Well, my new door latch arrived yesterday. It looks pretty nifty. As I feared, it will not fit exactly into the holes that the current door latch uses. This means that I'll have to drill new holes in the door and install this latch literally from scratch. I'll also have to find some type of thin metal or something to cover up the current installation holes from the current broken latch. Which brings up a question for me about this whole silly process:
Why, oh why, did they build a completely custom RV latch that uses a design that has never been used on doors in the entire history of doors?
I just don't get it. This camper is not THAT old! You can get "standard" RV door latches for campers made in the 40's and 50's. Not Starcraft campers. 1983 must have been a special year for them. Older starcrafts don't use this latch. Newer starcrafts don't use this latch. The @#$%ing factory they used burned down 10 years ago so finding and buying spare parts for this thing is almost impossible. What were they thinking? Let's take the wayback machine back to 1982 when my camper was being designed and built at the Startcraft headquarters:
Junior Starcraft Exec: Hey boss! It's time for us to decide about the latches on the new 83 Starcraft popup.
Senior Starcraft Exec: Great! Let's come up with something groundbreaking new that no other camper will have.
Junior Starcraft Exec: Umm, it's just a latch. Wouldn't something simple be easier?
Senior Starcraft Exec: Easier?!? Screw that, we need something that is distinctly Starcraft. It keeps the competition of their toes.
Junior Starcraft Exec: But, that means that the customer can only get replacement parts from us
Senior Starcraft Exec: That's the idea. There is a whole revenue stream there. We don't want to miss out on that extra money. Plus, we want people to buy NEW campers. Who cares about the old ones? Personally, I wish we could make them self-destruct after 10 years.
Junior Starcraft Exec: So, this will be the new official Starcraft door latch that we'll use from now on
Senior Starcraft Exec: No, just this year. We'll come up with something extra special next year.
Junior Starcraft Exec: Doesn't that overcomplicate things unnecessarily?
Senior Starcraft Exec: No, we call that keeping things fresh, new, and exciting.
Junior Starcraft Exec: I see. What about the color? It's 1982, techno music is being invented. The kids are starting to wear bright neon colors everywhere. Shouldn't we offer some more colors for our 83 camper line.
Senior Starcraft Exec: Hell no, campers love our patented crap-brown and puke-orange color scheme. This bright and attractive color thing is just a fad.
Junior Starcraft Exec: OK, what about the curtains? The sew-in tabs for curtains have been pretty standard for over 30 years. What if we do something fresh and exciting there by turning them sideways instead of vertical like every other camper made? Next year we'll do something different. That way anyone silly enough to still be trying to use the camper thirty years from now will never find replacement tabs and they will be forced to buy a new Starcraft camper, haha.
Senior Starcraft Exec: You're going to go far here, kid.
Stupid Starcraft!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Welcome to Camp Holder!
With Frostbite all checked out and working fine, I started loading her with with stuff we would need for the evening. The fridge was working well; nice and cool. I put in some water and the summer sausage for the jambalaya. I lugged out a couple of laptops and got them plugged in. One of them will be showing the movie.
I cooked the jambalaya on the stovetop along with a can of spinach. Everything was wonderful. My wife came out to eat with us.
This evening also gave me a chance to check out the curtains and how well they can be seen through at night. Fortunately, you can't see through them. Nice and private.
After dinner, I got a movie going on the laptop. At some point during this process, my daughter moved into a bunkend and went to sleep.
I cooked the jambalaya on the stovetop along with a can of spinach. Everything was wonderful. My wife came out to eat with us.
This evening also gave me a chance to check out the curtains and how well they can be seen through at night. Fortunately, you can't see through them. Nice and private.
After dinner, I got a movie going on the laptop. At some point during this process, my daughter moved into a bunkend and went to sleep.
It's a little hard to see her since the light there was not so good.
My daughter's friend and I pressed on and watched the 2nd Twilight movie. He had to catch me up one who folks were and such throughout the movie but didn't seem to mind.
This is a rotten shot but it's the only one I took.
Another blurry shot of the stove in action. Man, not much cabinet space in these things!
I know it's hard to see but that bottle in the above 2 pics is olive oil, not booze. We finished the movie and got the lights off around 12:15pm. I pushed my daughter over and laid out my sleeping bag on the bunkend. Her friend was on the other side. The temp on the AC read 72 degrees. I tried to take a picture but it came out too blurry to read. As you can see, I stink at taking photos in low light because you have to hold the camera still longer.
All in all a great success!
Lessons learned:
get sheets and light blankets for summer camping. Even with the AC, I thought that the sleeping bag was too much. We'll wait until cooler weather in the fall to break those out again.
get a mat of some type to put under the AC unit. The AC left dirt and black marks on the counter top where it sat.
attach a power strip near the table to plug in laptops easier
turn down the temp in the fridge. The next morning, the water bottles I put in the fridge door the night before were completely frozen.
I made a nice list of supplies that need to be stored in Frostbite all the time like trash bags, paper towels, etc
remember to remove the stupid sink drain so that we can brush teeth, wash dishes, etc.
get DVD software reinstalled on my laptop. I installed a new OS and lost the player I had. We had to use my daughter's laptop to watch the movie.
keep dishrags in the galley to wipe things down when cooking.
get a set of plastic containers to store leftovers in the fridge and keep them in Frostbite all the time
get a mat of some type for the entry way into Frostbite. Even just in the driveway, things kept being tracked in.
Preparing for Camp Holder
It seems customary to call camping in your camper at home "Camp Driveway" so I'm bucking the tradition by calling mine "Camp Holder."
I had a great test run of this since I did pack Frostbite all the way up Saturday morning so that I could more easily paint the frame with the bunkends pushed in. Another reason for doing this is that I've spent the last several months setting up and taking down the camper when she is completely empty. No matresses on the bunkends and no boxes inside. This makes is very easy to take the thing down. I wanted to be sure that she went down ok with everything back in her.
