1980 FWC Keystone - Getting this old beast up to par.

Recently I noticed what looks to be hardware for what I guess is some style of awning. It runs from about the passenger side above the beginning of the overcab all the way to the rear of the camper. There is no hardware like this on the driver's side. Does anyone know what style of awning this would work with or what it is if my guess is way off? I'd like to do some research to see if a new model is made that I can utilize.




Got a lot of material removed from the inside today. LP tanks are going to be an area of research so I can determine if the old tank is worth keeping, or if it's just wiser to replace and start over. Thank you, again, for the direction on that.

Other items to address in the future are:

Patching the small holes in the outside walls. Im thinking about using fiberglass on the inside and them something like bondo on the outside for cosmetics. This will happen before the exterior is repainted.

Removal of the rest of the paneling and fiberglass insulation. Haven't decided what material to use to replace the paneling, but foam board insulation will fit nicely where the fiberglass is now.

Reupholster the cushions and mattress with something that won't hold decades worth of dust and insect parts for whoever tries to breathe in this things once my time with it is over. Should be pretty easy and straightforward.

A big project will be replacing the popup wall material. I've got a line on a couple Singer 500As, so hopefully one of those will pan out and I can start practicing sewing and move on to replacement of that material.

Today made for a lot of visual difference, so it's got me excited. It's this much closer to being in a condition to be camped in. Last weekend I camped out at Elephant Butte reservoir with some friends and kept daydreaming about parking the truck and Keystone right there at the water. Can't wait to have everything in the right place and ready to roll.

Thanks again to everyone who posts information, progress, inspiration, etc. It's a good time to be rebuilding an old FWC with all you guys put out there. Taking a trip to fish out of state for a while, but I'll be back next month and will continue to work and update the progress.
 
A walking foot sewing machine is best. I used a Brother commercial machine that wasn't a walking foot. i had problems with bunching, when sewing the 3 materials of the windows, screen, clear plastic and privacy panel. I first tried sewing with the screen side down. When I tried screen side up the bunching wasn't quite so noticeable.
 
shellback said:
A walking foot sewing machine is best. I used a Brother commercial machine that wasn't a walking foot. i had problems with bunching, when sewing the 3 materials of the windows, screen, clear plastic and privacy panel. I first tried sewing with the screen side down. When I tried screen side up the bunching wasn't quite so noticeable.
Click to expand...
I believe you can use a walking foot with the 500a. From what I've learned recently about the 500a, it can handle the jandle. One person I spoke with was sewing 3 layers of 500d Cordura, plus additional material with no problems.
 
JDeanP said:
Recently I noticed what looks to be hardware for what I guess is some style of awning. It runs from about the passenger side above the beginning of the overcab all the way to the rear of the camper. There is no hardware like this on the driver's side. Does anyone know what style of awning this would work with or what it is if my guess is way off? I'd like to do some research to see if a new model is made that I can utilize.

Click to expand...
That's the same rail my hard-case Fiamma awning uses ('04 Hawk). Newer FWC Fiamma installs use 2-3 brackets instead of the rail.

P1030722r.JPGP1050548r.JPG

The furnace is a Suburban NT-12.

View attachment suburban_ntseries_furnace.pdf

Have fun with your project, and even more using it :)
 
That is the same awning track I installed on my Hawk. You just need to have a track bead sewn onto a tarp or have a complete awning sewn. Sunbrella type fabric works well. I had my marine canvas guy make a complete new awning but if you can find a made to size tarp and add the track bead you'll come out cheaper. I use a couple old collapsible tent poles and guy lines. Makes a good solid setup. Tip: be sure the openings to the track slot have a generous V groove, this will help a lot with ease of installation.
 
Thank you all for your replies. It's great to get so many perspectives on different parts and ideas.

After the coffee was all drained this morning I made my way outside and started to tear out more of the interior. I'm going to be out with work for a couple weeks, so I wanted something I could do some actual work on when we get back home.

It's almost embarrassing to post pictures of how cruddy the interior of this thing is, but I know it's not that way because I neglected it for years. It's actually kind of an honor to be doing the work to get it up and going again. There's only so many of these out there. I would hope that something I build would be valuable to others at least 30 years after construction.

Keeping in mind that I lack a garage or any other structure to use while doing this project, I think it's coming along just fine, if not as fast as I might like.



All of the panelling, insulation, and carpet are now out except for a thin strip under the passenger side window and the area below the window tucked away on the driver side. There was so much dust, insect parts, RAT POISON, and splinters, but that's how it is with neglected campers from I don't think I got any "in me", so we're good to keep going.



To the right of the door is where the bathroom was. I had considered leaving the walls and waterproofing the interior for use as a shower stall as well as for holding the toilet. There were a lot of problems presenting themselves with that idea and it looked like even more water damage was bound to occur without a tremendous amount of effort and caulking.

The other downside to those walls is the blocking off of the window. Sure, exclusive potty break views are all the rage in real estate these days, but I wanted to open up the space and let the rest of the interior benefit from that window.

The thinking now is to throw down a 24"x24" basin with drain and use a hanging full-length shower curtain to tackle the water and privacy/lawsuit concerns. This basin could hold the toilet when not being used for a shower, which is a minimal portion of time, and allow the aforementioned benefits of a less confining space. Additionally, this would allow the sitter on the shi...toilet to orient themselves in any direction most comfortable at the time AND still allow for the space directly under the window to be utilized as a cabinet or some other form of storage.



