Maintenance & Restoration

RCpeterV · 12-17-2019, 01:14 PM

This was what I referring to thinking the mount had contact between the rack and the frames as it appears in the pics. I also invisioned some sort of bellows from AC/rack to roof to provide anti vibration.
Beautiful project.
Pete

Quote:

Originally Posted by Transposure

Next stop was the fabricator. I bought some aluminum angle and cut it into 45 degree mitered sections in order for him to weld them into two frames, one smaller, one larger.

The smaller one is 14"x14" inside dimensions and it will be mounted to the shell roof at the fan opening. The larger one will be mounted to the bottom of the air conditioner.

The air conditioner sits on the exo-cage and its larger frame will "lock" onto the frame that is on the shell roof. But the weight of the AC will be supported by the exo-cage.

Here is a shot from the bottom of the one frame inserted into the exo-cage..

And from the top..

K Patrick · 12-17-2019, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCpeterV

This was what I referring to thinking the mount had contact between the rack and the frames as it appears in the pics. I also invisioned some sort of bellows from AC/rack to roof to provide anti vibration.
Beautiful project.
Pete

Aha! Now I understand why you asked. Ok, so, that was just a quick shot to visualize the frames relative to the exo-cage. If you look at the following detail, you will see how the two angle frames are oriented in the space between the AC unit and the roof. Hopefully that answered your question.

RCpeterV · 12-17-2019, 02:09 PM

Yep. That looks like enough to take care of any movement. Guess I missed that detail.
Pete

K Patrick · 12-18-2019, 06:23 PM

Well, at long last, the third milestone was reached!!! The paint is DONE!!

They are baking it in the booth where it is shown in these pictures. They told me the baking process is at something like 120 or 140 degrees. Didn't know they would be doing that.

Here is a close up the aluminum light housings (Thank you Robert Hiebeler!). The housings were seam sealed to the body and the holes you see at the extreme edges will receive stainless tamper resistant button head screws. The inner three holes are for the round LED tail lights, which are black, and which will also receive stainless button head screws. If you are wondering about the two holes in the side, they are 30A shore power on the left and water heater exhaust on right. I might fit the two water fills (shore and manual) within the shower box, but if they won't fit, I will have one more hole to drill on the side. We'll see.

Another shot..

And of the right side..

And of the door...the back of which was painted bright white long with the entire interior. Regarding the interior, I have not yet seen it. The body has been masked for the exterior. The guys were bitching about it though. Painting in that confined space was not fun, as they made it very clear to me! But, they said it looks great and it should substantially brighten up the inside. Can't wait to see it..

And, one last shot of the cubbies almost ready for paint...

RCpeterV · 12-18-2019, 11:28 PM

That tail light assembly and fairing is just wicked good lookin'.

alan H · 12-19-2019, 08:30 AM

I’m really enjoying following this ... looks [emoji106] great

OCJohn · 12-19-2019, 08:43 AM

Great thread – outstanding work. Love to see it in person some day.

K Patrick · 12-25-2019, 11:14 PM

Pete,
Glad you like it! I do too.

Alan,
Glad you like the journey. It has been going well so far. I broke it down into 4 milestones. #1 was the exo-skeleton, #2 was the UHaul frame repair/mod/repaint, #3 was the interior and exterior painting of the shell and #4 will be the interior fit-out. #3 was just finished, so within the week, we will marry the exo-skeleton to the body/frame and tow it home. Then Phase 4 starts, the interior. Most everything has been purchased already, so it will be a lot of assembly and fit-up.

John,
I appreciate that you like the work. The quality of workmanship on this project is very important to me. I am loosely using the small Airstream campers as models for this project. The choices of color and finishes as well as products should all come together as a top-level camper that would be competitive in today's market....I hope. That was/is my goal, at far less cost.

K Patrick · 12-26-2019, 07:45 PM

A few more components arrived today. The windows....wooohooo!!!!! The replacement faucet (more on that in a minute) and the water pump kit.

I ordered two new side windows and a door window from Motion Windows. Everything was packed very well I might add...

The door window was in a separate box. They all look fantastic! Definitely worth the wait. For simplicity and reliability, I went with a fixed pane for the door.

K Patrick · 12-26-2019, 07:48 PM

On to the faucet.. I originally ordered a Dometic Galley faucet to go with the new Domestic glass topped sink. Well, it was 100% plastic and very cheaply made, not to mention that the tightening ring underneath did not fit under the sink. So, I returned that faucet and ordered a different folding Dometic faucet. It is chrome plated brass through and through and beautifully constructed, albeit more expensive. In my opinion, well worth the slightly higher cost.

In addition to the faucet, the Shurflo water pump arrived. I purchased it ON SALE as a kit from Panther RV. The price was right and it was nicely packed when it arrived. The kit was included the hoses, the accumulator tank and the filter. The accumulator tank is pressurized and, based on my understanding, allows the faucet to be turned on without the pump always circulating and without an impacting start. Well see if that is the case..

The accumulator Tank..

The whole kit..

K Patrick · 12-27-2019, 08:26 PM

So, I made a trip too the two shops today. The camper painting is done and we just have to put the tail lights in to make it towable to the other shop to put the exo-cage onto it for the trip home. Here are a few shots of there finished paint. Right front with door hung..

Left front...

Right rear...

Left rear..

K Patrick · 12-27-2019, 08:28 PM

And at long last......THE BRIGHT WHITE INTERIOR!!! No drab colors here!

And another interior shot from a different angle...

We have to add the LED tail lights, but the wiring was giving us some problems. I am hoping the LED tail lights are compatible. We didn't get that done and I didn't want to wast any more time on it. But here is a shot with the stainless steel tamper resistant hardware installed..

In order to mate the exo-cage to the camper the two aluminum frames had to be added. One of them, atop a spacer, was added to the camper with the angle legs pointing up...

K Patrick · 12-27-2019, 08:29 PM

And the other was added to the air conditioner with its legs pointing down..

A different angle of the AC detail..

Looking straight up..

K Patrick · 12-27-2019, 08:30 PM

These are the brackets that will be used to attach the AC unit to the rooftop basket..

Dan-NS27 · 12-27-2019, 08:31 PM

nice bright interior
Really like how it's coming together.

K Patrick · 12-29-2019, 11:15 PM

Thanks Dan! I appreciate the feedback and interest!

K Patrick · 12-31-2019, 08:09 PM

MARRIED AT LAST!!!

K Patrick · 12-31-2019, 08:13 PM

Front left side...

Rear left side...

Right side...

Right front...my favorite view!

Right side looking into bright white interior..

K Patrick · 12-31-2019, 08:15 PM

New Fulton jack installed in folded position..

Jack in down position..

Here is a shot of the new dual propane tank support pin welded into the 2" tube post...The two propane rings have not been installed yet, but they will be supported by this pin.

A close up shot of the pin weld..