With the matresses in the bunkends, you have to be more careful to fold the tent properly as the roof is lowered otherwise it could bunch up in the corners and make the roof hard to latch once the roof is down. Fortunately, it went fine for me and I had no problems.
Once the paint dried and I took off the tape, it was time to set her back up. I waited until the evening since I couldn't turn on the air until then anyway. Once she was up, I got the AC on and vented out the side. This time I attached the "turtleneck" insulation sleeve that fits over the AC vent hose.
I started with the gas. When I bought Frostbite, there was a gas tank on her. She has a tank holder on the tounge that is capable of holding 2 tanks but she only came with the one. It seemed to be about half full.
When I hooked it all up I went inside (alone!) to try to light the stove. I turned a burner all the way up and tried to light it. A thin barely burning flame circled the burner. I made sure that the gas was all the way on for the burner and tried all three of them with the same effect. The flame was so low that the slighest breeze would blow it out. I turned off the burners and went outside to think about it.
I decided to try the gas tank for my grill. It was about half full as well but I knew that it worked and I could at least rule out the old tank as the source of the problem. I hooked up the new tank and turned it on. I went back inside the camper and thought "Man, it stinks in here!" No, I didn't make the connection right away.
I tried to light one of the burners and Poof! I had a nice strong pretty flame going. Not on the burner but on the joint where the gas line connects to the gizmo that controls the burners. I quickly blew the flame out and only then did the bad smell make sense.
Looking closer I realized that the connection between the gas lines inside the stove was screwed in crooked. Once I corrected this and turned the gas back on the smell magically disappeared. I lit the burners and all three burned fine with a nice strong frame. The leak appeared to be fixed. Don't worry, I plan to only turn on the tank outside when we are going to be cooking and will turn it off afterward. I have no intention of waking up dead in the camper one morning.
Reconnecting the old gas tank resulted in the same problem. Very small flame that barely stayed lit. I decided to eventually return this to the Blue Rhino thing at our local grocery store and get a new one.
With the gas working fine I turned my attention to the water. I reconnected a small hose that runs from the water intake valve to the water storage tank. I then connected my new white fresh water hose to the outside water. I went inside to watch all the hose connections under the galley side bench in case water started spewing and had my daughter slowly turn on the water.
No leaks! I tested the sink faucet and got a nice stream of clear water running in the sink. I did notice that it wasn't draining. I goofed with the drain hose figuring it was kinked somewhere but was unable to get a drain going. As it turned out the drain was fine. I didn't realize this until Sunday when I was taking the camper down but there was a drain stopper in the sink and the water drained once I removed it. In my defense, it wasn't an obvious stopper since I thought it was a drain filter. It did have holes at the bottom.
For some reason, the ceiling lights didn't work. All the 110 plugs inside worked fine. I thought it might be because I have yet to reconnect the wire that runs from the floor to the ceiling in one of the canvas corners. Hopefully this will fix that problem and it's not because I haven't hooked up a 12v battery. I should have fixed that wire by now but I keep forgetting.
The camper by all appearances seemed ready for Camp Holder. My wife was not feeling well so she chickened out of the affair but we asked my daughter's friend who lives next door to camp out with us and we proceeded to collect the food, laptops, and sleeping gear and pile into Frostbite for the evening.
More on that next post.
I had a great test run of this since I did pack Frostbite all the way up Saturday morning so that I could more easily paint the frame with the bunkends pushed in. Another reason for doing this is that I've spent the last several months setting up and taking down the camper when she is completely empty. No matresses on the bunkends and no boxes inside. This makes is very easy to take the thing down. I wanted to be sure that she went down ok with everything back in her.
With the matresses in the bunkends, you have to be more careful to fold the tent properly as the roof is lowered otherwise it could bunch up in the corners and make the roof hard to latch once the roof is down. Fortunately, it went fine for me and I had no problems.
Once the paint dried and I took off the tape, it was time to set her back up. I waited until the evening since I couldn't turn on the air until then anyway. Once she was up, I got the AC on and vented out the side. This time I attached the "turtleneck" insulation sleeve that fits over the AC vent hose.
I started with the gas. When I bought Frostbite, there was a gas tank on her. She has a tank holder on the tounge that is capable of holding 2 tanks but she only came with the one. It seemed to be about half full.
When I hooked it all up I went inside (alone!) to try to light the stove. I turned a burner all the way up and tried to light it. A thin barely burning flame circled the burner. I made sure that the gas was all the way on for the burner and tried all three of them with the same effect. The flame was so low that the slighest breeze would blow it out. I turned off the burners and went outside to think about it.
I decided to try the gas tank for my grill. It was about half full as well but I knew that it worked and I could at least rule out the old tank as the source of the problem. I hooked up the new tank and turned it on. I went back inside the camper and thought "Man, it stinks in here!" No, I didn't make the connection right away.
I tried to light one of the burners and Poof! I had a nice strong pretty flame going. Not on the burner but on the joint where the gas line connects to the gizmo that controls the burners. I quickly blew the flame out and only then did the bad smell make sense.
Looking closer I realized that the connection between the gas lines inside the stove was screwed in crooked. Once I corrected this and turned the gas back on the smell magically disappeared. I lit the burners and all three burned fine with a nice strong frame. The leak appeared to be fixed. Don't worry, I plan to only turn on the tank outside when we are going to be cooking and will turn it off afterward. I have no intention of waking up dead in the camper one morning.
Reconnecting the old gas tank resulted in the same problem. Very small flame that barely stayed lit. I decided to eventually return this to the Blue Rhino thing at our local grocery store and get a new one.
With the gas working fine I turned my attention to the water. I reconnected a small hose that runs from the water intake valve to the water storage tank. I then connected my new white fresh water hose to the outside water. I went inside to watch all the hose connections under the galley side bench in case water started spewing and had my daughter slowly turn on the water.
