Rebuilding a Granby
- Thread starter bell4
- Start date
bell4
Member
Bell4
I just bought a Hawk that will require a major restoration and I also live in the foothills near Denver (Evergreen). I would like to see your project. Please shoot me your contact info.
Thanks,
RM
Definitely! PM incoming.
I owe this thread an update big time. My pace has slowed since I'm onto the interior which is a lot more detail work. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so detail work kills me. That and I had the end of the resort skiing season coupled with a 2 week visit from the in-laws to slow me down as well. I had to limit my time spent hiding in the garage.
I've got most of the cabinet work done, the cabover wood replaced, the location of the electrical panel figured out, some of the wiring done, some of the interior wall covering on, a new rear door on order, two 108AH AGM batteries, a new sink, and jack stands. The stove and a new rear door are on order awaiting arrival. On the 'to be decided still' list is rear flood lights, kitchen countertop, flooring selection, truck battery isolator, and a solar panel. So much for biting this project off in pieces
I'll work on getting some pictures up this weekend.
I just bought a Hawk that will require a major restoration and I also live in the foothills near Denver (Evergreen). I would like to see your project. Please shoot me your contact info.
Thanks,
RM
Definitely! PM incoming.
I owe this thread an update big time. My pace has slowed since I'm onto the interior which is a lot more detail work. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so detail work kills me. That and I had the end of the resort skiing season coupled with a 2 week visit from the in-laws to slow me down as well. I had to limit my time spent hiding in the garage.
I've got most of the cabinet work done, the cabover wood replaced, the location of the electrical panel figured out, some of the wiring done, some of the interior wall covering on, a new rear door on order, two 108AH AGM batteries, a new sink, and jack stands. The stove and a new rear door are on order awaiting arrival. On the 'to be decided still' list is rear flood lights, kitchen countertop, flooring selection, truck battery isolator, and a solar panel. So much for biting this project off in pieces
I'll work on getting some pictures up this weekend.
bell4
Member
Long overdue update here. As everybody predicted the pace of my camper construction couldn't sustain itself. Family came out to visit, despite the dismal ski season we still had to make it out for closing dates, and a variety of other little stuff. Not to mention I spent a LOT of time watching polyurethane dry. It's pretty quick in this climate but not fast by any stretch of the imagination.
Ok. So once I figured out the interior layout it was time to take care of all the things that needed to be done prior to cabinet building. First on the list was replacing the cabover as the original wood had suffered some water damage.
Tough to see in the picture but the leading edge was falling apart. The screws that attach it to the aluminum at the front just spun when I went to remove them as the wood behind it was rotten.
I don't have any pictures of removing the oak in the channel that provides the cantilever strength for the cabover as it was not a fun job. There are a LOT of screws to remove and then it'll catch on all the staples that hold the siding in place, and then it'll catch on the burred holes created by the aluminum screws.... It goes on. I got out one side whole and the other side in pieces so I replaced it. Anyway, the cabover platform gone.
I scoured the frame for a serial number but never found one but I did find this hand written on the top of the 1x1 frame once I removed the cabover
I did my best to remove the cabover platform whole but ultimately got frustrated and cut it in half and removed it as a right and left half. I was still able to use the pieces though to trace out the new cabover. Here is the new piece. 3/4" plywood
I put 3 coats of the same paint I put on the floorpack on the bottom side of it. Next I deiced to try and push it into the camper for a test fit. I'd heard that replacing the cabover wood was a real pain so I was ready for a fight. I'm not sure what happened next but after very little agony it popped into place and it was a tight fit! Thinking 'that wasn't very hard' I tried to remove it and couldn't. Got lucky I guess so I decided to leave it!
With a little help I ran a bead of silicone caulk along the surface where the aluminum channel and cabover meet and then got it in place and screwed it all back together. Once it was all in place I ran another light bead along the edges making sure everything was completely sealed from the outside. I did the same on the inside too along where the aluminum channel and cabover wood met.
As always someone was patiently waiting for me to 'Get on with it!'
Ok. So once I figured out the interior layout it was time to take care of all the things that needed to be done prior to cabinet building. First on the list was replacing the cabover as the original wood had suffered some water damage.
Tough to see in the picture but the leading edge was falling apart. The screws that attach it to the aluminum at the front just spun when I went to remove them as the wood behind it was rotten.
I don't have any pictures of removing the oak in the channel that provides the cantilever strength for the cabover as it was not a fun job. There are a LOT of screws to remove and then it'll catch on all the staples that hold the siding in place, and then it'll catch on the burred holes created by the aluminum screws.... It goes on. I got out one side whole and the other side in pieces so I replaced it. Anyway, the cabover platform gone.
