More progress - finally!!

We finally drug out the old camper. Jay has made tremendous progress in the renovations. We will be using the camper in a matter of days and we are so excited. So here is a list of tasks and projects that Jay has completed this week:

• All of the fiberglass cabinets and benches were primed and painted black
• Checked for and sealed any water leaks
• Ordered and partially installed the flooring (Allure: Light Bamboo)

Measure twice, cut once.

We ran out of flooring so the rest of the floor will have to be completed when it arrives - we had to special order it from Home Depot.  

• Installed the metal stair mold on floor transition 
• Removed the light fixture and its wiring from behind the sink
• Replaced 12 volt wiring for the lights on either side of the upper cabinet

This flooring is completely waterproof and lightweight.

We are going to add track lighting and a back-splash.

• Installed track lighting

I love these lights.  Jay installed a dimmer switch for them.

• Installed city water connections
• Completely rewired the camper and added four 120v outlets

•  Made and installed a backer board for the back splash

•  Installed the faucet

We found a great deal on this Moen faucet at Home Depot

• Installed the fridge and framed it in (he hadn't yet framed it in when I took the picture)
• Painted the cabinet support bracket
• Made the storage compartment covers for the benches

You can see the shiny support brackets to the left and one of the compartment covers on the right. I will paint the covers black to match the benches. 

Jay is still working on the camper as I am typing this entry. We plan on taking the Scamp on her maiden voyage in less than a week and we are so excited. There are still things to be done:

1. Make, stain, attach handles to and install the cabinet doors
2. Finish installing flooring and any floor trim
3. Hinge cutting board over the sink and create compartment underneath
4. Fix front door handle
5. Make curtains
6. Install curtain rods and curtains
7. Install the tail lights on the trailer
8. Install the back splash behind the sink
9. Make and install the table for the dinette

I am sure there are other things I am leaving out but that is all I can think of for now, and that's plenty!
We will be getting new cushions, but that is a big expense. We want to order them from Scamp and they will cost around $750 including shipping. So we are going to wait a while before we order those.
Jay has really done an amazing job and he has put a great deal of his free time trying to make this camper perfect. I am thoroughly impressed and I can not wait to go camping - in style!!

Weekend Update

We were able to get a good bit done this weekend. 

Jay took the bunk bench out to prime it.

Check out how disgusting it is under there. There were hundreds of dead ladybugs and other insects plus years of dirt and grime.

 The bottom sides of the bench (the back wall of it) were lined with foam. We ripped that out and trashed it.










I started cleaning the cabinet under the sink and stove.

This is one of the older before pics. 

It is a long, slow process. The mildew and gunk is really hard to get off. And, it was hard to get to it under this cabinet. We could have pulled it out, to paint the counter and clean underneath it. But, with all the rivets it didn't seem worth the hassle.

Behind the fridge, there was a sheet of this foam insulation stuff. I removed it because it was deteriorating, the foam was falling off, and the glue holding it in place was hardened and brittle. I will paint the brown fiberglass area with the white primer.

Jay drilled out a hole for the city water hookup. 

And he sanded down the bottom of the cabinet so I could paint it.

Oscar helped!

And Jay even let me use his sander. This will be the bottom of the storage compartments, once the bench is put back in.

It looks so much better after a few coats of paint. 

I finished painting the ensolite under the window. 

Jay got a few coats of primer on the closet.  The closet has enoslite on the back wall and the side walls are that covered foam. I left the foam in the closet because it was holding up much better than the foam behind the fridge or under the bench.

Jay painted the upper and lower 
cabinets with primer too. 

So, all of the interior has been primed. 

The original light under the cabinets will not stay. Jay was running out of time, and he didn't want to mess with the wiring and rivets. But we will remove it and paint behind it soon.









All in all, it was a productive weekend. We are having fun - most of the time and we are really enjoying this project. Now, we are waiting for our hardware and window seals to get here. That will be next on the to-do list.

The work has begun!

We plan to start off doing minor repairs. We really want to completely renovate it, but we are so excited to go camping. So, some of the renovation will take longer while we enjoy the beautiful fall weather in our new Scamp. 

Our new ac unit. Jay made a cute little plexiglass window above it so we could still enjoy some light from that window.

Jay has caulked all the seams. We are now painting the ensolite with a mold and mildew resistant primer. We are using Zinsser Bull's Eye 123.

The walls are cleaned and caulked.

We pulled the air conditioner back out to paint the trim and store it while we are working.

The floor that was replaced under the dinette.

Priming the benches.

One coat of primer on the ensolite and the air conditioner frame.

We are removing the sink but will reinstall it after we paint the counter. We will not be reusing the pump faucet.

 

Propane stove removed, this is what it looks like underneath the stove.

 We do not plan on reinstalling the propane stove. We do not want to cook inside the camper. When we are camping, we use a small propane grill or the campfire to cook. Jay is going to make some type of utensil tray with a cutting board top. He hasn't designed it yet, but I am sure he will come up with some very creative.

Whats under the sink - a hot mess.

Sink hole. Haha.

I still have some cleaning to do in the closet, in the cabinets, and underneath the bunk bed bench.

Cabinet doors removed

Testing out the look of the bench. We tried spraying it, but with several coats it still looked spotty. Jay is going to roll it with ultra smooth lint free rollers to see if we can get a better result.

Right now, the camper is leaking from several different locations when it rains. The front and rear window, the roof vent, and the door (coming from underneath) all leak. Today, I went to Scamp's website and ordered the beading and locking strip for the windows, new door hinges, and a new outer door latch. 

As far as the roof vent goes, Jay is thinking about how he is going to approach that. I haven't researched the vent much, so I do not know what resealing or replacing the roof vent will entail.

The roof vent. There is no easy way to clean this.

First Order of Business - Cleaning!

First things first. Before we can start any of the renovation, we need to clean. J pressure washed the outside and pulled the benches out to replace some of the floor while I started cleaning the ensolite. 

She is ready for her bath.

J pulling out the old carpet.

Replacing damaged floor.

The water holding tank. Would you drink from that? We are adding city water lines so we can have fresh water at campsites.

Disgusting!

So fresh and so clean!

We bought a Scamp!

This is the what the Scamp looked like the day we bought it in July 2011. 

The window on the door has been replaced at some time. I like it much better than the small rectangular factory window.

Here are some pictures of the interior. It needs a lot of work and a thorough cleaning.

The original cushions could not be salvaged. The foam and covers were dry rotting, mildewed, and just plain gross.

The stove is in good shape, but we will probably take it out and replace it with a tray and cutting board top. We don't like to cook inside the camper. We will use campfire or our small tabletop gas grill.

All of the ensolite is covered in mold and mildew. We will be scrubbing this down and painting.

The old seam tape is coming off in several spots. We will be replacing the seam tape with caulk.

The old seam tape is coming off in several spots. We will be replacing the seam tape with caulk.