No leaks! I tested the sink faucet and got a nice stream of clear water running in the sink. I did notice that it wasn't draining. I goofed with the drain hose figuring it was kinked somewhere but was unable to get a drain going. As it turned out the drain was fine. I didn't realize this until Sunday when I was taking the camper down but there was a drain stopper in the sink and the water drained once I removed it. In my defense, it wasn't an obvious stopper since I thought it was a drain filter. It did have holes at the bottom.
For some reason, the ceiling lights didn't work. All the 110 plugs inside worked fine. I thought it might be because I have yet to reconnect the wire that runs from the floor to the ceiling in one of the canvas corners. Hopefully this will fix that problem and it's not because I haven't hooked up a 12v battery. I should have fixed that wire by now but I keep forgetting.
The camper by all appearances seemed ready for Camp Holder. My wife was not feeling well so she chickened out of the affair but we asked my daughter's friend who lives next door to camp out with us and we proceeded to collect the food, laptops, and sleeping gear and pile into Frostbite for the evening.
More on that next post.
Painting the frame
Managed to paint the frame thie weekend. A couple of months ago I purchased a gallon of high-gloss black rustolium paint for this purpose. It was $37 per gallon but claimed to be good at covering and preventing rust. The frame had plently of that. However, it was painted brown anyway so it was sort of hard to tell.
Friday evening I got out my trusty drill with the wire brush attachment and proceeded to scrape off as much rust as I could. I rinsed off with the hose afterward. It actually worked pretty well. Here is a shot of Frostbite taped up and ready to be painted.
The next morning, I sat out in the hot sun and put on a coat of paint. Man, that rustolium is tough stuff. It will stick to anything and, not being a latex paint, once it was on something it was on there forever. I actually had to get paint thinner just to get the stuff off my hands. Fortunately, my daughter didn't try to help me with this one.
Here are some photos after the paint dried and the tape was removed. One coat, it turned out, was enough. Still a bit of touch ups to do but I think it turned out pretty well.
Friday evening I got out my trusty drill with the wire brush attachment and proceeded to scrape off as much rust as I could. I rinsed off with the hose afterward. It actually worked pretty well. Here is a shot of Frostbite taped up and ready to be painted.
The opposite side
Taping her up was a challenge because the painter's tape barely wanted to stick to the frame. I realize now after the mishap with taping the last time I painted that this is so that it can be removed easily after painting is complete.
This time I opted to make do anyway and hope it stayed attached enough to paint.
The next morning, I sat out in the hot sun and put on a coat of paint. Man, that rustolium is tough stuff. It will stick to anything and, not being a latex paint, once it was on something it was on there forever. I actually had to get paint thinner just to get the stuff off my hands. Fortunately, my daughter didn't try to help me with this one.
Here are some photos after the paint dried and the tape was removed. One coat, it turned out, was enough. Still a bit of touch ups to do but I think it turned out pretty well.
I painted the accessories also.
I did forget to paint the metal piece that holds the spare tire on. Also forget to paint the wheel of the spare. I'll get to that when I do the touch ups.
I only used like an inch of paint from the 1 gal can so I'm going to be able to paint things shiny black for years to come.
We did do the overnight in the driveway on Sat. I'll detail our adventure in another post.
Friday, July 23, 2010
A Wasted Evening
Man it was hot yesterday! The temp gauge in my car reported 101 degrees. When I got in from work and changed into my Frostbite work clothes, I headed outside with great intentions. I turned on the air and then went into the garage to fetch the paint, brushes, and paint bucket. I spent several minutes searching for the stupid tool that strips wires, couldn't find it, got frustrated, and gave up. When I returned to the camper, the air was off.
It had popped the circuit breaker. No big deal, for the past couple of weeks to keep the breaker from popping I have been running an extension cord from inside the house to power the freezer I keep in the garage. I originally thought that my wife had ditched the cord and plugged it back up in the garage. She hates the extension cord running through the kitchen.
She didn't, though.
I thought, what the heck?, and unplugged the freezer. It could sit for a couple of hours unpowered. I tried the AC in Frostbite again and the breaker popped as soon as the condensor turned on.
I ran another extension cord to our deck to try another outlet.
No luck.
I realized that my taking so long to fix up Frostbite had taken me deep into the hot hot summer and I probably won't be able to run the camper AC in the afternoons anymore which is perfect timing as I have spent the last two weeks working outside painting and sweating in the hot sun desperately waiting for the time when I could work inside Frostbite with the AC.
That figures!
I decided to wait until the sun started going down and things cooled off a bit. About an hour later, my neighbor came home. I showed him Frostbite, and we talked for over an hour in the driveway.
I tried the Frostbite AC again and now it was able to stay on without popping the breaker. However, it was now 7:30pm. To be honest, I didn't feel like starting work that late. The sun goes down about 8:30. Remember I don't have any lights yet in Frostbite.
I decided to try again tomorrow.
I went in the now much cooler Frostbite to turn off the air and it wasn't running. I went to flip the breaker again but that wasn't it. Curious, I went back to Frostbite and noticed a flashing red light on the AC. The water tank was full. The AC shuts off automatically when the water tank gets full.
When I install the air vent for the AC, I'll also need to install a drainage hose for the water so I won't have to empty the tank over and over. It is supposed to have "evaporative technology" or some such nonsense but mentioned that it *might* not work as well in very humid environments.
That figures too.
I opted to push this chore off till tomorrow as well.
Today, I have a new method of attack. I will start with scraping the rust from the frame and, if that goes smoothly, start touching up the paint job using my new rotary tool. I will test the electric and see if I can get some lights on and, once the evening has cooled things off, run the AC inside and do some painting.
It had popped the circuit breaker. No big deal, for the past couple of weeks to keep the breaker from popping I have been running an extension cord from inside the house to power the freezer I keep in the garage. I originally thought that my wife had ditched the cord and plugged it back up in the garage. She hates the extension cord running through the kitchen.