I scoured the frame for a serial number but never found one but I did find this hand written on the top of the 1x1 frame once I removed the cabover
I did my best to remove the cabover platform whole but ultimately got frustrated and cut it in half and removed it as a right and left half. I was still able to use the pieces though to trace out the new cabover. Here is the new piece. 3/4" plywood
I put 3 coats of the same paint I put on the floorpack on the bottom side of it. Next I deiced to try and push it into the camper for a test fit. I'd heard that replacing the cabover wood was a real pain so I was ready for a fight. I'm not sure what happened next but after very little agony it popped into place and it was a tight fit! Thinking 'that wasn't very hard' I tried to remove it and couldn't. Got lucky I guess so I decided to leave it!
With a little help I ran a bead of silicone caulk along the surface where the aluminum channel and cabover meet and then got it in place and screwed it all back together. Once it was all in place I ran another light bead along the edges making sure everything was completely sealed from the outside. I did the same on the inside too along where the aluminum channel and cabover wood met.
As always someone was patiently waiting for me to 'Get on with it!'
bell4
Member
The cabover out of the way, on to cabinet building. First the base:
For now I'm going to keep the 3-way fridge. Being as it is the largest single object inside the camper I had to build around it:
Not happy with the original look I decided I needed to change it. I pulled the front panel at this point but more to come on that
The passenger side:
Painting and figuring out exactly where the counter top is going to have to sit:
Double checked off the fridge and shimmed off the propane housing.
For now I'm going to keep the 3-way fridge. Being as it is the largest single object inside the camper I had to build around it:
Not happy with the original look I decided I needed to change it. I pulled the front panel at this point but more to come on that
The passenger side:
Painting and figuring out exactly where the counter top is going to have to sit:
Double checked off the fridge and shimmed off the propane housing.
bell4
Member
Painting the passenger side and also decided to block up the rear window. I figured there is a window in the door and I'd rather have a cabinet in that space for extra storage.
Did I mention the excessive amount of time spent staining, poly'ing, sanding, poly'ing, sanding, poly'ing.....
Starting to look like a real counter top and cabinet set
While I was busy building cabinets my wife ordered some fabric and got to work re-upholstering the old cushions. The foam was good so we pulled off the several layers of old fabric, cleaned the foam as best we could and put on new fabric:
Did I mention the time spent sanding and poly'ing?
But it's all worth it as the cabinets start coming to life:
Did I mention the excessive amount of time spent staining, poly'ing, sanding, poly'ing, sanding, poly'ing.....
Starting to look like a real counter top and cabinet set
While I was busy building cabinets my wife ordered some fabric and got to work re-upholstering the old cushions. The foam was good so we pulled off the several layers of old fabric, cleaned the foam as best we could and put on new fabric:
Did I mention the time spent sanding and poly'ing?
But it's all worth it as the cabinets start coming to life:
bell4
Member
I discovered the local hardware stores carry aluminum flat stock, channel, and angle in a variety of dimensions. I figured this would be perfect to trim with from an ease of installation as well as protection stand point. The vertical corners are screwed on but the rest are glued. I used a 3M silicone glue to attach the aluminum to the wood and thus far it seems solid.
Back to the cabover. Once the silicone glue dried (I give it 2 days at least or it makes a mess) I started putting coats of exterior grade latex paint on the inside surface. Also got the oak boards re-installed.
More cabinetry building and fit checking
Then quality control showed up.
Cabinets in and painted
Time to start running some wiring. Here is the PD4045 and the wire I bought. I searched and searched for bonded primary wire to no avail so I bought these from a local electrical supply shop.
Back to the cabover. Once the silicone glue dried (I give it 2 days at least or it makes a mess) I started putting coats of exterior grade latex paint on the inside surface. Also got the oak boards re-installed.
More cabinetry building and fit checking
Then quality control showed up.
Cabinets in and painted
Time to start running some wiring. Here is the PD4045 and the wire I bought. I searched and searched for bonded primary wire to no avail so I bought these from a local electrical supply shop.
bell4
Member
Turned out that the shelf under the fridge was the PERFECT size for the PD4045 so that's where I'm running all the electrical to
Running wire is pretty efficient so I decided to get the cabinet doors going since they would require staining, sanding, and poly. Measure one more time than you think you should before cutting.
Not bad but I don't plan on making a living out of this anytime soon
The new shelves clamped and going in
In and trimmed. Again I'm really happy with how the aluminum channel ended up looking particularly for how easy it was to install.
test fitting the cabinet doors
Running wire is pretty efficient so I decided to get the cabinet doors going since they would require staining, sanding, and poly. Measure one more time than you think you should before cutting.
Not bad but I don't plan on making a living out of this anytime soon
The new shelves clamped and going in
In and trimmed. Again I'm really happy with how the aluminum channel ended up looking particularly for how easy it was to install.
test fitting the cabinet doors
bell4
Member
I removed the door from the fridge and pried out the old fake wood. Wasn't tough to do just took a little patience to not break the plastic frame the wood is held in by.
