Full build - Reconstructing a 1981 Grandby into a custom Hawk!

I've been working the past several weeks, as time permitted, on the galley side of the build, but as I started the interior build, I decided I wanted to repaint the the inside floor pack to be more like FWC factory color. Didn't need it, but it did give it a fresher look before the next steps.








My plans are to have the Isotherm Cruise 130L fridge in the rear driver side corner. The heater right next to it moving forward. The base under the fridge was the starting point for the interior build. It will include three drawers under the fridge when completed.




Next I competed the front wall for the water tank, and the battery compartment, as well as the base for the Galley cabinets, which will also have two additional pull out drawers. Right now I'm thinking of using the soft close automatic closing drawer slides. They make some specific for campers so they stay closed while traveling. This type of drawer slide, though more pricy, allows the drawer to be fully extended out from the cabinet for easier access to contents.





Because I couldn't see an easy way to get everything in place as I thought through the layout of the cabinets, I decided to just make individual components, much like cabinets in houses are made. That way I just figured each section out, with the particular measurements and configuration, one piece at a time.

First I set the fridge and heater in to determine measurements and layout. And then I began to build each component as described above.

I began by building the fridge surround, then the electric cabinet up front, then the sink, and heater/ stovetop components.






One problem I had to address from when I first installed the inside paneling, was the the hole I cut to bring the wiring inside composing the solar panel, roof lights and fans, and the exterior marker lights, was too high. One good thing about bead board paneling, is that you can cut and splice in pieces if needed. See if you can tell where the new piece is spliced to reposition the wiring hole to beneath countertop level.





I also had to cut a hole in the exterior siding for my fridge vent. As you see, I had two vents to choose from. The larger dometic vent is from a two vent system on another camper using a three-way fridge. Because the Isotherm 130 fridge has the compressor unit at the top right corner, requires fresh air there, and there are no components at all at the bottom, I'm going to try the smaller vent first. I can always cut out a hole for the larger vent later if needed. This will help to reduce potential for outdoor elements to make it through the vent.






That's about it for now. I will be working on the face frame next, stain and finishing each component out side the camper, then reinstalling them, screwing all the components together, and fastening them to the wall and floor pack of the camper. I also have to to figure out how to get the drawers laid out and order the drawer slides.

Great job. Thanks for sharing. One suggestion with your furnace next to the fridge, I would really insulate that side of the fridge. Jd

Looks great! I wish I had the skills to do fine finish work. I've been telling my friends that Brazil has lost another rain forest due to all the mistakes I've made.

I spent the holiday weekend cutting and assembling the face frame to the cabinet sections I built previously, shown above. I have to admit, I was wishing this was behind me, and I was out recreating somewhere, but soon enough, it will be done!

My son purchased a Kregg Jig kit awhile back, and was kind enough to lone it to me. I had never used one before, but wouldn't do it any other way now, after seeing how much easier it makes joinery. It really helps you get some precise joints that fit together flush when you're done.

There's not much else to say, so I'll show the sequence of assembling each section, and the finished project.

Here's the Kregg Jig, to the right, and the pocket holes drilled, and ready to screw the joint together. The Kregg Jig holds pieces of wood in a clamp, and has a slanted drill guide, and special drill bit that allows you to drill slanted holes to just the right depth, and then you use Kregg screws that fit the drill depth precisely and cinches up the joint tight and square.



Three of the sections completed and set in place.






Fourth section added, which is the stovetop and sink sections. Under the sink will be two doors, and under the stove will be a small cubby area with a door, and the spot next to it for the heater. The heater specifications allows for zero wall clearance space away from the heater body. So it is okay to fit it into a tight cabinet. I will have vent holes on the top of the compartment to allow heat to escape, nonetheless.




And the finished product. There will be a cutlery drawer under the stovetop, two drawers at the base of the galley, and three more drawers under the refrigerator.






Pretty tedious process, with tons of measuring carefully before you cut. I made mistakes, but took care of them and made adjustments as I progressed. I'm satisfied with the final product. I have a few pieces of 1x2 to install for mounting purposes, and a few holes to cut for wiring and propane lines. Then I'll be ready to sand, stain, and finished the exposed surfaces before screwing them together and mounting it all to the camper walls and base.

Looks like you're doing a great job!

Beautiful work! I wish I had your skills. Having the proper tools sure make things easier, but it doesn't make up for lack of skills. It's great to have a son to borrow from! I've mooched a table saw, compound miter saw, and a router from my son.

