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.