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Old 06-22-2017, 11:36 AM   #61
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Name: Kathleen (Kai: ai as in wait)
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Hi,


You had quite a different door to the front closet than we got--ours was about 20" wide, hinged on the right, and when open blocked the outside door entirely. There was a narrow wall in the opening making access fairly difficult. The door seemed to be quite heavy but it did have a mirror on the galley side.


The key fob is a new rub-on decal, rubbed onto a piece of acrylic and covered with another piece to enclose it. Your idea sounds very good.


Kai
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Old 06-22-2017, 01:08 PM   #62
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I plan on using a small dorm fridge but I did run a new gas line to the fridge area to keep the propane option there.
Curious, what did you use for the propane line? flexible copper pipe? I looked at Home Depot but none of them say they are for gas. Any suggestions?
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Old 06-22-2017, 01:32 PM   #63
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Curious, what did you use for the propane line? flexible copper pipe? I looked at Home Depot but none of them say they are for gas. Any suggestions?
Type K, Type L and sometimes type M copper pipe is used for interior gas lines. I used type L 3/8" to install a Dickinson cooktop in my Escape. I've found Home Depot often doesn't carry the stuff I'm looking for, and have had better success at Lowes - although that may vary by what region of the country you're in.

Oh and by the way, avoid the crappy flare tool they sell at HD. It won't properly grip the pipe. The one at Lowes is much better.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/3-8-in-dia-...r-Pipe/3134487
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Old 06-22-2017, 01:36 PM   #64
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I ran 1/2" black iron pipe under the trailer & stubbed it up thru the floor. I have it capped off inside for the fridge use if needed but I did use copper line from the black pipe to the stove top. pretty sure it was 1/4". I did get it from Home Depot & it was rated for refrigeration (ac) use or gas (lp). It came in a 10' roll, I'll look for the box/part # in the garage. I did have to single flare the ends.
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Old 09-18-2017, 09:55 AM   #65
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You are showing the most detailed pictures of an Amerigo reno I've seen and I'm wondering what you're using for wall board? Very nice work. Fascinating job.
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Old 09-18-2017, 08:27 PM   #66
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You are showing the most detailed pictures of an Amerigo reno I've seen and I'm wondering what you're using for wall board? Very nice work. Fascinating job.
Thanks, I used 1/4" luan from Home Depot. I had to sort through their pile to find ones good enough & without defects to stain for the wood toned panels. The white panels were finished with a textured vinyl wallpaper.
Getting close to the finish line now!
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Old 10-05-2017, 02:42 PM   #67
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A little more progress on the Amerigo!
I got to spend some more time on the FG-16 in the last couple of weeks & got a few small things done.
The second dinette bench is built, installed & 'glassed into the wall now. Just like the other benches the only wood salvageable were the hatch covers.

The original refrigerator had a mirror on the door & I liked how it made the inside area feel bigger. I found a mirror almost the exact same size at a local Goodwill store that was fairly light weight w/a plastic frame so it became the new "door" for the cabinet.

A new filler board finished up the rear gaucho/bed area so now the only project left for the back half is cutting the radius window trim pieces. I hope to get the front wall panels done soon then it's on to finishing the electrical......hopefully!
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Old 10-12-2017, 08:50 AM   #68
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Excellent idea

Steve,

This idea should be at the top of any to-do list for these old trailer reno's to add the much needed ground clearance. Nice work and good pictures.

Bill

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While the low ride height is good for ease of entry into the camper it was a little scary with the steep entrances to many gas stations & driveways around here. More than once on the trip home I heard the jack bottom scrape while slowly pulling out from a gas stop. While I had the Amerigo up on jack stands I felt it was a good time for my over sprung axle conversion.

From the factory the axle is mounted on top of the spring (first pic). That combined with the 4" dropped spindle makes this one low rider! Moving the axle under the spring is a good way to gain some ground clearance for my needs. This requires welding a new spring perch on the top side of the axle. Dexter does offer a kit to do this but I bought the new spring perches & U-bolts from the local Agri-Supply. I also replaced the shackles, shackle bolts and spring bushings while I was in there. I think all together I spent a little over $20 for the parts. The new spring perch should be welded on top of the axle parallel to the old mount.

Total lift from this conversion is 4 3/4" & the good part is you can easily change it back in under an hour since the old spring perches are still on the axle.
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Old 10-12-2017, 09:07 AM   #69
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I wish there was a like button you are fantastic!!


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Old 10-12-2017, 09:09 AM   #70
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I use flex get it off amazon they carry some long lengths.


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Old 10-12-2017, 09:26 AM   #71
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That mirror/door idea is excellent! What a stroke of luck and looks very very nice.


I'm trying to figure out how you attached the wall panels and it looks like screw/washer combination into the rib with a cap strip. Is that right?
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Old 10-12-2017, 08:14 PM   #72
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That mirror/door idea is excellent! What a stroke of luck and looks very very nice.


