Mods and repairs to my '78 21 ft Clipper

[Rodney]

I would like to thank Charles and Carolyn for getting my new membership packet to me.
I have done several modifications to my home since I bought it in 1999.
the interior was really not that bad other than some water damage to the ceiling area where the A/C unit was mounted. this was causing the roof to sag and creating a low area for water to stand. I removing the A/C unit, cabinets, fridge and everything else which was in the way to replace the piece of paneling. I chose a panel that had a white vinyl on in and painted the rest of the ceiling to match. I did not install the a/c unit just a nice vent. the roof was still sagging so I bought a shower curtain bar and cut to length and after jacking the roof panel up several inches installed the bar which you can see in the left of the picture. I reinforced the areas around the ceiling to help support the extra load of the rod. After having the cabinets above the  table and on the rt side removed I liked how it opened up the coach so I painted the dark paneling and installed the coated wire racks that you see on the right. I really hated those cabinets anyway as I could never remember where I put stiff in them and was constantly opening them and bumping my head in to the open doors. PROBLEM SOLVED!!

I have the home back in the shop and am finishing the fridge enclosuer area which involves building the duct work for the vent.
Thats a story in itself! I had the vent for the fridge covered with the new piece of panel thinking I proably wouldn't put in a fridge for a while but a good deal came along {200$ for a used one} thats seems to work great. so I proceded to cut the vent hole out and in the few months since I did the work on the roof BIRDS had managed to get past the screen and build a nest on the vent area. AKKK what a mess and the grass, straw and twigs had already started to smell like a wet hay stack.  I now need to get some new screen and cover that to keep the birds out of there. thanks for taking a look and any suggestions or comments are welcome.



new {used} fridge and framing and ducking work to vent it outside. I used 1 inch HD insulation and duck take along with the original tin which was use originally. this took several hours to get to this point. It's looking good so far and the micro wave will live on the shelf above the fridge. then will do something with the right side?

The step with the old rotten wood removed I used a couple pieces of 2x 6 treated wood for the new material and I used a lot of liquid nail and screws to fasten it down. under the old wood is a nice heavey metal support which the wood sets one and it was solid to the floor of the coach. this was an easy fix, now to reseal the door and get it intalled. it was nice to have the door out of the way to install the fridge.
 

I sure want to get done with this stage of the building then the carpet is next and I can see that its going to be no fun at all.

[terry and karen conkle]

I see that you have a spring on the step to help pull it back, is this a add-on from you or is it a piece that i am missing on my home?



                                                      tc

[Rodney]

I see that you have a spring on the step to help pull it back, is this a add-on from you or is it a piece that i am missing on my home?



                                                      tc

hi TC
the spring was on the step when I got the home so I would guess its part of it? it dose work good and when I am done with the step I just flip it up with my foot and it snaps in. I got a more done to the fridge cabnet today an will post some pictues of the finished product, I am pleased with how its coming out. :lol:
bfnR

[bigray]

Outstanding Job Rodney. Thanks for the picutures. I've done both of those repairs/modifications. That is build a cabinet over the frig and replace the rotted wood area about the rear step. Your roof repair is impressive.

My step doesn't have a spring like yours. It takes a little muscle to put it down and up but it works. I just hate making a quick stop n order to let the step down. My rig is 25 years old and I don't like it when thing don't seem to work properly.

I guess it's my pride in thinking my Clipper is better than any new motor home on the road. (Don't we all)

Good Luck with the remaining work. Make sure you put a thick piece of wood at the base of the step with lots of support. I replaced mine but got a little movement in it over the months. Going in and out of the door put a big demand on that piece of wood!

