem to be a million small pieces of 1x framing and insulation. I'm hoping for better weather this week to finish the job. The plywood floor and all the carpet need to come out as well as the front seats. I'm thinking of laminating a layer of Filon on both sides of a 1" sheet of extruded polystyrene to use as the rear wall of the cab. To close the hole over the roof of the cab I was going to also use filon sheet bonded to the roof of the cab and to the laminated panel in the rear. To give the filon roof some stiffness I need to find a curve which still permits attachment on the front and sides. The filon roof will let lots of light into the cab, since it is translucent. If neccersary, one can go to double wall on the roof at a later date, but single wall seems fine for most commercial box truck roofs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 nice, cant wait to see some picts. The camper makes for one long flatbed truck. Amazing how much material makes up a small yoda rv. For sake of comparison to the OP, I today filled an 8x16x2 trailer with scrap, as well as a second 5x10 trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunneys Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 (edited) keitholivier: There was a guy on YotaTech that made a flatdeck out of a 89 Dolphin just like mine. Here is the links: http://www.yotatech.com/f116/1989-toyota-dually-lots-pics-148162/ http://www.yotatech.com/f116/1989-toyota-dually-completed-pics-150482/ And 85mirage: Wow... Edited May 13, 2010 by Bunneys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted May 21, 2010 Author Share Posted May 21, 2010 Some updated picts of rebuild.Installed as much paneling as i could until got to bath where frp is going. Still have to frame bath walls. SO decided it was time to demo overhead bed area. More rot! HA and i forgot two layers thick of paneling in front. More window frames to build and install. Oh well,... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikesta Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 Wow, impressive rebuild. You really went all out with this. Looks so clean and almost liveable now inside! Do you feel accomplished yet? When do you think your rebuild will be done and ready for use? Trully amazing work you've done. Whats the story behind your title? Burnt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted May 30, 2010 Author Share Posted May 30, 2010 Wow, impressive rebuild. You really went all out with this. Looks so clean and almost liveable now inside! Do you feel accomplished yet? No not yet when i get the paneling done and roof epoxied i'll feel better. Started paneling only because it was to cold for epoxy but now want to see the paneling done. When do you think your rebuild will be done and ready for use? Oh...started to think never but hopefully next season. When roof and paneling and entry step is done hope to take it by mechanics and have him take a look at it. I know i need new exhaust manifold.Begining to worry about rv mechanics due to no use. Also isnt legit yet so thats another hurdle to jump before it sees pavement. Trully amazing work you've done. Whats the story behind your title? Burnt? Thanks for compl. Well guy i got shasta from sold it as is, of course, but informed me of fires of unknown origin that seemed randomly all over and black soot on walls and ceiling. He said dont know if anything works. Think theres picts of burnt faucet and other burnt stuff above. So drove home with a burnt shasta. But had i known i would have named it gutless {due to no studs,framing}stinky,moldy,damp,warped,funky,holey or holy,burnt Shasta! HA. actually maybe Mirage would be the better word. Keep up the leakage fight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilson_ Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 Thanks for the reply in my thread! It makes me want to tear into it more. and get it over with. Bookmarked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim Posted March 24, 2012 Share Posted March 24, 2012 Some updated picts of rebuild.Installed as much paneling as i could until got to bath where frp is going. Still have to frame bath walls. SO decided it was time to demo overhead bed area. More rot! HA and i forgot two layers thick of paneling in front. More window frames to build and install. Oh well,... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKPirate Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 great thread! it ALMOST made me change my mind about the plans I have already made for my rig! Great job and thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKPirate Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 5/13/2010 at 8:43 AM, Bunneys said: keitholivier: There was a guy on YotaTech that made a flatdeck out of a 89 Dolphin just like mine. Here is the links: http://www.yotatech.com/f116/1989-toyota-dually-lots-pics-148162/ http://www.yotatech.com/f116/1989-toyota-dually-completed-pics-150482/ And 85mirage: Wow... hey thanks for posting these links! This is pretty much what I want to do with mine, just less flashy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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