Water damage, the good the bad and other upgrades

[VanKitten]

Charlotte, I looked at RVs for a couple of years.

I started by going to RV shows. Talking to their "sales support" people. These are the guys that know the nuts and bolts. I concluded these are built to fail. And sure, why not...by the time the damage begins to show odds are the original owner has already sold and the warranty has expired.

I then started looking in the used market. Fairly new rigs. Lots of money for cheap cheap construction. Cardboard walls and cabinets.

I then concluded that paying for that lousy construction and cheap materials didn't make sense for me. Even if I could only do a little at a time..fixing the basic construction would make a better place for me. I have a lot of experience in home construction, so I thought I could take this on.

I looked all over the east coast for about a year till I found this. It's a lot of work...but the basic the construction issues have been fixed now.

Even now I could just throw a mattress in the back, put my clothes in plastic storage containers and just go. If I had to. But, since I am staying here as long as Mom is living...I work at this a day or two a week. It is my therapy.

 

[bobblefrog]

I then concluded that paying for that lousy construction and cheap materials didn't make sense for me.   Even if I could only do a little at a time..fixing the basic construction would make a better place for me.    I have a lot of experience in home construction, so I thought I could take this on.  

I looked all over the east coast for about a year till I found this.   It's a lot of work...but the basic the construction issues have been fixed now.

Even now I could just throw a mattress in the back, put my clothes in plastic storage containers and just go.  If I had to.    But, since I am staying here as long as Mom is living...I work at this a day or two a week.   It is my therapy.

VanKitten - sounds like we came to some of the same conclusions in our search.  I decided I wanted to go cheap but get as solid and simple as I could - I'm not saying my camper was built better in the 80s but it feels less card-boardy!  And it's certainly simple.  Not a gauge in it!  I had the budget to go higher but decided I'd rather put that into the rig, learn and build as I go to suit, rather than topping out my budget (and still would have had work to do!). 

I am a little worried about having purchased a carbureted vehicle that will have to be adjusted for changes in altitude, but at least it turned out to be an Edelbrock. Some people hate them, some love them - but I think they are about the simplest ones to adjust and fix.  I spent a lot of time on YouTube this winter telling myself "you can do this!"  

As for leaks, there is one over the cab, but damage is limited, no must, all is solid otherwise so am going to seal from the outside (roof, trim, windows and lights) so it can't get worse, and deal with replacing it next season. I'm enjoying working on it though.  I'd go full-time again in a heartbeat, but not as long as my mom is around, either. And that's going to be awhile!

 

[bullfrog]

Class C van type motor homes are considered entry level RV's and as such are often bought by people that have no idea of what is required to keep one up. They figured if they paid this much money for something it should last. A lot of them spend every penny they can afford just to get one and have to let it set or take short trips until they can afford to travel. A lot of parallels to first time boat owners here. I have a 1983 Barth Class A that has an aluminum framed house structure. Techs are amazed when replacing AC units that the structure is square and not sagging, but I use it as a stationary apartment as up keep would have cost many times over what I paid for it to keep it on the road. I think what we see happening is second or third owners of Class C motor homes that have little invested taking a lost because they don't want to pay the cost of upkeep and repair. After all most were not built to last.

 

[bobblefrog]

Class C van type motor homes are considered entry level RV's and as such are often bought by people that have no idea of what is required to keep one up.  They figured if they paid this much money for something it should last.  A lot of them spend every penny they can afford just to get one and have to let it set or take short trips until they can afford to travel.  A lot of parallels to first time boat owners here.  I have a 1983 Barth Class A that has an aluminum framed house structure.   Techs are amazed when replacing AC units that the structure is square and not sagging, but I use it as a stationary apartment as up keep would have cost many times over what I paid for it to keep it on the road.  I think what we see happening is second or third owners of Class C motor homes that have little invested taking a lost because they don't want to pay the cost of upkeep and repair.  After all most were not built to last.

