DaveInTN 3,247 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Tommy Bartlett's is still in business. And they want their matchbook back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jmaul 65 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 This is going to be a wonderful thread to follow. Please, please, please, please, keep going with the updates. And, Good luck & have fun. This will be an experience that your precious kids will remember, both the rehab and the enjoyment after. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 I'm in, once the mouse poop is cleaned up :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Awesome thread!! I love seeing restorations!! (Wish I could accomplish it) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 The video I saw didn't cover this much.... post it! (or I can) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 My boss at work started a project like this. He bought a 60 somthing airstream gutted it. Bought new stuff to put in then said the heck with it and bought a brand new camper. He decided he wanted to camp in a camper and not work on a camper. Now his new camper is 4 years old and he wants to finish the airstream. But he won't we have been friends for 15 years I know him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CitaPita...Carmen 59 Posted June 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 The video I saw didn't cover this much.... post it! (or I can) True story! :) Okay, I'll post it. Wasn't going to because I can't stand the sound of my voice, but this does give a good overview of the whole coach. The video in question: http://youtu.be/j3EWnVKCLCw Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CitaPita...Carmen 59 Posted June 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 My boss at work started a project like this. He bought a 60 somthing airstream gutted it. Bought new stuff to put in then said the heck with it and bought a brand new camper. He decided he wanted to camp in a camper and not work on a camper. Now his new camper is 4 years old and he wants to finish the airstream. But he won't we have been friends for 15 years I know him. It's easy to get overwhelmed and quit! I think we stick with it because both of us are invested in working at it. If it was just me I would have probably given up the second it rained mouse poop on my head. Luckily, I have a very stubborn and very determined partner in this who got me over the hump. The end result will be worth the work. At least, it better be! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 True story! :) Okay, I'll post it. Wasn't going to because I can't stand the sound of my voice, but this does give a good overview of the whole coach. The video in question: http://youtu.be/j3EWnVKCLCw Everyone does! And I'm glad you posted it. It's your fault for uploading it to youtube. It was suggested to me on the site to watch. It's easy to get overwhelmed and quit! I think we stick with it because both of us are invested in working at it. If it was just me I would have probably given up the second it rained mouse poop on my head. Luckily, I have a very stubborn and very determined partner in this who got me over the hump. The end result will be worth the work. At least, it better be! It will be! Excited to see it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 It's easy to get overwhelmed and quit! I think we stick with it because both of us are invested in working at it. If it was just me I would have probably given up the second it rained mouse poop on my head. Luckily, I have a very stubborn and very determined partner in this who got me over the hump. The end result will be worth the work. At least, it better be! Oh I am sure you will finish because you have a date to be at the Fort. The problem with him and me is we are Plumbers we work and repair other peoples broken old stuff all day. So we really don't want to add to it when we get home. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Reading along love all the work your doing great to see a vintage RV brought back to life. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CitaPita...Carmen 59 Posted June 26, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Okay, enough poop. Let's move along to the good stuff. Everything had been ripped out of the coach and was laying in a heap in the garage. Now what? Here is where we learned a valuable lesson. Tearing things apart in a fury of disgust is the easy part. Rebuilding, especially when you have a renovation partner with completely opposite ideas to yours is, another thing altogether. You see, I've been obsessed with "glampers" lately. Vintage campers that have been redone with bright walls, girly fabrics and cutesy accessories. Invariably the camper will have a pennant banner somewhere. Here is kind of what I had in mind: Isn't it adorable? Predictably, Josh didn't agree. He wanted wood. Wood everywhere. Ceiling, walls, floor. His exact words was that he wanted Polly Luna to "feel like the inside of a sailboat." Here is essentially what he wanted. As you might imagine, we locked horns on this for a while. There was no way I wanted the camper to feel like the inside of an old west saloon. And I'm pretty sure he's allergic to pennant banners. Eventually, we both realized that if we didn't compromise, we'd be at the Fort with a camper that contained only kitchen cabinet frames and leftover carpet glue. Didn't sound so comfy. We started thinking about our old VW and the vintage surf wagon style. What if we compromised? Bright colors and wood? It can work. And so we finally had a direction. Vintage beach wagon. First order of business was paint. I had sanded the olive-toned cabinets down to the bare wood before we even removed the walls. The old stain was bumpy and faded. There is something to be said for these old rigs. Solid wood cabinets, not a piece of particle board insight. Dove tail joinery on the drawers. They really cared about the construction of the Travco. It makes me feel both good about bringing Polly back to life, and sad that to do so we would need to alter her so significantly. Josh sent me to the store by myself to pick out the paint color for the cabinets. We had agreed on a blue/green color for the cabinets. Something beachy, something vintage, and maybe a little something crazy. Personally, I think I aced it. Josh didn't comment, so I guess he knows what's good for him. The first coat of paint goes on. Yes, it is a little bright. Trust me, my friends, I know what I'm doing. You'll see! Once it's not surrounded by ugly it looks fabulous. Okay, so time for some drama. See that blue panel still remaining on the stove side of the cabinets? That sucker did not want to come out. It was committed to its position more than Joan Rivers is committed to plastic surgery. Josh tugged, and tugged, and cursed, and tugged. And finally, it came loose of the wall. Bringing with it, the top cabinet. It seems that over the years the body had flexed and the screws that once held the upper cabinet to the ceiling had pulled free. Literally the only thing holding up that cabinet were two bolts that had been drilled into the blue wall we were removing. Realizing that was a fun moment, let me tell you. You can sort of see one of the bolts in this picture. Look inside the bottom shelf. The other screw was just inside the top shelf. Yet one more reason we are grateful that we experienced the mouse poopstorm. If we hadn't been determined to rip everything out, we would never have known that the cabinet wasn't safe. Everything happens for a reason, and with these types of projects, one problem always leads to another. Next up: Woody joins the party BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
