1990 Fleetwood Prowler Regal 34K Remodel (aka: Project Lucy)

[jeno]

i wish i had half your ability. looks GREAT

[Lefty]

Today my new lug nuts arrived. Got them all installed and torqued to 95ft/lbs with my torque wrench. I'll recheck them after 50 miles, and then again after another 100 miles... Then before each trip afterwards.
Got most of the floor repair done today. My battery in my cordless drill got low, and I was unable to get the other half of flooring screwed down. I did get it cut and fit though, so in the morning I just have to screw it down. Tomorrow I intend to get the louan fitted in the bathroom, and hopefully start installing the carpet and linoleum.

New lug nuts installed...



Rear doorway





All damage cut away and cleaned out. Note the way the original floor joists were not connected to any structure... stupid design.





I restructured the floor joists, tying in to the main joist that ran down the center of the coach. This small change greatly strengthened the entire floor there.
I also re-insulated the space between with new insulation. This shot is with 1/2 of the new panel installed..







More tomorrow...

[TripleJ]

i wish i had half your ability. looks GREAT

I agree, dang fine work.

"Lefty" heh, now I get it.  W%

[Lefty]

Got a few things done...
First, removed the toilet in preparation of installing the new linoleum... found a small area of rot. had to cut it out and fix that before laying a new layer of louan.







Bathroom floor before new louan.



Repaired floor with new louan.



Bathroom with new louan.. ready for linoleum.

[Lefty]

I also painted the spare tire rim.. which I totally forgot about when I was painting the rest of the rims.




Since this was a brand new rim/tire.. I only had to scuff it with a red 3M scuff pad and then wipe it with PrepSol before tacking it and spraying.
Me masking it up.



Finished result.  Ideally, I prefer to paint rims with the tires removed and balance weights removed.. but for a spare that will be kept under a tire cover and not used much.. this will be ok.







I also was able to repair the bent stabilizers without purchasing new ones. The damage was limited to the links that go to the legs being bent. I was able to unbolt them, and by using a 4" cement cap block as a make shift anvil, along with my 5lb. sledge hammer, I was able to beat them back straight. After reinstalling them, I greased the assemblies and now the jacks are working pretty good.  I love when repairs are free....
I purchased a magnetically mounted omni-directional WIFI antenna, which has a 15ft. cable and is rated at 12db gain... to go onto my usb wireless adapter for my PC. I figure I'll take it to play with on boring days and use the 33" living room TV as a monitor. The cable is long enough that I can mount the antenna on the roof and it easily reaches thru the dining room window to where the tower will go. I have it installed now, and even with the antenna inside the house I can pick up City Hall's WiFi network with a 82% signal strength... which is about 2 miles away. With it outside on the roof of the trailer, I should easily pick up a good signal from the parks free wifi. That is an issue we have always had before, using our laptop.
Tomorrow, we are going to move the trailer to the driveway.. where I have a 30A plug. Currently, it's hooked up via a 100ft. HD extension cord, and we cannot run the roof A/C. Plus, the yard gets very soft with the slightest rain, so if I'm going to get it out of there, I have to do it when it has not rained for at least 3-4 days. With the roof A/C on, it will make installing the flooring much more comfortable. Also, it will make doing the remaining small interior jobs more pleasant too.

[Rickf1985]

Looking good, you even masked the label on the rim?

[Lefty]

Looking good, you even masked the label on the rim?

Yes... I'm picky.   lol

[Lefty]

Final touches!!
As of this evening, I am officially finished with my "To-Do" list.... Since my last post, I have done a ton of finishing touches, some I took pictures, some not.

Some of the more important things I finished:
Replaced both sewer valves, Fixed a small leak at the rear of the trailer that was coming from a crack in the tail light panel. Fixed all the exterior lights, clearance lights, turn/brake lights, reverse lights,etc.. Fixed the sensors on the holding tanks.. now the meters in the range hood work properly. Cut 6" off the tongue jack and installed a new foot. Installed all the new brackets for the equalizer hitch and sway bar. Repainted all the exterior compartment doors, propane tank cover, and electric jack cover. rebuilt the sill under the rear door and reinforced the step mounting structure.


Since I did not have a carpet stretcher, and I'm too "thrifty" to rent one... I built my own from scrap lumber, some leftover carpet padding, duct tape, and a whole bunch of nails... worked like a charm.



I found this threshold at Home Depot.. It matched the linoleum like it was made for it.



