Idaho Doug's Sunrader build

[IdahoDoug]

That's a nice saw - I've watched videos where the cool kids use them. Interesting that it's double sided with different teeth, too.  For tight spots/sawing, I bought a reciprocating tool, which uses tiny movements to cut tight spots of wood, metal, ceramic, etc.  

 

Today, I got the drawer cavity set up.  The side plates that will hold the drawer slides are all in - parallel, square and vertical.  I also assembled the fuel line cover with it's fresh hoses and I used expanding foam to fill the air gaps to keep rodents and bugs from coming up the irregular hole. I'm going to caulk some tiny gaps in the wood to try and keep this rig as bug free as possible since we will use it in the woods a lot. All openings in the floor are tightly caulked and I devised an anti-rodent cover under the shower that cannot be chewed through - thick steel wire mesh.  Slides should be here tomorrow and I'll be building the drawer boxes themselves.

 

Did a trial fit of the countertop and stove/oven to ensure I do not have interference issues and there is space to run the gas lines and water lines.  Looks good.  The sink is super close to the triple set of drawers - much closer than I intended with only 1/4" to spare.  Making good use of the space, I guess.  As you can see the drawers will be huge compared to the factory ones, which only went halfway to the wall.  I'm using "full extension" ball bearing drawer slides and the drawers go to within an inch of the wall.  The one under the stove will be a foot deep, which is where large pots and things will live I suppose. 

 

 

[AmyC]

Doug - what great work you are doing! I am attempting some much less intensive work on my 1989 Sunrader Shorty - need to replace the windows and saw just saw Tikka's post and yours. I am sure I DO NOT have the talent to make my own - I have just learned how to use an electric drill/screwdriver etc. Lol. 

Is  a window replacement something you would consider doing for the right price? Would love to make a trip to Idaho! 

Amy

[IdahoDoug]

Super kind of you to consider my work worthy of pay!  I'm happy to guide you or someone farther along the learning curve with tools in your world to ensure success.  But as of this writing, while I am in the throes of finishing the Sunrader, I want nothing more than to put all my tools back where they belong, and drive this magnificent beast out into the beautiful NW woods.  Next year I may feel differently, but my deadline is September 15, which is only 7 weeks away.  

 

In fact, a bit of a milestone today.  I informed my wife that as of midnight tonight she is forbidden from looking inside the Sunrader.  Once I finish the drawers for the kitchen unit, most of the "building" is completed and from then on it is a very high % on the cosmetic and appearance that paint, trim, carpet, marine liners in the cabinetry, and such will produce.  So I want a "reveal" type of event to happen for her to ooh and ah.  Bit of a tradition here in that the yellow Vanagon we currently adventure in was done in secret and revealed on the front lawn with a big bow.

 

So, readers of this forum will get to see this next phase and my wife will not.  I have the carpet for the hallway, the expensive paint ($120/gallon), even a beautiful metal wall sculpture that you will see before she does. 

 

Today I finished the first drawer box - the huge one under the stove for big pots and pans and baking sheets.  Sunday I hope to do all 4 of the other ones including the complicated slide out "pantry".  Then I have to try some fancy work for the drawer faces that hide the drawer boxes. The drawer slides arrived and are they heavy!  Recommended by a guy on YouTube who does cabinetry.

 

That is a full size clipboard and 8.5X11 paper for scale. Its sliders can handle 110lbs of weight. I reimagined the storage from the factory, which was already large.  I eliminated a lot of upper storage cabinetry and found at least 15% more total storage by resizing the cabinetry.  That opened up the feel of this Sunrader quite a bit, and the storage spaces themselves are larger. That may seem counter intuitive, but if you own a Sunrader, imagine how much more open it would feel if a lot of the head height storage were eliminated, and that cubic feet of storage were slid down the walls into slightly larger cabinetry and under the rear dinette as well as also optimized.  That's what I did, except for the cabinets over the kitchen which were kept, but shortened and made about 30% less intrusive, yet more useful. The direction is to make this vehicle capable of extended self supporting trips like a year long foray to South America or similar, and I think it's there.  There is also a hidden safe, and of course the heated BMW M leather seats will make long journeys more comfortable.  Here's the largest drawer, which is still curing and needs to be sanded and painted:

 

 

Edited July 25 by IdahoDoug

[IdahoDoug]

Three smaller drawers done, now working on the intricate slide out "pantry" thing. You have to kind make an exoskeleton verson of a tall skinny drawer so you can take things out of it from both sides. This pocket screw jig from KREG is pretty cool, though not foolproof.  Since everything I do is getting both screws and glue, when I put the screws in, the glue acts like a lubricant and the parts move unless they are clamped very hard.  