[Rodney]

Thanks Ray. I feel the same way {glad I am not the only one} there is something special about these homes. and after I got started doing the repairs I see so much potential that I want to keep going.
The owner of the Ford dealership where I work recently bought an new Beaver Coach for I would guess a 1/4 Million $$$ and on his first voyage down to palm Springs he didn't make it to far before the trans cooler lines blew and some other break down left him along side the road. SO it don't matter how much you spend or how old it is things happen. Guess what I am saying is if our homes have problems we for the most part can deal with it ourselves and be on our way. That gives me a lot of satsifaction an I bet ya we are having as good a time with out the huge investment.  More pictures to come on the finished work. I need to finish up what I started and get the home out of the shop for some paying jobs as the oak I have been using on the cabnet is costing a lot but sure looks nice and is some good strong support.
bnfR

[Rodney]

got a little further on the fridge area. Wheew it takes a lot more time to do something like this when your have to go in and out, up and down to cut a borard and get stuff. I need to stain the right upper and down the inside of the closet area. almost got it thou.
thanks for taking a look  
bfnR



got shelfs on the rt finished for what I have intented to use them for.

more staining and the lower panels built to fill below the fridge.
I think I will buy anohter door skin board and cover the fridge door, that new wood looks so good and now the door doesn't.
what fun that this was to finish this project. I am glad I have not done the carpet yet and may hold off intill I get all of the wood work done.
bfnR

[bigray]

Looks good.  I remember doing mine and forgot to add a cutout for the plug before I mounted all the sides and base. I didn't want a large hole because of the rising heat and emissions from the frig.

I drilled a hole through at the rear and cut the cord from my old frig. I inserted the cut end up through the hole and bought one of the female receptacle ends from Home Depot and wired it to the other end. I can plug and unplug the microwave and move it as needed.

Yea, I could have relocated the outlet from down below to the base of the microwave shelf but I use that receptacle for light and other electrical stuff while camping and wanted it outside accessible through the refrig vent door. I used it last weekend to operate a flat griddle I have. We cooked bacon and egg tacos. Yum Yumm!!!

I installed two small U -shape mounts on each side of the microwave and channeled a small bungee from one side to the other to keep the microwave in place while driving. My microwave has a round glass plate sitting atop a carousel. Naturally, it rotates whatever items you are cooking. That monster makes a tremendous racket when you hit a bump or encounter rough road. I usually have a towel in there to act as a damper.

At any rate, your mods look good!

[Rodney]

That's where that rattle was coming from on one of my test drives!!
I never thought of the microwave being the cause I am going to do the same thing with that glass plate. I relocated the power from the A/C unit to the cabnet since the A/C is gone and this puts in on its own braker as will. I use that fridge plug for outside thinks all the time too. I have a small air compressor which I alwas take with us and would put it in the tub but I drilled a hole thought the wall between the bath and the closet next to the door and put the compressor in that closet on the floor an have a power strip from the bath room plug the power the compressor that I am going to leave in the home.
I did leave the edge of the face board 1/4 in higher than the shelf the Microwave is sitting but probably shoud add some more insurance that it doesn't come crashing to the floor. The biggest mess I had back when I first got the home an loaded it up for travel was I didn't latch the fridge door lock and about the first corner I took everything came sliding out of the fridge.. What a mess that was  
This is going to be great to have this finished up and take a break from this project for a while.
thanks for your ideas Big Ray

[Andy Illes]

Hat's off to ya Rodney... that's some great looking work!!!!

Stupid BigRay "inspired" me to build a new "shelf" jobbie on top of that little cabinet to the R of the bath door (rear kitchen), based on a pic of June's Clip in someone's convention post.... which then (of course!!!) made everything else look like stepped-in crap.  So I've pulled all my drawers and made new oak fronts, and started oak veneering the rails and stiles today.  Now I'm staring at some really pathetically built drawers, and wondering where to get some 1/2" oak stock to make all new drawers.  

One thing just leads to another, huh?   Sigh.

Hey Rodney.... por favor.   I got sortta friendly with a chain link fence and my rear step no longer looks exactly like it used to.  Don't ask about my bumper!!  How's that attach?   From your pics and commentary, sounds sortta like the 2x6s bolt to the steel frame you mention.... does the step mechanism then bolt to that underneath somehow?   I'm old and lazy and don't feel like crawling under there to see, if I can get it from you instead.....  

Keep going, and keep posting those pics.  BigRay's SUPPOSED to tell me how to post pics...... manana, I guess.