She didn't, though.
I thought, what the heck?, and unplugged the freezer. It could sit for a couple of hours unpowered. I tried the AC in Frostbite again and the breaker popped as soon as the condensor turned on.
I ran another extension cord to our deck to try another outlet.
No luck.
I realized that my taking so long to fix up Frostbite had taken me deep into the hot hot summer and I probably won't be able to run the camper AC in the afternoons anymore which is perfect timing as I have spent the last two weeks working outside painting and sweating in the hot sun desperately waiting for the time when I could work inside Frostbite with the AC.
That figures!
I decided to wait until the sun started going down and things cooled off a bit. About an hour later, my neighbor came home. I showed him Frostbite, and we talked for over an hour in the driveway.
I tried the Frostbite AC again and now it was able to stay on without popping the breaker. However, it was now 7:30pm. To be honest, I didn't feel like starting work that late. The sun goes down about 8:30. Remember I don't have any lights yet in Frostbite.
I decided to try again tomorrow.
I went in the now much cooler Frostbite to turn off the air and it wasn't running. I went to flip the breaker again but that wasn't it. Curious, I went back to Frostbite and noticed a flashing red light on the AC. The water tank was full. The AC shuts off automatically when the water tank gets full.
When I install the air vent for the AC, I'll also need to install a drainage hose for the water so I won't have to empty the tank over and over. It is supposed to have "evaporative technology" or some such nonsense but mentioned that it *might* not work as well in very humid environments.
That figures too.
I opted to push this chore off till tomorrow as well.
Today, I have a new method of attack. I will start with scraping the rust from the frame and, if that goes smoothly, start touching up the paint job using my new rotary tool. I will test the electric and see if I can get some lights on and, once the evening has cooled things off, run the AC inside and do some painting.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
What's left?
Ok, you are now all caught up on the latest work I've done on Frostbite. It rained a bit yesterday afternoon so no work for me. I decided to draw up a list of what is remaining to do on her. We've scheduled her maiden voyage for the 1st weekend after school starts. We are going to Montgomery Bell State Park whch is about 20-25 miles from our house. This Saturday we are going to cook dinner, watch a movie, and sleep in Frostbite in the driveway.
I'll break the list up into two parts: inside work and outside work.
Inside:
* some curtains are missing. I need to get my seamstress to somehow find the right material and make them for me.
* there are some small holes in the canvas. I need to get a patch kit and fix them.
* there is a wire that runs up the canvas by the front lift pole on the door side of the camper that I had to cut to remove the box there. I just need to remember to splice it back together.
* there is a shelf in the cabinet underneath the sink that I need to attach to the inside box walls
* there are some shelving runners that hold 2 drawers that I need to attach to the inside walls of one of the storage boxes
* I need to hook up some smaller water hoses that go between the water intake and the water tank and finally test the water to make sure there are no leaks.
* I need to fill and hook up the propane tank and make sure that the stove works. I'll try very hard not to blow myself up in the process.
* The counter tops need another coat of white paint. I would also like to put on 1 or 2 coats of clear coat.
* I need to find a good place for a power strip to be installed near the table so that multiple laptops can be plugged in.
* I bought a new wide threshold for Frostbite's door that I need to cut to size and install. This will cover the inch wide gap between the new floor and the old threshhold.
* Once the new door latch comes in, I will install that.
* I need to find something I can use for moulding for such places as where the floor meets the wall and between the boxes. The old Frostbite has brown rubber type stuff that was stapeled in place. I have been unable to find anything I can use at Lowes. Quarter round might come to mind for the floor but remember that the wall that is connected to Frostbite's floor is at an angle greater than 90 degrees so quarter round would still leave a gap. Any ideas would be welcome here.
* eventually, I need to permanantly install the exhaut hose from the AC. It is usuable right now as I am just unzipping the corner in the canvas, running the hose through, and zipping it back as much as possible around it. It looks pretty redneck like that though. I need to think about where exactly I want it to run down to the floor, cut a hole in the box and the floor, and attach a dryer vent underneath Frostbite.
* finally, I need to get a tiny paint brush and thouch up the paint on the cabinet doors where the tape let me down.
Outside:
* I need to use my wire brush drill attachment and run it around the frame to try to remove as much rust as possible
* I need to paint the frame, spare tire holder, and door step with black rustolium paint.
* I then need to run my rotary tool's wire brush attachment and run it around the outside where the masking tape let me down.
* I bought a cool racing stripe decal (blue) that I would like to run on both sides of Frostbite. I have found plenty of outside decals that I like but I'm not willing to spend the $100-$150 they cost right now. The potential for goofing this little project up is great.
* I need to take the old 12-v battery and get it tested. It probably needs replacing as well. I won't hook it up without the battery box though. The one that came with the camper has a large hole on the top rendering it useless.
* I need to obtain an RV battery box for the 12-volt battery to attach to the trailer tounge. I'm sure I'll have to order this online and it probably costs $20-50. I don't think it will keep anything from working if I don't install the battery right away. We don't plan to camp anywhere without electric hookups. I'll just have to determine if the electric will still work without the battery being hooked up.
* Eventually I plan to get a transmission cooler for Bluebell. I called our local transmission shop and he told me that he would have to look at Bluebell to make sure Saturns have enough room for one to be added. He also said that it might cost $200-300 which sucks!
* I really need to test the awning on Frostbite. Right now it is still in the garage. The bag is separating from the piece of hardware that attaches to Frostbite so I need to use an upholstery needle and sew it back up with fishing line. It's sounds simple so I have my fingers crossed that it will be. Note that I have never opened the awning so I've no idea what shape it is in or even if all the poles are present and in good shape. I've got my other fingers crossed on that one too.
Just a few of the above tasks are needed before we can camp in her though. My goal lately was to get Frostbite up and campable as soon as possible before this summer slips away. I will continue to work on her as necessary to get her officially "finished" between camping trips.
