'73 Chieftain II Custom interior renovation

[Wantawinnie]

Any particular brand that you used? The more adhesion the better.

[LJ-TJ]

Nice Job thanks for keeping us up to speed on the project ,doing a great job. Lots of good info as well.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I think the brand was DAP, not sure.  Got it at Home Depot.  Very volatile stuff though...solvent based and a lot of fumes, so make sure you have some windows open and a fan...lol!

You paint a thin layer on the wall, a thin layer on the wood you are gluing up, and wait a minute until it feels almost dry to the touch.  Line up your piece just the way you want it, and hang it on the wall.  Make sure you line it up right, because this stuff GRABS immediately...if you just touch the pieces together they start to stick, but you can pull it off if it was only a light touch to realign a piece.  Once its lined up, push on it...apply pressure to the whole piece by pressing all over it with your hands...and done.  It sticks immediately, a very strong bond, with no clamps, etc.

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

Finished up the paneling this weekend. I ended up using the Liquids Nails just for the simple fact that the panels are very tight and nearly impossible to get exactly right without adjusting them once in place. FWIW I used up the 4 tubes and ran to ACE hardware and got some Loctite brand paneling adhesive in a tube that seemed to work just as good or even better IMO. The window cuts were done by installing all the paneling without adhesive and then tracing out the areas from outside. I took the panels over to my work table and used a Jigsaw with downward cut formica/paneling blade. Small guide holes were drilled around the tracings in order to transfer the pencil lines to the finished side.(can't cut from the back side or it blows out the panels edges too much)




The rear window panel went in tonight. This is how I held them in place while the adhesive set. The masking tape is painters grade and held the edges nice and tight. I also used screws on an angle and small wood stock in certain places along the edges to keep the panels in place. It worked out pretty well.




I cannot believe how much stronger the rear walls are now. That upper 1/2" plywood panel in the rear definately was a big improvement and firmed up the tail quite nicely. I need to pick up some corner trim after the cabinets are installed and get the windows back in. Finally feels like I am getting somewhere for a change!

[Wantawinnie]

Played around a little bit tonight with some flooring ideas. What do you guys think of these three colors? They are leftovers from some home improvement projects. The piece in front is for reference to the original paneling. From left to right they are walnut, maple, and cherry. I almost think the walnut is too dark in a already dark interior. I am leaning toward the cherry look that is not too light and not too dark. Hm?





Here is the newly recovered retro couch that converts to a double bed. The rear wrap around lounge with convertable double bed has the same pattern.

[LJ-TJ]

  First...WELL DONE, nice job, really looking good.
as far as the floor, they all look good. Hm?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Awesome job so far!  I'd personally go with the lightest wood for the flooring...lighter gives an impression of more room...but the cherry is nice too.  I agree that the walnut would be way too dark.

Kev

[Oz]

Take a look at my "Chariot" album.  You can use dark wood and still have a spacious effect.

[Wantawinnie]

There is a change in the works. D:oH!

I dug in my old stash and pulled these out. I bought these at a junkyard about 20 years ago out of a wrecked Dodge conversion van. These are the back two seats and are a little dirty but otherwise in nice shape. For some reason I was thinking they were dark brown and had left them in storage for years without looking at them. As you can see they are light tan and black.



Quite an improvement compared to the ones in there.



Got both mounted up in about 10 minutes, bolted right to the original bases like Mark mentioned with his set.



This one has a little sun fade on the armrest. I will dye the black sometime, works for now.



Passenger seat is mint and they are super comfy. Y!



I like the look of these so much that the red shag might be off the table. Thinking brown or maybe black carpet for the front driver area. The other big news is I talked with my wife and we are putting a double or queen mattress in the back like original. We want some comfort while sleeping and the lounge area would be more of a nuisance to setup every night anyway.

Tommorow we are taking a family day and, hopefully, bringing something else home if it is in nice shape. The color and style is close enough to the captains chairs and I never really cared for the flowers anyway. W%
 

[Lefty]

OOOHH!! I Like Those!! Those Captain Chairs look fantastic! Major improvement there, and they look as if they were made for it too.
I don't know if I agree or not on the red shag... On one hand, I think the red makes a bold color statement, and it does go well with the black and even the tan. On the other hand, I can understand that too much color can be gaudy in a hurry....But if you did the red shag up front, and then red shag in the back, with the maple flooring between (and recovered the kitchen counters with laminate that looks like black granite), then I'd say your well on the way to a very stylish rig.
Oh, and I absolutely agree on the couch... it looks like it would go just fine with your new chairs, and I didn't wanna say it but that flowery couch was HIDEOUS!!! lol

[Wantawinnie]

Oh, and I absolutely agree on the couch... it looks like it would go just fine with your new chairs, and I didn't wanna say it but that flowery couch was HIDEOUS!!! lol

Ha, I know what you mean. To be honest I have been trying to work around those couch colors for months now and they kept getting in the way. Time to do it up like my wife and I want to. A little retro is fine but not that much.

So, how about red shag on the front floor and tan or black vinyl on the engine cover? Throw some red pillows on the couch and call it good. It is called a "custom" after all. Still need to find a nice swivel chair for behind the passenger seat too.  Hm?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Looking good!  Those chairs look great, and that couch you are looking at looks like it will go well with them.

