TOYS!!!

Rainy day, what to do???  Let's go down to Harbor Freight and buy toys!!  I came home with a brand new 2HP, 8 gal., 125 psi, wheeled air compressor and a pneumatic nailer/stapler!  Life is good! 

I have to start buying all my supplies now.  Working on my list--wood, paneling, screws, staples, etc.--there is sooo much to buy!!!!! 

Hopefully, the weather will start cooling off just a little bit--and the humidity HAS to come down a little!!  It's time to put my Casa Toscana back together again!

It's a CONVERTIBLE!!!

Now that there's a short break in the hot and humid weather, I'm back working on my little Casa Toscana--FINALLY!!  I've marked where all the supports and skins lay and have removed the front bunk doors, all the dinette table hardware, the cabinet doors and most of the floor edging.  I finally got to pop the roof skin off--it was AWESOME!!  I spent one morning just sketching out the front, top and rear wood supports, measuring, marking, assigning numbers to each support, and making notes on everything.

What's amazing is that someone took this roof skin off in the past, but didn't put the effort into really fixing the problem correctly.  It was such a mess--some supports weren't even attached to anything!  It's so hard to get the skin off, I can't imagine not doing the job right once you get to the supports!

Today, I took all those wood supports off--taking pictures all along the way.  And as I removed sections of supports, I got to finally take out the rotten ceiling panels!  OMG, it was so amazing when the last panel hit the ground!!!  So now I now have a convertible camper with a great view and lots and lots of wonderful airflow!!!!  Hmmmm, should I keep it this way???

I guess it's quickly coming time to start my serious shopping--I guess paneling, wood for the support beams, and all my nails and screws are first on the list.  We're going to try using some oak for one or two of the supports so there will be less of a chance of future sagging.  And insulation of some sort--I'm leaning toward the Reflectix-type at this point.  While I'm gathering all that stuff, I still need to pull out soooo many staples that are still stuck in the wood. 

Will my Casa Toscana ever be the beautiful little camper I'm dreaming about?  I guess the real work is coming closer...

Revelations

Once again playing catch up--I spend so much time working on the camper plus my normal household stuff that it's hard to get to my computer.  I'll try to do a brief rundown on the past few days' work...

Friday, 7/15/11--I convinced Ted that I did't need the rear bunk removed in reusable shape.  He cut it on one side, just shy of the very long nails that were holding it in there.  From there, it could be very carefully pried out.  He cut the nails very short.  The side windows had to come off so we could reach in with pliers and pull the nails out from the outside between the skin and the inside. 

Saturday 7/16/11--Spent today loosening more of the side strips near the rear.  I removed the rear position lights and the nails from the piece of outside skin that's over the window.  It's really hard to get the nails out of the skin aluminum compared to the side strips--the metal is just so much thinner on the skin.  I hope it's okay!  Ted is happy that he can finally check out the way the lights are wired...

Sunday 7/17/11--I finally started some work on the front of the camper.  I've decided that the edge trim will definitely need to come off completely and then all the aluminum skin in order to rebuild the wood support beams.  I also took out the front window and the front running lights in preparation for taking off the front skin.  Ted spent the day making a frame to keep the edging from twisting--thank you to Nancy at NSSO!!

Monday, 7/18/11--I spent the day on a very high ladder so I could pull out the nails holding the edge strips on the top part of the camper.  This may not sound like much to most of you, but I have a fear of heights--even a short step stool is too high for me!  Then there's the issue of my bad, hurting foot--finally found that if I wear my hiking boots, it doesn't hurt so bad on the ladder.  By the end of the day, I was a little more comfortable on the ladder, but still not happy.  I managed to get all the edging off both sides and taped to the nice frame until I'm ready to clean it all up and put it back on the camper.

When I took the edging off the right side of the camper,  I found just why the roof had been leaking and there was so much water damage.  As you can see from the picture of the roof, the seams were in pretty bad shape--had been covered with silicone chaulking which really didn't solve the problems.

