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

[Living The Dream]

Hey Poky!

I had a great weekend of TC work myself. Look for an update soon. But also I got the roof off so I can do the solar instal, wiring, insulation, and headliner. I looked back at your post 89 and followed the breadcrumbs.

Is this the material you purchased for the headliner? How much excess material did you buy to accommodate cutting and tucking it all in?

http://www.upholsterysupplyonline.com/products/Marine-Headliner-White-HDL%252d1004.html

Thanks for such an extensive write up on the roof! I am going to go with rigid insulation up top, ill take the extra weight for the extra r-value.

Many thanks. Tim

 

[PokyBro]

Takesiteasy, sorry to not respond sooner. I know you were one of the first who commented on my build, when I was into it early on, and encouraging me to keep it up. Thank you for going back and re-visiting the whole process, that's nice to let me know!




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[PokyBro]

Hey Poky!

I had a great weekend of TC work myself. Look for an update soon. But also I got the roof off so I can do the solar instal, wiring, insulation, and headliner. I looked back at your post 89 and followed the breadcrumbs.

Is this the material you purchased for the headliner? How much excess material did you buy to accommodate cutting and tucking it all in?

http://www.upholsterysupplyonline.com/products/Marine-Headliner-White-HDL%252d1004.html

Thanks for such an extensive write up on the roof! I am going to go with rigid insulation up top, ill take the extra weight for the extra r-value.

Many thanks. Tim

Tim, that looks like the right stuff; marine grade, perforated vinyl. Marine grade means it has been treated to help withstand mildew. It's got a little weight to it when you pick up a roll, you'll be surprised. Nothing excessive, but it is quality material.

I just bought enough material to make sure I had enough lengthwise X 2, with a little extra to boot. You only need about 1 1/2" extra to go over the side, and to tuck inside under the aluminum sheeting on top, but it's also a good idea to have enough to be able to pull and stretch to get the wrinkles out. I had quite a bit extra material left over, I think they just threw in what was left on the roll, but only charged me for what I ordered.

You should be fine on the weight factor with rigid foam insulation for your roof. In my case, I had added quite a bit of weight with the added aluminum struts, but you have the 1 1/2" rectangular lengthwise struts, giving you a stronger roof than mine was, at least in my estimation. I don't think you'll feel that much difference. I kind of wish I had still gone with rigid foam myself, but when I was hefting my roof around in the garage, it kept feeling heavier, and heavier with each additional item. Once they're on the camper, it's not so bad, especially if with lift assist struts. Good luck, you'll really enjoy seeing that nice new ceiling when it's done.




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[WyoIDI]

WyoIDI, you're very generous with your compliments, I've just done what I could to put this together, and it's turning out pretty good. By the way, I'm up in Cody for work once a month or so, maybe we could meet up?


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You bet, shoot me a PM when you're up here and we could grab a beer or something

 

[PokyBro]

I finally have a chance to catch up on the final build process that went right up to the shakedown trip, so I'll add the additional photos and comments now.

If you haven't checked out the "maiden voyage" shakedown yet on trip reports, here it is:

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/13367-owner-build-1981grandby-to-hawk-maiden-voyage-shakedown/



Well as you might imagine that last week or so was fast and fierce to finish up to a point of being confident the camper wouldn't leak, wouldn't fall apart, and wouldn't fall off the truck. Back on entry #125, I had tried the liner on for fit, so let's back up to there.



If you look at the back of the camper, the liner is very loose fitting, too loose in fact, so it had to be taken back off, and back to the sewing machine. I pulled the material as tightly as possible to the back of the camper, and folded what I could over top of itself, and determined it would be safe to remove two inches, or so, of material. To accomplish this, I undid the seam on the rear of both side panels, removing 1 inch of material from both sides, and then resewing the seams as described earlier.

With hindsight, I would say the most accurate measurement for the liner is taken from the circumference of the camper body, not the lid. There's probably a good bit of allowance here, because, 40 feet of vinyl will allow some stretching if needed. So try for a reasonably snug fit on the bottom on the first try. Mine was still a little looser than desired when I tried it back on, but I had to go with that, because to take more material out pretty much meant another two inches minimum, based on redoing seams, and not having needle holes shewing. From pictures I have seen, it looks like the fit on the lid is pretty snug, requiring some stretching, when installed, looking at the photos of Ski's ATC build thread.

Here's the difference when I brought the liner back out to the garage and tried it on. The fit fit was close enough to live with, and over time will likely shrink a bit little by little as the fabric ages. So, game on!




First I removed all the staples and screws holding the rooftop sheet metal down, and went around and snugged the headliner material one more time, added more contact cement where needed, and folded it up over, and underneath the sheetmetal, trying not to cut myself in the process.

