We have begun the task of removing the old interior from the RV, and while not an easy task, it is very rewarding to see a blank canvas coming together for our rebuild.
The roof timbers were very rotten. When removing these it became very obvious to us how heavy the air-conditioning unit actually was mounted on the roof. As we were removing the roof timber, the roof bit by bit began to sag under the weight of the air conditioning unit above it. It got to the point where we had to stop and carefully remove the unit, as continuing to remove timber would mean the whole thing would have ripped through the think alloy sheet roof. It took two of us to move the air conditioning unit, we would estimate it must have been close to 50kgs.
Originally, we were going to install one large room for both the toilet and the shower unit. However, we have had a rethink about this and now we are going to have two separate rooms, opposite each other. The toilet fitted to the RV looks to be in very good condition. Samantha gave it a good clean and it came up almost like new.
The toilet is piped directly over the ‘black’ waste water tank, with the outlet pipe going vertically into the tank. At this time we are unsure it the toilet actually works, but see no reason why it shouldn’t. Our plan is to rebuild the box onto which it currently stands, as it does appear to be weaker than we would like, plus it can then joint to each of the compartment walls that we construct.
We do not intend to use any of the original gas fired appliances, and so these were all removed.
The generator will be removed from the RV as we feel there would be limited opportunity to use that when in the UK. The last thing we want to do is be a nuisance to anyone with an 1980’s combustion engine powered generator. The area where this is mounted will be converted into a small garage / storage area accessible from the outside.
The old kitchen was completely removed. We intend to install a new kitchen to the right of the original location, so the two waste water tanks can remain in their original places. Samantha has found a new bargain single bowl sink, more to come on that later.
The layout had two bedrooms; one above the driving area, which is an overhead double bed. The other area was two single beds at the rear of the vehicle.
The single beds have been removed. This area will become a seating area. A new bedroom will be formed behind the driving cab, formed from a fixed king sized bed arrangement. The overhead bedroom has been retained.
As we removed old insulation board it became obvious that a lot of water had been trapped between the plastic external sheeting of the RV accommodation unit and the insulation sheets themselves.
We found that it is necessary to build in a new timber frame to add strength to the RV wall panels. In the above photograph we have begun to install some timbers to understand were each new room will be constructed.
A video showing our stripping out of the interior is here –> YOUTUBE VIDEO
Vintage RV Adventures 