A while back, rudhawk asked when I started my rebuild project, so I thought I'd do a rough breakdown of the process.
I'm sure it goes without saying, that when you do this kind of work mostly on weekends, and some evenings, it takes quite awhile. Also, I find some days I simply get tired, and so my productivity isn't what I'd like it to be. Good thing I'm not being payed for the job on some of those days. I'm a pharmaceutical sales rep by profession, and cover a very large geography, so I use up a lot of energy during the week. There's also family time, home maintenance, and numerous other things that require time and focus. With all that being said, here's how the project has been on a timeline.
April, 2014 - First brought the camper home. Spent awhile thinking and pondering what I would do with it. Originally, I wasn't
thinking a full rebuild.
May, 2014. - Bought a Hallmark Ute pop-up for $1200, thinking I could use it that summer, while I was working on the FWC.
Problem was, it had wood rot in the front and back on the roof, so I ended up spending all my free time repairing it.
I ended up never using that camper, I just sold it at the end of summer, for a profit, bc I didn't want to keep it over
the winter.
August 8, 2014 - Dismantled the Grandby
August 16, 2014 - Shortened the Grandby frame from 8 feet, to 7 feet, or 83 inch length.
August 19, 2014 - Began frame remodeling, and beefing up corners, and various other stress points, and 2 rows of stock on the
top perimeter, and two additional rows on the bottom, placing additional 1 inch square tubing stock in place
with tape, and then with L-brackets and screws.
September 19, 2014 - Camper frame returned from being welded up. Placed back in pickup bed to check for fit.
October - November, annual hunting season I focused work time off for.
April - May, 2015 - Built floor pack, attached to frame, and painted the bottom side with marine paint, painted inside floor and
installed linoleum.
May 23, 2015 - Started fitting new radius windows, requiring a little cutting, and adjustments of previous window framing.
June 13, 2015 - Built, painted, and installed new bed overhang board(s)
June, 2015 - Worked on wiring for exterior lighting, and cut and installed solid foam insulation.
July, 2015 - Worked on cutting and installing inside paneling.
December 24-January 2, 2016 - Cut out lift panels, and did some fiberglassing. Began installing exterior siding.
January, 2016 - Began working on door, first try.
February, 2016 - Continued working on door, started cutting, drilling, painting corner jack brackets, and painting stripes on siding.
March, 2016 - Finished and installed 2nd door build
April, 2016 - Worked on cleaning up and painting trim pieces, installed corner jack brackets, and installed porch lights.
Thought this might be interesting to all following this post. At this point, I'm not sorry at all that I started this project. If others might consider doing this kind of project, I'd say if you can work on it daily until completed, the timeline would be much shorter. I don't think my initial thoughts were to go to the extent I have for the finished project, but my perspective on what I wanted it to be changed along the way. So, everyone would approach this differently, this was just my journey. I'm pushing myself now, because I want to use it this year, even if it's just a shell initially. Wish me luck!
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