I'm trying to figure out how you attached the wall panels and it looks like screw/washer combination into the rib with a cap strip. Is that right?
It was luck on the mirror. I knew the size of the opening but didn't have a tape measure on me while shopping at the Goodwill so I did the next best thing......I laid the mirror on the floor & used the 12" square tiles as my measuring stick.
The wife thought I was nuts. It was 1/2" short on the top to bottom size but isn't really noticeable installed.

The wall panels are held in place by the inside window trim which is attached with #4 x 3/4" brass screws. The bottom edge is secured with a piece of 3/4" screen stock that's attached w/screws & that's hidden by the cushions. I was able to reuse the original plastic "H" strips that cover the seams in the wall panels as well as the top edge/inside corner plastics. The screws you see in the pics were just temporary until I put the window trim on.

I hope I never have to remove any of the wall panels but if needed I wanted to be able to do so without destroying them. In the original build they were stapled all around the windows, top & bottom.
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Old 10-16-2017, 02:10 PM   #73
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I have gutted my Amerigo too. Replaced the floor with Densilite XP, it will never rot again. I also lined the channels in the floor with rigid insulation and under the XP with laminate padding and sealed the edges completely with auto caulk. I am waiting until the weather breaks and we can take it to get painted. After that it will be wiring. I am moving the electrical to the front under the dinette. I spent a whole month filling holes, gravel chips and cracks. Replaced the rotten belly band wood and completely glassed it in so that if there is a leak from a window it will not soak in to the wood and rot it.
We did a lot of work on the frame, the hold-down tabs had rusted off and we added more cross pieces, notably right across at the doorway where there was nothing to support the weight as you step in. I replaced the bumper with a 4" pipe and made the coupler and chains removable so that it would be very difficult to steal, no way to haul it. The most painstaking job was the windows. Spent many hours removing caulk and cleaning the frames, UGH. Actually that was not true, the worst job was removing the thousands of rusted clutch screws. If I never see another clutch screw I will be a very happy person.

Hi Leonie! Great info, thanks for posting. I was wondering if you have any updates on your Amerigo (specifically in regards to how the Densilite XP worked out for the flooring). I'm looking into doing the same for my 74 Amerigo FG-16 and wondered if there were any hiccups or downsides.
Cheers, Justine
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Old 11-25-2017, 08:22 AM   #74
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I had some time to make the inside window trim corner pieces, I called them the "rib bones" but they really finished off the windows. I need to revive the old fold down table top now & get that finished also.
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Old 11-25-2017, 08:27 AM   #75
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I'm trying to keep costs down by using the original cushions, they are still in good shape although the dinette seat backs were in pretty bad condition from water leaking at the front window. I did find some material with a vintage 70's style to cover the seat back cushions with so those can be made now also.
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Old 11-25-2017, 08:29 AM   #76
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SteveV: that is looking super! I could not figure out what part of the trailer is shown in picture #3 until I realized it was a mirror reflecting the galley. Now the universe is back in place.

You're really respecting the vintage, harder task but worth it.

BEST
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Old 11-25-2017, 09:22 AM   #77
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SteveV: that is looking super! I could not figure out what part of the trailer is shown in picture #3 until I realized it was a mirror reflecting the galley. Now the universe is back in place.

You're really respecting the vintage, harder task but worth it.

BEST
Kai
Thanks Kai!
I do like the mirror there as it gives it a bigger "feel" inside but it does mess with your mind when you're looking at pictures of it!
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Old 11-25-2017, 11:27 AM   #78
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Really NICE work, Steve.
I'm curious to know how you shaped those corner pieces. Would you care to share your technique?

Thanks
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Old 11-25-2017, 11:57 AM   #79
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Paul shaped our window corner pieces by rough cutting with power tools and then sanding and sanding and sanding. I'm interested, too, in how you did it!

I was surprised that our original didn't have any wood behind the wall panels at the window corners. Just the plastic trim over a void.

The mirror makes a posh effect, gleaming and bright. Increased both the apparent size and the light.

Kai
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Old 11-25-2017, 03:55 PM   #80
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Really NICE work, Steve.
I'm curious to know how you shaped those corner pieces. Would you care to share your technique?

Thanks
Gordon
Thanks Gordon.
Similar to what Paul/Kai had done. First I rough cut them about 1/4" oversize from some 1" x 4" boards then used a disc/belt sander combo to get the final curve to them. My belt sander has one end exposed so that did the inner curve part easily.

I did the notch on the back side with my small Craftsman router table. I made the rough cut out parts longer than needed to give a little extra material to hold onto while doing the router part. A safety warning is in order when doing any small pieces on a router table. They can quickly and without warning dig into the cutter bit & get airborne. Taking a small amount of material off with each cut I think is the key. I think it took me 8 - 10 passes on each part to safely get the depth on the notch. I did also modify my router table. I attached a piece of 1/4" luan to the fence & then cut a notch in the luan just big enough for the router bit to be exposed. This allowed me to "roll" the part using the fence as the guide being extra cautious when doing the ends of the part. I then marked/cut them to length leaving them a bit long then finished fitting them with multiple trips back and forth to the disc sander.

I'm glad I only had to make 20 of them!
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