Well, I got a bit more done this evening. Looking forward to the weekend as long as it stays dry. I replaced the front/cab wall. One thing that keeps ringing in my head is what Manfred said about cutting after putting the aluminum back on. I'm hopeful that my holes line up in the end.....fingers crossed.....
New front wall.....
Also started the passenger side wall a bit. I think I'll put this back in before diving into the cab over rebuild. I thought about using a 2x4 across the bottom, as this is the side that only has 1 lift, but decided against it. I will do as Manfred did and reinforce the area that the lift is.
There will be some "engineering on the fly" with the cab over as I plan on putting in a queen mattress, bringing the mattress area into the main area by about 6 inches....I will hopefully be able to re-engineer the support of the mattress, as I am not a small man....6' and about 280#, with the wife up there as well.....and the weight of the mattress. I also plan on utilizing exterior supports on the cab over area when we are set up. The ones I like have a ratchet strap that brings 2 together at the bottom. I have enough scrap around that I should be able to make them myself.
She's coming along at a steady pace....I keep telling myself, "How do you eat an elephant?".
I made another mistake, I clad the rear with plywood before adding the final corner piece that is the start of the passenger side wall. Not really worried about it, I can add another piece there, just 1 more thing to add to the learning.
One thing I thought of last night was mounting the LP tank outside, giving myself more storage inside. It doesn't necessarily need to travel outside, but when we set up, I could have a mount to the left of the rear door. Anyone have any issues with this idea? I already need to work on the LP lines, as I have removed the refrigerator and need to remove that branch off. I was thinking I could put in a shut off valve there in place of the T there now. That would allow me to shut off the stove area. I read somewhere that you should have a shut off at junctions anyway. I really like the idea of extra storage, and could replace the door to the LP area with plastic board 1/4" thick and insulate behind.....Just thinking.....
Hopefully I'll have a lot more to share tomorrow night. I think I've talked the Mrs. into prepping the aluminum for reinstall. It needs all the putty and staples removed still.
No movement on the truck. The banjo bolt that holds the transmission coolant bypass in leaks. I'll have to deal with that soon, but really didn't want to crawl around on the ground. I need to remove the exhaust heat shield and get in there with a tap to make sure the threads are clean so the bolt can get in all the way, and find some decent crush washers for it. The local auto store wasn't much help with "good" crush washers, as they didn't crush at all. I'm thinking of using copper instead of the factory aluminum, but was told mixing copper with steel and aluminum may cause some electrolysis.....I don't know enough to decide.
It still amazes both of us how loosely these were built. Gaps everywhere. Hopefully my rebuild will last another 26 years.....
Hopefully my train of thought here makes sense to everyone.....it is a learning project for sure.
Any and all feed back is super and appreciated for sure!!!
Thank you all....this forum is AWESOME!!!!
