Stretching my 1988 17 ft Bigfoot

[ken h]

Hi there, Thanks for the interest;

Emily, The color is going to be polar white and the shop that is doing the work the k.m.s paint shop. They are right beside k.m.s. tools in Coquitlam

Kevin, Yes all window, storage doors, clearance lights, etc. Are going to be cut when I know for sure where they are going . Measure 15 times cut once , That is my motto

Borden, The windows will be on both sides only. The front will stay closed in for storage. Getting better gas mileage was part of the front modification, should be a win win I hope

[Emily R.]

Thanks Ken!
Looking forwad to hearing about how the painting went.

[ken h]

Now I have my trailer home ,looks like a giant elephant in the front yard. I will level it this afternoon to make sure when I install all cabinets and windows they will be straight. Now it is at home it will save me 20 k every time I want to work on it . Should speed things up a bit.

[Donna D.]

This has been so interesting following along on the transformation. Rather than a whale, I'd say it looks more like a cargo trailer... with a little bitty door.

[Vickie B.]

Fascinating!!!!

[ken h]

Here are some pictures of the inside work so far, we picked out the flooring [finally] got it layed in. How we are building the bedroom wall and glassing it in ,once the glass kicks off it can be paneled .O well just a quick update

Planning to go south in oct. Hope we make it.

[ken h]

pic of the flooring

[Vickie B.]

Thanks for the update---looking good! Keep going====

[Donna D.]

So, what's the flooring? Peel 'n stick or grouted tile? Whatever, looks great

[Borden]

vinyl flooring?

[Borden]

Looks very nice indeed, inside and out. Like the look of the outside wheel flaring and over all shape so far. The flooring vinyl like your selection.

Have you checked tongue weight to find current balance?
Our trailer has fresh water and hot water tank behind axle; to move weight back possibly, this was done when it was built.

Will your fresh water tank and black water both be above grade for winter camping? Wish our fresh water was above as we do winter camp.

We can tell this will be a real custom jem when done.

[ken h]

Thanks for the interest Yes Donna the floor is vinyl, as Borden mentioned. I dont like the peel and stick too many water problems, one piece is preferred.

The black and the grey water are going behind the axle at the rear. Going to enclose them and hopefully run a 2" heat duct from my Hydroflame 8520 furnace which allows me to run 3 or 4 ducts . Fresh water is going under the bed but as close to rear as I can , about 20" in front of the axles

[FredericL]

Wow...I just saw this post, absolutely AMAZING project! Fascinating to see and read your entries on the progress. Thanks for sharing the journey.

[ken h]

Hi Fred

I see you have a 19 fter ,nice rig. This should be 20.5 when finshed from stem to stern. Still working on where to put support behind the paneling to mount cabinets ,some are also being glassed in. Should have some new pics by the end of the weekend I hope.

Thanks Ken

[FredericL]

I am very interested in what type of wood/paneling/veneer you choose for the interior cabinetry...something both strong and lightweight?

Basically, I am curious as to which inexpensive, strong and lightweight wood would be best suited for interior cabinetry on our units?

[Gilles D]

Holy moly! This is what I call reengineering! Amazing work! One of a kind! Never seen a project unique like this one. I take my hat off to all person involve in this project. Congratulation!

[Panoz77]

Awesome job so far, keep up the good work, can't wait to see the finished interior.

[ken h]

Thanks for all the interest in the project. Things are (slowly) moving ahead. Here are pictures ofstart of the bedroom and installation of a large compartment door under the bed to access barbecue and other goodies.

We will also have two drawers at the side of the bed that will open in the doorway about 24 inches long

Fred: The panelling I chose for the walls is vinyl coated. I thought it work best for the moisture. All cabinets will be oak with a varathane finish.

[ken h]

More pics

[John McDonald]

I once tried to get a trailer manufacturer to increase the size of the gray water tank and reduce the black water tank. They said that the engineering people would not allow it because the locations and sizes were already determined along with the locations/weights of all other aspects of the trailer and changing something could screw up the balance too much. And even more importantly, they were not about to go over the engineering analyses of sheer and bending stresses required to make any change to my trailer.

That said I salute you and your project; I love it when people think outside the box (or trailer). And yet I wonder how confident you are about the stresses on the frame with more weight and the relocation of weight from the original?

Cheers John