86 Scamp interior almost complete

[BigMike]

It's been a while since I posted. For that I apologize, although I have been busy and the 86 Scamp is almost finished inside. I still need to connect the city water connection and the drain, secure the cube refrigerator, and buy a couple of rubber backed walk-off mats for flooring. The floor is 1/2 plywood and I coated it with fiberglass resin. I want to be able to take the walk-off mats out and shake the sand and dirt out and sweep the floor inside. Here are some pictures.

[Donna D.]

Looks very nice Mike and oh-so clean! Be sure and let us know where you're getting the mats and how well you like them after you've used them for a while. A number of people seem to always look for nice and functional floor coverings that are more than the same-ole-same-ole.

[Sharon G]

It's beautiful, Mike. Looks so clean. I love the browns. They make it look calm and restful.

[Vickie B.]

That looks wonderful! You should be very proud! What is on your walls? Looks smooth---not like rat fur?

[Night Sailor]

Very nice!

[BigMike]

That is the "elephant hide". It's a closed cell foam with vinyl bonded to the surface. I painted it with 123 primer which sticks to shiny surfaces without sanding and then hit it with two coats of Behr high gloss white. I am very pleased with the results. So much so that I am entertaining painting the exterior with the same prducts. Since a P.O. already painted the exterior with house paint, which I did not know at the time of purchase, there is no loss here. I'll let you know how brave I get...

[floyd]

I notice your tagline says '85 and your heading says '86
Since 86 was the first year for the ratfur I was just wondering which is correct.

[ken h]

Hi Mike, your trailer looks great, I noticed your a/c in the lower cabinet do you have any pictures and advise on the install I am thinking of going that way to for my a/c How did you vent it?

Thanks Ken

[spudfriend]

Wow, this is amazing! It looks so clean and really well finished out. Looks perfect!

[theresa p]

hi mike...you have done a terrific job on your reno! it looks wonderful. happy camping for many years to come!

[BigMike]

Originally Posted by ken h

Hi Mike, your trailer looks great, I noticed your a/c in the lower cabinet do you have any pictures and advise on the install I am thinking of going that way to for my a/c How did you vent it?

Thanks Ken

Hi Ken

I isolated the intakes on the a/c unit with plywood. I used two 4 inch dryer exhaust ducts. This is the rigid, aluminum variety. I used two sets of dryer disconnect flanges. These were intended to allow access to the vent for cleaning. I cut the tabs off of them for flush mounting.
The base which has a substantial angle for condensation drainage and two triangles of plywood, all heavily fiberglassed to direct the condensation to the exterior. I simply drilled a couple of holes through the skin and it will drain down the outside. The A/C sits on the heavily reinforced platform. I sealed outside edge with black butyl strip caulk to stop condensation from entering the intake chamber. I then cut a plywood lid and I still have some closet space. All said and done, if I paid myself to do this, I could have bought a rooftop unit and it would have been cheaper. Since I am retired, I have time to putz around.

[BigMike]

Originally Posted by floyd

I notice your tagline says '85 and your heading says '86
Since 86 was the first year for the ratfur I was just wondering which is correct.

How right you are. It is an 85. Good catch.

[ken h]

Thanks Mike,
Great pictures they explain alot, I was wondering how to separate the two air returns. I was thinking of venting straight down but it is the same idea.
Thanks again, should make my install go smoother

Ken

[BigMike]

Originally Posted by ken h

Thanks Mike,
Great pictures they explain alot, I was wondering how to separate the two air returns. I was thinking of venting straight down but it is the same idea.
Thanks again, should make my install go smoother

Ken

Hi Ken

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The way I decided to do it was a compilation of ideas that I gleened from many others on this site. I'm not sure I would have been able to do this without all of the great ideas and pictures of what others have shared. I want to thank everyone for sharing thier ideas, support, and encouragement.

Michael

[honda03842]

"I was thinking of venting straight down but it is the same idea. "

Ken H,

I basically did the same as Big Mike to install our AC unit in the bottom of the closet.

