We're on the move!!

Pulled out of the hangar - we're Oriental-bound!

Turning off the main highway towards our lot.  (We stopped at the New Bern airport to pick up our mini-van on the way through just to have the extra vehicle - hence I can snap a photo!!)

It had been raining over the past couple of days and the ground was a little soft, so we had a few tense moments getting the trailer backed into place.  This was the first time we'd seen the finished drive and parking spot....it's great but a little smaller than what we'd hoped.    What you don't see to the right of this photo is the non-graveled area that we had to pull the trailer through to get it in the proper position.   But all is well!

Later we had unloaded stuff from the pickup and Duane had rigged us with a nice temporary power cord.  Good since it's going to be down to 32 degrees tonight and I'm happy to try out our brand new roof top heat pump/air conditioner!

Here's our pretty view towards the dock -   we've got plenty of firewood and a fire-pit that's been in the box in the basement for a few years (thanks Mom and Frank).  Unfortunately, it's getting colder by the minute and the wind is about 20 mph....I think the cozy fire might wait until tomorrow night!

Some Finishing Touches

We are pretty much finished in the bathroom, so it is time to re-install the bathroom door. 

It's a heavy sucker!!  Not sure why they built it so sturdy since it's not that critical.  

Looks nice though.

 View from inside the bathroom

The trailer bumper is hollow and is the storage for the sewer hose.  It was very rusty inside, so of course that had to be taken care of!

Duane rigged a big cylinder hone that Mom and Frank had given him.  He attached it to a 8' flexible pipe and proceeded to "hone" all the rust from the inside of the bumper.

Then we covered the hone with plastic, then dipped a rag in Rustoleum paint (first primer, then silver the next day)
and he forced it thru the bumper to make sure we got a good coating all thru the bumper.  Pretty ingenious!

Before and after

This time - the galley area -

Before:

What we changed:

Removed gas range
Removed countertop/sink
Cleaned and re-stained all cabinets
Installed Corian countertop/built in sink
Installed new faucet and soap dispenser
Installed gas cooktop
Installed convection/microwave oven


The After photos!

Before and after

The project is really winding down now....thought I'd start posting some final "before" and "after" photos!

Before:

Probably should state what was changed - 

Removed carpet
Removed entire floor/subfloor
Installed  new floor and vinyl floor covering
Rebuilt "settee" cabinets that were water damaged
Recovered table and shelf with light colored laminate
(Not visible, really) Replaced all lighting with LED's


The After photo!

Final touches for the floor

I wanted to finish off the junction of the new vinyl flooring and the cabinetry a little better.  While I think we did a great job of cutting it to fit closely, there was still a small "crack" between the flooring and the wooden cabinetry.  

Our solution was to stain some quarter round to match.

I think it finishes it off nicely!

 Same thing in the bathroom - this is the tub area.

And here's the finished look. 

Clothes hamper lid

The "clothes hamper" is just a small area that is walled off behind the toilet.   The original old yellow laminate countertop had a similar opening, so Duane duplicated it with our new Corian countertop.  The old opening had a poorly constructed laminate lid that was made using a particle board base.  It was swollen with moisture and unusable.


So, Duane fabricated a new "lid" out of some nice veneer plywood and some oak boards.  The patterned boards hold the lid in place and keeps it from slipping when the trailer is in motion.

Here it is in place, sanded and unfinished.

This is the little hamper space. Note curtains in place now and a nice stained piece of trim on the right to tidy up the countertop finish.

And here is the lid after many coats of Minwax polyurethane.

A nice finish, lightweight and functional.

Built-in gas lantern

Betcha don't see this everyday!!  It's a built-in lantern - like an old fashioned "white gas" Coleman camping lantern.  Except it's fueled by a propane line.  It has the little mesh mantle just like a Coleman lantern.

Duane re-connected the propane line - and it works perfectly! It even makes that same little familiar Coleman lantern "whirrr".   Will be neat to have when we're "boondocking"!

Maiden voyage!!! 3 years in the making!

I'm so thrilled, I just had to post again today! 

Here's the "before" photo from February, 2014:

Duane finished installing the brake controller - so it was time to take the Avion out to calibrate the controller. 

Amazing - we parked the Avion almost exactly 3 years ago in it's spot in the hangar.  (I will admit that we didn't do much on the trailer during 2015...busy sailing....)

Other than jacking it up and down, it hasn't moved all that time.  It's been a long process - but we're intimately  familiar with the entire trailer now!!

We made sure everything inside was stowed properly -  and Duane attached all the towing "bits".  

Buttoned up and ready to go!!

Just a little 10 mile local loop - brake controller worked well - everything behaved as expected....even blew a little dust off!  

 It was too chilly today to wash it - but tomorrow may be much warmer.  Will be nice to pull it back out and wash off all the "hangar grime".   

We have a "short list" of things to finish before we can take it out camping!

Roof seal finished!

Pretty much finished up on the roof!!

We had replaced all 3 of the old plumbing roof vents - and applied copious amounts of Dicor self-leveling sealant to make sure there are NO leaks!!

Everything all tidy - just have to remove our "walking boards".  Glad to be off the roof!!   We may go back up sometime to put solar panels on.  We'll save that for a bit later when we have some camping experience and decide exactly what we need.  Bye-bye roof - won't miss you!!

Window shade repair

The shade for the rear window appears to be original to the trailer from 1973. It's necessary since the sheer curtains let lots of light in - but they give almost no privacy.

The part of the shade that was exposed for years is crumpled and discolored.

I did a preliminary amount of shopping and it's clear that shades are no longer a popular window covering!!  


Fortunately, the blind is about 5 times longer than it needs to be for the short window.   So, I decided to simply cut it and modify it to use the existing "pull".

I just made a pocket with the sewing machine for the existing pull board.

I was worried that the plastic would tear, but it sewed very nicely!

And it worked perfectly - cost - almost nothing!!

Rear window

We're finally to the point that we could re-install the rear window...

Remember what it looked like originally -

If you remember, I took it all apart, ordered new tempered glass panes, and reglazed it.  Then we tucked it away because we had work we needed to complete first before re-installation.

Now that all the plumbing and countertop work is complete, it's time to button it up!!  With new sealant and a little muscle...good as new!

Interior shot before adding the curtains.

The sheers re-installed.  There is also a rollup shade behind the shears for privacy.

All done!!

Propane bottle covers

We're getting closer to being able to finally pull the trailer out of the hangar!!  Since we went to all the expense of replacing all the hoses/regulator/etc for the propane gas tanks, I thought it would be good to protect them from the elements.

I tried to find a "hard shell" cover - but ours are the larger 40lb tanks and I couldn't find one to fit.  They make the hard shell ones for 20 and 30 lb tanks, but not 40 lb.  

All I could find was the pull-over vinyl one.  It will do the trick....I'm not terribly pleased with the look right now, but hopefully it will smooth out once its out in the sun. 

Bathroom plumbing complete

Finally wrapping up the bathroom refurb.....

We glued the Corian countertop down.   Then Duane installed all the drain/water supply plumbing for our new sink and faucet.

Here's the "before" photo -

Lookin' good!!!

Entrance door molding

The entrance door molding was brittle, discolored and cracked.  So, I pried it all off - since it was brittle, it came off pretty easily.

After much searching on the internet, I found some almost identical molding.  It's flexible vinyl with a metal interior that "grips" the metal of the doorway.

And there you have it - a nice, white/clean doorway trim!