More little things... here and there stuff.

Lately I've been doing small stuff as I have time, so here is a few things I've done lately on the old girl:

Replaced spark plugs and wires
Adjusted the closet doors
Installed new latches on the closet doors (To secure them while driving)
Removed the "new" side mirrors and installed the original chrome mirrors
Reinforced and aligned the rear exterior door
removed the bathroom door secure latch and installed a new bolt to secure the door while traveling

the next one I'll go into a bit more detail on, the rear bench seat for the lower bed... so there is a mini wall or partition that is bolted to and protrudes out from the cabinet that houses the fridge. The rear bench support bolts up to the partition and down to the floor, then a second frame slides on that one and has the actual bench/seat bolted to it. That is the bed support when you pull it out. Well here is what I'm trying to accomplish here, I want the wall shorter and skinnier so as to not be as intrusive when it's made into a bed, and so it doesn't block rear view in while driving.

So the frame itself was mounted in the center of the bench, that was about 4 inches from the edge of the wall. I found I could move that frame over 4 inches or so towards the wall and still not hit the folded table when pulling the bench out into a bed. So I remounted the frame, then rebolted the seat to it and tada, I have about 8" of the wall I can remove.

So I'm trying to figure out, and it may only be apparent which way I go with it after I remove the partition if I can shorten this wall in addition to making it skinnier. The fading and what's behind it on the fridge cabinet is going to determine that for sure. I think the way to go here is to remove the wall from teh inside... cut off a strait line of about 4" or so, then use the outline for where it meets the wall and trim to trace to get a flush fit against the wall. So for now, it still has the full wall, just has the hardware shifted. I'll come back to that later, I want to see if there is any drawbacks with having the hardware shifted before I commit to it by cutting the wall.

The last couple of things I need to do before it's "camp-able" in my eyes would be the the plumbing and ceiling fan at this point. The Kitchen Faucet needs to be replaced, I think I have one upstairs that will work fine for this... in fact I may have two. Then I need to address a possible leak in the water heater, re-attach the toilet supply valve. Oh, and I have a new sewer dump valve I need to install too. Should be ready to start camping later this summer.

Still trying to decide how deep into the rust repair I want to go... I have a feeling this is going to turn into a similar situation as trying to chase damage from a water leak on a wood an staple vintage trailer... the damage will just keep going deeper until you have nothing left... at some point you need to just get it to a point that is satisfactory.

So this is where patching holes, grinding rust spots, filler primer and paint may be the ticket here. There are a few places that will cause me some grief, especially the rear spoiler sections... those will need to be rebuilt somehow. But filling smaller holes (Welding) and using some good old fashioned bondo may be the trick to get her done this summer. I would like to see a few coats of paint applied to her by September... we'll see.

I'll address the rest of the interior (seats and carpet) later this fall or winter... not on the immediate plans this summer. I do however want to get the new stereo, LCD, and inverter installed before the first camp trip... that should be pretty easy, for the most part. Shooting for mid to late August for the first camp trip, hopefully to the Oregon coast.