 

 

[IdahoDoug]

Drawer boxes mounted on soft close slides for the kitchen side. The factory drawers only went a little over half way to the outer walls, and these go all the way.  Big increase in usable storage. The drawers all go full extension like the bottom drawer in the photo - just for illustration:

 

And all closed showing how they encompass the full internal space:

 

 

[IdahoDoug]

Dry fitted the pantry thing.  That was quite the intricate effort. The space required for the guides (1" total) reduced the usable width of the shelves an inch - a lot when it started only 5" wide.  So I inset them and made the shelves full width to get that precious inch back. I measured cans of beans and fruit and stuff in the pantry and realized some things might not fit without that inch. But it fits like a glove and glides in and out properly.

 

The single boxlike space on the bottom is because in the bottom of the tunnel where this lives is that angled wooden box to cover the fuel filler hose to the gasoline tank.  So the middle shelf barely misses the top of that angle, and the box is the largest square space worth saving.  Not sure what will go down there?!

 

 I'll make small "guardrails" an inch tall to keep things from sliding off the sides when it's open. When closed, nothing can fall off as it's in a tunnel of wood. I need to pull it apart, then glue and screw it back together. 

 

[IdahoDoug]

Got all the drawer faces built yesterday and today out of 3/4" solid Poplar.  I needed some very wide planks and this was all I found around town - in 11.5" wide.  So, to make the largest two faces, I had to edge glue some overnight, then cut it down to side and finally I dressed the edges up with a hand router I borrowed from a buddy.  This project is the first time I've use a router, and I'm pretty impressed with what they can do.  Took my drawer faces from simple nice shapes to some nice interest. It's not a lot of work once the drawer faces are cut to size, though the "first timer" thing had me stressing as I have a lot of time invested in them before this final step!

 

 

[MaineJed]

Good choice as poplar won’t bleed through as much as pine when you paint it.

[IdahoDoug]

Good to know.  My plan was not to use a scrap of pine anywhere in this build.  Only Mahogany, Cedar, and the Baltic Birch structural plywood.  Now, doing Poplar drawer faces and a couple cabinet drawers.  Today, I primed about 65% of the interior, as well as the drawers. The rear window frames are out to be painted black like the one by the kitchen for a much more modern look. I even stuck the screws into foam and painted them satin black. Here's the primer going up:

 

[IdahoDoug]

The 26g fresh water tank arrived, and I am still snickering about the randomness of this upgrade.  It replaced the 21g from the factory for a whopping 25% increase in onboard water.  I stuffed it in place to trial fit and it friction fits as if I made the slightly larger space for it, which I did not.  It's slightly larger for more comfortable seating than the factory height.  Here's a picture.  The plywood back of the cushion that covers it actually lightly touches the top of the tank, plus it's shorter and allows more room behind it, and bonus - the weight of the water moves forward a few inches toward the axle and away from being suspended far back on the frame:

 

[IdahoDoug]

This is all destined for the Sunrader.  An incredible 136 feet of trim.  I had to measure twice as I could not believe it will all have a destination in a 21 foot vehicle!  I'm using the same stain tung oil and semi gloss top coat as the kitchen counter.  

 

[WME]

Any guesstimate on before and after weight 

[IdahoDoug]

WME, I will know to the pound.  I weighed it and have a certified scale receipt with all the original stuff inside, except the front and rear upholstery before I did a single thing, as I knew one day I would want to know how much weight I added.  I'm guessing perhaps 250lbs? So I will weigh it before the 2nd battery, the winch bumper, the rear hitch, and the winch, and the 1 ton full floater rear axle are added.  I will know in a month or so, as I am very close!

 

Sunday will be an amazing speed build day. I have literally dozens of interior components sitting around painted with 3 coats now.  Today I finished the last coat on the ceiling (pic below).  So, Sunday I'll put in the kitchen countertop, and perhaps all 136 feet of stained and varnished trim, reinstall the drawers and perhaps even put the drawer faces on. 

