1993 Scamp 16' repair and remodel

[TheWanderers]

Here is a shot of the Magic Chef stove we have removed from Ziggy to make room for the bed extension. It's a little dirty and we've never lit it but I believe someone had used it at one time because I found burnt matches under the top lid from efforts to light it.

[TheWanderers]

Originally Posted by Sheryl M

I've forgotten what model ziggy is, but you need one like ours, which is a one of a kind custom deluxe model. It's a 1994, and looks a lot like a Casita Libery in layout. It's got two twin 'bunks' in the back that run back to front (80" long on each side)... you can slide a board in between the two bunks and turn the bed area into a king size bed. From the back, looking forward, all the kitchen is on the left side - sink and 3 burner stove. The porta potty room is up front on the left side, with a closet on the right side (before the door and at the door). We leave the bunks made up as beds (and removed the table) -- so if we have to eat inside, we get creative.

Sheryl, we plan on retaining the kitchen across the aisle from the sink and build in the bench where the stove was mounted. The bench will flip over into the aisleway to create the bed extension and will still have the table to use inside our out. Thanks for your suggestions.

[dbdbgriggs]

Bill,
That sounds like a unique and interesting solution. Do you have a sketch or something similar to illustrate what you're talking about?
Thanks
Doug Griggs


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[TheWanderers]

Originally Posted by dbdbgriggs

Bill,
That sounds like a unique and interesting solution. Do you have a sketch or something similar to illustrate what you're talking about?
Thanks
Doug Griggs-Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

Doug, we're still in demolition mode and will need to replace some flooring so I haven't really made any plans or designs, yet. Once we get into the floor, I'll have a better feel for what can be done.

I'm thinking 2 X 4 framing in the bench. We should be allowed the weight of the heavier wood because of the lost weight of the appliances. Thinking of a blind piano hinge on the backside of the bench seat against the wall to allow for access underneath and second piano hinge on the front leading edge of the bed extension that will fold into the aisle. We may also reinstall access doors on the front lower portion, for continuity, just because we can. Laura has chosen a teal color for the other cabinet doors and it really looks nice to me, as well as retro, so we may continue to "spread that around" for a finishing touch as well as continuity.

I'm also toying with the idea of dog steps against the shower wall because our dogs have trouble making the jump up onto the dinette seats. That'd allow them independent access to the seating area and get them off the floor where they can sometimes feel like they're about to be stepped on. Just another wild idea...

[TheWanderers]

Cut out some wet flooring from under the stove/frig and started patching more holes above the shower. Figure we will probably replace most of the other pop rivets too.

[TheWanderers]

We've replaced and re-sealed every pop rivet on the roof of Ziggy. I've also removed the hanger brackets for the old dinette table. We'll also be removing all of the curtain hangers and sealing those holes as well. The new replacement cabinets and then mount the curtains to the bottom of the new overhead cabinets eliminating those holes through the shell.

We're also preparing to seal up the exhaust holes from the refrigerator before installing the new bench seat/bed extension. We're trying to get ready for a camping trip in August and I think that's a very real objective.

I'm still trying to convince Laura to allow me to put bullet hole stickers over the filled pop rivets holes; there'll be about 50 of 'em so that'd be pretty cool!

[TheWanderers]

Well, it's only 89.0° outside now so I decided to quit work. This afternoon, at 3:00 pm when it thought it the perfect time to work on Ziggy it was about 92° so broke out the power tools and began removing the vent covers from the side of the body where the refrigerator used to live. There are three different vent covers to remove and using the right sized drill bit is the secret to drilling out the pop rivets that are holding the covers in place. By choosing a drill bit one size too large, you allow the drill bit to "cut" the head off the pop rivet and the opposite side of the rivet usually just pulls right through the shell. I say usually, because there are always a few stubborn rivets that need a little extra persuasion to convince them to vacate their place of employment.

Once I had all the rivets drilled out and removed, I used a putty knife to separate the vent covers from the fiberglass shell. I was surprised how light weight the vent covers were because one was so thin that it almost folded in half like tin foil. I'm not going to worry about cleaning the old butyl from these vent covers right now because I don't anticipate installing them again.

Using a power sander, I began the process of removing the excess glue, glass fibers and dirt from the inside of the shell, following the instructions from Fiberglass Dave, my fiberglass hero! Next we'll need to let the dust settle and use acetone to clean the area of dust, glue and debris before we begin the process of filling in these vent holes.