Hopefully, I can get in her this afternoon after work.
I'll break the list up into two parts: inside work and outside work.
Inside:
* some curtains are missing. I need to get my seamstress to somehow find the right material and make them for me.
* there are some small holes in the canvas. I need to get a patch kit and fix them.
* there is a wire that runs up the canvas by the front lift pole on the door side of the camper that I had to cut to remove the box there. I just need to remember to splice it back together.
* there is a shelf in the cabinet underneath the sink that I need to attach to the inside box walls
* there are some shelving runners that hold 2 drawers that I need to attach to the inside walls of one of the storage boxes
* I need to hook up some smaller water hoses that go between the water intake and the water tank and finally test the water to make sure there are no leaks.
* I need to fill and hook up the propane tank and make sure that the stove works. I'll try very hard not to blow myself up in the process.
* The counter tops need another coat of white paint. I would also like to put on 1 or 2 coats of clear coat.
* I need to find a good place for a power strip to be installed near the table so that multiple laptops can be plugged in.
* I bought a new wide threshold for Frostbite's door that I need to cut to size and install. This will cover the inch wide gap between the new floor and the old threshhold.
* Once the new door latch comes in, I will install that.
* I need to find something I can use for moulding for such places as where the floor meets the wall and between the boxes. The old Frostbite has brown rubber type stuff that was stapeled in place. I have been unable to find anything I can use at Lowes. Quarter round might come to mind for the floor but remember that the wall that is connected to Frostbite's floor is at an angle greater than 90 degrees so quarter round would still leave a gap. Any ideas would be welcome here.
* eventually, I need to permanantly install the exhaut hose from the AC. It is usuable right now as I am just unzipping the corner in the canvas, running the hose through, and zipping it back as much as possible around it. It looks pretty redneck like that though. I need to think about where exactly I want it to run down to the floor, cut a hole in the box and the floor, and attach a dryer vent underneath Frostbite.
* finally, I need to get a tiny paint brush and thouch up the paint on the cabinet doors where the tape let me down.
Outside:
* I need to use my wire brush drill attachment and run it around the frame to try to remove as much rust as possible
* I need to paint the frame, spare tire holder, and door step with black rustolium paint.
* I then need to run my rotary tool's wire brush attachment and run it around the outside where the masking tape let me down.
* I bought a cool racing stripe decal (blue) that I would like to run on both sides of Frostbite. I have found plenty of outside decals that I like but I'm not willing to spend the $100-$150 they cost right now. The potential for goofing this little project up is great.
* I need to take the old 12-v battery and get it tested. It probably needs replacing as well. I won't hook it up without the battery box though. The one that came with the camper has a large hole on the top rendering it useless.
* I need to obtain an RV battery box for the 12-volt battery to attach to the trailer tounge. I'm sure I'll have to order this online and it probably costs $20-50. I don't think it will keep anything from working if I don't install the battery right away. We don't plan to camp anywhere without electric hookups. I'll just have to determine if the electric will still work without the battery being hooked up.
* Eventually I plan to get a transmission cooler for Bluebell. I called our local transmission shop and he told me that he would have to look at Bluebell to make sure Saturns have enough room for one to be added. He also said that it might cost $200-300 which sucks!
* I really need to test the awning on Frostbite. Right now it is still in the garage. The bag is separating from the piece of hardware that attaches to Frostbite so I need to use an upholstery needle and sew it back up with fishing line. It's sounds simple so I have my fingers crossed that it will be. Note that I have never opened the awning so I've no idea what shape it is in or even if all the poles are present and in good shape. I've got my other fingers crossed on that one too.
Just a few of the above tasks are needed before we can camp in her though. My goal lately was to get Frostbite up and campable as soon as possible before this summer slips away. I will continue to work on her as necessary to get her officially "finished" between camping trips.
Hopefully, I can get in her this afternoon after work.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Rebuilding the complicated boxes #3 - The Final Chapter
Ok, we're down to the final two boxes left to be re-installed in Frostbite. With the middle galley box completed and the fridge installed, I hoped it would be all downhill from here.
I ran the water/gas/electric lines through the middle box where they needed to be before attaching the top. It went on without a hitch.
I ran the water/gas/electric lines through the middle box where they needed to be before attaching the top. It went on without a hitch.
I then attached the newly rebuilt end bunk and the braces. Again, no real problems.
The day after taking this pic, I noticed that the converter box is upside down. Surprisingly, I was able to pull is out enough to flip it. Notice that the water tank is installed inside the box. It was all sort of a puzzle. I initially installed the water tank first and screwed the box in around it.
I then realized that I could not reach the holes to attach the box to the back wall because the water tank was in the way.
I took out the box and removed the water tank. I then attached the box to the walls and floor. I then realized that I could not install the water tank with the box already installed because there was not enough room to turn it so it could attach to the outside receptical.
I took out the box and reinstalled the water tank. I then reattached the box to the floor and walls and just managed to attach it to the back wall by shoving my had between the box and the top.
Upon describing all this, I now realize that had I removed the top brace against the back wall and left the face attached it would have been much easier. Dang it!
Anyway, I attached the top hindged bench cover and put the covers on the cushins and the table just to see what it looks like.
pretty snazzy!
another angle
Next, I needed to attach the sink and stove to the middle galley box. I had feared this job since I took the thing apart. It was maddening trying to get the stove apart and the gas line threaded out of the stove at the time. Getting it all back together was surprisingly and strangly simple.
Of course there is no guarentee that the water and gas will actually work when I turn them on but it sure looks pretty good.
At this point, ALL of Frostbite's boxes have been reinstalled. Remember that Bluebell has been sleeping outside because I took over the garage while painting all of the boxes. My goal was to get the garage emptied and cleaned out enough for Bluebell to return home. I went ahead and put the new matress covers on the foam matresses which was an excercise in frustration.