 

Today, I also glued on the underhung sink, so now the countertop can be installed and secured in place. That was scary for me as I cut the opening precisely (nerve wracking, also) and I want the fit with the sink to also be as perfect as possible as it will be a bit of a show piece. At the last minute, I realized I had not painted the furnace grill from the original brown crackle coat to black to match the interior scheme.  Heres where I left off today:

 

 

Closeup of the underhung sink adhesive - happy with the uniform squeezeout:

 

Furnace grille now black (masked the label to preserve it):

 

[IdahoDoug]

Overhead storage installed and marine liner with thick foam over the ugly bracketry reinforcing the roof:

 

 

[Ctgriffi]

Looks terrific, Doug. Feels like you're on the downhill now, sprinting towards the finish line!

What's your overall interior height going to be at the end?

[IdahoDoug]

Yeah, definitely on the downhill.  We have reservations to camp in it 4 weeks from tomorrow. So, the interior height, I measured and was very happy but can't recall.  I am putting carpet in it in a couple weeks and then will have a final headroom.  I'd be cheating if I used the measurement with bare wood! Are you asking because you know I arched the ceiling, or just curious?

 

So, today I plumbed the kitchen sink. The white thing is a pressure-rated removable compression fitting.  I was surprised to find both sinks set up from the factory with a simple slip fit where the drains join the grey/black tanks. No adhesive.  This is so the tanks can be dropped, I suppose.  So, I am gluing both connections, but then if the tank needs to come out, it will just have a 4" section of PVC glued into it.  The compression fitting then makes a water tight column so that if anyone ever overfilled the sewage tanks, the sink will back up and there will be no leakage at that floor joint. You can also see the mechanical fasteners on the bottom of the underhung granite sink. Water lines in that space are next, then mounting the new AC/DC fuse box.

 

[IdahoDoug]

The sprint is on! Today, I did the first electrical work - installed the lighting over the kitchen counter work surface/stove/sink and wow did that work out.  You never know how bright lights are going to be until you first turn them on.  I put 6 of these interesting looking flying saucer lights under there to ensure we'd have enough lumens to cut food and stuff, and they provide very, very bright task lighting with zero hot spots - exactly what I hoped.  I chose them because of the look, but also because they are the same company that still makes actual dimmer switches in 2026.

If you are young, you think dimmer switches are the flimsy little contact switches you press, then the light gets too dim and you have to press the other button, then 'woops - too bright' gotta push the other button, etc.  But if you are old like me, dimmer switches were rotary, rotated on with a distinct click, then in .000345 seconds you found your comfortable light level with a unique biofeedback neural system built into your eyes and hands that was near instant and perfectly compatible with a rotary switch.  We just called them dimmers before the electrical industry's ill fated decision to push production to China and accept whatever horrific user interface they came up with to decontent those sweet rotary dimmers.

 

Be forewarned not all of these newfangled LEDs are easily dimmable.  That's right, the ridiculous wild frontier of lighting these days means you have to ensure the dimmers and the light operating system are compatible if you want to try this joyful way of controlling light. 

 

In fact, the ceiling lights are also by the same company and yes, Virginia, they are all on these sweet retro dimmer switches I'm sure my millenial friends will be fascinated to play with and see how nice life was before China. One rotary knob controls the kitchen counter work lights, one controls the 4 hallway ceiling lights, and one dimmer controls the 3 in the ceiling over the dinette in the back.  Here, I've got an RV battery powering the circuit before I glue the carpet down over the wiring and I'm very excited as it is pitch dark outside and I'm lighting the Sunrader with its OWN lighting system and it looks marvelous!!

 

[Ctgriffi]

Four weeks is a very imminent and motivating deadline! Yeah, it does look amazing with the lights, exciting milestone! I tend to lean towards lower, warm temp light wherever I am, but you clearly have a vision/plan—and the dimmers will allow anyone to set brightness as desired, obviously. (I am pushing 50 and don't think I've come across the kind of rotator dimmers you have described; looking forward to a pic or two!)