Here are pictures of this process so far; one from outside and one from inside. I need to stop by Walmart to purchase some paper bowls and wax paper for fiberglassing.

[TheWanderers]

The silver pieces of duct tape that you see in the picture of the outside of the vent holes above will also be filled when we set the new vent hole patches.

[TheWanderers]

Our grandson's were here visiting so we took a few days off from the reno project. Coloring books have been completed and vocabulary expanded (I've been properly corrected about appropriate words for a seven year old )

The boys left this morning to spend an little time with their grandparents on the other side of the family so we're back to work.

[TheWanderers]

I figures since it was 95° in the shade, it's time to get back to work so I broke out the tools and following a trip to Lowe's for some pop rivets and snap caps as well as some stainless steel screws and nylock nuts, we're ready to get back to work.

I drilled out over a dozen pop rivets around the shower enclosure that looked kinda' hinky and Laura helps we reset those with stainless bolts & nylock nuts as well as snap caps complete with butyl to overfill the holes. These pop rivets had been leaking into the cabin of Ziggy and it was obvious that there was moisture accumulating between the ensolite and the shell. So....we hung another DampRid that I picked up from Walmart as part of a three pack and we got on with the "rat killing." It took me almost an hour to drill out the old rivets and clean the holes out as well as scrape the old caulk and crap from around the holes. Good thing it wasn't any hotter or that I wasn't working in the sun any longer than necessary.

I have used an old cardboard box to create templates of the holes that I'll match to pieces of fiberglass that I intend to patch into the vent holes. I've included a few photos and a video (with appropriate soundtrack) for your review. I confess that I had to ask Laura to help me with replacement of the pop rivets because, unlike pop rivets, you can't install stainless steel screws/nuts through the shell by yourself. "It takes two..."

After cleaning the vent holes from the refrigerator of any residual caulk or sealant, I prepared a piece of plywood with wax paper per instructions from Fiberglass Dave (my fiberglass Hero!) and screwed the plywood in place and am ready to hit those three holes first thing in the morning.

[TheWanderers]

Last night, after preparing the holes for glassing, I ran out of enough time to actually begin the glassing process. So, instead, I used the available daylight to measure and cut cardboard templates of each of the three holes that I will be filling. Then, I traced the outline of each template onto the fiberglass stock that I had left over from the A/C door project and cut the replacement patch pieces to fit. I left them a little undersized so I wouldn't have any trouble fitting them and Laura thought it best to radius the corners.

This morning, I screwed the patches into their respective places and using fiberglass mat strips cut to size I glassed the patches into place. I wanted the resin to react a little slowly so I only used about 7 drops of hardener in my mix instead of 10 drops. My reasoning was that this would give me a little more time to complete the stippling and get the patches into place without rushing. I also theorized that the higher ambient temperatures might cause the resin to set up faster too. Well, THAT didn't happen. I completed the glass work by 1:00 pm. It's now 8:30 pm and I still have two smallish spots on my patches that are a little sticky. I guess that my theory of slowing down the hardener was a little off or I "eye-balled" the number of drops poorly. In any case, the glass work was successful, except that I won't be able to get the second layer over the entire opening today. BLAH! I wanted to get all of the inside work completed so the holes in the shell would be closed up again. (Hoping to close up before the rain.) I've decided that it's best to wait overnight to allow all the resin to fully harden instead of rushing this job and causing myself more problems. Can you tell that I get impatient?

Well, it's supposed to rain for the next four or five days so I may be able to finish the work inside even if it's raining, but I'll have to wait to get any additional work outside for almost a week. So, THAT means that all of my patch work on 15 other holes through the shell including the holes from the mounting of the sewer hose storage sleeve on the front wall of Ziggy will have to wait for sanding until the weather improves. (I hate sanding!)

Oh well, I may be able to fab up the frame for the new bench/bed extension that'll replace the fridge/stove cabinet that we've removed. Here's a shot of the installation of the patches before the glass work.

[TheWanderers]

I just went outside and removed the plywood and wax paper from the outside of the patch job. It looks pretty good; of course I would say that but here's a picture so you can judge for yourself. And just so you know, I added about a dozen holes to this image when I screwed the plywood into the shell; most of those holes were already there from the vent covers and will be patched/sanded as part of the finish work.

