RV Newbie, Restoration on a budget, Intro Post
Hello Everyone,
Let me start off by saying i'm new to the whole forum thing(well posting at least) and this is my first RV ever, having not even spent a night in one before I picked this one up.
A bit of the back story:
I purchased a 1998 GMC Sierra 2500 with a Hydraulic plow from someone who needed money for an insurance payment that day. Picked it up for 600 dollars with intention of a quick flip for a little extra cash. However having just graduated and always having the dream when I was in school to have an RV to possibly spend as much time as possible in and save on rent, I found myself in the perfect position to get my hands on one.
I traded the truck for 1980 General Coach, that was leaking fairly good from neglect. However mechanically was incredible shape, being owned by a mechanic and stored at his shop, it also came safetied, with new brakes and tires all around, a huge plus for me.
The interior of this RV was dated, having been built more then a decade before I was even around, this interior styling wasn't gonna fly.
I started with the roof, replacing all roof vents and stripping off all of the old sealant. I then used dicor lap sealant and some new Camico vents to reseal all the seams and edges.
From there I started on to the interior. The entire roof was going to need to be replaced and was taken down entirely including all fixtures. Started painting as well and decided to replace all the lights.
I really wanted the inside to look very modern with the outside still having the classic older look. After searching to find spotlights for the roof for a cheap price I had no luck so I decided to go a different route. Since the RV lighting ran on a 12v system I hit the hardware store and picked up some strands of outdoor LED spotlighting that uses a 12 volt system. I then soldered and used heat shrink tubing in to the existing wire, and it seemed to work fine. I monitored for excess heat in the wires anywhere and could not find any hot spots and have been working fine for over a month now with no issues.
At this point this is my process thus far:
After replacing all insulation, lighting, cabinets and using some old carpeting from my parents house, all I have left is the roof, and then to start on some other issues I have found in the systems.
My question for a moderator or someone who is very involved in these forums is am I better to ask these individual questions in different posts, or include them all in this post or another. Also I apologize if the photos are to large but was unable to figure out how to adjust size.
Apologize for the long winded post and hope you enjoy and can help in any way possible as this is my first time ever dealing with an RV, and my second time ever being in one. I've NEVER used any of these systems or worked on them so I hope that this forum can be a huge help to me as I try to finish up my project.
Thanks in advance!
Let me start off by saying i'm new to the whole forum thing(well posting at least) and this is my first RV ever, having not even spent a night in one before I picked this one up.
A bit of the back story:
I purchased a 1998 GMC Sierra 2500 with a Hydraulic plow from someone who needed money for an insurance payment that day. Picked it up for 600 dollars with intention of a quick flip for a little extra cash. However having just graduated and always having the dream when I was in school to have an RV to possibly spend as much time as possible in and save on rent, I found myself in the perfect position to get my hands on one.
I traded the truck for 1980 General Coach, that was leaking fairly good from neglect. However mechanically was incredible shape, being owned by a mechanic and stored at his shop, it also came safetied, with new brakes and tires all around, a huge plus for me.
The interior of this RV was dated, having been built more then a decade before I was even around, this interior styling wasn't gonna fly.
I started with the roof, replacing all roof vents and stripping off all of the old sealant. I then used dicor lap sealant and some new Camico vents to reseal all the seams and edges.
From there I started on to the interior. The entire roof was going to need to be replaced and was taken down entirely including all fixtures. Started painting as well and decided to replace all the lights.
I really wanted the inside to look very modern with the outside still having the classic older look. After searching to find spotlights for the roof for a cheap price I had no luck so I decided to go a different route. Since the RV lighting ran on a 12v system I hit the hardware store and picked up some strands of outdoor LED spotlighting that uses a 12 volt system. I then soldered and used heat shrink tubing in to the existing wire, and it seemed to work fine. I monitored for excess heat in the wires anywhere and could not find any hot spots and have been working fine for over a month now with no issues.
At this point this is my process thus far:
After replacing all insulation, lighting, cabinets and using some old carpeting from my parents house, all I have left is the roof, and then to start on some other issues I have found in the systems.
My question for a moderator or someone who is very involved in these forums is am I better to ask these individual questions in different posts, or include them all in this post or another. Also I apologize if the photos are to large but was unable to figure out how to adjust size.
Apologize for the long winded post and hope you enjoy and can help in any way possible as this is my first time ever dealing with an RV, and my second time ever being in one. I've NEVER used any of these systems or worked on them so I hope that this forum can be a huge help to me as I try to finish up my project.
Thanks in advance!