I eventually got them to basically fit. Here is a matress in one of the bunkends:
Here is Bluebell back at home in the garage:
Safe and sound
A new door lock/latch is on its way
I found a lock that *I think* will work. You know how well that has been working for me so far.
Here it is:
Sevierville TN 37876
Let's just hope the stupid thing fits!
Here it is:
It has all the mechanics outside the door itself like the current broken lock has so I'm hoping it will be an easy install. Don't laugh!
It has a key too so we can lock it. Now I know this is no real deterrant from someone intent on breaking into the camper. Pulling the canvas away from the door where is attached only with velcro will allow a crook to just reach in and open the door from the inside.
However, a locked door is a clear and precise message to anyone that I do not want jokers to come inside. One would have to actually break in like a crook. It's a psychological thing. Plus there is a chance that folks might notice someone clearly breaking into the camper while we are away whereas someone simply opening the door wouldn't attrach attention.
Who cares anyway? Most all campers have locks. All new popups have locks. I want one too!
I found one place out of state that had these for $18. However, the only shipping method they had was UPS which was $14 (Total $32). I searched around a bit and found one here in TN also for $18 and their shippping (FedEx) was $9. Unfortunately, since it was in TN I had to pay tax which brought the part up to $20 (Total $30). Not much difference in price but I should get it faster from the TN company. Possibly even 1 day as claimed by FedEx.
I ordered it from:
Adventure RV Center
2910 Newport HWY Sevierville TN 37876
Let's just hope the stupid thing fits!
Trouble with the cabinet hardware
This, believe it or not, is my 100th post on this blog. Jeez, you'd think more work would have been done by now.
Yet another 15 minute job that stretched into over 2 hours due to my oversight. You should be getting used to this by now.
I am.
I purchased all new hardware to reconnect the cabinet doors to the boxes in Frostbite. I was very careful to make sure that the outside attachment to the box was thin enough to fit. I was not concerned with the attachment of the hindge to the back of the cabinet itself.
It *seemed* like there was plenty of room.
However, the panel of the cabinet does not cover the entire back, just this inside of the trim. This was more than enough for the hardware I purchased in pairs for $3 each (7 doors x $3 = $21 dollars total) not to fit.
You can see the problem here:
Yet another 15 minute job that stretched into over 2 hours due to my oversight. You should be getting used to this by now.
I am.
I purchased all new hardware to reconnect the cabinet doors to the boxes in Frostbite. I was very careful to make sure that the outside attachment to the box was thin enough to fit. I was not concerned with the attachment of the hindge to the back of the cabinet itself.
It *seemed* like there was plenty of room.
However, the panel of the cabinet does not cover the entire back, just this inside of the trim. This was more than enough for the hardware I purchased in pairs for $3 each (7 doors x $3 = $21 dollars total) not to fit.
You can see the problem here:
Yep, pretty obvious. Had I bothered to actually check the back of the doors before I bought all the hardware, I probably would have noticed this.
I was faced with 2 choices: drive 20 miles to Lowes and buy all new hardware or somehow try to make it work anyway.
Of course, I opted for the latter. I thought "Maybe I can cut off that third screw hole." I made a quick trip to the Tool Box and bought a hack saw. I also bought an attachment for my rotary tool that cuts metal. All this cost me $15.
I worked on all the pieces for over an hour and managed to get the pieces cut to size. Here is one of the cut pieces:
success!
This fix actually worked! I attached all the new pieces to the doors and got them all installed inside Frostbite.
Two hours after I started.
Looking good!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Getting fancy now!
I had an idea regarding the cabinets that I've kept to myself for the past few weeks. I was inspired by a Lowes commercial where they bragged that they can match the color of anything you bring in. I thought it might be neat to break up the all white interior boxes by painting a trim on the cabinet doors. I sought my wife's input as to what color we should try to match and we both agreed that the light blue material the makes up the top of the matresses would be best. Here is a photo:
I took a smaller cover to Lowes and they scanned it and made me some paint. I thought it was a perfect match although it does, when removed from the mattress and curtains in the camper, look a little gray. Inside the camper, though, it looks great! I taped up the cabinet and put on two coats.
another angle
And here is how they look in Frostbite:
I still need to touch up the paint job a bit
Updated the Expenses List. Yikes!
Finally got around to entering all the receipts from the last few months into the expenses total. Man, over 24 hunderd so far. I was quietly hoping that Frostbite would come in under 2 grand but I think we're still in pretty good shape.
I suppose I would have to determine what type and how good of a camper I could get used for the same money. Based solely on my luck in such matters, I am far better off with the route I've taken with Frostbite.
When she is done, and that time is quickly approaching, I will have personally taken her apart and put her back together. I'll be able to repair anything to happens to her. I can get to any part of her simply with a screwdriver. Remember, I had to physically rip her apart the first time because many things were stapled together. It really wasn't meant to be taken apart like I've done. Now that I have done it, however, it can be taken apart as needed without having to destroy things.
I think I'll still be happy with under $2500. I don't forsee any more expenses as I have already obtained all the supplies needed to finish her. I think she would compare well with ANY other 30 year old camper out there. Heck, I'd be willing to compare her with the brand new ones since it seems they are slapping these things together more and more sloppy each year.
A new chapter is about to begin in the life of Frostbite as she is wrapping up the renovation phase and soon to embark on the camping phase.
She looks pretty good. She will be perfectly functional.
Best of all, she is 100% paid for.
I suppose I would have to determine what type and how good of a camper I could get used for the same money. Based solely on my luck in such matters, I am far better off with the route I've taken with Frostbite.
When she is done, and that time is quickly approaching, I will have personally taken her apart and put her back together. I'll be able to repair anything to happens to her. I can get to any part of her simply with a screwdriver. Remember, I had to physically rip her apart the first time because many things were stapled together. It really wasn't meant to be taken apart like I've done. Now that I have done it, however, it can be taken apart as needed without having to destroy things.
