1979 Dodge Diplomat (like Apollo?), 26' Class A, 440, Refurbish

[sasktrini]

Sorry for the lack of updates.  Glassing from the back was easy, not pretty and smelly.  But a small patch kit from an autobody store was enough.Three layers on all spots.








This is the second application of JB Weld on these spots. 








These cracks and holes are in very difficult sports to sand smooth.  I found there were some odd contours that I want to fill and level before I paint.  Maybe from a previous repair?



 
This is the corner I chipped off.  Also building up with JB Weld over Fibreglass.

[LJ-TJ]

Here's a trick I learned when fiber glassing and will save you a pile of sanding. Buy some good quality wax paper. Once you've put the resin on take the wax paper and put the wax side on the resin. The little white bubbles you'll see are air pockets. Take a auto body squeegee and squeegee out the excess resin and so there's no air bubbles. Once the resin hardens peel off the wax paper and walla smooth as a new born baby's bum and probably no sanding required. 

[sasktrini]

I should have done that  D:oH!


It's like minus 100 outside, but we should get close to thawing next weekend.  And I have a sinus cold, so I'm doing some stuff in the house… framing out the walls surrounding the tub and fridge.  Actually done mocking up the bathroom side and marked my pieces for disassembly and finally installation soon.  Just tossing ideas around my head for how to do the fridge cabinet.  It's floor to ceiling, has a pantry to the right, and then beneath both units is the furnace and wheel well.  I'm not certain, but I'm hoping the width of that cabinet completely encompasses the wheel well.  That way, I will have floor-to-ceiling supports of the fridge shelf that it installs on.  Also, I need to insulate around the wheel well and the fridge cavity.  So if I can make it one rectangular unit, it will be easier to ensure it's insulated.


So I'm brainstorming.


Thanks for the advice.

[sasktrini]

Been real cold… waiting for my new furnace blower motor before I head back out to the motorhome.  In the meantime, I've been doing some framing at home, and hand-sanding the bathtub.


Taking my time, just using my fingers, I've gotten most of the tub smooth.  I applied another couple coats of JB Weld to build up a warped flat surface (that I suspect was previously repaired).  I'm happy with the contour, but not happy with how much more sanding I'll have to do before applying the tub refinishing paint.  I'm pretty happy though.

[sasktrini]

Got my furnace blower motor and reassembled the unit.  Haven't been back out to reinstall though yet.


I finished sanding… not perfect, but enough… and washed the tub down with T.S.P.  Here's the stuff I got to refinish the tub.  It was about $50.








Spray or brush on (wish I had a sprayer). Tintable.  Enough for a full size bath for two coats, so the package says.  I've done three, and still have some left… may hit one more coat before I go to sleep.  Says it's good for 14 hours after mixing, but I'm struggling with a few drips and runs.  Oh well, it's much better than before, and nicely covered the JB weld "filler." 


First and third coats.








Except for the installation, I hope for the best, and will break the tub refinishing out into a separate post for a focused topic that may help others down the road.

[Elandan2]

Excellent!!

[Froggy1936]

ReAutomotive:See all 339 items

   
• 
• placement (new) $175.00 @ Amazon  Add up all repair supplys + time and what do you have ? Frank

[sasktrini]

I know, Frank… even locally there was a classified for a guy that had several at $100 each.  But I was already in it for the original after I fibreglassed.  For some people, repairing the existing may mean they don't have to chop up the bathroom in order to fix it, or get exact matching measurements.  I'd say I spent $100.

[sasktrini]

Added to the plans… $500 Splendide WD802M, which I'll install at the rear of the coach!





It's quite heavy, spec'd at 185 lbs, so I'll have to make very sure I build a strong cabinet over my generator compartment to support it.  Was advertised locally, and the previous owner will store it for me for a couple months while I finish renovating the rear of the motorhome.  Only one sticky button (spin speed), and I'll have to get a new exterior vent shroud.  He pulled it out of his 2003 motorhome in favour of more storage.


Presently, I only have the 30 amp circuit from my generator wired to my coach, I will run an exterior and a washer receptacle to my generator's 20A circuit!

[sasktrini]

I have made a little progress and scored another deal!


1) Insulated and boxed in the rear wheel wells and generator box.
2) Assembled generator exhaust
3) Framed out bathroom, tub support, furnace / fridge enclosure, boxed around the fresh water tank, shelf support for hot water heater, and sofa bed all along the drivers side.  Kitchen cabinet remaining.
4) Cleaned out water heater (stubborn anode rod, got all the junk out)
5) Oh… bought a used set of water filter housings to mount under the kitchen cabinet for cheap ($60 included hoses and four new filters).  Bought new PEX to redo the supply lines.  Also one of those Oxygenic BodySpa handheld shower heads!
6) Cleaned and inspected all faucets, lubricated valves with Vaseline… Nice!
7) Just tonight, closed the deal on a roof AC unit for $45… currently installed in a 77 GMC, but worked cool and quiet… P.O. decided he didn't need two units… got SUPER LUCKY!  Saturday is the day to remove it from his rig and install it in mine!  Can't leave a gaping hole in the roof, right?