[Cheryl Collier]

In the pics it looks like your AC is at the bottom of the closet and not on the roof. Is that correct? If so, how well does it work? We currently have a 16' Scamp with a roof-mounted AC. We want to go to a 13' and keep it in our garage...so no roof AC. We are looking for information from other Scamp owners who have successfully installed AC units someplace other than the roof.

[TheWanderers]

Originally Posted by Cheryl Collier

In the pics it looks like your AC is at the bottom of the closet and not on the roof. Is that correct? If so, how well does it work? We currently have a 16' Scamp with a roof-mounted AC. We want to go to a 13' and keep it in our garage...so no roof AC. We are looking for information from other Scamp owners who have successfully installed AC units someplace other than the roof.

Cheryl, you're right; the A/C is in the bottom of the closet. The original design resulted in the floor rotting out of the closet because the A/C drain was not managed properly. Laura and I designed a "slide out" for our A/C unit that allows the A/C to slide outside and all the condensate will leak outside where it should be and not on the new plywood floor I installed. So far, it has worked very well. I used a piece of foam board from Lowe's to seal the lower section of the closet from the upper section so the cool air is still blown into the cabin of the camper and not into the closet.

[TheWanderers]

Well, it took over 50 hours for the first glass work to harden. But it did harden, so I placed the second layer of fiberglass over the first layer while I was on my lunch break today.

This was a very large piece of glass mat, approximately 22" X 31", and it took quite of bit of time and care to get it to lay in place, beginning at the bottom of the patch and working toward the top. I started at the bottom because I reasoned that the resin would be painted onto the wall I was patching and any excess resin would be trapped behind the mat and help to infuse the mat as I worked upward. I was careful to stipple all areas from the center to each edge and to smooth out all air pockets as I worked from the center to the edges. After I was finished and took time to clean up and dispose of my gloves and excess resin, I returned to patch to find that my resin/hardener ratio was much better today (I was a lot more careful measuring) and the patch was almost completely hard after only 20 minutes of setting up. I wiped up a few drips/drops as I was working because I forgot to tape up a newspaper shield over the inside of the fender but since that'll be under the bench, no one would ever see it anyway.

I don't have any pictures because I was on my lunch hour and needed to hurry back to work. (I made it with one minute to spare. Hey, I only live 1/2 mile from work.) I should be able to get a couple good shots this evening when I get home after work. I will need to move around to the outside and begin the finish bodywork outside but we have 60% chance of rain today so I don't know how the afternoon weather will hold out.

After this patching and sanding (did I mention that I hate sanding?) I will have to re-set the flooring under the bench and around the wheel well before beginning to work on building the bench/bed extension that'll replace the refrigerator/stove.

Between this patching job and filling the pop rivet holes from the stove/frig cabinet, I have a lot a sanding to do. MAN, I hate sanding...

[TheWanderers]

Here is one picture of the second layer of fiberglass patch that I completed this afternoon. I've also included a picture of the resin can that got a little "hairy" from mixing resin while my gloves were still sticky and picking up fibers from the glass mat...

[TheWanderers]

After I'd determined that the second patch "mat" was totally cured and ready, I decided to jump in and get some fiberglass work done tonight as well. Hey, it's only 92.3° outside and that ain't no reason to lay off working. Sheshhhh...so, I pulled out my drill and slapped on a orbital pad of 80 grit and hit the "ditches" of each of the patches. This was a little rough but since I'm going to be filling with short strand fiberglass filler, it'd be alright.

[TheWanderers]

that I knocked down the edges quite well as well as removing any gel coat that may inhibit the bonding process. The can from the Bondo Short Strand Fiberglass filler that I bought recommends to use multiple coats for deep holes and I figure I have some pretty deep valley's between the patch and the shell, so I'm figuring on a little extra sanding (I hate sanding) between coats of filler. Here's a picture of the depth of the seams between the patches as well as a picture of the first coat of filler. I plan on letting this first coat cure overnight, at least, before attempting to sand any of that yuch off. (YUP, I still hate sanding. Maybe you can tell.)

[TheWanderers]

Sanding the high spots off the first patch job.

[Borrego Dave]

Bill, since you like sanding so much I'm kind of surprised you're not using something electric .