Next, I cut, I think 4 1/2" strips of left over vinyl material, enough to go the length of each side, for the Arctic Pack to be added later, sewed on the Velcro, and attached these with staples, before putting the completed side liner back on. I used 2" loop Velcro material here. I would leave a 1/4" space of vinyl above the edge of the Velcro when installed, as the trim ring will use that up when it is installed later. Here's those shots.







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[PokyBro]

I went around and marked one inch from the top of the liner all the way around, as this one inch mark would need to be at the top of the aluminum tubing that would be covered up by the sheet metal rooftop later, and I folded that one inch of material in under the sheet metal, and then after positioning the liner, and making sure it was center at front and back, began stapling the material to the roof frame. I then went around and tried to make sure it was not bunching up anywhere, and was hanging as uniformly as possible all the way around. You can make adjustments here if needed, by removing staples and repositioning if needed. My garage doesn't have the best lighting, and a bit tight on space, so it was difficult to stand back and inspect well on both sides.



This is how things were layered on the original build. The headliner was installed, and the sheet metal was stapled down over top of that. The liner was later stapled on top of those two, and then the trim ring was installed. Sealant was applied over the space between the trim ring, and the roof top, which was fine until the sealant weathered and dried, and then they were prone to start leaking. I think that's why so many of these early campers had lift panel rotting, and other damage from water leaks. I was shocked to see this when I dismantled mine. It didn't make sense to me. When I looked at Ski's ATC build thread, they folded the liner underneath the rooftop sheeting as it should be. Here's how I did mine.




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[PokyBro]

Time to inspect again, and make sure everything looks good. You can see what I mean about my liner being maybe a tad too loose, as there's a little puckering happening already, but I really couldn't adjust that now, as described above. The front corner's sheetmetal radius was done originally at the factory, by numerous snips and folding the pieces down over the edge of the corner. This is another place of potential water leak, without routine maintenance and inspection of sealant. By tucking the liner material up under this, it should help prevent that to some degree, but sealant failure is always going to be a risk here.

Time to install the top trim ring. Sure glad I took the time to paint this white during the summer, as I just had to grab it and I tall now, and I used non-self drilling white, square hole screws for fasteners. I really like the square hole screws, as they really don't strip much like Phillips head to. I used duct tape to hold the trim in place until I could get around and place the screws, as I didn't have a helper.




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[PokyBro]

I put a screw in every foot,or so at first, again to make sure it was lining up properly, then later went back and put in the rest. The screws should fit back in the original holes if you get things lined back up accurately.

Letting the side liner droop down naturally with the roof raised, it was time to install the bottom trim rings. My camper had two inches of aluminum tubing added to the top of the camper wall, so there were no old screw holes to try and match. Also, though I tried to get the measurements as exact as possible, I found out at the this point they were off a little as the trim pieces didn't come together at each end as they should have. So be careful here if you were to make such a change to the camper body, as I did, and are attempting to reuse the trim pieces. Also, there is a topside, and bottom side to this trim material if you look closely.






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[PokyBro]

It's a good idea to stand back and, with light shadows, see if there are any areas that need adjustment to try and work out any puckering or uneven stretching of the material. This is easily accomplished by loosening or removing several screws. Also take the time to go around and see if you got this bottom trim piece flush with the top of the camper wall. This is by touch or feeling through the fab I side liner, as you can't visually see if they are flush.



If it all looks good go around adding the remains screws to fasten down the trim piece. You can again pull the material under the trim as you go for snugness, and try to keep the liner from bunching as much as possible, but there will likely be some no matter what you do.





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[Sock Puppet]

Uber build! Hats off to your incredible work!

 

[PokyBro]

Thanks Sock Puppet for checking in, and commenting!

I failed to show the following pic of the Velcro loop strip installed, prior to installing the side liner. That's the easiest thing to sew as well. Seam stick the Velcro to the vinyl strip, every so many inches, and let the sewing machine rip, full throttled. Just try to keep the thread line straight.



Also, when you first put the liner on, it can be challenging to center it so the windows are all the same distance from the respective corners, as well as getting it into place period. I found that tucking the front part of the liner between the front lift panel center Hinge, and lowering the front down so it sucks the liner in with it, and then going to the back, with the rear lift panel up, and get the liner stretched on the lid frame on those back two corners, worked best. Then I went back to the front, and at chest level, pulled the top of the liner forward from those back corners, and then over each front radius corner, worked pretty well. It's good to know, and mark beforehand, where center is on both the liner, and the camper body, to help with correct positioning before stapling in place.




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[PokyBro]

I took my time and gave the sideliner a day or two, to make sure I was happy with how it looked, before trimming off the bottom excess, while I worked on some other things. Once trimmed, there's no turning back. I also needed to cut a small piece of trim to fill in the little space in the front.


Trimming the excess liner at the bottom was pretty straight forward. Each of these steps were causing some excitement to stir in me, as it was so cool to get to this point.