Using the old piece as a template I gut out, stained, and poly'd a piece of 1/4" sandply to replace it with. matches the rest of the interior nicely
Everything in. Not sure why the near cabinet looks so dark as it matches the rest of them in normal lighting
The extended cabover sleeping area is in and attached to the frame via a long piano hinge. Said and done it's a full size bed dimension wise
Finally a little wiring. Here is the line that runs from the panel to the shore power hookup
And a little propane plumbing. Sticking with the original furnace for now and getting a lot of practice in bending soft copper
Here you can see where the distribution panel will be mounted and where the AGM batteries will be. I've got 2 batteries but just the one is there for the purpose of mocking things up. The wire from the batteries to the panel are 6 gauge, from shore power to the panel is 10 gauge, and everything else inside is 14 gauge.
So that's it for now. Making good progress but still a lot to do. In the next 2 weeks I plan on finishing most of the wiring and propane plumbing in addition to getting the truck electrical hookup complete. Still an ambitious plan but the plan is to be mobile by the memorial day weekend. With a little luck that will be our shakedown trip.
Using the old piece as a template I gut out, stained, and poly'd a piece of 1/4" sandply to replace it with. matches the rest of the interior nicely
Everything in. Not sure why the near cabinet looks so dark as it matches the rest of them in normal lighting
The extended cabover sleeping area is in and attached to the frame via a long piano hinge. Said and done it's a full size bed dimension wise
Finally a little wiring. Here is the line that runs from the panel to the shore power hookup
And a little propane plumbing. Sticking with the original furnace for now and getting a lot of practice in bending soft copper
Here you can see where the distribution panel will be mounted and where the AGM batteries will be. I've got 2 batteries but just the one is there for the purpose of mocking things up. The wire from the batteries to the panel are 6 gauge, from shore power to the panel is 10 gauge, and everything else inside is 14 gauge.
So that's it for now. Making good progress but still a lot to do. In the next 2 weeks I plan on finishing most of the wiring and propane plumbing in addition to getting the truck electrical hookup complete. Still an ambitious plan but the plan is to be mobile by the memorial day weekend. With a little luck that will be our shakedown trip.
craig333
Riley's Human
Excellent writeup. Where is the shakedown going to be?
pods8
Contributors
Dude I sent you a link for bonded primary a while back.
Those batteries have a nice slim profile, pretty cool.
Those batteries have a nice slim profile, pretty cool.
bell4
Member
Dude I sent you a link for bonded primary a while back.
You did and I thought it would be something easy enough to find locally. Turns out that is not the case. Every place I called had no idea what I was talking about so I got impatient and bought no-bonded. It'll be a little more work to tie it up nice and neat but no big problem.
I do have a question about negative grounding though. So the PD4045 only has a wire for the positive connection. Out of habit I'm running 2 wires to every location. I'm thinking of installing a grounding bar near the battery bank that I can wire up to the negative terminal on the battery bank and then terminate all my ground wires on the bar. I'm also going to run a wire from the negative on the camper battery bank to the truck battery so I should have a solid ground all the way. Seems simple to me but wanted to make sure that fit the accepted convention.
Also what do people like for ACR's?
You did and I thought it would be something easy enough to find locally. Turns out that is not the case. Every place I called had no idea what I was talking about so I got impatient and bought no-bonded. It'll be a little more work to tie it up nice and neat but no big problem.
I do have a question about negative grounding though. So the PD4045 only has a wire for the positive connection. Out of habit I'm running 2 wires to every location. I'm thinking of installing a grounding bar near the battery bank that I can wire up to the negative terminal on the battery bank and then terminate all my ground wires on the bar. I'm also going to run a wire from the negative on the camper battery bank to the truck battery so I should have a solid ground all the way. Seems simple to me but wanted to make sure that fit the accepted convention.
Also what do people like for ACR's?
pods8
Contributors
Yeah I may possibly run single strands anyways with the positive line being color coded, haven't decided yet. But if I'm running all red/black then I'll go bonded most likely since that place is up the street from me.
Yes, run all the negatives back to a combined bar and tie that into your camper battery with appropriate gauge. My preference on the truck line back to the truck's battery negative would be from battery terminal to battery terminal (leave the bar out of it), I like each system being separate. On the bar note, I haven't readily found them in my preliminary searching, mainly only seeing terminal strips in which each contact pair is separate, not sure if I'm searching for the wrong term, you seeing much out there? I know they exist just need to find them.
BEP marine and bluesea are the main dogs, both offer a single and dual sense. Btw here is another thread off expo rigging up a system using solenoids instead of ACRs: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/77503-How-to-make-a-cheap-isolated-dual-battery-setup-for-50 An ACR or solenoid is plug and play in the diagram doesn't really matter which.
