Rebuild of 1988 Casita 16

[EricAllyn]

Moving ever closer... have the lower doors and cabinets made, now just need to get the piano hinge on, and get them mounted. They will also serve as the bed when they are lifted up -- will have a middle support for them. Finished all the 120AC and am ready now to finish up the 12V. Decided to move the fuse block to the outside wall, onto a glued on piece of wood. It will be a lot better visibility, and will work better with the 120AC box I salvaged from the old power center. I have a new converter to charge the batteries, and a small inverter for the computers, and with all the light being LED, and the only real power usage being the pump, don't expect to draw down the batteries much.
Wanted to work on the door today, but with the weather so nice, figured I better get a little done on the yard. Get some fall work done, so Spring is not so bad.
Pics tomorrow.

[EricAllyn]

Bad cold is slowing me down, but did get some things done yesterday.
Tested out the table mount -- works good
Mounted the doors that will serve as the bed -- works good, but not even since the sides are not square -- they will be under cushions so I can live with it.
Support under the doors works well, but will add a little size to it to make it stronger.

[EricAllyn]

Worked out some things on the electrical. Mounted the 120AC stuff so that I could see it easier, also changed where the 12V stuff would be, added a shelf for the stereo and mounted the speakers

[EricAllyn]

Last I decided to try and fix the door curve before I quit for the night. had been looking at it for a while, and figured the bast way to get the curve right, was to use the camper itself. I cut strips in the upper part that was flatter than it should be, then clamped the door to the camper, and reached inside the window hole to fiberglass the sections that I had cut so that they would retain the curve. Will go out after while and see how it all worked.
Also I had mounted some shelves, and epoxied in some support for where the A/C will go.

[EricAllyn]

Recurve stayed great, so the door is good. I will put a few extra layers of cloth and epoxy and smooth everything out. Then it will be ready for carpet and to hang it.

[EricAllyn]

Started the little things -- put the window back in the door, put the window back in the rear. Used a less tinted lexan that was a little thinker, made it a little more difficult to get the rubber molding in. Also used strips of aluminum to help hold it with the bolts. I had noticed that a number of the rivets barely touched the FG so wanted a better hold. Also will likely not use the inside trim since it is meant for thinker carpet. So I needed a little better holding power.

[EricAllyn]

Also am trying something different. I am using liquid nails as my caulk. It is a polyester, polymer, and stiffens well and after curing seems to both hold the form as well as seal and paint. Will see how it holds up. I plan on taking the screws out in a few days, and filling the holes to keep leaks out.

[EricAllyn]

Microwave and A/C fit, but will be lowering the A/C shelf a little to allow for it to go out slightly so that it will drain better.

[k0wtz]

eric perfect idea on the a/c just the way it should be done and take all that weight off the roof!

bob

[lisantica]

I am enjoying your rebuild so much!

[Nor Cal Mike]

I agree with Bob on the attaboy regarding type and placement of the small AC. Why pack cooling if you are going to a place where it is not needed?

[EricAllyn]

I think it will be good, also will take it out during the cooler times, then I won't have the weight.

Worked a little this afternoon. Nice afternoon outside. Rolled it out of the garage so I could get at the table saw to rip some long pieces that will be the frames for the doors, and a couple of pieces I need for doors. Pics tomorrow.

[EricAllyn]

I worked a little today on the shower area, got everything ready for the doors. I will have to set up to get the doors made, need to get router table down, and set up, or put two blades in table saw, so that the luan can be glued in tight. Have a few more 12V things to hook up, and the batteries to set and hook up. Also the new axle is taking a little extra time, but was by the trailer place today, and it is ready for the axle. I will also have him weld a few brackets on for bolting the shell on, and move a floor support so I can get a bigger grey tank in. With a 30 gal fresh water, felt a 30 gal grey would be important.

[lisantica]

She's really beginning to take shape Eric!
This putting it back together part of your thread is the BEST part!

[EricAllyn]

Putting it together is the best part, knowing that it will be what you want. I have a few things that have to wait until spring, but I am really close to having things ready to camp. Today was spent building the doors, and doing some painting. I will paint the doors tomorrow, and mount them on Thursday. I have a lot of little things that I need to hook up, some finishing on the 12V system, etc. But most of that will not take long when I get going on it.

[EricAllyn]

Doing stuff that doesn't show much, electrical, painting, sleeping oh wait that isn't working....
Finished the electrical and plumbing until next spring, then will put the water in to check it all out. Tomorrow will check in with the trailer place, and take the grey tank over, and set up for what I need for that and the bolt down tabs. I am going with bolts rather than the screws, since I think there will be times I want to take it off the frame for changes in the next couple of years. Sometimes I just like to make changes, think of a better way to do something or think of something to add. Tomorrow is also a paint day, and finish the three doors that are left. The weekend was Grandkids and Christmas and a little reading and rest. Did get the electrical all checked out. It all works great. Except for the car stereo, no power, will have to check that through, might just have missed a wire.

[lisantica]

Eric, I'm a bit envious of all those clamps you have!
Nice looking battery set up. Is that 6 or 12 volt in parallel?

[EricAllyn]

6 volt. My son bought a golf cart project and converted to 12v batteries, so I got the good ones out of the cart, they will probably need to be replaced in a few years, but nice while I have them. I'm going to work a little bit tonight later, to set up for tomorrow. It is snowing now, so may have some shoveling to do tomorrow instead of what I had planned.

i do have a lot of clamps, about 30 of the pipe clamps,a nd about 40 of the c clamps in various sizes. When i am making drawers I like to be able to glue everything up at the same time, the setup for the router and all the saw stuff means I try to get all the drawers at the same time.

[EricAllyn]

Worked awhile tonight -- made the doors I forgot the time before, and painted the last coat on the other doors, finished up the shelves in the cabinet by the door, looked at the latching mechanism for the door -- that may need a little more work -- fixed the stereo, that was a wire, and tomorrow may try to get the windows back in. Will stop by the trailer shop and see how the axle is doing, if it came in, and get the layout to them on the supports and bolt spots.

[Borrego Dave]

Good work Eric. Had to laugh at your comment about clamps. As a woodworker you just can't have TOO MANY clamps and I've had a few folks ask me why I have so many. What can you really say to someone that needs instructions for a hammer ? I just give them the "look" and say "cuz" . Glad they never noticed the jigs .