I also seem to remember there is an adage about boats - every foot is another X amount of money - in upkeep, port fees, etc.  I forgot that when we got our first rig (37+ foot class A!).  I tried to keep it in mind with my Class C this time.  21 feet of simplicity - LOL. Well, okay - it could be simpler.  I could go composting, go with an ice cooler instead of a refrigerator, plan to cook outside, a solar shower....but I guess I went with pushing my comfort on figuring out how to fix things with how much comfort I wanted

 

[bullfrog]

Just a note as I seem to be giving away secrets lately, screws, even the really good coated ones are made of metal that when cycled through hot and cold condensate or attract water. When used in wood even if they are coated and don't rust the wood rots and they loose their hold. What I do is gorilla glue the joint and screw it together. Let it dry over night. The next day I take out the screw and use the hole it has made to pilot a 1/4" drill bit to the bottom and squirt a drop of glue in the hole, pound in a 1/4" wooden dowel an cut it off flush. These types of joints last hundreds of years because their is nothing to cause water to condense and rot the wood and with today's glue should last forever.

 

[shadow]

Weekend update.

It looks like nothing is going to happen this weekend because of the weather.
Its been in the high 50`s all week, so I was hoping the weekend would be nice also, but no, I get up this morning and there
is two inches of snow on the ground. Now tomorrow, its supposed to rain so I`m hoping it will take the snow away.

I do have a question that I hope someone here can help me with.
The drive and passenger seats are shot, and I`m guessing it would be three to five hundred dollars each to have them reupholstered ?.

So, if I can find some other seats from a van or even another motor home, would they work in my motor home ?.

 

[highdesertranger]

so I went back and looked for a pic of you seats. they appear to be custom RV seats. you could look around for replacements but unless you get lucky and find some one selling them cheap they are going to be pricey. regular van seats out of your vintage van should fit. actually 3-500 bucks is not a bad price to have them done if they do a top notch job. highdesertranger

 

[Cammalu]

I think I read somewhere recently about having reupholstery work done in Mexico for very cheap


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[shadow]

I think I read somewhere recently about having reupholstery work done in Mexico for very cheap


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There is only one problem with that. I`m about 2000 miles from Mexico, and I have no plans to ever go there.

 

[IanC]

Boy, what an interesting thread. Kudos for all your great work. I have to say though - I'm so glad I passed up on all those tempting deals on CL. My thinking at the time was "so what if it has a leak, I'll put a bead of caulk over it". Not that I wouldn't like to have some of the amenities of a 'C', but you've really opened my eyes. Once you're done, though, you're going to have one awesome rig. Thanks for posting your progress.

 

[shadow]

I thought I could claim victory over the leak after tightening down the roof a/c over two weeks ago and not seeing any water inside sense then, but when I checked it again today, the water was back.

So, I removed the interior a/c cover again and checked the bolts that hold the a/c down again, and they were a bit lose again.
What I think happened is that when I tightened down the a/c, maybe I didn`t get it tight enough. Even though it sealed for a while.

I tightened it down again a lot tighter, but I`m not sure how tight to go, I don`t want to damage anything
I`m sure the a/c roof seal needs to be replaced, but if I can get it to stop leaking again for now, I will have it replaced
eventually.

 

[Ballenxj]

I thought I could claim victory over the leak after tightening down the roof a/c over two weeks ago and not seeing any water inside sense then, but when I checked it again today, the water was back.
<-------->
I`m sure the a/c roof seal needs to be replaced, but if I can get it to stop leaking again for now, I will have it replaced
eventually.

I lived in a 1983 Sportscoach 31' class A for about ten years. I replaced the front A/C that never seemed to work right with a brand new Carrier A/C. That worked GREAT, but is another story. If I recall, when I bought it, they asked if I wanted a new gasket to go between it and the roof? I took it, and when replacing the old A/C I scraped the old gasket off, replaced it with the new, then cranked the bolts down good and tight. I remember going through some pretty sever rain storms during the next seven or so years, and it never leaked a drop.
The moral of this story is that I think a new gasket is always a good idea.

