New to me camper

[lmholmes11]

I got this bad boy for free yesterday. Before I saw it in person my origional plan was to put it up on an elevated platform and turn it into a deer blind. But when I went and picked it up it looked to be in pretty good condition. No signs of water leaks inside. Has a propane stove, refridgerator and vented heater. I would like to update the outside somehow, either paint or something else. Any ideas? First thing that came to my mind was barn steel, but weight would be a factor. I want something unique.

Now for the inside I have two options.

1. Total gut and re-do. I think toung and groove knotty pine would be cool on the inside.
2. Update the inside the best I can and concentrate on the outside.

What does everyone thing?



[img][/img]
http://i.imgur.com/aPsi5Yzm.jpg

[lmholmes11]

Good idea on the light color paint. I think I will paint versus put wood up.

Not including the length of the cab over the camper is just shy of 9 ft long. It is a 'Wolverine' made here in Michigan.

[mkirsch]

Silicone? That's the WORST thing anyone could use to patch it up. All that will need to be removed and a proper repair done with proper RV materials.

Silicone is designed to be used on a house that doesn't shake, rattle, and vibrate. The "glob silicone on it until it stops leaking" repair is only slightly more sophisticated than using duct tape and a hammer.

But I would reconsider wood or any sort of wood grain. It will make the camper feel very dark and cramped inside, no matter how light the wood is. Light colors closer to white will make the camper feel roomier and brighter.

[lmholmes11]

All good ideas. Actually theres only 3 jack points. One on one side in the middle and two on the other. However the lady i got it from had extra jacks and I put them under the side that only has 1 jack just for piece of mind. I also plan on building some heavy duty saw horses out of 4x4 posts.

I agree that just with a little work, it would look a LOT better on the inside. The only 2 reasons I would want to gut everything and rebuild would be to 1. Re insulate, and 2. re do all wiring, who knows where mice have chewed through, etc.

[towpro]

I have seen the exact same damage, but it was someone knocking off the TV antenna. I got to it quick enough, but stain was already there. Removed antenna and covered hole with plate sealed with dicore.
inside a couple coats of Kilz, (in fact I just sealed the whole ceiling so it was all same color) and I used that camper for 8 years before I sold it.
Next owner knocked it over on its side loading it back in his truck. I see yours has 4 jacks, mine was 3, used to scare the hell out of me loading it onto my nice new truck :R

but is it worth it if you need to buy a truck to haul it? What do you have? What kind of camper is this and how long, someone here might be able to guess the weight for you.

[hedgehopper]

tonymull wrote:
The tongue and groove is very lightweight, probably lighter than what is used.

Having worked with knotty pine, I beg to differ. The knotty pine would look nice. But adding weight purely for esthetics, I think is a not a good idea.

[lmholmes11]

Thanks for the replys. The lady said that last year a branch fell on the roof during a storm and thats where it was leaking, it looks like he patched it with some silocone, and it hasnt leaked since. I still need to give it a good once over, especially the roof (once the snow all melts). Ill look into the walpaper that looks like wood. That would deffinately save some weight.

[portscanner]

I agree with twopro - it sure looks like you got a problem with the roof.

If that was mine, and IF that roof hasn't made this into the project from... h-e double toothpicks, I would personally replace all the fabric (curtians, pillow and cushion covers, bedspread) and wall paper on the inside - which would be reasonably easy and make a serious improvement on appearance. The outside is a little hard to judge based on the pictures provided, but I would keep the pattern (wide color stripes and wide white stripes) and paint the color strips to match my truck.

Just my $0.02

[jimh406]

Fix/seal the outside first. Pay attention to weight of materials when you do the inside.

There's actually some pretty decent contact paper that is wood grain look of different types. That would allow you to replace the material with lightweight wall board and make it look like wood.

[2oldman]

I had one like that once. The seat cushion foam pads were black with mildew.

[towpro]

what is that stain on ceiling on RS on this side of curtain? looks like water leak to me.

But check the roof, can it be fixed? is it all rotted out? patch it up, some stain sealer paint on inside, then some sealing paint. Why rip everything out of inside, its only going to turn into more work than you think.
Do you have a truck that will haul it?

[lmholmes11]

[tonymull]

The tongue and groove is very lightweight, probably lighter than what is used. It is more labor intensive than the paneling from the factory. One tip, though, stain it before you put it up. Saves a lot of time....and drips.

[lmholmes11]

what a pain...

[lmholmes11]