I think I'll still be happy with under $2500. I don't forsee any more expenses as I have already obtained all the supplies needed to finish her. I think she would compare well with ANY other 30 year old camper out there. Heck, I'd be willing to compare her with the brand new ones since it seems they are slapping these things together more and more sloppy each year.
A new chapter is about to begin in the life of Frostbite as she is wrapping up the renovation phase and soon to embark on the camping phase.
She looks pretty good. She will be perfectly functional.
Best of all, she is 100% paid for.
Installing the fridge - It was harder than it looked
After trying to get the lower galley box installed in Frostbite, I realized after much frustration that I need to install the fridge first and build the box around it.
The previous owner did a homemade job on the fridge. I'm not sure what was in that spot originally. I suspect it was what they call an "ice box" for pop-ups which is really just a fancy name for a built-in cooler. Using "ice box" instead of "cooler" gives the impression that it is different and better than a cooler.
It's not.
Anyway, the previous owner had an array of 2x4s attached to the floor in a strange pattern that served as a sort of riser for the fridge to sit on. Except for one, I found uses for all of those boards in other places around Frostbite. Unwilling to re-requisition the boards, I figured I would build a riser from all the scrap flooring wood that was now starting to fill my garage.
I came up with this:
Easy enough. When I actually attempted to sit the fridge on the new risers, I broke off the top thin piece of dowel that I had rebuilt already twice now. Remember the whole frame fell off my work area and broke and I had to rebuild it using L-brackets? Well this is the new rebuilt one that now has to be redone a third time.
As if to rub it in, I also noticed that the risers I attached to the floor were too close together and the feet of the fridge could not sit square on both at the same time.
*sigh* I'll have to redo the risers as well. I grimly started to realize that I was actually moving backwards. My work session resulted in me tearing up more things than I built.
Determined to make at least *some* progress, I did get the risers in the right place eventually (nope still didn't bother to actually measure first).
The previous owner did a homemade job on the fridge. I'm not sure what was in that spot originally. I suspect it was what they call an "ice box" for pop-ups which is really just a fancy name for a built-in cooler. Using "ice box" instead of "cooler" gives the impression that it is different and better than a cooler.
It's not.
Anyway, the previous owner had an array of 2x4s attached to the floor in a strange pattern that served as a sort of riser for the fridge to sit on. Except for one, I found uses for all of those boards in other places around Frostbite. Unwilling to re-requisition the boards, I figured I would build a riser from all the scrap flooring wood that was now starting to fill my garage.
I came up with this:
I took two pieces of flooring and a sheet of bead board and screwed them all together. It came up to the exact same height as the 2x4 next to it.
a shot from the side
Feeling pretty good about this I (without measuring anything beforehand) attached them to the floor using L-brackets where the fridge was to be placed.
As if to rub it in, I also noticed that the risers I attached to the floor were too close together and the feet of the fridge could not sit square on both at the same time.
*sigh* I'll have to redo the risers as well. I grimly started to realize that I was actually moving backwards. My work session resulted in me tearing up more things than I built.
Determined to make at least *some* progress, I did get the risers in the right place eventually (nope still didn't bother to actually measure first).
This time the feet of the fridge sat squarely on the risers. No question about that.
. . . but it still wobbled when you pressed on a corner.
It was only then that I noticed that the fridge was missing a "foot" for lack of a better term. It had a screw for a leg like all the others but not the round flat foot. Now my perfectly level risers did not serve to make the fridge level. I scrounged around a found a scrap piece of beadboard to attach to the top of the 2x4.
Finally, I could check the fridge off as "installed."
I went ahead and painted the front of the risers white and attached the rest of the lower galley box to the floor.
This ten minute job actually took over 2 hours
Friday, July 16, 2010
When I said complicated, I meant it!
Worked for over two hours yesterday evening but not a heap of progress to show for it. Things started wonderful. I'm working on the frame that will be the front face of the galley box. I finished the frame itself yesterday and today I intended to attach the paneling to it. I carefully cut out the paneling so that the beadboard lines will line up visually. It actually looked pretty good.
Now, all I had to do was attach the inner boards and the counter top. Unfortunately, it was like a puzzle. I had to go inside to my main computer to look at pictures I took of the original box so I could figure out how it went back together.
This I had to do over and over and over again.
Also unfortunately, I didn't take very good pictures of the stupid box so the details I really needed were always just out of the picture frame. Also, there was no good way to set the pieces up so that I could at least see how they were put together before attaching them with screws. Nothing would set up by itself and I could only hold two pieces at a time.
In the course of this goofing around, the stupid newly built frame (pictured above) fell off my sawhorse table and two of the corners I screwed together were ripped apart stripping the screw holes.
Once I finished cursing my bad luck, I reattached them enough to continue but they are now wobbely which made it even harder to try to set them up to see how they went together.
Frustrated, I decided to unhook the frame that was barely attached with the brackets and the newly stripped screws and take it all inside Frostbite to see it I could figure out how they went together on the wall. I did get a better picture of the whole thing but the tangle of electric, gas, and water lines made it more difficult.
I realized that the fridge needs to be installed so that the box can be built around it. Originally, the fridge was sitting on a couple of pieces of 2x4s to raise it up enough for the door to clear the bottom lip of the square.
These are the same 2x4s that I am now using for other things. One is under the trailer hitch to protect the concrete and another is being used to chock the camper wheel. The one used to chock the wheel is too short anyway. I have another I can use but not a fourth that is the same size so now I'm going the have to figure out how to raise the fridge a couple of inches. I have plenty of scrap counter top material so I'm hoping I can fashion a couple of lifts for the fridge.
It was starting to get dark at this time and, even though I have AC in the camper, I do not have any lights. I decided to put it off until this afternoon and see if I can't make more progress. I'll need to stop at the Tool Box to pick up some L-brackets and 1/2 inch screws so I can put the large square back together and try hard not to drop it again. I also need some L-brackets to attach whatever I build to raise the fridge to the floor so it will not slide around.