I put two pieces of 1x3 on the bottom of the closet floor to seperate the rear exhaust coils from the front cooling inlets. To further seperate them I put a fitted piece of foam up the sides basically moving the 1x3 up the side. Similarly on the top. I then topped it all with a 1/4 inch piece of plywood to virtually install our AC unit in a seperate volume. Very similar to BigMike but more piece meal.

I also put a 3rd piece of 1x3 on the floor of the closet near the front of the AC unit but with a 1/4 inch piece of plywood on top of it to tilt the AC unit towards the rear. This was to insure water flow towards the rear. Also I but a piece of soft foam insulation on the top of the bottom 1x3s to really seal the bottom.

Before putting the wood down I cut two holes thru the floor, one as an inlet and the other as an exhaust. The exhaust side is powered by two muffin fans to increase the flow of exhaust air.

On the inlet side I made a duct that goes towards the center of the trailer to seperate the exhaust from the cooling.

The advantage of this approach is that you don't need to cut thru the fiberglass.

You can see some pictures under Preparing a 1982 Scamp

[BigMike]

Norm and Ginny said "The advantage of this approach is that you don't need to cut thru the fiberglass."

Mike says, since some PO already cut a large hole in the curb side, I used what was there. I already had to patch a large hole in the street side from the removal of a non-functioning 3-way fridge. I also wanted to minimize water, mud, snow, salt and road dust not to mention critters from gaining access from below the floor. Many of the campgrouunds I frequent, are on dirt roads.

As you may already know, dust and dirt are the biggest enemies of air conditioners. When I was young and ambitious, I used to pick up window units that were left at the curb. More often than not, a thorough cleaning and lubrication of the fan bearings yeilded an A/C unit that provided many more years of service.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by honda03842

"I was thinking of venting straight down but it is the same idea. "

Ken H,

I basically did the same as Big Mike to install our AC unit in the bottom of the closet.

I put two pieces of 1x3 on the bottom of the closet floor to seperate the rear exhaust coils from the front cooling inlets. To further seperate them I put a fitted piece of foam up the sides basically moving the 1x3 up the side. Similarly on the top. I then topped it all with a 1/4 inch piece of plywood to virtually install our AC unit in a seperate volume. Very similar to BigMike but more piece meal.

I also put a 3rd piece of 1x3 on the floor of the closet near the front of the AC unit but with a 1/4 inch piece of plywood on top of it to tilt the AC unit towards the rear. This was to insure water flow towards the rear. Also I but a piece of soft foam insulation on the top of the bottom 1x3s to really seal the bottom.

Before putting the wood down I cut two holes thru the floor, one as an inlet and the other as an exhaust. The exhaust side is powered by two muffin fans to increase the flow of exhaust air.

On the inlet side I made a duct that goes towards the center of the trailer to seperate the exhaust from the cooling.

The advantage of this approach is that you don't need to cut thru the fiberglass.

You can see some pictures under Preparing a 1982 Scamp

Here's a picture which shows an original down vent on a 1978 Scamp...

[casey67]

We did a similiar set up, but wanted the hot air on the back side. Used a small rv refrigerator vent and three 2" pieces of pvc on each side of the a/c intake down through the floor and will cover the vents with screen, the back exhaust is isolated with a sealed wall to vent out. Recently ran it for 2 days when it was 107 degrees and had no problem. We put a kitty littler pan below (as seen on this site) but so far it hasn't accumulated any water, mabye it's too hot. Hope the pictures show a little of what we did, not finished yet, still in progress. Thanks to everyone here for all their information!

[Matt in SV]

Larry this looks really clean! If you ever have the AC out, please update us with a photo of the underside pan and piping!

Regards,

Matt

[casey67]

It's not too difficult to pull, strapped down with a harbor freight tie-down. The blue is the kitty litter pan, pvc in center has holes for draining out, all the wood has a coat of fiberglass. There will be some trim around the outside of the a/c and microwave to look more finished. Hope to get better with the photos.