You could always do the front a more conservative color scheme, and then go red shag in the bedroom...make it like Austin Power's Jumbo Jet, baby!  Maybe some mirrors on the ceiling and a disco ball...lol!

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

The family fun day went good. My 3 year old loves big rigs so we took him down to the World's Largest Truckstop in Walcott, Ia. He had a blast as we drove through all the truck lines and then went inside to look at all the displays and grab some lunch.

Then it was off to the RV dealer that had the sofa listed. It is a brand new Flexsteel jackknife sofa out of a 2010 Monarch Cayman! The people that bought it wanted a recliner instead. 

Safely home in the back of the truck. It still has the tag on it yet. They stored it away for over a year and just pulled it out to sell it.


Here is the pattern and leather bottom panel.


I am really glad to have found it and the price was fantastic considering it is new and what a Flexsteel would cost like that. It is about as close as this bargain shopper is going to ever find to match those captains chairs. The lady mentioned the Flexsteel couches start at at $1,600 to order and go up from there. Don't know if that is true but it made me feel good. lol

While I loaded the sofa and tarped it for the rainy trip home my wife walked around the used RV's. Of course they just had to have a mint 1993 36' Foretravel Unihome in perfect shape with a Cat diesel and allison setup in it. She fell in love with it so the bar has been set pretty high for the old Chieftain renovation to say the least. D:oH!

[Wantawinnie]

Got the cabinets installed in the bedroom yesterday. I am thinking of going with a lighter stain on the red oak paneling to give a two tone look with the cabinets.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Keep up the awesome work, and give lots of pictures please!  Great job so far, and the chairs and couch look great!

Kev

[LJ-TJ]

Ditto   

[Wantawinnie]

Thanks guys! Here are some pics of the newly installed cabinets in the bedroom. I am undecided on the ceiling right now. I may paint it white or just leave it the way it is. Also, going to test out some golden oak stain on a scrap piece and see how the color looks.

[Wantawinnie]

I was bored tonight so took a few pics of the interior.

Here is the vanity.



Here is the shower door.



This is close to where the toilet will sit when reinstalled.



Here is what I found when I moved the toilet out of the shower. Someone butchered it up to cap off the line.   I will make some kind of patch and epoxy it back in before repainting.



Here is the large wardrobe in the bathroom for clothes etc. The furnace is below this as well.



Here is the smaller closet next to the shower.

[Wantawinnie]

Moving to the kitchen. Pardon the mess. This is the cabinet layout. The built in vacuum is under the cooktop along with the motor aid 6 gallon water heater. A second furnace, which has been partially disassembled, is under the kitchen sink. The 4 drawers have the fold out table behind them that opens into the living room.



Upper cabinet in kitchen and what I "think" are original window treatments. Missing stove has been replaced with a microwave. I am going to do something better with that area.



Last two are a couple shots of the living room storage areas.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Great layout!  As far as the ceiling goes, when we had the Itasca the eventual gameplan was to do it in the FRP board, the pebbly grained thin plastic panels that you see in a lot of kitchens or restaurants.  EASY to keep clean and it looks great too.  They only have the white at Lowes, but Home Depot carries it in white and sand color.  Glues up with special FRP glue, which holds pretty fast so you don't have to hold the panel up for very long. 

If you don't plan on redoing the rest of the ceiling in the RV, then you might be able to find some vinyl wallpaper that matches the rest of the ceiling paper in your rig.

Or you could go with mirrors and that disco ball... :)rotflmao

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

If you don't plan on redoing the rest of the ceiling in the RV, then you might be able to find some vinyl wallpaper that matches the rest of the ceiling paper in your rig.

Or you could go with mirrors and that disco ball... :)rotflmao

Kev

Menards has the FRP too. I looked at it when I bought the paneling. The rest of the ceiling is in good shape just a little discolored from age. Can that original ceiling paper be painted to brighten it up or will that damage it?

I think I will pass on the disco theme. 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I don't think paint would damage it.  Although you might want to base coat it first with Kilz to keep color from leaching through to the top coat.  I'd use the water based Kilz on wallpaper...not sure what the oil based would do to the glue holding up the wallpaper.

Kev

[Wantawinnie]

Looks like I am going with the maple flooring. I checked and have enough to do the job on hand so the price is right. Y!

Just need to get some transition pieces and trim to match from Menards.

Still haven't decided on the carpet. One of the $150,000 diesel pushers we walked through last week while getting the couch had a nice carpet with black and tan mix that looked sharp. Hm?

[Wantawinnie]

Stained the paneling today using "golden oak" from Minwax. I tested a walnut stain and didn't like the look. Need to coat it with some poly now.

Next I started laying OSB down on the floors. When I tried to get it snug under the kitchen cabinets the old furnace was in the way. No big deal, just unhook it and pull it out. Yeah, I got it unhooked and it wouldn't fit out the cabinet door. The whole cabinet front had to come off. D:oH! At least it will give us a bunch of cabinet storage back and save some weight having it out of there too.

[Wantawinnie]

My brother in law helped me get the behemouth of a couch out of the Winnie yesterday, glad to have that out of the way.

Spent the last two nights laying OSB down over the old floors. They really were not in bad shape but I wanted a solid and level base for the laminate going in.