Jump to content

Polly Luna wakes up! A classic RV build story


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 292
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

I think Polly Luna has always had nice lines and now they're even nicer.   The color combination is one of my favorites. Here's one of my creations, notice anything.  

Meet the newest member of our family, Polly Luna, a 1967 Dodge Travco motorhome.       We've always been big fans of vintage vehicles, and before our kids were born we camped in a 1972 VW Contempo ca

Before I dive into this one, I just have to warn you that I might turn up the cheese a bit in the next two updates. A bit more than usual, that is.   We've been working so hard on Polly Luna. Practica

Warning: This update contains boring pictures of wood.

 

Last we left this build, we had cut many pieces of birch for the walls and ceiling of Polly Luna.

 

Why birch? Well, it goes back to our VW days. We always dreamed of switching out our boring white headliner with the headliner of choice for VW Bus renovators: Birch. 

 

Here is a good example of what we were after. (Not our bus, but one that served as inspiration)

 

339393.jpg

 

See how shiny and warm that is? 

 

As a reminder, here is a picture from the last update that shows what unfinished birch looks like.

 

image_zps8dca30b2.jpg

 

I'll admit that at this stage, I was a little afraid. We (ahem, I mean DH) had spend so much time cutting out the panels and it really wasn't what I was hoping for. 

 

Google to the rescue!

 

Apparently, there is a very specific recipe to making birch look awesome. And here it is:

 

WoodFinishingTools_Travco_zpsf9d86afe.jp

 

Scotch Brite (five or so packages), tack cloth (a bunch of them), and water resistant polyurethane (by the buckets). 

 

The front of each piece of wood was sanded, then hit with the Scotch Brite pad, then wiped with a tack cloth, then slathered in poly. After it was dry, the process started all over again. The back and edges also received a coat of the poly for water resistance, although I didn't bother sanding the back. I have my limits.

 

After all that work, we now see what the finished panels look like.

 

e9f08c01-d481-4384-b996-75beda5863c1_zps

 

Ooooh!  Aaaaah!

 

And installed

 

image_zps24d9d353.jpg

 

See how the grain popped out and the tone of the wood became much warmer?  No?  Scroll up and look again because you are wrong. :)

 

And here are the finished panels in the ceiling. The ceiling panels have a different grain to them because they are a different type of birch. We needed 1/8 inch birch panels for the ceiling which is nearly impossible to find. I ended up special ordering it from a specialty wood shop ($$$$).

 

image_zps3b57c88a.jpg

 

That's it for this update, sorry it was short and kind of lame. The next one should catch you up to where we are now. This weekend we're shifting focus to the outside of Polly in an effort to de-ugly her. 

 

To make up for the sad excuse for an update, and to honor Dave's request, I give you, my girls with some creepy dudes at Knott's Berry Farm in LA. 

 

1913513_10201854504459523_83372795208590

 

 

Next up: The walls are done (the floor, too)

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm loving this. I'm going to share your adventure with my sister and brother in law who are redoing a vintage (1970) travel trailer. They would love to see all your improvements and what you do with the plumbing, propane and electrical. Their old trailer had been thoroughly worked over by mice also.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks, everyone!  :)

 

Here is a bonus update for you, and with this we'll be caught up to the present. This weekend we're going to shift focus to the outside of the rig.

 

Things you'll find in this video:

  • My terrible voice (I can't even stand listening to it, so I watch it on mute. :))
  • Completed walls (except trim)
  • Completed floor
  • Adorable little one with messy hair, per usual
  • My rambling, also per usual

You can watch it here: http://youtu.be/kSJAZs6gZ0A

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ohhh....looks awesome!!  I especially love the ceiling.

 

Girls are adorable :)   Knotts Berry Farm...great memories for me there :)

 

Thank you!  And Knotts Berry Farm is a ton of fun. It did crack me up how similar some of the rides were. SM clone just a bit away from the BTMRR clone. Very similar names, too, although I forget what they were.

 

The birch paneling looks good!

 

Your girls are adorable. But, I am concerned about how much it looks like they like creepy dudes.  Unless you want a creepy dude as a son-in-law, tell them to stay away.

 

TCD

 

Oh yes, they are definitely demonstrating a penchant for the creepy there. Hopefully by the time they are allowed to date (at age 30) they'll have grown out of that phase. :)

 

I'm loving this. I'm going to share your adventure with my sister and brother in law who are redoing a vintage (1970) travel trailer. They would love to see all your improvements and what you do with the plumbing, propane and electrical. Their old trailer had been thoroughly worked over by mice also.

 

Yes!  And we'll definitely be diving into the plumbing/electrical/propane stuff. All of it needs to be done, but especially the electrical. We're going to modernize the inverter, etc. I'd like to do some solar as well, but DH isn't sold.

 

Getting caught up on the updates. 

 

Really great stuff!!

 

The difference in the birch is pretty amazing. I love your vision for "beach wagon" and I can already see how that color is going to look fantastic.

 

Thanks for taking us along for the ride.  :)

 

Thanks!  There is room for all of us in this rig!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Things are really coming together!!

 

The birch paneling is looking terrific. I can only imagine how many hours, and how much elbow grease it took to get it all that way.

 

I'm loving that blue/green color more and more!

 

 

 

Oh and next time can we hear the spooky story? Pretty please?   8)

Link to post
Share on other sites

I can't believe how much progress you've made. My husband (who rarely posts) and I are both following along. He's super impressed as well. 

 

The wood looks great, and you can add me to the folks who love the color! 

 

Your cute kids are going to love it! 

 

And BTW, your voice isn't terrible at ALL! 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...



×
×
  • Create New...