'75 Winnebago Chieftain Remodel "Winnifred"

[mattmac1976]

Hi all. Since I'm new here, I'll introduce us before getting into the particulars of our project. My name is Matt and my Fiances' name is Jessica. We are new RVers, heading to fulltime in spring of '16. We have three dogs, two of which are under 10lbs, and one Black Lab.

We have recently purchased a 1975 Chieftain D25C from another forum member here. Since we are new to this, we really appreciate having all of this information available to us, and welcome any feedback on what we are doing.

So, I know the icon for the post is stating pictures, and I promise this blog will have a bunch of them, right now it is raining and I don't have good one of Winnifred to post yet, and I'm enjoying being inside, lol.



Long listing of projects needing to be done this summer:

   
• Fix a roof leak above shower/closet area. Winnifred seems to have had a pole or tree fall on her previously and has a dent in that spot that has broken the seam to the wall and is allowing water to enter the coach in both the shower and the closet. Right now there is a beautiful tarp covering it up, but I will need to try and hammer out the indentation and seal the seam with silicone.
• Generator ran when I picked her up, but now it won't start. I have put five gallons of gas in the aux tank and it hasn't helped, I am thinking that replacing the fuel line is probably what she needs, but I am going to try the squeeze bulb idea I read on the forums here first.
• We are replacing the existing toilet with a Nature's Head composting one, and were thinking of dropping the black tank and in its place mount an extra fresh water tank. Thoughts?
• There is a problem with the 12v system in that it doesn't work on the drivers side in the coach. Lights won't come on, fan in bathroom doesn't run. This did work right after I got her home, but over night it stopped. PO said he always had an issue with it, so I am probably looking at a short?
• Bringing it home, the engine overheated on the interstate. I assumed it was from me running her too hard, but my Mopar mechanic future brother in law has told me it is probably the thermostat or water pump and that it shouldn't just overheat at cruising speeds. I have read a few posts on here about rerouting the coolant hoses and about the correct thermostat and water pump to get, so those will be switched out as well.
• I felt a bit of play in the wheel and she wanted to drift from side to side a bit more than was comfortable to me, so I am going to adjust the steering box, as I have read in here that she should hold a straight line without having to micro manage her.
• Door handle and hinges need replacing. Handle has a trick to open and close it, and lock and unlock it, that's like getting free men on contra. So we are thinking of replacing it with a key-less one. Thoughts? Also, can I pick these hinges up at the hardware store or has anyone had luck replacing the hinges with some others?
• Check fresh water system. Will read up on doing that.
• Stove and oven need a good cleaning and the propane system needs to be tested. I will follow the guide on here to do this.
• Chrome the front grill, bumper, fog lights, running and marker light holders.
• We are replacing the old heater with a Wave 8. Thoughts on that heating the entire coach? We are in Maine, but won't be full timing here. Goal is to head west, and winter south.
• Installing a solar setup.
• The batteries for both the chassis and coach are bad or going bad, so we are replacing them with Titans.
• Building an Arduino control board for all systems and solar.
• Routing HDMI and power to monitor mounts on the rear cabinets for two 23" monitors.
• Semi-permanently installing my desktop computer into the space the old heater is.
• Installing a back up camera and a few side security cameras.
• Change running and marker lights, fog lights, headlights all to LED.
• Change interior lights to all LED, including new fixtures.
• Installing laminate flooring.
• Painting the interior cabinets and drawers.
• Replacing factory hardware for cabinets. Anything come to mind for anyone? We can paint the original stuff, but would like to replace it all together if we could.
• Replacing the counter top/sink in the kitchen.
• There is no hot water running to the bathroom sink or kitchen sink, and I can only guess the shower as well. Copper lines have been pinched and pex has been run, but only cold, so new hot water lines have to be run. We are thinking of switching the hot water heater to an on demand system, thoughts?
• The original carpet is still in the cab area, so we will be pulling that and replacing it with some low pile nylon mopar stuff. My only concern is the dog house area and heat. Driving home, there was a fair amount of heat coming from that area, as well as the dog house not being entirely sealed off. Anything special to use to do so?
• Re-upholstering the dining area benches, as well as the twin lounge "beds". We will be putting this area back into its semi original configuration with a couch back and side arms for the drivers side and a office area on the opposite side for my business.
• Installing valances and pull down shades through out the coach.
• Vinyl painting the dash black and changing the steering wheel. Possibly changing the steering column as well. I have seen some nice chrome universal ones that fit classic cars and trucks and am wondering if this is an option.
• A couple of my outside doors, like to the shore power cord, are cracked or busted, any thoughts on fixing them?
• Setup and install a tow system for my '08 Rubicon.

