Building Arabella

[Dust-In-the-Wind]

Admire your perseverance and positive attitude. Gossipers? They're just folks who desperately need something important to worry about and since they can't find that, you're the next best thing. Not worth spending a single breath or moment of time on.

 

[akrvbob]

But when you get spectacular result like you did, with lots of obstacles, it's something to be VERY proud of!!!!!
Bob

 

[johnny b]

Truly impressed....great job.

 

[WriterMs]

I so admire your work and knowledge. I think I need a cloaking device for my poor old van at RTR.

That small town will miss you while you are on the road!! I"m sure your life is the best gossip to be had. I've been stuck in my rural hometown for nearly a year with a parent needing assistance so I know the feeling.. but at least there is a Target store here so now I feel absolutely urban!!!

See you at RTR!

 

[Almost There]

I so admire your work and knowledge.  I think I need a cloaking device for my poor old van at RTR.

That small town will miss you while you are on the road!!  I"m sure your life is the best gossip to be had. I've been stuck in my rural hometown for nearly a year with a parent needing assistance so I know the feeling.. but at least there is a Target store here so now I feel absolutely urban!!!  

See you at RTR!

Oh, I so hope that you don't think a cloaking device is really needed...  

I did this one the way I wanted simply because I could - I lived poor all my life until the past few years when I finally fell in to a bed of roses that only had a few thorns. With no financial responsibility for anyone except myself and a relatively low cost of living I could finally afford to do it nice, so I did!!

Wait until y'all see it in person before final judgement is passed - the photos don't do justice to the crooked cuts and bad seams... I'm a far better seamstress than I am a woodworker.

As to the small town, yes, I'm sure they will miss me and not just for the comedic effect of watching me do the construction job and all the speculation. My friends here are already moaning about missing me, they're almost worse than my mother with the 'you're abandoning me/us'... Good thing they all have been encouraging me at the same time as the whining is going on.

And I too, can't wait to start meeting y'all at the RTR.

 

[sassypickins]

Almost There, your build is just wonderful! I hope to meet you at RTR. Sassy

 

[karl]

"Wait until y'all see it in person before final judgement is passed - the photos don't do justice to the crooked cuts and bad seams... "

No worries-"A little putty and a little paint- make a carpenter what he ain't"

You should be proud of what you've accomplished. Looks good.

 

[Almost There]

No worries-"A little putty and a little paint- make a carpenter what he ain't"

I like that one!!

 

[ainley53]

TOTALLY AWESOME JOB !!! Just read your thread, start to finish. Thanks so much for the time, effort and pics. Made lots of notes. Hope to meet you at RTR. A truly impressive build.

 

[Patrick46]

you know what they say...

"the difference between a good carpenter and a bad one, is the good one knows how to hide his/her mistakes!"


Great job on the build!!!! Hope to see it in person!

 

[Almost There]

you know what they say...

"the difference between a good carpenter and a bad one, is the good one knows how to hide his/her mistakes!"


Great job on the build!!!! Hope to see it in person!

I managed to hide a good deal of mine by planning and the rest of the bulk of them can be hidden by trimming out around the edges...lol.

I just found another little boo-boo the other day. I hadn't used the pantry since I put the cabinet doors all on. When I hung the pantry door, I carefully checked to make sure that it opened nicely and I'd used a 1/4" piece of plywood as a spacer so that it didn't drag on the floor. Okay so far!!

The other day I went to put something in one of the drawers only to find that the drawer slide was catching on the cabinet door. Okay, open it up a little further, still not clearing. Moved the portable center console around so I could open the door further, still no clearance on the door. Shoved a little harder, still no clearance and then I couldn't open the door any further. It was catching on the dome light that's between the seats...#$%^&.

I have to rehang the pantry door 1/8" lower so it can be opened up fully and still clear the darned light.  And here I had it all nicely flush with the top of the cabinet and a clear 1/4" floor clearance.

So much for good planning....

Won't be he first time that all my well laid plans are for naught!

 

[rvpopeye]

Lady A
Just a little fine tuning..............

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

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.

I know you're past the need for a caulking gun, but if anyone finds themselves in a similar position a cordless (electric) caulking gun is a thing of beauty. 

Excellent job on the build, enjoyed reading through this entire thread.

 

[skyl4rk]

Use the Big Hammer, then caulk it.

 

[lost sailor]

Read the whole thread - really nice work, you could give yourself more credit! Nice design, it's inspiring.

 

[Almost There]

Thanks for the compliment Lost Sailor!

After living in it full time since last November I'm still happy with the layout.

Only a couple of things that I've learned from living in it that I would do differently if I ever had to do it again:

-Use 3/4" plywood for cabinetry - the 1/2" is too thin for door hardware and stability.
- install the finished floor before you start the cabinets. Okay so then you have to be careful with paint and scratch marks etc, etc but the finishing the floor first would have been so much easier and neater in the end.
- PL Premium 8x does not always hold wood blocks to the fiberglass high top. I'd have been better off to fiberglass the wood to the high top.
- 3M Spray Adhesive does not last when gluing vinyl to closed cell foam. I'm not sure what would work better but I need to find it.
- LED lights bought off Amazon.com are not holding up. Now I have to find replacements that will fit the holes I cut for the first set...sigh!!

I'm putting this in here for those who come upon the thread somewhere down the line like you did LS.

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

I just bought a dozen LEDs off Amazon. Read reviews before ordering anything. My soft white lights are garish green, just like several reviews said.

 

[rvwandering]

Beth, we bought LED lights at Quartzsite. They are expensive to buy there but they do last. Some of ours are two or three years old.

 

[Almost There]

Beth, we bought LED lights at Quartzsite. They are expensive to buy there but they do last. Some of ours are two or three years old.

Thanks Karen, I'll wait to replace them until I get there this winter.

The one over my passenger seat has faded until it is no longer useful for reading, it's more like a night light and I can see that the brilliance in the one over the bed has dimmed as well. The 12" strip I bought for over the kitchen counter lasted only a couple of months before the built in dimmer switch failed completely.

I get to use my headlamp for reading now unless I want to read in bed...

 

[speedhighway46]

Tribe:

Re: LEDs

The upside to the LED technology is that its availability has improved significantly over the past five years. Also, unit price has fallen.

The downside is, of course, mass popularity has caused off-shore sourcing, primarily from China, and the reliability in consumer targeted devices is spotty and most of the time poor and short-lived.

When I designed and installed the LEDs in my motorhome conversion I chose the style of lights which could be easily replaced. I've done so now several times and the vehicle has only been on the road for two years.

The only thing you can plan on is they WON'T last and will require replacement.

Sorry to pull this thread off topic for a moment.