One good thing about all this work--I'm finally losing some more weight!!  

A busy week!

I've been so busy working on my little Scotty that I haven't had the time or the energy to post.  So now I would like to catch up with all that's gone on this week...

Sunday July 10th--I spent the day just cleaning out the camper and checking out what to do.  I realized that most of the damage is on the left side in the rear.  There's more work to be done than I had originally planned on...

 Monday July 11th--I FINALLY got started actually working on her!!  Ted helped me take out the back window.  From there, I started taking off the side trim that holds the edges together.  First, heat up the putty tape and start getting the assorted fasteners out that hold the strips on.  Thanks to all the people on both Scotty groups, I found a couple of methods that I combined to remove the original nails.  Of course, people had added screws of different types and sizes and some nails.  What an assortment of tools I had around me!!  I got pretty good at this, though!  I got the lower rear skin undone and removed, exposing all the sheer terror underneath!  What have I gotten myself into?

With everything wide open and some serious rain coming in a day or two, we borrowed a carport from our Boy Scout troop.  It's not the most secure thing right now, but hopefully we can work on that before the rain.

Tuesday July 12th--exactly one month since I brought my little Scotty camper home and the temps were heading up to 100 degrees.  I realized the camper and the carport in the front driveway may not be the best idea--not a very secure location for having tools, etc.; running up and down stairs with a bad foot for tools, etc.; and the city may have some issues with the whole thing being right out front.  I asked Ted if he thought the Scotty would fit through our gates and through the backyard to a better location.  So, we unwrapped the blue tarp off of her.  First major problem was that she would fit through the gates, but just.  If she tipped to one side or another, she would hit the fence.  So, Ted took off the gates and moved the hardware out of the way.  Then we had a stack of slate for a project sitting at a really bad spot--would have torn her side open like a can opener.  So, Ted moved the slate out of the way.  The drive through the yard was uneventful.  Ted got her all backed in to a nice level spot.  We had to partially take the carport apart and carry it in pieces into the backyard.  This was not easy.  I realized we couldn't lift this thing over the camper by ourselves so I put in a couple of calls for some backup.  Three more people helped with the moving of the carport.  She's got a wonderful spot in the yard, hidden from street view, with alot of shade and easy access to our basement workshop.  And my husband and I each lost 2 pounds sweating out in the heat!  Weightwatchers meeting, here I come!!

Wednesday July 13th, we just took it easy and caught up on some other stuff--like bringing food into the house!  The heat on Tuesday really took it out of us!!

Thursday July 14th--I found some really good prices on sealing materials like Proflex, putty tape and aluminum foil tape so I went ahead and ordered them.  I know that it's a while before I'll need them, but I feel good getting them ordered.

Now that my Scotty is in her new improved work area and the temps have dropped to around 80 degrees, I was ready to jump back into work.  My new best friend on the Scotty groups is Paul.  He's had good advice about working on these campers and I approach my work with his voice quietly guiding me in the background.  I'm starting in the back of the camper from the bottom up.  Now that the window is out, the metal strips are off and the lower skin is removed, I can start removing the rotten wood back there.

Well, it wasn't quite that easy.  First, I had to remove this metal flashing that was there--so many nails and screws!  And then there was a piece of wood--more nails and screws.  And after much fighting and more insulation foam that I care to see--have I said yet just how much I really hate insulation foam?--I kicked out the very thin, rotting back wall panel!!  I think the whole neighborhood heard me scream with delight!  Hey, it looks like all the other redos I've seen!  And although there is rotten wood back there, it isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be--there is still hope!  Thanks Paul!

Makes you want to cry, but...

I went out first thing today to finally begin working on disassembling the interior of my camper.  Like a really good person told me, you just start at one corner and do a little at a time and take lots of pictures and notes.  First thing I did was to get everything that isn't necessary out of the camper--not enough room to work with all sorts of stuff in there.  Much better with a little more organization area!

