Passenger side remodel idea

[Kirah]

Scott, I love the idea of having a real fire place in the camper, but yeah, it's so unnecessary 99% of the time down here

One tiny electric space heater could get my camper uncomfortably warm, once I had my window covers up. It's so hard to want to make room for something larger just on the off chance that I get stuck without power in cold weather.

[Kirah]

Since I know people like guts pictures, here's what was under my furnace when I took it out: lots of bits of snipped wire, some screws, wood shavings, and other assorted debris. Clearly I was never meant to see this

I need to go back and take some measurements for that cutout, so I can make a piece to fit in there.

I also notice that there is plenty of room behind the wall panel for adding insulation. Hmmmm... as long as I'm taking the furniture out... I need a "plotting and scheming" emoji

[Blue~Go]

Yep, we're like surgical residents: Show us the good stuff!

Well that looks familiar I didn't have the construction debris, so I guess the tidy guy drew the short straw when mine was made (because surely they drew straws to see who would have to try to get all those screws in to that super cramped space!).

I ordered a big roll of Thinsulate for adding insulation (got mine from impact3d, good folks). I haven't stuffed it in yet because in the back of my mind I still might take those walls down.... (and it's pretty warm where I am in the winter). If you think that's a lot of space, you ought to see behind the shower. You could practically rent it out!

Whenever I read about the "Arctic Foam" insulation I have a combination of and I mean, sure, maybe it's Arctic foam, but when it's only 1/8" thick?!? (in places...) I bet the Chinook would be just that much more comfortable with a nice layer of insulation added everywhere. Not that I'm unhappy: Non leaking seams (because they aren't there) is more than enough to make me love the Chinook (along with it's other charming qualities).

[Kirah]

Couple of minor updates on my slooooooow project:

Got the propane line for the furnace capped where it left the main line (borrowed a strong man who works out to break the bolts loose under there!), so I can work on removing the line indoors, and the wiring, and plugging up that hole so I can fix the floor... endless little steps

And I got the pipes removed from the wall and covered the openings. Not a professional job, but I figure it ought to work okay.

I took the metal vent cover from the outside and traced a couple of copies onto some very thin plywood (actually the tops of the dinette seats), pre-drilled the holes, and then painted with a high-quality outdoor paint (same stuff I put on my house this spring). I added the second piece for the inside of the wall because the screws at the top of the vent cover were not holding tight in the fiberglass any more - the shell had cracked a bit around the screw holes. So, a bit of wood backing to give them something to bite.

Then, with one copy on the outside and one copy on the inside of the wall (and a volunteer holding the inside piece in place) I screwed them together, so that the outside one is snug up against the shell. I used the original screws that had been holding on the vent cover. The bottom screws didn't come as far through the inside piece, but they are tight, they originally were just holding in the fiberglass, and there's basically no weight on them, so I'm not inclined to worry about it.

For now, I used a (non-silicone ) outdoor door and window caulk that claimed it would tolerate some movement, to seal around the edges and around the screws. I'm planning to pull this off and re-do it with butyl tape, but I needed it mosquito-proof before nightfall, so I went with what I had...

Photo is after I went around with the caulk once; I decided I hadn't used enough and went around again, but by then the grill was calling me, so this is the only picture you get

When it's done-done, I'll probably paint over the screws, too.

[Kirah]

If you think that's a lot of space, you ought to see behind the shower. You could practically rent it out!

This was making me mad this week, while I was out camping, because I kept thinking - wait, you mean I could have had a slightly bigger shower?!?!? Another inch or two would be amazing!

[Kirah]

Finally finding time to work on this again. Spent a couple hours this weekend trying to remove the stove cabinet, but hit a few hurdles.

The stove came out easily, and the dinette had come out pretty easily (after removing 500 screws ), so I was feeling pretty confident. I took out every screw I could see... and that thing is still rock solid. Even the inside shelves don't want to wiggle. Humph.

So, considering that I'd had to get inside this cabinet to get the dinette bench out, I guessed that there may be screws inside the fridge cabinet that are hanging on to this one. Since the fridge was planned for removal anyway, I moved it up on the list and started taking out every screw I could find holding the fridge in... and the last screw is a wreck, totally rounded out.