Next it was time to install the remaining trim pieces. It was again, nice that I had repainted them earlier, and had cut to size for the most, so I only needed to add butyl tape to the corner pieces, and the bottom trim on the sides. I used square hole self starting
1 1/4" screws for most of the trim pieces.




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[PokyBro]

And finally the overhang bottom trim piece. I had to buy a new length of trim for this, because when I lengthen the overhang, the original was now to short. I did not use butyl tape on this piece, because photos I've seen of installing this piece did not, nor did the camper when I dismantled it. There's really not much concern of moisture penetration there I'm guessing.



She's looking pretty good!

My hold down clamps were rusting a bit, and bent, but I figured I'd try cleaning them up, straightening them, and painting with aluminum colored paint. I could replace with new later, if necessary, but they actually look like they'll be okay.



My next project was to start sealing the vents on top, the solar wire entry plate, screw holes and the full perimeter of the top trim ring. I used a product called ProFlex, by Geocell, I had used in the past. It's easy to work with, as you just get little container of soapy water, and once a bead is applied with a sealant gun of up to two feet, you just dip your finger in the soapy water, and smooth it out. The water mix sort of acts like a lubricant. It's better applied in warm temperature, as it will shrink down and self level a bit over the next hour. It stays flexible when cured, and doesn't seem to attract dirt too much.




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[PokyBro]

I really like how smooth the vent covers, screws, etc turned out.



The top ring trim wasn't quite as neat and tidy, but will certainly do the job. I plan to add another layer next spring/ summer, to add a little more thickness, especially in areas where it settled more significantly.



Now by this point, the countdown for my nearing outing was getting closer and closer, and still so much to do. So I ramped it up, and just kept plugging along, one item at a time.

Next up was installing the solar panel, a 160 watt Solar Cynergy, obtained from Solar Blvd, on sale. It went on pretty easy, by installing four pieces of aluminum angle stock, and pop-riveting them to the panel sides, then positioning and centering the panel over the Yakima tracks, between the vents, drilling holes, and screwing the panel down. Pretty tight fit between the vents.




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[PokyBro]

I cut the mc4 cables, and installed the plug that matched the entry plate cable, a 10 gauge wire, and used a water tight crimp connector, then wrapped it all up in a corrugated plastic casing, and covered with tape. It looks neat, and hopefully will be fine regarding moisture. Here's a comparison of the actual wire strands in the wiring to get to the charge controller.







I didn't take pictures, but I also had to seal all seams and spaces on the entry door. And then all the trim where water might flow into, even though there's butyl tape, it's double protection. I also installed the screw cover vinyl insert tape.




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[PokyBro]

And cut, installed, and sealed the trim on the front and rear of the camper body. I ran out of this trim, so will yet have to finish that later, once I pick that up.



I decided to make the the hold down anchor plates, to minimize costs, and designed them after the ones being used by the factory. I used 1/8" aluminum plate for inside, 1/8" 2x2" stainless angle iron outside, and grade 8 bolts to install.




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[PokyBro]

Not quite in order, but a good time show the full turn buckle connection system now.

I decided on the truck anchor mounts BillM designed, and I was pleased with how they offered flexibility for distance, and strength as well. I used 1/2" forged turn buckles, indicating something like 1100 lbs each, and added a lock nut. The installation connections look like this.








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[PokyBro]

Before loading the camper into the truck, I did a quickly built, roughed in galley to get me by for my trip. I'll redo with a well thought cabinetry later when time allows. This allowed me to install my heater, stove top, and sink. I also installed the cubby for the battery, and storage for water jugs. I also did a basic, temporary wiring set up for the accessories, and got the solar charge controller installed as well. The propane box, propane lines, sink drain, etc.




And finally, the bed slide, and the top lift panel locking board.




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[PokyBro]

Got the camper jacks on, lifted it off the dolly, slid a 5x8 foot utility trailer under it, to get it out of the garage, and loaded it into the truck. A little nervous first time doing it, but it went in pretty easy. I had to adjust the tie downs a bit, but they came together great.

Time to go camping! Almost.....I was hoping to leave on Friday, then that turned into Saturday morning. Then I smelled a propane leak, even though I had done a leak test the day before. The pressure regulator had to be changed out, and finally, it all came together, and I was off to the hills Saturday afternoon, arriving at my destination at 11:30 pm Saturday night, and a day late. The Elk hunt started Saturday morning. No worries, I accomplished my goal, and that was the most important thing to me. You can read more about the shakedown trip I posted over at trip reports on the forum. I really enjoyed my week off, enjoying the new camper, and just chilling!

Thanks for following along. I put lots of pics in as people seem to be appreciating the details. I'll do the interior build later, going to take a break on that for now, and maybe go use the camper a little more before winter sets in. If anyone wants to ask more specifics on anything, feel free to do so.

Thanks everyone!

Poky




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[PokyBro]

A couple more shots, out side of the garage, and ready to roll!


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