The couch/bed system is a very simple design that I really like. The only moving parts, besides the cushions themselves, are the legs that fold out when you convert the couch to a second bed. Very simple, very easy to set up.

The only thing I really want to change here is the cushions and upholstery. Because everything is mounted to plywood, there isn't even any actual sewing needed. A staple gun will do the job just fine. There is a lot of storage underneath the seats and that might possibly get optimized, but there's nothing wrong with the way it is now.



I will not be putting any shag carpet being the couch. So. Many. Staples.



Normally the extended portion of the cabover bed folds down to make a back rest against this window. It's not a super comfortable angle, unlike the the actual couch, and it eats so much space by swinging into and out of position. I plan to modify a slide out like so many others have done. This will allow more optimization of available space, and that's really the name of the game here.

It has occurred to me to remove this window and frame in a smaller lexan type sliding window to allow passthrough from the cab to the camper. Not a must, but a huge benefit. There will be another project for the cab of the truck itself and a passthrough would allow some of the storage in the cab to be accessed from the camper. Can we say, "weapons locker"?
 




If I replaced the window like I mentioned, that would allow for a more comfortable back rest to be built either side of the passthrough. I sat there and imagined the seat being used for morning coffee and being able to see through the various windows. I like this plan.



Man, the meat and potatoes. This is going to be a fun build here. Lot's of options in mind.

Propane housing. Giving consideration to removing the propane tank and cutting down the housing, but leaving the access on the outside. This could be used to store various things, but I like the idea of running another water line for an outdoor shower hose.

There seems to be enough room to the left of the water tank to build another propane housing for a normal 20 lb. tank. A normal tank that can be swapped out at any gas station or grocery store appeals to me much more than any other system. It doesn't seem terribly difficult to build a functional housing, vent, and lines, especially hidden behind something prettier to look at when it's not being accessed.

A fridge/freezer mounted on a pull out seems like the best option to utilize space and still have easy access while preparing meals. The main shelf is about 20" deep as it sits, so a fridge mounted lengthwise seems doable on a slide without giving up countertop landscape.

Stove and sink seem pretty straightforward, nothing crazy planned for either of those. There aren't any plans to do a grey tank. Just run a hose to a collapsible container placed outside.



The door still needs to be rebuilt, a new threshold is needed, a better sealed frame, and to remove the exterior lights and install something to mount the replacements into.

You can see how much more open the space is without that giant (for a truck bed camper) bathroom demanding so much attention. It was nice to sit down after tearing out so many panels and staples, staples, and more staples, and get a feel for the available space. Being 6'2", it's a big deal to actually have the room to spread out and be comfortable without being confined.

At this juncture, no regrets whatsoever about picking up a junky Keystone. It fits perfect on the truck, and after I raise the roof a few inches with new lifters and siding, I'll fit pretty dang nice as well. Really pleased with this forum and all the help and input from everyone in this community. I say that a lot, but that's because it's true. I went from being on the fence about my purchase to having full confidence in being able to tackle any issue that pops up, including bad puns.
 
Almost forgot. This little guy recently got a new home.



It's a Singer 500A that will allow me to sew the siding for the pop up as well as new curtains, awning, other small projects related to the build, and any number of unrelated items. There's a local sew shop that gives lessons, so I'll be learning as I go, when work allows, and showing off my janky sewing progress. Anyone need a new pair of pants?
 
Most of the insulation is now replaced and T&G is sitting there ready to be installed after. Today I thought it would be a good idea to do new guts on the door. Poor choice of a project with today's winds. More time was spent chasing components around the parking lot.

We'll see what tomorrow holds.
 
Got some more work done, fixed the door up and replaced the door handle with one that now locks with a key. A FWC is not a vault, but it won't cause me sleepless nights if I leave a tool or two back there now.

The big observation of the day's work yesterday was the propane system. I always treated it as if it were full, even though the previous owner thought it was empty and had never used/filled the tank. Sure enough, that sucker was about 95% full when I removed the tank. It's not exposed to hammer strikes, sparks, potential punctures, etc, but it's still a good idea to treat it like it's loaded until you know for sure. At least it doesn't leak.
 
This project is not dead, but it's at a bottleneck. Insulation has been replaced and cushions are in the process of being redone. I've decided to redo the wood on the entire underside. The water damage is too extensive for my liking, so it will all need to be replaced with new material. Over the upcoming holidays I'll be visiting with family and have the opportunity to use some work space there to remove and replace. Once the floors are done, I expect to have regular updates flowing once again.

In the meantime, I managed to swap an old camper shell for a small off-road trailer. That should keep me busy while I wait to replace the flooring in the Keystone. It should compliment the camper rather well by the time everything is complete.
 
JDeanP,

Just looked over your thread. Sounds like the big project coming up for you is replacing the floor pack. I can imagine that will be challenging given the length of the floor on a Keystone. If you have access to one, or could rent one, a 16gauge roofing stapler with 2” staples works well for assembling the sides of the floor pack to the bottom floor section, and really hold it tight and secure. I found a staple gun on Craigslist, and have only used it for that purpose, but it didn’t cost all that much. I hope you will have extra help when it comes time to attach the new floor pack to the frame. It’s easy when you have just a frame and can tip everything upside down to install. You probably won’t be able to do that, So, I wish you luck with yours. Hopefully you have a battery powered screw gun to attach the floor to the frame. Good tools make a huge difference. Good luck!

Poky
 
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