A final disconcerning point:
There is more than a good chance that I built the front face with one of the two squares upside down.
Stupid pictures!
*sigh* For this galley box, nothing is going to be easy.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
The Big Flood Theory
One thing I should point out is that I've had Frostbite popped up since last Friday. It rained last Sunday and this past Monday and Tuesday saw some pretty strong thunderstorms pass through our area.
Frostbite remains high and dry. No water anywhere that I can see. Canvas is dry on the inside everywhere I can touch.
Unless I miraculously fixed a major hole in my water proofing efforts, I don't see where any major leak is or was located. The area of the floor in the corner that was completely rotted due to water damage remains high and dry like everything else.
It's funny that, from what I have noticed, all the panels that needed a rebuild have the most severe water damage on the bottom inch or so of the boxes. It's almost like that camper at some time had an inch or so of water standing in it. It the only thing I can think of to explain it. Maybe the water hose sprung a leak or something.
This "big flood" theory is looking like more and more of a possibility.
Frostbite remains high and dry. No water anywhere that I can see. Canvas is dry on the inside everywhere I can touch.
Unless I miraculously fixed a major hole in my water proofing efforts, I don't see where any major leak is or was located. The area of the floor in the corner that was completely rotted due to water damage remains high and dry like everything else.
It's funny that, from what I have noticed, all the panels that needed a rebuild have the most severe water damage on the bottom inch or so of the boxes. It's almost like that camper at some time had an inch or so of water standing in it. It the only thing I can think of to explain it. Maybe the water hose sprung a leak or something.
This "big flood" theory is looking like more and more of a possibility.
Rebuilding the complicated boxes #2
More panel rebuilds today. Here is the original galley box:
front
back
The face and one of the inner panels need to be rebuilt due to water damage to the wood paneling. Here is the original face removed:
front
back
And here is my rebuild:
front
back
You might notice something strange about this. First, I didn't have any dowels longs enough for the length of this frame so I built it in two pieces and put them together with a bracket. I think, since this thing will be attached to the floor and attached to a single countertop piece, it will be plenty strong enough. The paneling is not yet attached, however, last night I cut it out in two pieces but it got dark before I could attach it to the frame and sand it down to fit perfectly. The larger square is where the refridgerator will go and the other opening is just for storage. It will have a cabinet door and a shelf inside but the door is there mainly to cover the bottom of the sink and the water hose.
Also, I've run out of long dowel pieces so I had to scavange the good pieces off the original frame and use them here. That is why the dowels are colored slightly different.
Here is the original galley panel that needs a rebuild:
front
back
cutting out the pieces
The finished panel
You might notice the the hole is much larger in the old panel than in the new one. This is because I only have one drill attachment capable of making a hole. I did this one just to see if it will be large enough. It probably won't. Anything larger will have to be a square.
The size difference between the holes
So far I have rebuilt all the pieces that I need to complete the inside boxes for the camper. This afternoon, I should be able to put this galley box back together and install it in Frostbite. The end storage bunk will follow that.
I was able to find a door knob/latch that I *think* will work in Frostbite. It's under $10 but I'll have to order it from the internet.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Rebuilding the complicated boxes #1
The final two boxes in Frostbite have a couple of things that make them much more difficult to put in. First, they are the boxes that contain all the "hardware" in the camper like the gas, water, and electric so I have to be sure to run the hoses and wires correctly before connecting the boxes to the floor. Second, the front of these boxes had water damage that needed replacing. Since there was extra wood supports on these faces for the hardware, I have to rebuild those supports as well.
Here is the face of the box that goes to the gally side bench. The converter and connections to the outside hookups are contained inside this box.
Here is the face of the box that goes to the gally side bench. The converter and connections to the outside hookups are contained inside this box.
I copied the panel and the wood supports and build a copy.
The back side shows all the supporting wood dowels.
Notice the notches cut into the dowels on the right side. Since my $15 jigsaw has already tore up (imagine that?), I had to cut those notches by hand with a 10 year old dull handsaw which was a major pain in the butt.
Notice in the last pic that I left the end open. This is where the converter box goes and the box was meant to be slipped in the open square and the face of the converter is larger than the open square which keeps it from going all the way through. However, on my converter, all the wires are already connected to the box. Rather than unhooking all the wires, installing the box in the square, and then reconnecting all the wires, I opted to simply slide the already connected converter box into the groove at the end and then install a piece of beadboard at the end using brackets and screws/bolts.
It *should* work anyway.
Not happy with doing a job somewhat perfectly, I managed to do something idiotic when drilling the 1 inch hole through the beadboard. I used one of those drill bits that is for drilling the latch hole in doors when installing a door knob. It's the only drill bit I have that is capable of making a circle.
I started drilling from the back of the beadboard and, just when the hole was almost complete, it ripped through at the end and ripped off a bit of the white surface of the bead board. Had I started drillling from the white front of the bead board, this wouldn't have happened. This is probably obvious stuff to all the rest of you but I have to learn things the hard way. Hopefully my touch up paint won't be that visible. This part sits on the floor underneath a bench.
I have completed three of these "complicated" rebuilds so far but left my camera at home this morning so I'll update progress on those tomorrow. So far, I am still on track to have all the inside boxes rebuit and installed by the weekend.
On a slightly more depressing note, the inside doorknob on Frostbite's door fell off. The pin it connects to pushed inside somehow and I cannot reconnect it. The door is still *usuable* but I need to find a replacement. I'll try to search today. The thing is sort of odd, though, as the door knob mechanism is not inside the door like most door knobs. It is all contained in a box on the outside of the door itself (on the outside of the inside door if that makes sense). I suspect it can only be replaced with something similar. My limited searching so far has only turned up door knobs that have the mechanism "inside" the door itself like all the doors in your house.
Hopefully, something will turn up. I haven't had much luck with the Starcraft company having what I need.
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