So, as you can see, there is a long list of things to do, but most of them are small projects. Most of these are summer goals, and a few are fall/winter tasks. Our plan is to take you guys through our pain and success and keep you updated daily as we get things done. Please feel free to offer advice or feedback or little words of encouragement as well. Any and all is greatly appreciated.


Matt and Jessica

[joev]

Welcome to the form looks like you have a good idea on the projects that you want to do
there is nothing like buying something and making it your own it will give you great satisfaction on completing each task. We are all here for any help we can offer don't be scared to ask. Good luck and looking forward to the updates
Joe and Catherine

[sasktrini]

Nice.  That's a long list.  Hopefully, as you become more familiar with it, the list will get shorter.  I'll provide a little input…

Maybe the generator fuel line is plumbed to the main tank rather than the aux… Add fuel to the main just for kicks.

If your potable water tank and black tank are in close proximity, you may be able to do what you want with the plans for the toilet.  I'm concerned that all the plumbing may prove difficult to re-route.  Also the holding tanks, being below the floor, are more susceptible to heating and cooling / freezing.  You may have to ensure its properly enclosed and insulated.

Finally, it is challenging to live in a construction area.  Good luck!

[mattmac1976]

We appreciate the input. Generator fuel line is plumbed to the aux tank. There is a half tank in the main and engine starts no problem. I am going to install the bulb tomorrow and see if that fixes the issue, if not I will replace the line.

I started painting the grill today, removed the pass side panel to paint and see how it would come out. I didn't realize that the plastic piece behind it would need painting after cleaning as well, so I went ahead and took care of that as well. I will paint the rest of the grill tomorrow and attempt to remove the bumper to get that set for paint as well.

As promised, here are some pics:




Front pass side grill piece painted chrome, also painted the back plastic piece semi gloss black.




Rear closet area, dent in the angle brace is where something fell on her sometime in her past. I am assuming water has pretty much destroyed the wall here as it is bubbling out and feels spongy.




Same spot, opposite side above shower. Wall does not feel spongy as far as I can tell but the ceiling does, so that will be replaced.




Front where she had an accident again sometime in her past. Is this siding "easy" to repair? Would like to straighten out that crease, and pull it back down so it even with the trim. Not shown, but it is also like this on the top, where the vinyl screw cover is in that channel.


I will post more as other work is done.

[joanfenn]

We have the natures head toilet.  It is the only way to go.  Kevin got one also and he now uses his black water tank for extra grey water.  I dont see why you couldnt put a fresh water tank there and use it for that.  You save a heck of a lot of water by not having the conventional rv toilet on board.   

[Oz]

Not exactly "easy" to fix that body damage.  You'll need to remove the thermopanel and you'll see the wood framing under it. 

[plockit007]

Hello, It appears that you have lots to do. I have the same model and year. I found lots of pin holes in the ceiling. And every year for the past 4 years I have had bad leaks. So this year I took down the ceiling from the inside and found a pretty nice hole that was stuffed with paper towels to (of course) stop the leak. I have to replace my ceiling from the inside. It is 3/4" plywood. I don't know if the back closet ceiling is the same. I had to replace the guts in my main door and indeed my lock did not work. So the previous owner had a pad lock on it. I am using a deadbolt lock.

I suggest keeping a journal and lots of pictures of what was old and what is new. Also go on line and get every RV article on Older RV's you can find as well as the newer stuff it offers you lots of ideas. Hopefully you have all the manuals that came with the unit.. My winnie has the original refrigerator and it works just fine I just replaced the molding around each door I have not turned it on yet to test it.

You have a very well thought out plan. Take your time. Have fun. I love the improvising I have to do.