 

[bullfrog]

Unfortunately if it is a wood frame or composite construction most times if you lay a straight edge across the roof or ceiling you will find the weight of the AC has caused the roof to droop slightly, followed by water puddling, followed by water damage. Well built aluminum framed structures don't tend to do this and if they leak it is usually a gasket.

 

[VanKitten]

Bullfrog...that is exactly part of what happened to my class C.

The rebuild started with taking that old AC off, and sister in all new roof rafters.

The water damage was mostly the roof and down the side where the sagging caused the water to pool and run down.

 

[shadow]

Unfortunately if it is a wood frame or composite construction most times if you lay a straight edge across the roof or ceiling you will find the weight of the AC has caused the roof to droop slightly, followed by water puddling, followed by water damage.  Well built aluminum framed structures don't tend to do this and if they leak it is usually a gasket.

My rv is aluminum framed, and there is no sag or droop anywhere on the roof at all. That`s why I`m sure its the a/c roof gasket.
I will have it replaced, but it will have to wait a while before I can get it done.

I hope to get it tight enough to hold for now, until it can be replaced.

 

[bullfrog]

The foam gaskets seem to give me problems also. I have been tempted to use a better sealant but it would also be more difficult to remove the AC as they usually go bad eventually. The trailer I am building will have no holes in the roof as it seems the only way to have a hope of preventing leaks!

 

[ArtW]

This is why I frigging HATE roof ACs
When I got my Oasis, I would really have preferred the Similar Coleman, or Summerland Mini, as they both have side mount AC, but the dealer that had the Oasis worked with my and my financing realities, and the dealers that had the others wouldn't

 

[shadow]

Weekend update.

I had three things planned to get done in the rv this weekend, but only two of them worked out.

I bought a new microwave and range hood, to replace the original ones that were thirty three years old.
After removing the original microwave, I needed to do some cabinet work so the new one would fit in the cabinet.
I had to make a filler piece for the top and both sides. I used pieces of 1x2 as the filler for the sides and the top, but for the top
piece I had to glue on a piece of laminate to match the cabinets, because part of it would be seen above the microwave trim.

Here are the trim pieces installed on the cabinet.

The microwave installed in the cabinet.

Next was the range hood install, but before I did that, I replaced the exterior hood vent, and of course there were problems with that.
I bought the same exterior vent, but because of lazy factory assembly, the new vent would not fit.
My rv has aluminum framed walls, all vents, windows, and other opening. So the opening for the hood vent is very tight, so I had to file the opening and the welds to get the new hood vent to fit.

The aluminum framed opening for the hood vent.

So, with the vent properly installed, it was time to install the range hood.

The kitchen area.

The original range hood was twenty inches wide and installed off set so that it was not completely over the stove as it should be.
The new range hood I bought is twenty four inches wide and properly centered over the stove as it should be.
I`m very happy with these upgrades, they really look nice.

The part that didn`t work out for me is the couch, so now I have to rebuild it again for it to fit with the table in place.
That will be my project for the next three or four weekends.

Lots more to come

 

[shadow]

Weekend update.

Rain, rain, and more rain. That is what I have been dealing with for the past three weeks.
So I have been working on the couch that is replacing the original dining seats, and I finally got it done today.

I couldn`t afford to buy a small rv couch, even used they are several hundred dollars, so I got a regular small couch
and started the extensive modifications to make it fit in the rv. I had to shorten it seven inches front to back, and I had
to modify the back rest and lower it five inches. Then I had to raise the couch five and a half inches to fit over the generator
box

Here is the couch in place with the dining table in place.

  

For some reason my rv has two different dining tables.

More to come.

 

[Cammalu]

That looks wonderful


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