Building Arabella

[flying kurbmaster]

you can use varsol on the paint and the interior plastic, you will have to wash off the greasy film left behind with hot soapy water afterwards, I think you will find that it will dilute the glue pretty fast.

 

[ttpadilla]

Hope your cleaning days are wrapping up so you can get on with the fun stuff!

 

[Almost There]

Hope your cleaning days are wrapping up so you can get on with the fun stuff!

I wish!!

Today I woke up to a white 'wonderland' and below freezing temps.

That and I'm having an episode of 'insurance from hell' which as soon as it's settled I'll detail, probably in a separate thread for search engine purposes.

 

[Almost There]

Finally some progress!!

The passenger side wall got it's bubble wrap and reflectix layer today.




Tomorrows back to clean up, I have to get some rust paint on a couple of spots on the drivers side before I can start with the reflectix on that side.

 

[ttpadilla]

Finally some progress!!

The passenger side wall got it's bubble wrap and reflectix layer today.




Tomorrows back to clean up, I have to get some rust paint on a couple of spots on the drivers side before I can start with the reflectix on that side.

Hooray for progress!!

 

[Almost There]

Progress is soooo slow!

Last weekend I got the reflectix finished on the drivers' side...yeahhhh!

This weekend I got the patterns made for the floor plywood!!

Then I got started on building the bottom frame for the front overhead storage compartment. The frame is done, now I can start on the wall and ceiling blocks.

With the high top I have to glue strips of wood in place so that I can insulate and finish the walls and ceiling in each of the storage compartments. That means having something to block against while I jury rig retainers to hold the blocks in place while the glue sets so the framing had to come first.

Working in the driveway in between sun showers was fun today. Every time I got all the doors open and a work table set up, it would start to sprinkle. I'd put the power tools away and close the doors and it would stop. Finally I just set the work table up inside the van...

 

[LeeRevell]

Maybe get a cheap four pole shelter, say a 10'X10', and park the van under it? Then you could work in it while it rains. When done, it can come in handy on travels in the boonies, or sell it on CL.

 

[Almost There]

Maybe get a cheap four pole shelter, say a 10'X10', and park the van under it?  Then you could work in it while it rains.  When done, it can come in handy on travels in the boonies, or sell it on CL.

I actually own a 12 x 20 pole and connector shelter as well as a 10 x 10 K D. The 10x10 will most likely come with me on my travels.

Unfortunately with a 24" high top on it, ain't no way it's fitting under either of them....   This isn't an Astro we're talking about!!

The driveway I'm working in is my parking spot in the 4plex where I rent an apartment on the main street in town. I draw enough attention without trying something like that!

It was just a PITA today when we get kept getting sun showers that would last 5 or 10 minutes. Get everything out, put it away, get it out, rinse and repeat!!...

 

[Almost There]

Oh yea I forgot one thing that got done..duh!!

Varsol worked to get all the darn sticky stuff off that was left behind when I removed the decade old Velcro that the PO had put everywhere. He'd figured out that his curtains didn't cover the windows properly so instead of fixing the drapes he applied liberal amounts of Velcro...sigh!

Many thanks to Flying Kurbmaster for the Varsol suggestion!

I had tried peanut butter last weekend but 3 hours of letting it sit didn't begin to touch this stuff.

One more major clean up job and I'm done cleaning! I have to park on a hill, open the back doors and scrub the floor to remove the last of the crud from the floor mat. The hill is so the water will run out the back doors....

Now that we have daylight past supper time, maybe I can get some work done in the evenings too!!

 

[ttpadilla]

I came all the way over here, to check on your progress. What's new? Where are you on the buildout? Can I see some progress pictures?

Hope you're enjoying yourself.

 

[4GNomad]

I'm just about ready to start on the build of Miss Arabella so I figured now was the time to start the build thread for her.

She's a 2002 GMC Savana 2500 with a fiberglass raised roof.

Here's a pic of her when I went to look at her last September.



I got her home just in time for moose hunting season which delayed her safety inspection by 3 weeks. By that time we were knee deep in snow so other than ripping out the less than stellar..   interior the P.O. had put in, we spent the winter looking at each other waiting for spring.

So far in the past 2 weeks she got all new tires, a thorough mechanical inspection and few minor repairs and the body work done.

Here's some pics of her all prettied up now!





So this post isn't too long and hard to load, I'll put some more stuff into another post.

That van looks kind of familiar...

 

[Almost There]

I came all the way over here, to check on your progress.  What's new?  Where are you on the buildout?  Can I see some progress pictures?  

Hope you're enjoying yourself.

I'm enjoying myself but the work is coming way, way slower than I want it to. I was rather discouraged actually by how slow it was going!

Because the fiberglass high top can't be screwed in to I needed to glue in blocks of 1 x 2 anywhere I needed to attach anything. I took the instructions on the PL Premium tube too literally. It said I needed to brace any vertical or overhead installations so I was using conventional bracing techniques. You can only brace so many pieces of wood at a time in a small spot before you run out of angles.... And then you have a 24 hour set time.

