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.
dougm
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by dougm »

I read someplace that if you remove the passenger seat, the fridge will fit out the passenger side door?
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kdarling
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by kdarling »

Clicking Search and putting in "fridge passenger" brings up this post by Scott:

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=609&p=6000#p6000

"It's a smaller fridge, but thought I'd mention for the record that my Norcold 6052 made it out the passenger door with the front seats removed. We're talking a couple millimeters of clearance (Ford door not removed). I didn't have to remove any trim, just the fridge retaining ring. Bathroom door was removed, and I used a floor jack, as you mentioned. I did it alone, which was a bit dumb."

I believe the 6052 is a single door fridge and is shorter than the dual door models.
1994 Concourse dinette, Ford 7.5L (460 V8)
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Blue~Go
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Blue~Go »

Fun to see your progress. I got to see a lot at once since I haven't had Internet access lately.

To my mind, the Premier vs. Concourse has plusses and minuses both ways. One big plus of the Premier is that you were able to get the refrigerator in through the opened window. That would never work on a Concourse (the slanted windows open with slanted holes). And now you know about measuring not just the intended place; it's a classic boat photo wherein a new owner orders a water tank that fits in the bow area under the v-berth but then it turns out you can't get it into the boat, or into the forward area (narrow entrances). Ooops! They don't have the window solution to fall back on.

I have a question on your painted walls: You mentioned priming the luaun.... did you paint over the bare luaun or over the "wallpaper" that comes bonded to the luaun base? I ask because I have considered painting the luaun that is beneath the removable fabric on the living room walls in the Concourse (kitchen has the bonded wallpaper like the entire Premier), but the luaun is of course very porous and painting over it like that looks horrible. I was wondering about filling the grain so wondered if you had done that.

Onward! :D
1999 Concourse
Aikensb
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

dougm wrote:I read someplace that if you remove the passenger seat, the fridge will fit out the passenger side door?
The Concourse model has much different windows than the Premiere model. The section that actually slides open seems to be quite small on the Concourse compared to the side that opens on the Concourse. Popping the screen will probably only work for Premiere owners. Seems odd to me that a motor home with such a fine reputation would not have been designed to accommodate future replacements.
Aikensb
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

Finished New Luan Wall.JPG
Priming.JPG
Blue~Go wrote: I have a question on your painted walls: You mentioned priming the luaun.... did you paint over the bare luaun or over the "wallpaper" that comes bonded to the luaun base? I ask because I have considered painting the luaun that is beneath the removable fabric on the living room walls in the Concourse (kitchen has the bonded wallpaper like the entire Premier), but the luaun is of course very porous and painting over it like that looks horrible. I was wondering about filling the grain so wondered if you had done that.
I painted both the new luan that we installed and the original wallpapered luan paneling. I wanted the walls to match. I did not paint any of the cabinets though. The new luan was fairly smooth with few noticeable grain and knots. Still, it did require 2 coats of primer. As I said, I used the latex KILZ, but oil based would probably be better if you have the time and can stand the fumes. The wallpapered walls only needed one coat of primer. Both were lightly sanded and washed after sanding to roughen up. In the two photos above, you can see how the new luan looks after one coat primer - not great. The other photo shows the finished luan - primed and painted.

I like the painted walls so much that I am considering painting the rear hallway walls as well. This would be the fake wood laminate closet wall and bathroom wall. I think it would really open up that back area, but am still not fully convinced if the oak closet door and oak finish bathroom door would look okay against the silvery walls.

I have a question about the "living room" walls you reference above. Are these the two little walls behind the cab seats? The Premiere model has 2 little walls covered with a darkish gray fabric. IMO, even painting them would really brighten up the area. I think our Chinook feels dark inside, even with the two large windows - there's so much dark gray. If you painted them, you would have a place to have some personal decor, hooks, holders, etc. Those magnetic Urbio Perch container holders are really nice (and sturdy) and attach to the wall with command strips and then you mix and match the magnetic containers. I installed one in our 5th as a magazine rack, and I like it very much. https://www.myurbio.com/ You could even indulge in some wallpaper accents if those walls were not covered in fabric. They make some great peel and stick wallpaper nowadays, even some that are fabric (see spoonflower.com) It's such a tiny space, you could really splurge.