[bigray]

:shock: Geeze.... see what I get for being a nice guy. I only told you about the picture. Nobody told you to refurbish the inside of your Clipper entirely. But if a man is freezing his hiny off in New York what else is it to do.

And when you send me pictures you wish to post, I'll show you how to post them. Mr.!!!!!!!!! :lol:

[Rodney]

Andy the step is bolted to the metal frame work on my Clipper and someone has also tack welded it in a few places and welded some angel iron from the back of the spep mount up to the uni body frame work to help keep the step from twisting when stepped on. The bolts which fasten the step on were ran though the 2 by wood and frame work with carrage bolts which had to be cut off as they were rusty and spinning when I put the air ratchet to them. don't know how badly your step got bent but you might hook a come a long to it and something forward on the frame or even the wheel and carefully pull the step back in to place and massage the kinks with a large hammer.  It looks as if at some time the rear bumper on my coach had the same thing happen to it and it was pulled back in to place and the cracks welded up.
the drawers and cabnets are looking pretty shabby now compared to the oher new work I have been doing as well. what I used for the interior of my fridge work was what the lumber guy called a door  skin which was about 3 ft wide and 7 ft tall I think the oak piece was 12 dollars and works nice but it is only 1/8 inch thick so there is no strurctural strength to it. but dose glue over top other material nicely. I plan on using this for some more finish work on the intereior where I put that contact paper on the closet and bath room doors. the door skin material splinters real bad so if you cut to test out your saw and have the rotation of the blade cut in to the finish side first and use a fine saw blade. my drawers could stand to be replaced as well and I thing what I will do there is have a cabnet shop build me some new ones and be done with it. I think that would be the best way to get a nice job done.  

To post pictures you have to have a place to up load them to, in my case my ISP supplies me with a few megabytes of space for my web page so I am able to up load them there with and FTP program which I found free on the net. you then use the insert image button on the post  page being sure to have spelling, slashes and everything exact!! this is also case sensative. it took me a while to get it right before my pictures would show up and you don't want to have to huge a picture 640 x 480 or in that size range is good to fit the screen.  I am sure I am missing something here but that is the basic idea. it was a bit confusing for me at first but after you get it to work and have the address for the pictures figured out its not to hard.
maybe we could get a sticky posted somewhere with the correct way to do this picture thing? I have been crashing around with these confuzers for several years but still need help from time to time.  
bfnR

[Andy Illes]

FTP?

Ya gotta watch out for Bigray.... he likes to stir up stuff, and then I think he just grabs a beer, lights up a Cohiba, sits back..... and grins.

I think I sortta have the idea about the step. Once it quits snowing/raining up here... or at least gets above absolute zero... I'll crawl under there and take a look.... or I might just wait till I get back home where it's warmer and drier this time of year.

[bigray]

:shock:
"Honey that Andy is spying on me somehow. Is that web camera on? I told you I'm not comfortable with that web camera and this DSL connections" And they said the router would help!

[Rodney]

FTP?

Ya gotta watch out for Bigray.... he likes to stir up stuff, and then I think he just grabs a beer, lights up a Cohiba, sits back..... and grins.I think I sortta have the idea about the step. Once it quits snowing/raining up here... or at least gets above absolute zero... I'll crawl under there and take a look.... or I might just wait till I get back home where it's warmer and drier this time of year.

FTP is a small program which allows you to transfer files from your home PC to your server or other computers on line. {File Text Protocol }
BigRay has been a lot of help to me!! Thanks Ray. Guess I am oblivious to the stirring thing :roll:

[Rodney]

got a little further on the fridge area. Wheew it takes a lot more time to do something like this when your have to go in and out, up and down to cut a borard and get stuff. I need to stain the right upper and down the inside of the closet area. almost got it thou.
thanks for taking a look  
bfnR

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Rodney1/fridge3.jpg

got shelfs on the rt finished for what I have intented to use them for.

more staining and the lower panels built to fill below the fridge.
I think I will buy anohter door skin board and cover the fridge door, that new wood looks so good and now the door doesn't.
what fun that this was to finish this project. I am glad I have not done the carpet yet and may hold off intill I get all of the wood work done.
bfnR

more progress