Looks awesome! I am always one step behind you, but just one. I have started to put together my bench on the other side. I want to throw down some new floor before moving forward. I beat up the 1st round of laminate with all the construction. A scrap box is pretty easy to come by.

The pocket screw jig looks awesome. I have been hunting for a cheap on on CL but it seems everyone how gets one end up holding on to it. I might need to bite the bullet and get one myself.

Keep up the good work, what is our plans for the doors and drawers? Custom routering by yourself or some prefabbed options?

Keep up the good work!

Thanks for your comments JD. I do plan on insulating the inside of the fridge surround with solid foam insulation.



Shellback thanks for your replies. I would love to see your camper in person, no doubt it is solid work. My philosophy is that there's something to learn from everyone!




Thanks Wandering Sage, you're always so genuine.




Tim, thanks for checking in. Not going to be too fancy on the drawers and cabinet doors. Rounded edges on the drawers, and rail and style with panel insets on the doors, and some nice handles I hope. Can't wait to see your updates whenever you are able. Like I said earlier, I'd rather be recreating at this point, so I understand you enjoying yourself (as stated on your thread), but I want to get this completed , so I keep plugging along. I have my annual elk hunt coming up in October that I will be taking the camper on.

longhorn1 said:

Great job. Thanks for sharing. One suggestion with your furnace next to the fridge, I would really insulate that side of the fridge. Jd

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shellback said:

Beautiful work! I wish I had your skills. Having the proper tools sure make things easier, but it doesn't make up for lack of skills. It's great to have a son to borrow from! I've mooched a table saw, compound miter saw, and a router from my son.

Click to expand...

Wandering Sagebrush said:

Looks like you're doing a great job!

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Living The Dream said:

Looks awesome! I am always one step behind you, but just one. I have started to put together my bench on the other side. I want to throw down some new floor before moving forward. I beat up the 1st round of laminate with all the construction. A scrap box is pretty easy to come by.

The pocket screw jig looks awesome. I have been hunting for a cheap on on CL but it seems everyone how gets one end up holding on to it. I might need to bite the bullet and get one myself.

Keep up the good work, what is our plans for the doors and drawers? Custom routering by yourself or some prefabbed options?

Keep up the good work!

Click to expand...

Nice work,waiting to see the finished product.
Frank

Got in some more work during the past week or so, and this weekend. Apparently I have spurts of times when I get on this project and stay with it. So, here's an update on what I have gotten done so far.



All the cabinets lined up and ready for stain and finishing.



Staining underway. Surprising how much room the cabinets take up outside the camper, but fit together nicely inside.



All the cabinets installed and ready to add fridge, heater, and begin wiring and running propane lines.





Added a vent to fit the compressor configuration on the Isotherm 130L, allowing an airstream across the compressor and fins for cooling. Couldn't think of another way to do it, as the compressor is on the top right side corner. Two vents on the outside stacked one above the other doesn't match the need here in my estimation, plus the manual suggests cross ventilation as well. So I think this should work pretty well.








I chose to build a wooden propane box as part of my cabinetry. It is sealed on all cracks and seams with silicone caulking, and painted with an oil based enamel paint. With the exterior door vented it should be safe and okay. My previous donor camper had a wooden propane box from the factory, and this is the door from that arrangement.




Wiring for Fridge, Solar outlet, heater, ceiling fans and roof lights, exterior porch and flood lights, and exterior marker lights, all converge into a electrical control area tucked away at the front of the galley side. Almost looks like a wire harness in a car.




Fridge and furnace installed and hooked up. Counter tops coming next, and the stovetop and sink will then be installed. Stovetop is setting in place to determine propane hose hookup length. Also working on the seat boxes, and water tank cabinet box.

I chose to stay with the same wood tones as the wall paneling. It's a lot of the same color, but I'm figuring the black fridge and furnace cover give a good contrast, and the formica counter tops and table top will be a nearly black granite pattern as well. The seat cushion fabric will match the bed cushions. The fabric material looks better in real, the photos seem to change the tones a bit. Im getting pretty excited as completion nears. I had the fridge running all day today, and it's so cool to have added that to the camper, its going to be real nice.

That's about it for now, thanks for checking it out.

Poky

nice work poky!

Looks like it's coming along nicely.
Your work is first rate.
Thanks for posting.
Frank

What a huge undertaking. looking good

Russ

Pokey, awesome work, jd

Vic, Frank, Russ, and JD, thanks so much for your comments, I do appreciate it!