I don't know if Chinookers are purists or not, like Airstream owners who are hesitant to change anything, even if makes sense to do so. It seems like many of you enjoy remodeling and enhancing the Chinooks and don't feel like everything has to be left original to have value?
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RV Wallpaper Image.jpg
Rokrover
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Rokrover »

My wife and I may be atypical, but we treat our “Blue Chook” as an escape pod back to nature where the only return on investment we value is treasured memories. This philosophy favors reliable function in the field so we don’t hesitate to make practical changes, without deferring to purists who might agonize over collectible status. Thus your remodeling project is of great interest; forge on 8-)

Cheers,
Ted C. / SW Arizona
"The Blue Chook" 2002 Concourse Owner: 2013-2019
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Blue~Go
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Blue~Go »

When I refer to the "living room" walls what I mean are the side walls in the couch and the dining area. On the Concourse these walls are lined with the same headliner type fabric as the forward pillars and the "entertainment" wallette (at least in the semi-modern era, pre-mid-90's may have been different. It has plusses and minuses. To the good it's quiet and not a bad surface to roll over into, and is also pretty resistant to scratches and etc. To the bad if you want to change the color it's not easy. (The sink and stove area walls are the bonded vinyl "wallpaper" as in the Premier.)

On the forward pillars and entertainment wall-ette: If you have the ones like me that are molded fiberglass shapes covered in headliner fabric, you *can* remove them and then remove the fabric out on the workbench (I did). Underneath is relatively smooth fiberglass, so you could fair any defects and paint. I will most likely put the same fabric back on but in a neutral grey color vs. the original slate blue which is not my thing. Since I had those pieces out I made a few mods such as filling in the original solar controller hole, and cutting the VCR/radio area to make a matching door opening to the other side (where I had removed the TV). I did have one go at putting new fabric on but the pillars are not the simplest shape (compound curves) and I was only 95% happy with the results. I took it back off and think I learned a few things for the next try :D I have toyed with the idea of painting or etc. but I think I will likely leave them fabric covered -- just in a color I like. But I may remove the fabric from the living/dining side walls and paint those.... just not sure yet. I'll make my final choice when I'm actually doing it.

*****

On the subject of "purism," well, that's an individual thing. I think the Chinook has a pretty good design, and reasonably good construction as RV's go. But do I feel like I need to preserve the fake oak melamine, super heavy "wine cabinet," dollhouse sink, Mr. Coffee, VCR, and wall telephone (yep, mine had one!). Nope. Same goes for the carpet, day-night shades, etc. But that's my choice. If I wanted return on investment I would have invested the money in something else. As it is I figure that if/when I sell, it's just as likely that I'll find someone who wants to boondock and appreciates a good electrical system and a linoleum floor as it is that I'll find a purist who says "Forget it! I want that brown box converter, the original carpeting, and that 50-watt solar panel." That theoretical latter person will have many other Chinooks to choose from, but won't want mine. I guess in a nutshell I can't imagine being able to reliably predict what some theoretical next buyer will want, so why guess and then live with that when I *know* it's not what I want and may not be what "they" want either? But that's just me and there's no one right answer.
1999 Concourse
Aikensb
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

Ah...now I understand. All of the interior side walls in the Premiere were the wallpapered luan. Our first Airstream had the carpeted/headliner walls and ceiling throughout, and our second one had it on the walls only. It was very difficult to clean and the rivets tended to bleed through in some spots, especially in our first older one. I tried vinegar and it helped but not too much. Just an interesting side note.....the Airstreamers call this headliner carpet "mouse fur". I thought everyone else must too, until reading this forum!

While the Chinook was still at my mother's house, she had the entire interior steam cleaned by Stanley Steemer - all upholstery and fabric covered areas, including the cabinet interiors. I think it helped the ceiling area where there were a couple of discolorations.
Just for fun, when I painted the walls in the Chinook, I dabbed the paint and then rubbed with my finger on a couple of small spots on the ceiling headliner, it helped and you really can't see the paint at all, but the colors are very similar. I'm not sure how far I would go with the paint though.

Next I'll be posting about the kitchen cabinets; they arrived....2 standard 18" wide oak cabinets, unassembled. One cabinet has a top drawer and door which will be retrofitted on the left side; the other one has 3 drawers and it will be retrofitted to the right side. This will be quite a feat of complicated cuts and mods to make it work. Thankfully, our builder/carpenter friend will be helping.

My husband did build a little enclosed box under the sink for the outside electrical cords, so that is fully enclosed now and not open to the inside (my mouse fear). He also enclosed and built a shelf for the big hole left above the fridge from when the previous owner pulled that entire "wall" panel. I'll get some pics posted next time.

