1989 FunChaser restoration

[jjharris11]

With the blessings of some amazing Indiana weather (almost 80 degrees in November!) over the weekend and some vacation days, I've made some decent progress recently.



Foam board glued in, door frame replaced with new wood


Foam board glued in, wiring in front for solar panels--took the opportunity to make the roof penetrations while I had things apart. Right now, I just have one wire running out of one roof penetration and into another. I'll cut those to length and connect them to the charge controller when I get the front cabinetry built in.


Door-side front half inside paneling clamped and glued up. I used 5mm hardwood plywood from Lowe's for the inside paneling. We're planning to paint it.


Door-side rear half inside paneling clamped up and glue drying.

 

[r67northern]

Very nice work!

 

[jjharris11]

Outside view now that the caps are back on, and side windows re-installed. I need to make the part of the wall that goes in the front and rear caps to provide the spacing I need to install those windows. Also need to finish re-building the door before it can go back on. We did get some rain overnight and everything stayed dry. So thankful to not have to put that tarp back on!


Inside view to the front with cap back on


Inside view to the rear with the cap back on, and range hood exhaust and AC connections re-installed. The wires that are taped to the ceiling are just taped up to be out of the way while we were gluing up the paneling. One goes from the rear of the camper to the cabinet above the range hood to provide power to the range hood and the lights over the sink, the other is the crossover from the kitchen side to the door side.


Had a visitor while I was working. We don't see too much of this kind of wildlife in our neighborhood

 

[jjharris11]

Starting to strip the roof. The old stuff would come loose with a fingernail, so I didn't want to leave it. I tried various mechanical means to remove it, but everything I tried was either really inefficient or too aggressive. This paint stripper would work in a minute or so. So I just did a 2' by 2' area at a time and worked my way around. The new roof seemed to stick well, so I'm hoping it works out.


~3/4 of the roof stripped. The aluminum really gleamed. I was tempted to just polish it up and leave it, it looked so good!


After I was done. I used Kool Seal's roof coating product, after a recommendation my wife found, and seeing some questionable reviews on some other products. 1 gallon can of the base coat and 1 gallon of the finish coat material gave me enough material to put 2 coats of each over the entire roof.

 

[sam-HILO]

wow!!

Awesome job. It will keep you toasty and dry. Bonus days of warm weather in November. Love the pictures.

 

[jjharris11]

A couple of quick notes for folks who are looking at this for their own project:
-I am comfortable doing everything I've posted here. However, any project like this has inherent dangers and risks, so please don't attempt anything you've seen here if you're not comfortable. And don't take it as the "right" or "safe" way to go about it. I'm not an expert on any of this--I'm just going off of what I've seen others do.
-I am not endorsing any product you see here. Again, I'm going off of what I've seen others post.
-Essentially, just because I'm doing it/using it here, doesn't mean you should. Do your own research and ensure what you're doing is safe and the right thing to do.