I also ran into problems related to being older and arthritis. The PL Premium only comes in caulking tubes and with my hands in the condition they're in it takes 2 hands and all my upper body strength to squeeze the trigger on the caulking gun. 2 or 3 pieces of wood glued up and they are done for a couple of hours. I was even heating the cartridge between 2 of my heat packs to soften it so it would come out easier...sigh!

Then last week I had a 'lightbulb' moment (my friends and family shudder when that happens... )
I tried 'bracing' with duck tape and guess what, it works except for overhead. The duck tape isn't strong enough to hold against the weight of the wood but that's okay, it meant no more bracing 4 or 6 pieces of wood then waiting a day.

Here's a pic of the front cabinet -






I have the front overhead cabinet done and all the wood cut for the back overhead storage area.

AND I'm hiring a teenager to do the glueing up for me. He'll use the caulking gun, I'll put the wood in place with duck tape. Job should go much quicker that way.

Oh and I got to use my Kreg joiner this past weekend - I love it!!

On the other hand, when others go to deal with the fiberglass high top, I have the method down pat....

 

[Almost There]

That van looks kind of familiar...  

Yes, we'll look like twins - on the outside anyways!!

 

[ttpadilla]

I'm enjoying myself but the work is coming way, way slower than I want it to. I was rather discouraged actually by how slow it was going!

I'm so impressed with you! You are doing things far beyond my abilities. Sounds like the teenager will help speed things up for you. Thank you for the update, and the picture!

 

[Almost There]

I'm so impressed with you!  You are doing things far beyond my abilities.  Sounds like the teenager will help speed things up for you.  Thank you for the update, and the picture!

Once I get past this prep time on the fiberglass roof it should speed along just wonderfully.

Having no place to attach anything to the whole roof and figuring out how to accomplish what I wanted was a logistical challenge.

And then I ran into a roadblock mostly with my own physical limitations. When I do that I simply look for plan B - in this case, hire a set of young hands...

There's things I've done before and mostly learned how not to do it again...

I built bed frames out of 2 x 4 because I thought I needed the strength - now I know better.
I insulated with fiberglass but that was way back when it was the only thing on the market now it's reflectix.

I'll tell you what skills have come in most handy - math, and logic...oh and most of all - google and YouTube skills. Having a stubborn nature helps too!! I CAN do this!

I was fussing over kitchen cabinets because I want pull out drawers not shelves but I wasn't about to buy a router (unbelievably expensive here in Canada)- guess what - I googled 'making drawers without a router' and low & behold - a YouTube video of doing just that! Problem solved...neat trick.

Same thing with cabinet doors - do I use plywood and have to edge them or can I do it with finished pine. Ha - how to make cabinet doors - watch 4 or 5 videos, pick your method!

Watch what happens when I get to the electrical part if you think I have a skill set beyond normal.... :s

 

[ttpadilla]

Yay for YouTube and stubbornness!!!

 

[Almost There]

OMG (something I swore I'd never type.... )

The power of a young guys' hands (minds out of the gutter girls.... )

What took me 3 weekends to accomplish on the front storage unit just took a teenager and I 35 minutes to do on the other storage area.

I had pre-cut all the pieces and given up on hurting myself trying to use the caulking gun!

Hunter arrived after school today and was spreading the adhesive as fast as I could tape the boards in place.

Tomorrow I get to start insulating....

Today's picture:



The two front boards needed some traditional bracing on them because they weigh too much for just the tape but that's okay. It sure beats having to brace each and every piece!

 

[anewbiewannabe]

The power of a young guys' hands (minds out of the gutter girls.... )

I had pre-cut all the pieces and given up on hurting myself trying to use the caulking gun!

LOL...I guess I shouldn't admit I have a caulk gun that's easy on my old hands---was a requirement for all the tile work and other jobs if I wanted to get them done.

Glad you're getting to make more progress!

 

[Almost There]

LOL...I guess I shouldn't admit I have a caulk gun that's easy on my old hands---was a requirement for all the tile work and other jobs if I wanted to get them done.

Glad you're getting to make more progress!

Just out of curiousity now that the jobs' almost done - what caulking gun can ever be easy on the hands.

My hands are way older than the rest of me because of arthritis and a repetitive stress injury to the base of my right thumb. It was taking 2 hands and upper body strength to squeeze the PL Premium Fast Tack adhesive out - it's thick stuff!!

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Just out of curiousity now that the jobs' almost done - what caulking gun can ever be easy on the hands.

My hands are way older than the rest of me because of arthritis and a repetitive stress injury to the base of my right thumb. It was taking 2 hands and upper body strength to squeeze the PL Premium Fast Tack adhesive out - it's thick stuff!!

I wish I could remember the name of the caulk gun I've guarded with my life for 10 years or more. My hands are similar all the way down to having a bad injury to my right thumb. It's a no-drip one that has been most kind---I guess I should have said "easier" on the old hands cause nothing is totally easy on 'em other than having someone else do the work. I've used it for everything from heavy duty liquid nails and some really weird thick/heavy window caulk (I think) to simple latex caulk. My uncle was a contractor and let me know about it---I tried his and loved it and got my own! It's boxed up with my tiling tools buried in the garage or I'd see if the name still shows. If I remember when I'm thinning that stuff out I'll check the name when I pack it with the *keep* stuff.