Building Arabella

[masterplumber]

This one is real easy on the hands, but the teenager is probably cheaper
http://www.amazon.com/Makita-XGC01Z...432939967&sr=8-1&keywords=makita+caulking+gun

 

[Almost There]

This one is real easy on the hands, but the teenager is probably cheaper
http://www.amazon.com/Makita-XGC01Z...432939967&sr=8-1&keywords=makita+caulking+gun

Ummm, masterplumber, I'm not intending to spend anywhere near that for ALL the tools I need for this job....

I need caulking spread on maybe another 8 or 10' of boards...the teen has that beat hands down! Heck for the price of that thing, I could probably get him to do most of the rest of the entire build!!

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I saw an battery operated caulking gun at Home Depot today not sure what it cost it was a Ryobi likely 40 to 70 dollars. guessing?

 

[rvpopeye]

Wish I had seen this earlier.
When I have caulk tubes that are half used and the end hardens , I just cut it open and dig out the stuff with a stick.

 

[Almost There]

And today's accomplishments:

Both the front and rear overhead compartments done with the reflectix.







I'll probably have bruises across my tummy from hanging over the edge trying to staple the stuff in place...

I think the middle section is going to have to wait until I get the overhead cabinets framed in otherwise I'll be fighting with things!

Tomorrows' task is to get the furring strips all in place!!

 

[4GNomad]

Nice work Almost... Everytime I see a vehicle lined with Reflectix, I imagine what it must be like to be a baked potato.

 

[Almost There]

Nice work Almost...   Everytime I see a vehicle lined with Reflectix, I imagine what it must be like to be a baked potato.

Oh it's not staying that way...

The reflectix is there as a radiant heat barrier because I will be living in as much summer temps year round as my travels will take me. I am very much of the opinion that if the weather doesn't suit, MOVE!!

The finished interior work starts soon!

 

[Almost There]

Furring strips in place!!...  

I ran short of bolt/nut/washer assemblies this afternoon, apparently my math isn't very good. And of course the hardware store closed at 3 today so a couple more bolts to finish installing but other than that it's good.

Strapping is rather boring so no pics...

I got a couple other nagging little details taken care of as well so we'll call it good!

I'm using vinyl over closed cell foam to finish the interior of the overhead storage compartments and in a few other places. Lucky me found a marine fabric supplier that doesn't charge 2 arms and a leg for their vinyl. They're 2 hours away but I'm headed right near there tomorrow to do elder care for mom so it's shopping day...yeehaw!!

 

[Bela's Mom]

Awesome job!  I'm enjoying your build so please keep the posts and pics coming!

 

[Almost There]

Just in case y'all think I've been slacking off here....

In the past few days I've patterned the rear overhead storage compartment for the vinyl, cut the closed cell foam backing for the vinyl and am now watching glue dry....

Seriously, applying the ccf to the vinyl is easy and fast, wrapping the edges is limited to the number of binder clips retrieved from my office....good thing most of the files are going in the shredder when I retire anyways because there's a whole lot of loose paper in the file folders now!

Another nice thing about this job is that I can glue some up, fix breakfast, earn some money, glue some more, run errands, glue some more...well you get the picture.



Unfortunately, the marine fabric place was short on the ccf so I can only do this one compartment until I do another trip in 10 days to get the rest of it. At a $60.00 gas bill for the round trip it's going to have to wait until I'm headed that way anyways for eldercare.

 

[ilovemyvan]

Almost there, this will be some NICE van. It'll be fun to see the whole thing done. I haven't gone back far enough maybe but I'm curious, how did you come up with the name "Arabella"? I like it.

Nicole

 

[Almost There]

Almost there, this will be some NICE van. It'll be fun to see the whole thing done. I haven't gone back far enough maybe but I'm curious, how did you come up with the name "Arabella"? I like it.

Nicole

Well, when I bought the van it was fondly nicknamed 'The Great White Money Pit'...

Purchase price, registration, sales tax, vehicle inspection fees, battery, battery minder for the winter, body work, tires and the budget for doing the rest of the exterior and the interior was adding up real fast!!

When she came back from having the body work done I simply spent hours gazing out the front window of my apartment at the van...she looked so beautiful!!

Brian (bodyman and mechanic) had taken the time to buff out the body for me, the body work was all done and the rims painted with new tires. Truthfully, I could hardly take my eyes off of her...

Arabella means either Beautiful one or Pretty One depending on which 'look up' you use!

She's sometimes referred to as Miss Arabella and sometimes as Lady Arabella!

And there you have it!

 

[ilovemyvan]

I love it

 

[4GNomad]

Nice vinyl work. Can't wait to see the install. Cheers!

 

[ttpadilla]

I know I keep saying this, but I am SO IMPRESSED with you!!! Beautiful job! Beautiful Arabella! Can't wait to see her in person someday. And you, too, perhaps.

 

[Almost There]

The vinyl was installed in the rear overhead storage bin today...good thing it's a storage area that's going to be stuffed with clothes, off season stuff (just in case of a cold snap), and hiking gear. All the stuff will hide my oops...

Installing the back and sides was okay but I should have had a 2nd set of hands to put the ceiling panel in place. Propping it up with boards and trying to hold it in place AND screw it in meant that it got a little bit twisted.

Lessons learned:

 - a third set of attachment points in the middle would have been good!
 - should have asked for some help with the panel.



Next job was to get the side step well insert cut so that the floor could go over top of it. After much deliberation I called in the pros'. Took it up to Brian who promptly used an air cutting saw on it and made short work of what would have been an ordeal for me with nothing but a jigsaw!



Once that was done, I got busy and swept, swept again and finally washed the floor so that it's all ready for the plywood.

That's the pattern for the flooring laying out flat. It's been double and triple checked now and is ready to go when the lumber yard opens tomorrow morning!!

Yeehaw, progress....

 

[4GNomad]

Very nice Almost. I think the vinyl looks good. At least your learning stuff along the way and sharing it with everyone. Look forward to seeing the floor. Cheers!

 

[Almost There]

And we have achieved a floor....



It looks much bigger inside with the floor in for some reason!

Bought the plywood this morning when the lumber yard opened and finished cleaning up shortly after 4 PM.

We'll find out tomorrow how my body feels about that...

 

[rvpopeye]

Lookin' good !
I'd say you're getting closer and closer to having to lose that Almost in your forum name.
Yup , Yup !

 

[ttpadilla]

And we have achieved a floor....



It looks much bigger inside with the floor in for some reason!

Bought the plywood this morning when the lumber yard opened and finished cleaning up shortly after 4 PM.

We'll find out tomorrow how my body feels about that...

It's beautiful! I'm also glad to see that your passenger seat swivels around; I was going to ask about that. I rarely ever use the table & benches in the RV because my passenger seat also swivels and there's a hinged mini-table top with removable leg that I use for my laptop and eating my meals. I would use the same setup to save a ton of space if I were building out my dream van.