So my "To Do" list in the near future is:
1) run 110v wiring for Washer/Dryer, Microwave, Exterior and Roof AC on the 30A panel (I know I said 20A before), and Bathroom, Fridge, Kitchen and Living area on the 20A panel… replace 30A generator cable with 50A and connect both legs, split the 50A coach cable between converter and separate AC panel.
2) route plumbing primarily to pass from the kitchen cabinet through to the bathroom area… I need to be able to finish insulating the bathroom wall before permanently mounting the bathtub.  Furnace ductwork into the bathroom must also be run.  (I hate the idea of hacking up a wall I want insulated in order for plumbing and electrical to pass though, especially in a tight working space, but I hope it works out).  Finishing this will also allow installation of the countertop and stove.


Hoping for some warm weather and good progress photos in the next week or two!

[sasktrini]

Some progress pics:

Furnace / Fridge / Pantry over the wheel well





Sofabed framed over water tank

[sasktrini]

It was a snowy intrusion to spring here, but I braved the elements for the air conditioner.  Here are some photos of the control panel.








The owner didn't think it was installed at the factory.  But my search is coming up empty for finding documentation for this vintage model.  Model number and year was not obvious… where should I look?


Hardest part, in the freezing rain and ice, was realizing this model had a baseplate adhered to the roof… I thought it was lust supposed to be compressible foam gasket.  There was a bead of adhesive around the perimeter and the vent opening.  I didn't expect that.  Got it out after all though.  I hope someone might know this unit.

[sasktrini]

I figured out that the AC is a Brisk-Aire Sunchaser by Duo Therm (Dometic)… found a manual from 1979 that is close, but seems newer than the one I have.  The model number on the compressor gave me a hint.  Main difference between mine and others I've seen documentation for is the ability to divert air flow forward or rearward.


Looks like the weekend will be when I install it… snow is melting, yielding green grass that was brown before the snow blanket  , and a lot of mud!

[sasktrini]

Do you know how it feels to do a bunch of work and see no progress?  I'm starting to stress about my July goal of having this back together.  My hope is that the final 5% of effort will just be slapping up wall panels, and it will rapidly take on a finished look, thankfully to the 95% of hidden work that's required.

Here's some progress:



What I did here is started framing out the wall that separates the bathroom from the generator box / laundry / storage.  I did this to get the bathroom door hung and get my inverter, converter and separate 110V breaker box in place and deal with wire routing initially.  I hung the ceiling in the bathroom / laundry areas.  My generator 30A circuit feeds the 110V breaker box directly, and my generator 20A circuit goes to my 30A RV receptacle which I will plug my converter in to for boondocking.  I've run two circuits from the 30A box for the air conditioning and the laundry separately.  The two available 110V circuits in the converter are routed for the bathroom / kitchen receptacles (including fridge and microwave) and for the living room receptacles.  I figure that if I need to switch the fridge off AC power at any time to run another appliance, I can switch the fridge to propane.  I've also identified and routed my 12V circuits at the panel and begun routing them.

Finally this weekend, I picked up the washer/dryer!  Now that it is in, I can continue with adding interior wall structures.  It was heavy and easier to move in without having to walk around the closet to get there.



One difference is I've decided to re-route my wires from the panels over the bathroom door into the fridge compartment and below (no longer clustered along the back wall).  I didn't like the idea of all the wiring running under the tub, and felt I would have shorter runs using this approach, as well as make valuable space for the plumbing.  Originally the tub was resting on an 8" platform.  I will be installing it on a 1" platform of rigid foam insulation, but that means the plumbing will have less space to run under / around the tub.

I had to recess into the floor to accommodate the trap for the lowered tub.  It will have it's own feed into the tank, but there was not room to junction the sinks into this same inlet... the old one on the front side of the tub will remain.  So I spent yesterday dry-fitting my drain lines.





The middle branch from this "Y" fitting are to tie in to the black vent and re-route the vent to the same cutout in the roof (without sacrificing usable space like it was previously hung). The left will go to the bathroom sink and laundry standpipe.  The right wraps around the tub for the kitchen.



Space is tight where the circuit for the kitchen has to wrap around the bathtub.  I haven't decided what to do about the wall that will contain the faucet and shower head mount.  Was actually only one elbow short of mocking this section up. 



This section is in the furnace cavity under the fridge compartment.  Needed to jog the line up around the exhaust port and through to the kitchen cabinet area.  Once finished, I want to cement this branch, the bathtub drain and pass the pex supply lines through.  Once they are routed, I am free to reinstall the furnace for good (and get it out of my way).  One other issue is that my city water inlet is positioned behind the stove enclosure, so I guess I need to mate it to pex as well so I can proceed with my kitchen counter and get my stove installed.

What else have I started?  Dropped the propane tank for clean-up, almost finished removing front seats so I can pull the nasty carpet.

That's the latest.  Plumbing and electrical are the priority so I can start buttoning things up (toilet install, cabinet and closet framing), finish replacing ceiling and exterior wall panels.

Oh, and I still have a head swap and radiator service to tend to.  July music festivals are fast approaching!  Ugh... I'm worried.