I decided to start at the back end and work my way forward.  Someone had previously put a cheap, ugly piece of wall paneling along the back end--this would be the first thing to go in order to see what was there.  They had cut it a little small and in two pieces to slide in around the back window.  The bottom piece was not too bad, but the upper piece had water damage--wasn't expecting that.  The original wood was underneath, but quite a bit was water damaged and peeling.  I took off the loose stuff.  Peeling back some of the wood, you could see the framing and the meager amount of old-fashioned fiberglass insulation.  I got my first inside view of the aluminum outer shell--this is scary!

Ted thought I would need to take out the window before I took the first piece of paneling off, so he had me take out all the screws from the back window.  Then, he didn't know whether the window came out in one or two pieces.  When I showed him that the panel was cut small, we decided to leave the window in--for now.  It will need to come out when I get a little further along, but not today.  Also, I have to find out what the best way to take it out is.

I immediately decided that I was going to need a larger tarp to cover my camper with now that I was planning on doing more work than I had originally thought.  Before putting a tarp over her, I took out the vent frame and screen.  All the screws in this thing are square drive--and it took my husband a long time to find his driver for the drill.

Next step was taking apart the back bunk.  I haven't decided whether to leave it out of the redo or to put it in as a smaller unit that's just a storage area.  So I don't want to totally destroy it.  First, I took the screws out of the hinge that holds the bed and the door panel together.  My husband helped me work the door front out of the camper--not an easy project.  It's in really good shape.  We still couldn't figure out just how the bunk is held in--it just wouldn't budge, even though there doesn't seem to be anything really holding it.  I removed the 3 braces, but that had no effect on it's hold.  We finally figured out that it's attached by screws on each side and the back edge--put there BEFORE the outer skin was attached!!!  I'm almost for just ripping it out and making a new shelf out of different wood, but I'm not jumping into tearing it out right away.  It's kind of a wait-and-see thing.

Before putting the tarp on, we climbed up to check out the roof.  The roof section forward of the vent is a low area that collects water.  No wonder the ceiling in that area inside is in such bad shape!  Also, all the seams up on the roof are shot.   I think I'll have to add more/new wood supports, put in a new ceiling, and then reseal all the seams up there.  It's doable!

It was definitely a day of emotional ups and downs, but I did end up accomplishing quite a bit of work.  And now my little camper is all covered up and tucked in for the night!

Where did all the water come from?

June 28th, we had a really big thunderstorm with torrential rains.  I made the mistake of going out to my camper to see how she faired--the night before leaving for a week-long trip.  A BIG MISTAKE!!  Rain was dripping from the ceiling vent and there was wet wood in 3 of the 4 bottom corners! PLUS I found several  soft, wet, wavy spots in the ceiling!  This means there is more work to do than I had planned on.  And I had just ordered the material for all my curtains!  I guess that's a "putting the cart before the horse" situation?  I didn't know whether to cry or to just list my camper on craigslist immediately!

I guess the separation was a good thing because it gave me time to think the whole situation through--calmly and rationally.  I came home with some idea of how to approach the whole thing--and LOTS of questions for the Scotty groups.  Luckily, Paul Hecht jumped forward to help me through this mess since he tackled an even bigger mess without any of the skills some people would expect one to have.

I don't think the damage is severe enough to tear her apart and do a complete rebuild.  I will have to take out the wood ceiling, seal the roof completely, and put in new wood for the ceiling.  This will give us a chance to find the wiring for the back lights and will give me a chance to paint the ceiling the way I had wanted to.  It will also give me a chance to either take out the existing tall cabinet (fridge and microwave) and build a new one or to keep it there but rearrange it with a smaller fridge and maybe drawers or a place for an AC.  I have to look on the bright side!

There's so much in this camper that is in much better shape than others I have seen on the groups.  I will have to do some repairs, some replacing of wood, some rewiring, but no major rebuilds--I hope!  Onward to another day!!