Since the original window cornices were missing, I had to build new ones for all the windows.



This picture shows how they were constructed. Materials are: 1/2" Particle board for the ends, 1/4" luan for the front & top, and 3/4" square molding for reinforcement. They turned out very sturdy but still light weight.

[Lefty]

Here is the longer version for the bigger windows.



Here we are installing them after they were covered. We used a grey and off-white striped fabric in the bedroom



For the living room, we used a copper color fabric. We used left over material to also make matching curtain tie backs.



Front cabinetry



Dining area. We already had the drop leaf table, which I had repainted bronze and covered with new formica a couple years ago.. The chairs were bar stools that were left in the trailer when we bought it. I cut 5" off the legs to make them into chairs.



Our recliners fit.. barely. I am not happy with how they take up the entire living room though. I want to replace them with a sleeper sofa and a RV recliner.. as was original. But will have to wait until after our Mobile trip. They are comfy though.

[Lefty]

This shot puts the size of the recliners more in proper perspective.






Looking from bathroom, forward



Kitchen/dining area.

[joanfenn]

You have done a great job

[Lefty]

A few more...

[Lefty]

We are leaving this Sat. for a 2 month stay in Mobile,Al.
Tomorrow, I have to finish putting all our gear in the trailer, and then I have to do an oil change and transmission filter change on my truck. Then I have to set up my travel toolbox, and load up the truck. the other day, my neighbors helped me to put my camper shell back on the truck, so everything will stay dry and also not blow around.

[TerryH]

Looks impressive. Did you inlay the tile section on the kitchen counter? Definitely unique looking. Regular grout?

[Lefty]

Thanks Terry.
The insert in the counter is inlaid to be flush with the counter. There was an original tile inlay there that was mauve that I removed by busting out one of the middle tiles, and then pried the remaining tiles up intact. The new tiles were about the same thickness as the old ones.
The tiles came with a mesh backing in 12"X12"sheets. I used Tile Adhesive Mastic applied with a toothed trowel, and then pressed them in place. After that cured 24 hours, I grouted the tiles with almond colored grout, which came in a dry form and I added water to make a mortar. I applied it with a rubber grout trowel, which presses it into all the grooves and wipes away the excess at the same time. After that cured 48 hours, I applied grout sealer (2 coats), which goes on clear and seals the grout to prevent stains and mold/mildew.
Whether it will hold up without cracking remains to be tested... but they use the same materials in high end RV's all the time now so it should be fine.

[Elandan2]

All I can say is WOW!!  What a transformation.  Good work.  Rick

[Rickf1985]

You can come help me with my house anytime. Amazing work!

[Lefty]

Thank you both. It has been a lot of work, and time.. but I am very pleased with the outcome.

[Lefty]

Here are a few more pics...


Here is a shot of the repainted tongue, and the propane tank cover, and electric jack cover.
I used Rustoleum spray enamel in the following colors. "Semi Gloss Black" for the frame and tongue, and "Sand" for the tank and jack covers.
The tank cover and jack cover were removed for painting, and I also removed the propane tank, lines, wiring, and other stuff from the tongue so I could paint the battery frame and tank frame.



I repainted all the exterior compartment doors with them still on the trailer. I did not wish to have to remove them, clean off all the old butyl tape, and then have to reapply fresh butyl tape afterwards. I simply masked them off after scuffing with a 3M red scuff pad, wiped them with Prep-Sol and a tack rag, and sprayed them 3 coats of Rustoleum Enamel  ("Sand").
This is the rear passenger side compartment, and water heater door.





I had a small amount of carpet left over, so I decided to cut and fit carpet in each of the closets. Here are two of them...






The trailer jack did not have a foot on it, and it was so long that it dug into the ground even when all the way up... So I cut about 6" off it and installed a new foot.
This shot also has the new sway bar bracket that I welded on, as well as the new bolt-on equalizer chain brackets.

[M & J]

Wow.

[sasktrini]

Incredible work, lefty!  Hey, I have to get that palm tree fabric... my Caribbean heritage NEEDS this in my theme!  Can you provide some info?

[Lefty]

It's a shower curtain that my sister gave to me. It was in her guest bath in her apartment in Florida. When she bought our 5th wheel to live in, she went with a different look and no longer wanted it. I don't know where she bought it from, but if I had to guess, it was either Walmart or Beds,Baths and Beyond. I will try to reach her to find out though...