I also "restored" the shine to the stainless sink by lightly wet sanding with the grain with 220 grit and a a fine sanding block (steel wool would probably work too), and then by applying Barkeepers Friend a few times, and then polishing and buffing by hand with the Perfect Stainless Sink product. Looks brand new (almost!)

Good to know that most Chinookers don't mind modifications!
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Blue~Go
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Blue~Go »

We only mind mods if people don't tell us about them :lol: Seriously, are you kidding? Bring it on!

A note on "mouse fur." I kind of know what you mean, at least, I've seen the "mouse fur" that lines modern Scamp trailers. It's somewhere between carpeting and .... well.... I don't know what else, but it's lighter than carpeting.

In my Chinook the overhead is carpeted with marine "hull liner." It's a tiny bit more "carpety" than the mouse fur I've seen. You can still easily buy it, although not (that I've found) with the very subtle mauve/blue undertones mine has (although without analyzing it you'd just say it's off-white/greyish). But I did buy some because I'm going to use it to line the closet instead of the "midnight blue" carpet that was used originally (can you say "black hole"?). And I may also use some on the inside of the microwave/fridge overhead that will be inside a cupboard for me (but was hidden originally). It's not a perfect match, but won't be butted up against the original stuff anywhere obvious. It is the same material, just not the exact same color.

Then the pillars, entertainment "wallette" and (in the case of the Concourse) the living/dining walls are covered in automotive "headliner." This is more like a knit T-shirt type fabric with thin foam bonded to the back side. You can also buy this currently. I didn't like the original color in mine so didn't even try to match - instead I got a light pearl grey color. I think in the very early 90's some Chinooks had this same headliner fabric used right on over the overhead (in the same color as the walls, not the neutral off whitish of our year).

You can see these fabrics at a number of automotive or marine suppliers. One place that comes to mind is "Perfect Fit" if you want to see it online.

I hear you on liking smooth washable walls. I'm really glad it's only the overhead that has the marine carpet. I could have done without the headliner fabric on the living room walls, but it is nice sometimes so it's not all a minus (IMO). Only thing is you do want to limit mosquito killing on that white carpet! (Especially if they've already dined...)

Did you save the walls/mini walls from your old cabinets? They would make decent starting patterns (that's what I used, then tweaking the new pieces anyplace I wanted slight changes). One note is that, at least in mine, the lower divider walls (between stove and dining, and sink and couch), kind of need that little "foot" area that is inboard of the wheelwells. At least, I wouldn't support any cabinetry on the wheelwells (Chinook didn't either that I could see). They are just fiberglass humps tabbed in place - they don't look cored either, so not super strong. If it weren't for that issue, I would likely have made normal "boxes on kickspaces" which would have made it easyish to install the flooring later. As it is, there is lots of stuff to trim around, so I'll likely just remove everything and floor over the whole place (minus the shower area, but a shower should have carpet under it, right? :lol: ) like they did originally (and is common in many RV's).

Onward!
1999 Concourse
Aikensb
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Re: 1999 Premiere Reno - moved from General Chinook

Post by Aikensb »

Okay, so the kitchen cabinets are actually installed! It took my husband and our carpenter friend from 11-4 on Saturday to get it done and to re-install countertop and sink - water is not hooked up yet. The cost of the two cabinets was around $280, but we had to pay $100 !! shipping. I looked and couldn't find the right configuration/sizes that I needed at Home Depot or Lowes. I ordered these online from Stock Cabinet Express.

I mentioned that I polished the sink earlier, and we removed the old silicone from the corian counter before re-installing the sink onto the counter.

I have to take pictures and will post. I wasn't out there the entire time, but I know that they had to cut and modify nearly every single piece of the two cabinets. But they look fantastic! If my husband and I did this without the help of our friend, it would have taken twice as long or three times as long I assure you! I don't doubt that we would have been able to complete it, though certainly not as efficiently as someone who oversees the building of houses everyday!

The mouse highway that was only partially covered by the old cabinet configuration is fully enclosed as well.

In the attached pictures, you can see the unassembled kitchen cabinet pieces too. Unassembled is the way to go if you have to do as many mods as we had to make in order to get them to fit and structurally sound.
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A lot of pieces!  mostly for the drawer cabinet.
A lot of pieces! mostly for the drawer cabinet.
Partially assembled just to get a feel for where the cuts would be.
Partially assembled just to get a feel for where the cuts would be.
ElectricOpeningBox.JPG
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