We finally finished our big truck project. It started out so innocently. We wanted to insulate the top fiberglass portion of the camper. This meant we would have to remove the ceiling and all of the walls and cabinets. Things got out of control when we started to realize that by completely demolishing the interior of our camper, we only had one choice... Completely rebuild it with BETTER material. WARNING: This is a very picture-heavy post which captures the process.
El Tigre is 21 years old and even the good parts were turning bad. The ceiling (wood) and walls (weird fabric material) had signs of mold from all of our time in humid, tropical climates. Almost all of the walls and cabinets were particle board. If you aren't familiar with particle board, let me introduce you to my most hated wood product. It is cheap, heavy, weak, ugly, AND when it gets wet it expands and disintegrates.
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| Scott jumped right in with the demolition and took down our ceiling. Note the complete lack of insulation! |
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| The rats nest of electrical, plumbing, and particle board oatmeal |
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| The old ceiling that served as a full-scale blueprint for the new ceiling, cabinets, lights, USB jacks, and 12-volt jacks |
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| Removing the old wall fabric bruised my finger-tips |
In addition to insulation and new walls/ceiling, the shower got rebuilt including a new fiberglass pan that Scott designed. The plumbing, electrical, and even the sofa got an overhaul. While Scott was doing a lot of the hard engineering and manual work, I was washing, sanding, painting, varnishing, grinding, wire-wheeling, and caulking everything in sight. I learned more than I ever thought necessary about insulation, adhesives, sealant, epoxy, polyurethane, varnish, primer, and paint.
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| Cutting the new foam for the sofa with an electric knife |
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| The original roof vent - one of the many metal things on/in our truck that were replaced |
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| Grinding yet another metal object |
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| The aluminum box that goes on the back was sanded, primed, and repainted |
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| Beginning of the shower pan - foam and wood |
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| Laying strips of fiberglass over the shower pan |
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| Mixing some expensive epoxy to brush over the fiberglass |
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| The finished shower pan! |
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We got a quote for $600 to repaint the hood of our truck but I went for the DIY option.
It cost me lots of time and $20 in supplies. |
The biggest challenge was dealing with the weird angles and curves of the camper - nothing is a right angle. The cabinets and walls took the longest to design, cut, and finish.
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| Starting to install the insulation. Wiring installed to accommodate 23 new LED lights, 8 power outlets, and 6 USB ports. |
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| Insulation almost completed along the walls and ceiling |
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| Starting the vinyl installation along the sides |
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| Slowly installing the vinyl along the sides (this is above the bed) |
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| Thin, painted plywood glued and screwed into the ceiling |
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| A slightly tricky piece that Scott was very proud of |
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| Our old counter top that weighed nearly 50 lbs - particle board and granite (!!) |
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| Peeling off the covering on our new stainless steel counter top |
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| One of the many pieces of wood, stained and coated |
We have so much gratitude for being able to stay with my parents and use all of their tools, vehicles, man-power, and support during the past 3.5 months of truck renovations. We all thought it would be such a fun time to hang out together during the summer. But then we realized we do not have the ability to stop working when we have a never ending list of things to do, and everything takes longer than planned. We got increasingly grouchy and preoccupied while working from morning until night. All-in-all we spent 5 months at my parents house. How can we possibly thank them enough? They were
MORE than patient and accommodating.
Two months later than expected, here are some pictures of the finished product:
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| Old (steel) and new (aluminum) furnace-face. I could never keep the rust hidden on the old one. |
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| New everything! -- except the shower door, which will be a future project. |
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One of our favorite little additions - the locking drawer/cabinet knobs that are common on boats and newer RVs.
No more bungees and straps to keep everything closed. |
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| We are pleased with the bluetooth soundbar installed under the cabinet for music and video |
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| The remodeled bedroom. New curtains that unfold to cover the windows by Mom Matthews (thanks!) |
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| The new shower with an unmounted shower head |
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New mirrors replaced the old, rusty mirrors that never stayed in place - one of Scott's favorite improvements.
Too bad we didn't do that 4 years ago! |