superloopers 2 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Loving this build! I love that you guys looked at this rv and saw potential instead of a junk heap. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Sorry, but I'm on team Josh for the interior. No glamping for me. I do like the cabinet color, though. And a surf wagon sounds cool. Sorry about the cabinets and the wall, but you're right-everything happens for a reason. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Love the surf wagon idea! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alexwyattmommy 181 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 I've read blog and now reading this, it is really neat seeing it all happen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Santa ... Shannon 160 Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Wow, when you said beachy blue-green my mind went to seafoam not not Eddy Grant! I'm curious to see how this turns out! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CitaPita...Carmen 59 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Wow, when you said beachy blue-green my mind went to seafoam not not Eddy Grant! I'm curious to see how this turns out! I had to google Eddy Grant and the first thing that popped up with Electric Avenue. That fits! :) When I say a "beach" theme, think more Frankie and Annette than Cape Cod Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CitaPita...Carmen 59 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 I just have to say, thank you to all of you for the encouragement, it helps me keep going! Well, that and our Fort reservation. :) But seriously, this project is no walk in the park and it's good to have Team FF cheering us on. :parrot: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Santa ... Shannon 160 Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Wow, when you said beachy blue-green my mind went to seafoam not not Eddy Grant! I'm curious to see how this turns out! I had to google Eddy Grant and the first thing that popped up with Electric Avenue. That fits! :) Ho! I thought some folks might not get the reference... can't think of neon colors and Caribbean themes without remembering this LP art Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted June 28, 2014 Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 I look forward to your updates and can't imagine how much work this is! But when you're finished you will have something to be so, so proud of. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CitaPita...Carmen 59 Posted June 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 We just got home from a full day of working on Polly Luna, so I thought I should post an update or two so I can get you guys caught up to where we are right now. I'll probably have a long-ish video to share tomorrow night. We're nearing a milestone on the rig, but more on that in another update. But first, back to that moment in time when our motorhome had no walls or ceiling. That wasn't a fun moment, so we won't hang out there long. First things first, we needed a lot of wood. The only vehicle we have that is large enough to haul 4'x8' sheets of wood is, you guessed it, Polly. So Grandma watched the kids and we took off on a little joy ride down to the hardware store. The view out the windshield. It was a pretty day. I love riding in Polly, it's just like riding in our old VW, except maybe a bit quieter. Eagle eyed folks may have noticed that our windshield wiper is held on by a zip tie. That's some next generation Red Green technology there. Who needs duck tape, zip ties FTW! We're in and out of the hardware store pretty quick. Here is the scary thing about tearing the walls out; we're not exactly great with cutting straight. (Didn't mean to rhyme that, but now that I have, I can't stop repeating it. Has a certain ring to it. I see a Pixar musical in the works featuring down on their luck power tools?) Anyway, so we had a great idea. We may not be so good at cutting a straight line, but we can trace a line as well as any kindergartener. So we got some clamps, placed the old panels on top of the new wood (1/4" birch) and traced around them with a router. We are genius. We're not routing the concrete, I swear. We used risers under the wood. Test fitting the first piece. Success! See all of the bumpy craziness around the windows? There is a thick trim that goes around the windows and will hide that. All of those bumps are original since we traced the panels exactly. Nearly 50 year old mistakes and we made them all over again. Also, be glad you don't have smell-o-net because that old insulation was P-capital-U. My littlest and I hang out while daddy cuts more panels. And pretty soon the lawn looks like this. One more test fit for this update. Next time: I become best friends with a sander BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 Ok, cool update and all and I love reading along on this adventure....but then you made the MH project look silly by posting that pic of your freakin adorable son! So....I say add more kid pictures to the next update! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted June 29, 2014 Report Share Posted June 29, 2014 Great update!Looking forward to more of this renovation.my DW is even following along so this must be good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CitaPita...Carmen 59 Posted June 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2014 Ok, cool update and all and I love reading along on this adventure....but then you made the MH project look silly by posting that pic of your freakin adorable son! So....I say add more kid pictures to the next update! :) Oh, you have NO idea what you've just unleashed. Next update, I'm going to bring cuteness overload! Great update!Looking forward to more of this renovation.my DW is even following along so this must be good. Hello Aaron's DW! :thumbsup2: Glad you are here! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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