Having others follow your progress and give feedback is motivating for sure. It will be a good thing when this build is complete, and that isn't too far away now. I look forward to sharing my experiences using it. I have a couple outings coming up in October, so I'm working hard to have it ready, thus the push over the last month or so. Can't wait!

Poky

Poky!!! Looking 100% amazing. Just when I thought I was going to catch up to you, you do a big push and put together some really nice work! Keep it up!

Hello folks, time for an update!

As with last year, I've had a push to get things together and operable for my fall elk hunt. Last year I had installed a temporary gallery, and now have the new, permanent galley installed. Since my last post I completed the counter tops with a laminant surface, and t-molding edging. I tried to choose colors that would blend in with my interior so far, and it seems pretty nice except the flooring, so I'll be redoing that before I cinch everything down one last time. It will be a darker wood grained vinyl flooring.

Anyhow here's a few photos to bring us up to date.




The Isotherm 130 fridge turned out to be fantastic. Kept everything cold on setting 3. Had ground meat in the freezer for one week, and stayed completely frozen. Noise from the compressor was negligible and didn't annoy me at all. Kind of just like home if you're in the kitchen. Plus the heater is much noisier if you want na comparison.

My small fridge vent from the outside wall was very adequate for this time of year, I'll have to see in the summer. Because I have a cross vent above the stove inside, I learned a couple of things I need to address. Dust and flies (insects). I'll be putting an air filter over that vent from the inside wall behind the fridge. I rigged it so I can't take it out pretty easily, so before summer, that will be done.




I reinstalled my electrical items as before, up front in a cabinet, where it's easy to get to. I also installed a new Honeywell digital, heat only, thermometer, which I love compared to the old manual one. Keeps the temperature within 2-3 degrees, and easy to read with a lit display.





Over the summer, I picked up a brand new SMEV flush top, 2 burner stove, and a brand new Atwood Hydroflame 18,000 BTU furnace for excellent prices. Neither had seen any use before. Classifieds have really paid off in this build. I just keep my eyes open for things, and if its an improvement, and the price is right, I jump on it.

However, you never know for sure what your getting, so you have to be careful. Such was the case on the furnace. I hooked up the propane, and the electrical via the thermostat, hit the on switch and the fan started up, but the burner did not. eeeerrrhh! I didn't know this beforehand, but when I pulled the control board off to have a look, there was a flashing light behind I couldn't see until the board was removed. In addition, there was a grid label that specified what was not functioning using flashes and pauses. Turned out it was a problem with the sail switch. I pulled it out, checked continuity, and function, put it back in, and the furnace fired right up. Sweet! Thought maybe because I had had it setting on end, it might have jammed the sail switch a little. Anyhow, my old furnace was 12,000 BTU with a pilot light, this one is DSI (direct spark ignition), and 18,000 BTU. It heats up the rig faster, and cycles less, which was exactly what I was hoping for.




My plans were to have a side dinette, and though not finished it's coming right along. Up front is a cabinet for the water tank, and to the right is the battery compartment. I replaced my single 12 volt deep cycle with 2 6-volt golf cart batteries (Another good deal on classifieds, as I always try to keep the expenses down). They provided more than enough power for my needs on my recent trip, along with the 160 watt solar roof panel to keep them topped off. When folded out, the bed will be 31" x 82", so plenty enough room for an adult. My son tried it out when we we on his elk hunt, and he was pretty comfy.

I also just returned from my fall elk hunt and here's some photos from that trip. I still have quite a bit of meat left from previous years, so I didn't try very hard this time, and thus didn't bring one home on this outing, which was okay by me. It was mostly an excuse and a reason to get out there.

This was on my son's hunt in Utah around the Fairview area.





Snow on opening day at about 9:00 am. You never know in Colorado how big the storm is going to be or how long it will last, so I headed back to camp and prepared for the worst. I've spent many a storm huddled under a tree with a poncho wrapped around me, but not this year! My method to be ready for a layer of snow on the camper, is to throw a tarp over top, and when the storm is over, you can pull the tarp off, and the snow comes with it.






I was entertained by the beaver activity again this year. This one may be the same guy behind my camp as last year.






To me this is just plain beautiful country, its majestic, serene, and the sights, smells, and sounds are intoxicating - in a good way.








And of course, home away from home!




Poky

Looks awesome!! Seriously great! What is the countertop material? My galley is starting to come together too, won't be long now.