[sasktrini]

Busy weekend...

Started cementing drain, laundry complete, but need to mock up bathroom and kitchen sinks.  Need to finish bathtub fit and inject expanding foam to replace what I cut out from the floor.

Supply lines (city water inlet included) routed from laundry through kitchen.

Furnace ductwork routed, propane line connected, wired.

System monitor connected.

120V circuits completed: bathroom / kitchen, laundry, Air conditioning.  Only outstanding circuit is entertainment area.

Kitchen counter mocked up for stove and sink clearances... verified that the underside of the sink drain will clear the hot water heater, so I can make a shallower countertop layout!  (relocation of water tank allows for water pump and filters located between tank and wheel well, opening up center aisle).

Local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store had the perfect carpet for redoing my cockpit, and the perfect vinyl for lining my shower... awesome $45 spent!  Got the front seats pulled, and almost ready to get the old shag out and start my head swap!

It's almost time for photo updates.  Seems no one reads this but me though.

[Elandan2]

I don't know about anyone else, but your renovations keep me interested.  Keep up the good work!!  Rick

[Oz]

And that's no small feat for a member who's been here for that many years! 

[Rickf1985]

I have been watching, most of what you are doing is outside of my area of expertise so I am just watching and learning. Don't worry, we won't leave you.

[Lefty]

Looking good!

[sasktrini]

I'm humbled... Y'all are my experts!  I just have a habit of biting off more than I can chew.  Thank you.

It's almost progress picture time again.  One thing that may be helpful with my renos is that I will have much of it framed out without the paneling, which will be great for pictures.  Just gotta get stuff done before I focus on getting stuff finished.  (yeah... sounds like nonsense, but I think I know what I mean)

I've cut a smaller kitchen countertop that widens the center aisle by 8"... the counter will be 32" deep, almost matching the depth of the adjacent sofa bed.  I got stuck envisioning how to frame it so as to clear the water tank YET support the sofa bed structure. I think I've got it though.

I had to remove the sofa bed yet again to focus on the cabinet and to start replacing the cockpit carpet.  Hopefully by the time this next weekend is done, I will have the carpet replaced, cabinet and sofa bed done and cylinder heads swapped (hopefully a little easier to do with the buckets out of the way).

[sasktrini]

Progress…


The doghouse shape bothers me.  First, I easily removed it, held only by four angle brackets.  Second… the shape is odd.





This is the part that was bolted to the floor.  Notice it's about four inches deep. not only is it poorly made, but I always trip over it.  I may not be able to enlarge the opening, but I can improve the design and make more room for my feet!





And here finally… the carpet is out! (I think I'll leave the orange shag on the firewall).

[sasktrini]

Was a good weekend...

I have an improved design of my doghouse that I'm working on... mocked it up yesterday.

I've put some carpet at the step into the cockpit so that I could reassemble the sofa bed... not much room to move in there otherwise.  Here's a shot of the carpet I got!  I love it!



I've cut the floor opening from frame rail to frame rail, which is making the head swap much easier!  My stepdad began the teardown yesterday with the intake and passenger-side head, while I worked on carpentry for the new doghouse.  Gonna clean up the donors for the reinstall, which hopefully will get done by next weekend.

Oh, I powered up my system monitor only to decide that where I had mounted it was not practical.  So I re-routed all the wiring to mount it above my electrical next to the bathroom.  Finally, I believe that all my work by the furnace / fridge / stove is done... tired of uninstalling and reinstalling in order to run wires and stuff!

[M & J]

Groovy.

[sasktrini]

It's a little difficult to see, but the top level will screw into the firewall and floor.  The lower level has been changed from a big box to a flat cover with the required clearances.  Heck… if it doesn't work, I'll be building a new doghouse.  But I think this will be great, and no more stubbed toes.





Actually got some carpet glued down to the top faces of this, and prepped my used cylinder heads (brass wire brush) for reinstallation.  I know I should do much more inspection and servicing of the heads, but they are temporary… not RB heads.  Just hoping for bolt-on functionality so I can start enjoying the rig for this season!  Hopefully this weekend will bring the engine back to life in a beautiful new doghouse!

[sasktrini]

I've finished the plumbing and LP.  Only my fridge (Dometic RM760) is having issues not running properly on propane.  All other core RV devices are working great!  I only have a month before the music festival I'm attending,  so have to pick my tasks.  STILL have to do the engine head swap and get this thing running again after two years, as well as finish dealing with the walls all the way up to the cockpit.  Not sure how that will progress.  Thing is I want to make sure I have solid structure for the bunkbed and that the windows work and are properly sealed.  Just want to get the bare minimum done to make that trip.

drawer/closet rebuild







DWV, PEX Supply and filter install redone
Before:
DWV under tub requiring tub to be elevated


Vent came up the middle of the floor inside the old vanity


After:
Kitchen


Under Fridge (of course the PEX lines are there, just not in this picture)


Around Bathtub


Under Vanity to Laundry and Vent (lines all crawl to the back of the new vanity, hug the walls and ceiling)




Initial mock up of vanity