Going back in a few days with a screw extractor and a reciprocating saw to finish removing the fridge (wasn't really prepped for that job), and a pry bar to take off the trim that's been caulked to the wall. Fingers crossed that I'm right about how the cabinets are connected, because I'm not sure what else to try, short of just cutting everything into pieces.

[HoosierB]

....So, considering that I'd had to get inside this cabinet to get the dinette bench out, I guessed that there may be screws inside the fridge cabinet that are hanging on to this one. Since the fridge was planned for removal anyway, I moved it up on the list and started taking out every screw I could find holding the fridge in... and the last screw is a wreck, totally rounded out.

Going back in a few days with a screw extractor and a reciprocating saw to finish removing the fridge (wasn't really prepped for that job), and a pry bar to take off the trim that's been caulked to the wall. Fingers crossed that I'm right about how the cabinets are connected, because I'm not sure what else to try, short of just cutting everything into pieces.

Kirah, if you plan on trashing the old fridge, then removal is easy. As mentioned in other threads (Blue~Go), once the fridge is free of all screws, it can be partially slid out into the hallway. Using a recip-saw, cut it in half (down both sides top to bottom), each section will then fit thru the rear door, no problem. Removing my fridge took all of 20 minutes.

[Kirah]

Kirah, if you plan on trashing the old fridge, then removal is easy. As mentioned in other threads (Blue~Go), once the fridge is free of all screws, it can be partially slid out into the hallway. Using a recip-saw, cut it in half (down both sides top to bottom), each section will then fit thru the rear door, no problem. Removing my fridge took all of 20 minutes.

Thanks! That's the plan. The fridge doesn't work anyway. Good to hear that it should be reasonably easy once I get that last screw out.

It is just the screws around the outside edge, on the black trim piece, right? Or are there some hidden elsewhere?

[Blue~Go]

It's been four years now, but I think there may have been a couple of screws in the bottom, out in the lower vent hole area (plus the propane line and wiring back there. Then I alternately pulled from the front and shoved from the back. Then Mr. Sawzall took over

I took the stove cabinet and fridge out around the same time, so can't remember particulars on their interaction. There is a false paneling wall outboard of where the oven is (or would be if you only have a cooktop); propane lines to stove and fridge live behind it (I boxed them in and gained another room ).

[Kirah]

Well, the fridge and the stove cabinet came out, however unwillingly, last night.

The fridge came out more or less as described. There were three screws along the bottom in the back, but once those were undone, the whole thing slid out neatly. Cutting it was a bit complicated because of trying to cut through the freezer compartment, but we got it done and out.

The stove cabinet... boy, did they over-build that thing Three different screw head types (phillips, plus two sizes of square), and nails, and staples, and loads of glue. Whoever put this thing together was determined that it was never coming out again. We ended up pretty much destroying it, because the screws holding it to the fridge cabinet and back wall were exactly where the inside shelves had been installed, so we couldn't reach them without taking out the shelves. But the shelves were held in place by wood strips that had been glued, screwed, and stapled to the outer cabinet walls, and we had no leverage to pull them loose. So we took out as many screws as we could see/reach, and basically loosened things up until we could rip pieces out. Really pretty glad right now that they built these out of MDF.

I've got quite a mess to clean up, but probably won't bother with the vacuuming until we get the rest of the cabinets out.

The next step is to seal off the new ventilation. The previous owner had screwed a plexiglass frame onto the access panel to hold some insect screening in place. I think I'll just replace his screen/frame combo with a solid piece of plexi and then caulk around the edges.

The top vent is trickier. First, knock down the old wasp nest that's in there. Access is limited right now, and I have more destruction to do, so I'm thinking I'll cut a piece of thin board to fit and screw it in - may need some little L brackets. Something rough that will keep out the critters and let me go down the road without horrific whistling noises. I just need it to hold up until I get the rest of the cabinets out and can get proper access to it. Need to go back and get dimensions and better photos.

Then it's time to start playing with electricity. I'll need to move the control panel on the vent hood so I can remove the microwave, hood, and cabinet.