Brown 73 Amerigo Begins a New Life -- Photos! - Fiberglass RV
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:04 AM   #1
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Brown 73 Amerigo Begins a New Life -- Photos!

At last, some better photos of the ongoing saga of the brown amerigo.

PEANUT (a shell with two nuts in it) was lifted from her frame late last year after Paul took nearly everything out, including a badly rotted plywood floor. He managed to save "most" of the interior to use as templates later on.
Attached Thumbnails
Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 073.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 067.jpg  

Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 068.jpg  
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:11 AM   #2
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Pictoral Saga Continues...

After the new year, the newly re-welded and painted frame came back from Paul's old job, Machinists, Inc. in Seattle, and Peanut was resettled on her own two wheels.
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Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 025.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 026.JPG  

Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 019.jpg  
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:15 AM   #3
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After a lot of encouragement on FGRV, Paul had begun to fiberglass, eventually filling over 80 holes, large and small. He finished that, and laid in the brand new sheets of marine plywood that had been "curing" in our living room for months.

Paul set up a big tarp to keep dry while he pulled one window after another, cleaned, primed, painted, butyled (?) and reset the windows after doing his best to clean the 43-year old plexigless. The tarp lasted for weeks, until a huge gust of wind ripped out several grommets and Paul decided to face the weather on his own.
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Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 016.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 059.JPG  

Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 044.jpg  
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:23 AM   #4
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Kathleen, waiting for her chance to do something, finally made a curtain panel.

(OK, I did tons of planning, sketching, sourcing, worrying, fretting, losing sleep, being cranky, fretting...all the things that seem to go into every project I touch.)

We measured and re-measured, Paul primed the sides inside and out (the roof has newer white gel coat already, though he had to patch that, too.) And gradually Peanut became first "stripy cat" (the neighbors named it) and then white for the first time in more than a decade.
Attached Thumbnails
Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 087.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 041.JPG  

Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 064.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 057.JPG  

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Old 06-18-2016, 01:30 AM   #5
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Paul rebuilt the door frame, having been cautioned to check it by SteveV on FGRV...the old one was pulp. This shows the old frame, splintered at the bottom, it doesn't show the liquid over the doorway! Now it's solid as all get-out. No wonder it was wiggly!

After going over dozens of possible floor plans, we began replacing the "furniture," my restriction on towing it being that it MUST have all the support "uprights" in place first.

Closet was first. Then the galley.
Attached Thumbnails
Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 022.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 081.JPG  

Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 102.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 103.JPG  

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Old 06-18-2016, 01:32 AM   #6
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Like the white frame
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:35 AM   #7
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We bought and destroyed a metal wine rack trying to create interesting galley supports, and settled on using more of the marine ply, as we decided to use it for the countertop as well--the edge reminds me of those layered cookies, and we found a little heart pattern on one side. We repaired and repainted two of the upper cabinet doors, and decided to reuse the originals.

Of course Paul had done the wiring by then, installed the lights, and after getting some outstanding phone help from Fan-Tastic Vent, got the fan running. Very nice as the weather began turning warmer.
Attached Thumbnails
Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 107.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 082.JPG  

Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 110.JPG  
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:43 AM   #8
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Paul had taken out the old front closet ceiling vent--it was nearly in shards. We had reached the last area of ceiling/roof support, and he fiberglassed the last hole and painted the ceiling in that area only. I like the rest of the original fiberglass ceiling.

And so the "Putin" began, and with it the first of the new wall paneling. Paul used big sheets of cardboard from his old job to make patterns, and sweated bullets figuring out how to re-install the inner walls. We chose a pre-sanded 1/4" (.19, really) ply, reverse-stained it with white stain (pickled it), and used one coat of ACE sealer, but now it's been discontinued, so we're having to use two coats of Min-Wax water-based sealer.

(Putin--because it's not a loo, we're not in England. It's not a bathroom, it has no bath. It's not a restroom, we're not a public facility. It's not a closet because it has a porta-potty in it. Finally I was talking politics and the word, "Putin" struck us as funny and just stuck.)
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Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 097.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 111.JPG  

Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 115.JPG  
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:46 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Borrego Dave View Post
Like the white frame
Thanks, Borrego Dave! I thought it was a lot less likely I'd trip on it if I could really see it. And Machinists, Inc. had a ton of leftover white two-part industrial metal paint.
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Old 06-18-2016, 01:53 AM   #10
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Now Paul's building the back bins to support his bed plus make two permanent seats. We'll use a folding table.

The fan continues to be a boon when it's warm, though the last ten days have been rainy again.

Meanwhile, I have made all the curtains...and today Paul installed the first wall panel around a window--(the area behind the closet is a FRP/fiberglass reinforced panel that we used inside the cupboards and closet as well to cover the wiring where needed. We could have used more than one sheet; very useful, and even our neighbor liked it so Paul gave him a section of it.

