1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post project writeups, ideas, DIY mods and off the shelf modifications and improvements. Also "Known Issues" and their resolutions.
Aikensb
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Joined: September 10th, 2017, 4:17 am

Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

I asked my husband for details. He removed the bolts from the front of the sofa brackets when he removed the couch. The brackets are still attached to the board behind the sofa. To get the bolts off, he tells me that he first broke two wrenches and then used a grinder on the inside to get the nuts and bolts off. He said ours were also attached by a nut on the chassis. So those are still there, just flush with the floor now. We haven't reattached the front since, so they were loose when laid the floor. When he reattaches the front brackets, he will move them just slightly so that he can put in a new bolt with washer. The new ones will not go all the way through to the chassis though. He says that depth is just overkill and he doesn't want another hole in chassis. Reattaching the sofa to the brackets might require adjustments to the back to get it to fit "just so" - he says he hopes not.
chin_k
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by chin_k »

Thanx for the details. So if I understand correctly, the bolt that attaches the bracket to the floor was not unbolted. It was just grind off, flush to the floor, with part of the bolt still attached to the nut under the chassis, thru the coach floor.

I assume it was this way because the bolt was rusted/seized, so it can't be removed. I hope I do not run into the same problem. I will take a peek under the chassis and see if I can see the nut. I want to make sure it won't come off the bolt if I start spinning the bolt inside. It will be nice if the nut is weld onto the chassis, so I can remove the bolt and reinstall it later without problem, but it feels like the nut is a loose one.
2000 Concourse dinette, on 1999 6.8L Ford E350 Triton V-10 Chassis
Aikensb
Posts: 36
Joined: September 10th, 2017, 4:17 am

Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

Yes, that is correct. I took a pic yesterday; it is attached and shows the bolt ground/grinded off. I moved the bracket to the side for this pic.

I also attach a picture of the right side of the kitchen cabinet showing the bracket added to the back board for support.
Attachments
Ground Bolt.JPG
Cabinet Support Bracket.JPG
Aikensb
Posts: 36
Joined: September 10th, 2017, 4:17 am

Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

Renovation done!

The final piece of work that we had to do was to "redo" a skylight put in by a previous owner. At some point, someone had literally cut a hole in the roof and installed some kind of weird sunroof - there is paperwork for that in the book. For whatever reason, another owner or maybe the same owner removed the sunroof and installed a 2-3 inch thick of plexiglass in the hole and caulked and sealed and then painted over everything on the outside roof with rubber roof coating. They trimmed it out inside with plastic molding, not doing a very nice job IMO. At some point, it all must have started leaking and they just kept caulking it up. While it no longer leaked by the time my mother bought it, the whole thing just looked like crap.

It took us a long time to figure out how to best handle this eyesore. On the roof, we first scraped off all of the rubber coating so that you could see daylight through the plexiglass. We then scraped out silicone caulking, cleaned the area with EternaPrime Surface Conditioner, and applied overlapping seams of EternaBond sealant tape. On the interior ceiling we removed all of the trim and cleaned out all of the gunk and previous caulking and silicone. We then re-stapled the ceiling carpet to the small amount of wood in the ceiling. The indented section tray part of the ceiling is a hard insulation sandwiched between fiberglass. The other lower sections of the ceiling have what appears to be an additional small layer of thin plywood. So, where the tray ceiling section is, we had to first bond a piece of wood in order to have something to nail the carpet to. My husband then trimmed it all out inside and we applied clingy opaque window covering with a nice design. The covering is applied with water only and stays on with no glue, etc. so it can be changed out at any time for a new design.

Now the whole thing looks very nice and really brightens up the space. And we've tested multiple times for leaks and there are none.
Attachments
Skylight Before.jpg
Skylight After 2.jpg
Skylight After 1.jpg
Aikensb
Posts: 36
Joined: September 10th, 2017, 4:17 am

Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

I thought I would share some of the "final" pics.
Attachments
Fridge and Shelf.jpg
Dinette Side.jpg
Sofa Side.jpg
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kdarling
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by kdarling »

Really nice!

Feels light and airy, too.
1994 Concourse dinette, Ford 7.5L (460 V8)
Aikensb
Posts: 36
Joined: September 10th, 2017, 4:17 am

Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

Thanks!!! Now we have to decide whether to try and sell it or keep it. My mother is simply never going to use it and I hate to see her lose the money. She did offer it to us. BUT, it just isn't big enough. We travel with a 90 lb Akita, 30 lb Boston Terrier, and 9 lb cat! I'd have to get a separate trailer just to haul them! :lol:
bolerama
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Location: Keremeos, BC, Canada
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by bolerama »

Thanks so much for documenting your reno. You really improved this Chinook. It looks so bright inside.
2002 Chinook Destiny
2017 Airstream Flying Cloud (full-time home) https://atomicpod.wordpress.com
2008 Airstream International CCD --"Atomic Pod" (gone to a new home)
1973 boler (13' fiberglass egg) --"The Boiler" (gone to a new home)
Aikensb
Posts: 36
Joined: September 10th, 2017, 4:17 am

Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

Thanks! It was actually sort of a fun retirement project - a real challenge to figuring it all out! BUT, we've just posted it for sale on this Forum. At least you all know everything about it - the good, the bad, and the UGLY! I'd sort of like to keep it and think it's a safe and reliable MH for its age, but I think it's just too small for us.
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