Help, please? 1995 Gulfstream Conquest clean up

Hi, I've been learning a lot just reading posts and searching for different topics. I'm hoping to find some help with the specifics of getting started RVing. We (our little family of four, including a 10 year old boy and 7 year old girl) have dreamed of a trailer for years of camping in rented cabins (DH has a CPap and needs electricity) a week ago we found and just bought a 1995 Gulfstream Conquerer, 30' long. It's been sitting in a hayfield for probably 12+ years mounted and skirted. As far as we can tell the appliances work and it is just dirty from being unused and the mice. They used it about one week per year - Now mice moved in and they wanted to get rid of it before it's destroyed. I went and cleaned twice. The first time there was a lot of mice evidence, two dead in traps and a lot of dryer sheets and moth balls. so we cleaned (eek! A live nest!) and cleaned (double eek! A second live nest!) and left peppermint oil cotton balls around (repellant) and a few traps ( in case the peppermint oil didn't repel). Two days later I went back and found two trapped mice and very little evidence. I cleaned and left CabFresh all around. Tomorrow they are bringing the title and tires so we can haul it home and I'm hoping for zero evidence of mice!
1) I brought the dinette cushions home to clean and the covers came clean just fine but we had a 'grape stomping' contest with laundry detergent and the garden hose today, and they came clean but still have a terrible intense musty, mothball smell. I put one in the tub with oxyclean and the water turned neon yellow! Now I'm on my fourth tub full of water and it is down to a very pale yellow but the whole bathroom reeks like that nasty smell. Any suggestions?
2) I'm planning to pull up all the flooring (carpet and vinyl) and paint the floor with Kilz. Probably most of the walls too. I'd love to do a luxury vinyl plank, but am considering a floating vinyl. Pros and cons? Don't want to deal with carpet. I think I'd like to do something hard and throw rugs.
3) no mattress. We need to get something for a mattress, and for now that will either be a futon mattress that we will take out of our guest room or an air mattress. Any fairly inexpensive options for permanent comfort?
I'm sure I'll find many more questions as we go along, but thanks for your help and advice as we start from ground zero!

25 Replies

Atgroundzero
Explorer
Aug 12, 2014
LOL. Sorry, guys. I stand very humbly corrected. Our pickup is a half ton silverado NOT the S10. I'm still laughing at myself...
Atgroundzero
Explorer
Aug 11, 2014
nomad297 wrote:
gaymeadowsman wrote:
westend wrote:
A question: What's up with the Chevy S10 in your signature line? You aren't thinking of pulling the 30' trailer with that?

I was about to ask that same question. I've never tried to be part of the weight police but that one kind of stunned me.

I noticed that, also, but then I saw "with a new Equalizer hitch" and that made it all better. :S

Bruce

I love that you guys are looking out for us! We did pull the trailer with the pickup and equalizer hitch. It did just fine. We don't have plans to take it very far: so far so good! We enjoyed our first trip with the trailer. The only snafu was with the sewage. ?? I thought it was time to empty the tank (you know, because when I flushed, I could see solids sitting in view... Must be full!) But when we tried to dump it, hardly anything came out. So we used the outhouses for the last couple of days of camping and after getting it home tried a plumbing snake, then a heated pressure washer to clean it out. Closed the valve, filled it, let it sit a few minutes, rinsed again, etc. At the last, we had clear water with just a couple chunks of tp running out. What do you think? Is it cleaned out, and what caused our problem? Not the nicest of topics but familiar, I'm sure.

Also when I cleaned house after we got home I noticed evidence (on top of my kilz painted cupboard!) Of another mouse. Some chunks of insulation and a few droppings. Ugh. That was with fresh cab in there, too! so I set traps on that cupboard and need to go check it today.
Johno02
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
Although we really like the foam mattress, there oare other options. On our first rig, to replace the mattress, we went to a local mattress factory to find one. They told us to pick one of the ones they had on display, and they would make the exact same to fit the RV. Turns out the salesman/manager was an RV'er too, so he really knew what we needed. Not only did they make one the size we needed, he considered that we had to sit on the bottom and side edges a lot for dressing and such, and added extra support springs to the edges. Cost was not any more than for the standard ones.
nomad297
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
gaymeadowsman wrote:
westend wrote:
A question: What's up with the Chevy S10 in your signature line? You aren't thinking of pulling the 30' trailer with that?

I was about to ask that same question. I've never tried to be part of the weight police but that one kind of stunned me.

I noticed that, also, but then I saw "with a new Equalizer hitch" and that made it all better. :S

Bruce
fallsrider
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
We bought a new mattress off Amazon several weeks ago. It is VERY comfortable. It was this one....

DreamFoam Short Queen Mattress
gaymeadowsman
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
westend wrote:
A question: What's up with the Chevy S10 in your signature line? You aren't thinking of pulling the 30' trailer with that?

I was about to ask that same question. I've never tried to be part of the weight police but that one kind of stunned me.
oughtsix
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
I also bought our replacement memory foam matress from Walmart. Ordered it online and had it delivered. I figured that if we really didn't like the matress returining it to the local Walmart was the only hope of returning a memory foam matress. I bought a 4" thick model with all memory foam I believe. Not half memory half high density foam. If I were to replace our cushons I would consider getting a king matress and cutting the cushons out of it.

The best thing I have found for cleaning my trailer is my McCulloch steam cleaner. It does an incredible job cleaning and sanitizing without leaving a bunch of chemicals, chemical smells and chemical residues that seem to attract dirt and yellow plastics. I am not anti-chemical cleaners (I use what ever does the job best) but the steam cleaner blows the gunk out of all the crevises that are impossible to get to with 409 and a rag. It does a fantastic job sanitizing the refrigerator again cleaning crevises that are almost impossible to get to any other way. I think the steam cleaners run about $150 new... I picked up mine at a goodwill for $20 and have found it to be the BEST cleaning machine ever.
westend
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
A question: What's up with the Chevy S10 in your signature line? You aren't thinking of pulling the 30' trailer with that?
Tyler0215
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
The easy way to cut any foam is with a electric carving knife. Mark a line to cut on top and bottom both and have someone watch the bottom while you cut from the top.
DenaliDiva
Explorer
Aug 10, 2014
Ditto on the memory foam mattress. We got rid of the mattress that came with our fifth wheel, it was no thicker than a slice of bread. We bought a mattress from Walmart, the outer covering zippered off. We Took the cover off, and marked the mattress where we wanted to cut and then cut the mattress off (if memory serves, we used a long bread knife) put the cover back on and tucked the excess cover under at the head of the bed. The mattress was pretty stiff so we also put a foam topper on it. If you can find one that isn't so firm it would probably be better, they don't get alot of use so they don't break in like one at home. ~Happy Camping~