Yes, run all the negatives back to a combined bar and tie that into your camper battery with appropriate gauge. My preference on the truck line back to the truck's battery negative would be from battery terminal to battery terminal (leave the bar out of it), I like each system being separate. On the bar note, I haven't readily found them in my preliminary searching, mainly only seeing terminal strips in which each contact pair is separate, not sure if I'm searching for the wrong term, you seeing much out there? I know they exist just need to find them.
BEP marine and bluesea are the main dogs, both offer a single and dual sense. Btw here is another thread off expo rigging up a system using solenoids instead of ACRs: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/77503-How-to-make-a-cheap-isolated-dual-battery-setup-for-50 An ACR or solenoid is plug and play in the diagram doesn't really matter which.
bell4
Member
Excellent writeup. Where is the shakedown going to be?
Haven't fully decided yet. The 2 on the table currently are SW Colorado or Yellowstone. Don't want to be to far from civilization since this will be the shakedown run but I've also got a 4 day weekend so we can stretch out our range a little. Decisions decisions....
Haven't fully decided yet. The 2 on the table currently are SW Colorado or Yellowstone. Don't want to be to far from civilization since this will be the shakedown run but I've also got a 4 day weekend so we can stretch out our range a little. Decisions decisions....
bell4
Member
Yes, run all the negatives back to a combined bar and tie that into your camper battery with appropriate gauge. My preference on the truck line back to the truck's battery negative would be from battery terminal to battery terminal (leave the bar out of it), I like each system being separate. On the bar note, I haven't readily found them in my preliminary searching, mainly only seeing terminal strips in which each contact pair is separate, not sure if I'm searching for the wrong term, you seeing much out there? I know they exist just need to find them.
BEP marine and bluesea are the main dogs, both offer a single and dual sense. Btw here is another thread off expo rigging up a system using solenoids instead of ACRs: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/77503-How-to-make-a-cheap-isolated-dual-battery-setup-for-50 An ACR or solenoid is plug and play in the diagram doesn't really matter which.
I'm thinking a negative busbar. Should be easy to install and keep out of the way.
The Blue Sea ACR's seem pretty popular so I'll look into those. That diagram matches up with what I'm thinking so that's a good thing. Only difference is I was putting 50 Amp fuses inline and that diagram has 80 amp. Is there really a need to go 80 amp? I was thinking I'd want it to trip before getting that high.
BEP marine and bluesea are the main dogs, both offer a single and dual sense. Btw here is another thread off expo rigging up a system using solenoids instead of ACRs: http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/77503-How-to-make-a-cheap-isolated-dual-battery-setup-for-50 An ACR or solenoid is plug and play in the diagram doesn't really matter which.
I'm thinking a negative busbar. Should be easy to install and keep out of the way.
The Blue Sea ACR's seem pretty popular so I'll look into those. That diagram matches up with what I'm thinking so that's a good thing. Only difference is I was putting 50 Amp fuses inline and that diagram has 80 amp. Is there really a need to go 80 amp? I was thinking I'd want it to trip before getting that high.
pods8
Contributors
I'm thinking a negative busbar. Should be easy to install and keep out of the way.
The Blue Sea ACR's seem pretty popular so I'll look into those. That diagram matches up with what I'm thinking so that's a good thing. Only difference is I was putting 50 Amp fuses inline and that diagram has 80 amp. Is there really a need to go 80 amp? I was thinking I'd want it to trip before getting that high.
You thinking a house hold type bus bar where the screws drive down into the holes the wires are poked into? I was curious about finding the type with flat screws which would allow spare connectors to get clamped under them.
I don't see the need for 80amp personally for camper charging purposes, I'm planning to use 50amp thermal breakers rather than fuses.
The Blue Sea ACR's seem pretty popular so I'll look into those. That diagram matches up with what I'm thinking so that's a good thing. Only difference is I was putting 50 Amp fuses inline and that diagram has 80 amp. Is there really a need to go 80 amp? I was thinking I'd want it to trip before getting that high.
You thinking a house hold type bus bar where the screws drive down into the holes the wires are poked into? I was curious about finding the type with flat screws which would allow spare connectors to get clamped under them.
I don't see the need for 80amp personally for camper charging purposes, I'm planning to use 50amp thermal breakers rather than fuses.
pods8
Contributors
Finally found the right product I was thinking of. Both blue sea and sea dog seem to have a variety, sea dog looks to be a bit better priced. I like to concept of these 5 and 10 screw position ones with stud terminals for major connections. Look to run under $10 when looking online:
http://www.sea-dog.com/groups/2000-buss-bar-screw-terminal
http://www.sea-dog.com/groups/2000-buss-bar-screw-terminal
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