First Project Year in Review

It is hard to believe that we have been working on this project for a year already. Before we started (or is that, before we found the rust) we thought it would take us 9 months.

Our plans has changed a lot since then. The project is no longer a quick, but nice, conversion. Now it is a monster of a project and at the end we'll have a super motorhome.

ORIGINAL PLAN

  • Remove seats
  • Clean inside and re-skin inside
  • New windows as the old windows could not be opened
  • Seal roof (make water tight)
  • Clean/repaint outside skin
  • Fit-out into nice motorhome
  • Valued at about $200,000 completed

Duration: about 9 months part-time

ACTUAL PLAN

  • Remove seats
  • Remove inside skin
  • Remove outside skin
  • Remove floor boards
  • Remove roof skin
  • Remove rear frame
  • Remove front frame
  • Remove/repair all rust from frame
  • Raise roof
  • Centre door
  • Reshape rear (more room/modern look) (for our needs as bedroom)
  • Reshape front (lots more window area! and modern look)
  • Use latest model front and rear fibreglass headers.
  • Use one piece fibreglass roof skin
  • Glue all outside skin on. No pop-rivets. (Major contributor to rust issue)
  • New 19mm 'marine' type ply floor boards.
  • Latest technology in electronics (some we still need to invent   ;-) for lights, solar, air bag suspension control, resource management, satellite (GPS) navigation. Maybe satellite TV, phone, and internet.
  • Fit-out into super motorhome (Captain seats, handmade wood furniture, etc...)
  • Seats and sleeps 8 people. (2 on queen bed, 2 bunk beds, 2 on fold-down couch, 2 on lowered dinette table)
  • Valued at about $350,000 to $400,000 completed

Duration: about 3-4 years part-time!

At the start (9 July 2004)

first year

first year    first year

One Year Later...

first year

Couldn't stand far enough away to capture the entire motorhome.

first year    first year

Milestones...

14 July 2004: Found first rust!

first year

25 July 2004: Moved motorhome to 'back-yard'

first year

17 October 2004: Moved into Shed

first year

27 February 2005: Front and read Fibreglass headers arrived

10 April 2005: Raised the roof

first year

22 May 2005: New rear frame attached to motorhome

first year

9 July 2005 (One year later): Cut-off the front frame

first year