My question about interior height was mostly due to the fact that I'm 6'1" and am always grazing the ceiling of my Warrior, if I stand up straight (and, yes, the shower stall is challenging: pretty bad honestly!)(. So I'm just always curious about what kind of interior height is even possible in these little rigs.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Agree on frequency.  Everything I purchase, from flashlights to headlamps and house lights are chosen for the warm outputs.  That's another reason I chose these lamps.  The Sunrader interior is a nice warm glow - no gritty blueish lighting for me.  I'll get a measurement on the ceiling height for you.  But it sounds like your Warrior may have yet more headroom if you can stand at 6'1" and just graze the ceiling!

[IdahoDoug]

So the headroom is 71" at the front hall in front of the bathroom, and 72.25 at the rear dinette.  As you know, I used 14 arched aluminum spars bonded to the fiberglas roof to accomplish that, and put 1" Owens-Corning Foamular rigid insulation between them for insulation. 

 

Started the electrical wiring yesterday in earnest.  Super pleased with the electrical panel I chose based on a YouTube van builder's recommendation. Feels pro grade and it has red LEDs to notify if a fuse blows, and some other nice features.  Did a DC circuit the other day, and the first AC circuit yesterday. I'm installing 3 120V outlets - all with three USB ports on them for device charging.

 

 

The black rotary knob is one of 3 of the retro dimmer switches. One for task lights over the kitchen counter, one for the lights over the rear leather lounge, and one for the ceiling hallway lights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IdahoDoug]

Paused the wiring to finish the kitchen counter unit, so I could glue the countertop on.  Sink's glued under the counter, stove set in place and the wiring and propane lines are waiting to be connected.  It's glued down to the cabinet, and I have some weights in place so it will cure overnight.  All electrical for the kitchen is done, just need to attach the sink drain and vent that goes up through the upper storage to the roof, plumb the water tank, and install the water lines.  Drawers went in today, drawer faces properly aligned, and drawer pulls attached. Pull out pantry thing needs an alignment tweak.  I don't know if it comes out in the photos, but the entire kitchen unit is a very chic faint avocado shade, while all the other cabinets are white.  I was worried the color was too light/faint but in person it's perfecto!

 

[IdahoDoug]

Today I got most of the sink unit plumbing done.  So the sink drain and P trap and integrated roof vent pipe for the grey water tank it drains to. The fill tube (get this at Home Depot if you need new) and its vent are connected to the water tank. The new pump is connected to the water tank. Found PEX adapters for the kitchen sink water supply but have not plumbed that, yet.

 

Speaking of water, the factory city water connection on the back of my Sunrader is a thick formed metal disk with 3 screws.  I like to avoid drilling new holes, but I was astonished to find you can still get this EXACT product on Amazon if yours leaks. Let me know if you need the P/N. 

 

I also finally got around to putting some trim around the bathroom door opening.  It's been raw fiberglas and plywood as I searched high and low for a rubber U shaped molding with long enough legs to cover some screw holes I needed to drill to squeeze the epoxy that joins these layers. Tried several things, but the winner was aluminum C channel from Home Depot.  I made a female jig or mold of the radiused corners, then used a rubber mallet to bash it close and then the piece of plywood I cut out for the female side as a ram to further mash it into shape.  The legs did not collapse as I expected, and I was able to tap the curves into shape.  See below:

 

 

 

I was shocked this worked, and I have come to dread trying to find a solution.  It was so easy, it was laughable and I was really surprised how malleable the aluminum was for what I think is a nice finished look.

 

[IdahoDoug]

I also got a massive Eco-Worthy Li-Ion battery with a whopping 314 AH - the equivalent of more than 3 regular deep cycle lead acid batteries, though technically even more, as the rating of a lead acid battery may be 100 AH, but you really can't use the last 25% or so as voltage drops below usable levels.  Anyhow, it's highly recommended by a very highly regarded You-tuber named Will Prowse.  I was going to get a Watt-Cycle, but he recently discovered his high recommendation for their products was because they were sending him "ringers" with heavy duty innards.  

 

[Gary_M]

Nice job on the trim work and making that jig!

[Ctgriffi]

That trim does look great, and I'm pretty amazed that you were able to manipulate the aluminum so much without enormous distortion. Well done!