We have a lot yet to do.
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Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 116.JPG   Peanut 10 2015 to 6 2016 117.JPG  

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Old 06-18-2016, 01:57 AM   #11
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I started out thinking we'd call her "Thistledew" as in, "This'll do," and put that on the spare tire cover...then I thought about other names including One Step Up (as in, one step up from a tent) -- but we settled on Peanut when it turned out my cousin and aunt really liked the name and concept (a shell with two nuts in it)...they confessed when we dragged it home they were appalled! But now they think we just might be OK with it after all. So I'm getting a quote on the Peanut decal from the same place that made our amerigo logo decals...
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Trailer spare tire cover design 1.jpg   One Step Up logo 1.jpg  

amerigo Logo with globe and nothing else.jpg   PEANUT possible logo for amerigo trailer.jpg  

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Old 06-18-2016, 02:03 AM   #12
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We still have a lot to do, but after Paul repaired the brakes, got the new tires, painted the rims, repacked the wheel bearings, towed it to his old job with 3 dozen fancy donuts to start thanking them for all the help and materials, once we get the mattresses in (and the curtains), we can roll.

I wonder what we'll do with our "spare" time now--camp, maybe?



H
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life's a beach, watch out for the crabs.jpg   Trailer as egg crate bottom with big eggs upper half.jpg  

Trailer from Australia painted like  a nest--gorgeous.jpg  
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Old 06-18-2016, 02:57 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle View Post
Thanks, Borrego Dave! I thought it was a lot less likely I'd trip on it if I could really see it. And Machinists, Inc. had a ton of leftover white two-part industrial metal paint.
You're right on it standing out. The white frame reminded me of an old friend that 40 years ago leased and drove his semi out to Mayflower trucking. He said if I ever saw a white framed Mayflower truck it was him, the others were all black. I checked their trucks for years and never did see anything but black ones. Thanks for the memories.
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Old 06-18-2016, 09:09 AM   #14
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Great work. Thanks for all the pics. It's fun following the progress.

Walt
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Old 06-18-2016, 09:40 AM   #15
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Great work. Thanks for all the pics. It's fun following the progress.

Walt


Hi, thanks! Took us long enough!

Today, Saturday, June 18, 2016, we are only a couple weeks from being done.

Must point out neither of us could bear adding water or propane after what we'd found, severed lines, rot, leakages, corrosion...so this is very retro, like a teardrop, we have a little butane burner for outside, will carry bottled water for drinking, will do minimal cooking inside (microwave only), minimal washing inside, use straw plates and cornstarch utensils (biodegradable), and have a biodegradable system for the porta-potty bucket.

Clever, judiciously fitted Pergo covered nearly all of the bad areas and a quickie slap-up paint job covered much of the rest...the previous owner's patter and misdirection gave us a full opportunity to overlook everything of importance. We were shell-shocked by the time we discovered it all...day by horrible day, and I, for one, will never again consider my discernment or judgment to be as good as I once did! .

The only way out was forward.

It's been a long road, but we're on the last road now, we hope. We have been so grateful to everyone on FGRV who has posted their pictures and experiences and offered advice and, yes, comfort.

We're making it "our own," and are prepared to deal with almost anything now...knock wood! Don't want to tempt fate!

This thing was utterly pre-disastered!
Attached Thumbnails
1A 8 Pergo covered an original source of rot, old toilet hole.jpg   1A 9 More floor rot; water tank had cracked long ago.jpg  

1A 10 By the fresh water inlet.jpg   1A 11 What's left of the original flooring spread out on garage floor.jpg  

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Old 06-18-2016, 09:58 AM   #16
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Thank you for the photos! What an impressive journey 😊 !


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Old 06-18-2016, 10:17 AM   #17
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Thank you for the photos! What an impressive journey 😊 !


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Thank you!
Another of Paul's projects: he added a third brake light below the rear window. We'll put on more reflectors when we add the logos and name.
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Old 06-18-2016, 11:03 AM   #18
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Thank you for sharing this adventure! It's informative, encouraging, and very well written. That little trailer really belongs to you!

I don't share your minimalist approach (not sure how the microwave fits into that), because I like gadgets, as well as the basic conveniences needed for full-timing. But I appreciate what you are doing and what you have done.

Congratulations!

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Old 06-18-2016, 01:08 PM   #19
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You're more than welcome, Gordon, and thank you.

Paul was already talking about 110 hot water in there...maybe we won't be so minimalist for very long.
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Old 06-18-2016, 03:43 PM   #20
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What is the total cost of the trailer project plus current invested money amount for the restoration?
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