[IdahoDoug]

Yeah, surprised me, also.  I had planned on notching the curves, figuring it would be a bit ugly as a result, but I could get the sharp radius.  You'll see the factory made this doorway with square corners, but radiused now make the structure much stronger and that's been a goal all the way through - take a beating as an adventure vehicle platform on poor roads, etc.  

 

[thewanderlustking]

Holy CRAP Doug, this is looking AMAZING!!!  

 

I regret letting go of my Mini Cruiser...  Mechanically I had it perfect, but the interior/roof especially was way out of my comfort zone.  Like your bathroom door, I probably just overthunk it lol.

 

Looking online and now the bad ones are all starting at 5-6k...  And Sunraders?  Yikes!!!   

 

   

[IdahoDoug]

Working on the sleeper upholstery now.  Against the fiberglas is a layer of blue foam for softness, insulation, and noise abatement. Then the white is marine hull liner.  It is antimicrobial for the marine environment, and conformable over complex shapes, as boat hulls are all curves.  The ceiling is reinforced for the solar that will be up there, and insulated with foamular so the morning sun won't force us out of bed with heat!  Unfortunately, with one side up, I ran out of the special 3M Headliner contact glue, which is all you want to use in a vehicle.  Normal glues will let go with the heat of a hot vehicle sitting in the sun.  More arrives tomorrow. I am custom making a mattress out of foam - laminating 5" of firm foam with a top layer of memory foam.

 

The two wood circles with wires poking out are mounts for a pair of yacht chart lights for night time reading lamps.  The gooseneck is super high quality and won't droop, plus they switch between red and white lighting, and have a USB built in the base for night phone charging close at hand. 

 

 

 

[Ctgriffi]

Good to see the continued progress, Doug; your "camping deadline" must be getting close by now! I had wondered what the plan was for the sleeping quarters, and you seem to have that all figured out, per usual. What do you think you will do with the big cab-coach opening? (When I did my cabover rebuild, I opted to make a cover out of some nice, stained plywood with edge reinforcement, and I hinged it on the fore side—it can be propped up at a 45º pretty easily which makes a handy pass-through.)

[IdahoDoug]

Very similar here. What did you do for propping it up?

[Ctgriffi]

I'm very happy with the hatch itself, but the actual "propping" mechanism was kind of an afterthought... however it was easy and worked so well that I've never done anything else with it 🤷‍♂️

Basically, there are two screws placed in the edge of the platform plywood, each standing about a 1/4" proud, and this is identical on both sides of the opening. Then I made two simple plywood "triangular" supports that you can just physically slap into place (we really only use one of the triangles, and it does the job just fine). I suppose if there were small children involved, this approach might turn into a kind of mousetrap, but it's been great for us, for years now. (Normally, the mattress/bedding are in position and having a little weight across it all actually helps the whole thing lock together, even tighter.)

 

 

 

[IdahoDoug]

Nice- might steal that idea as I have a plan for gas struts but will not have time for this trip.  Thanks!!!

[Ctgriffi]

Gas struts were also a desirable rabbit hole for me, but I just never found a good place to mount and orient them that wouldn't involve more head-banging and elbow-smacking than there already is in a small rig, ha. 

Good luck!

[IdahoDoug]

Built the closet shelving, and hanging clothes setup today.  The factory closet was an empty box, and the hanging clothes pole went clear across. I think this will be more functional.  We will use rigid fabric bins to pack clothes in the house, simply carry them and slide them into shelves in the closet.  We each get two of them, which is quite a bit of clothes.  Then the hanging space I reduced to 1/3 of the closet width as I can't see us frankly bringing hanging clothes often.  There is space for shoes on the bottom and makeup bags or shaving kits below.  I'll add some more cubbies and a couple hooks for jackets or day packs.  There is a 120V outlet in the closet so we can charge computers or cell phones out of sight when not there.

 

 

 

Edited September 12 by IdahoDoug

[IdahoDoug]

Got the sleeper almost completely upholstered. Will finish the front wall, then bring the mattress materials out and mark and cut the mattress to shape.  Ceiling worked out great, and the troublesome transition from sleeper ceiling to the taller rear area ceiling also was a win.  I had no idea what to do with the space, and this marine hull liner was perfect as it slightly stretches in both dimensions - perfect for covering that uneven and odd shaped surface.

 

 

 

Edited September 13 by IdahoDoug