stevelv
Living on the island
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Joined: 05/24/2006
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Some people have used aluminum angle but I'm using a wood transition piece in a dark mahogany color (can't get hicory) - this is an angle moulding from Home Depot that will be glued to the top floor and will float across the vertical pieces - the vertical sides of the step will be glued in place as will the base of the step - then the edges between the step and the sides will be sealed with silicon and a piece of door mat cut to shape and fixed to the step - possibly with 'poppers' but haven't looked at that yet.
That way the step area is completely waterproof and the step mat can be removed for cleaning.
I'll show pictures as I do it.
RV Park Finder
Ex Fulltimers
Repairing/Restoring 1984 Monaco Regent 36' Gas to restart RVing
DH,DW,Jake and Indie
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SRT
Head of the Lakes, MN
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Joined: 02/18/2001
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Daveinet wrote:SRT - A signal tracer induces a warble tone on the wire. This tone is picked up without actually touching the wire, you just have to be near it. You can follow the wire behind walls or into taped bundles - those black holes that would be impossible to follow without major destruction of ripping things apart to actually touch the wire or find the other end. You can usually pick up the signal from a few inches away. I have used one many times, as previous owners have added wires that make no sense where they go or what they were used for.
A 6 volt battery and bulb works fine if you can see both ends of the bundle and are just trying to find out which wire it is, but when the wire goes where you can't see, a signal tracer can save a ton of time, - follow the bundle and know where it splits off - when the wires do not go where you expect them to go.
That's true. But back when (lots and lots of years ago  ) we didn't have all these neat electronic stuff. If I was still tinkering I would definitely buy one. Gee, maybe I should buy one for my son for a Christmas present.
SRT
2000 32' HR Vacationer with Banks
1998 Subaru Outback Ltd. 5 spd
Brake Buddy & Blue Ox Aventa II tow bar
FMCA #266040 HRRVC #84109
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stevelv
Living on the island
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Joined: 05/24/2006
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An interesting day today as I managed to finish off most of the flooring - just the trimming out to do and then I got down and dirty and installed the new rear view camera and Unified Tow Brake cabling.
If I were to do this again I would remove the toilet as it was a lot harder to get the shape right. Cutting Allure flooring is great across the grain but it is a lot more difficult if trying to cut down the grain - so getting the shape right was a lot of cut, measure, trim - removing the toilet would have made it a lot easier but it turned out alright in the end.
I had ordered a new black and white Clarion rear view camera to replace the tube camera that had failed. I had intended to use the old housing to keep the look authentic but in the end I decided against it.
As you can see, the old fittings were pretty beat up and covered in old silicon - a right mess.
A good clean up and a wipe over with Krud Killer cleaned it up nicely - that Krud Killer (similar to Goo Off) removes fiberglass oxidation like magic - it just wipes it off, it's just an expensive way to clean a whole RV that way 
I drilled new holes for the new mounting bracket and filled the old ones with dicor sealant and then used a blade to trim it level. There was an existing cable penetration to take the camera cable into the coach and then I routed it internally.
I was able to follow existing cables down to the area under the bed and then dropped down underneath.
The purests out there will shudder as I clipped the camera cable to remove the bulky connector - it's easier to thread a 1/4" cable than a 1" OD connector. When the cable emerged into the front cap area, I used a molex connector and heat shrink to reconnect the cables - it was only 4 wires anyway.
I wasn't able to take photos of the routing of the cable underneath the coach - it was hard enough crawling around on gravel and too dirty for a good camera to be used. Anyway, I was installing a Unified Tow Brake at the same time and so was able to use the protective corrugated conduit that it came in to feed the camera cable into and so only have to run one set of cables. I tiewrapped them every 6"-8" alongside an existing loom, making sure that they were out of the way of any moving parts such as suspension and away from the exhaust system.
I had a dilemma deciding where to install the UTB control head - it's designed to be attached to a lever such as the turn signal stalk but I had nothing usable. So I decided to mount it to a trim piece of the dash where it was visible and easy to get to - you can apply the toad brakes manually and adjust sensitivity using this system.
I had to dremel a piece of the dash perspex to clear the mounting screw - that was something that made me nervous - no chance of ever getting a replacement if the dremel slipped or it cracked
After mounting the unit it was simply a case of routing the cable behind the dash and reinstalling the trim piece
Job done and it looks fine and is easily adjusted and controlled. Just need to wire it all up and test.
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showmetravelers
Fulltiming
Full Member
Joined: 07/20/2008
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Good Sam RV Club
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As of the "stevelv" Nov 13 entry, there are no photos visible, just little squares with x's. I haven't changed anything on my computer; is anyone else having problems viewing the photos?
2005 Dutch Star 40' diesel
2007 Saturn Vue
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stevelv
Living on the island
Senior Member
Joined: 05/24/2006
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View the page and then press CTRL and F5 on the keyboard - that should refresh the images for you. I just checked and they are there for me.
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stevelv
Living on the island
Senior Member
Joined: 05/24/2006
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Another daily installment that was interrupted by yet another trip to Home Depot - I needed staples for the carpeting and my 10mm ones weren't long enough so a 12 mile roundtrip to get some 14mm ones - at least I managed to get some more fluorescent tubes - the last owner had left me 3 in a cupboard - all priced at $3.99 - in Home Depot they were $6.75 - ahh, progress!
He also left me a newspaper from 1989 that had fallen down the back of the couch - interesting reading.
Anyway, today was all apart carpet in the bedroom.
I started by laying pad down and I learned to hate that stuff - there must be an easy way to cut it cleanly but I tried a razor sharp carpet knife and scissors and nothing would do it without it tearing. Not the neatest job but it's under the carpet so no-one can see it.
With the new 14mm staples, I managed to get them to hold and it started to go down quite well. I'm only using a spare offcut that we had lying around after doing the stick house and so it wasn't done in one piece but two strips down the side of the queen bed and then a piece across the base with two joins. If funds ever permit I may get it done professionally but I'm quite happy with it.
This is the finished flooring from the bedroom through to the kitchen. I used joining strips between the kitchen and hallway, and the hallway and the bedroom - finishes it off nicely. Next I have to do all the quarter round along the edges - just stained it to a matching color and it's outside drying.
Tomorrow I will also be installing the new microwave/convection and replacing the vent hood.
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stevelv
Living on the island
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Joined: 05/24/2006
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I made a start with the new microwave/convection, measuring it up for some filler pieces as this was a little smaller than the Sharp unit that came out. It was also an Ebay bargain - a brand new but scratch and dent item for less than $100 - as it's going into the 'box', no one can see the dents and they didn't affect it's performance.
I'll need to try and find some similar grained wood as the original is oak and not sure whether I can source a couple of pieces locally.
I also made a start on the step today installing the Allure flooring into it to make a watertight box.
I glued the pieces to the sides using construction adhesive and tacks into the sticky tab to hold it whilst it dried.
When all the pieces were in, I trimmed the top edge with a utility knife - doesn't have to be a perfect cut as there is a wooden trim piece to go over this that I'll show when I've installed it.
I ran a bead of clear silicon across all the corners to make it waterproof.
Finally, I cut down a floor mat that I picked up from Lowes for less than $4 to make a dirt catcher for the step. This just sits in there loose but there is a front lip that holds it in place - it can be easily removed for cleaning but is an exact fit to prevent it moving.
A friend lent me a power buffer/polisher today and so I spent a couple of hours trying to get many years of UV damaged gelcoat to shine - I'll need to do it a second time with the buffing compound and then with polish to get a decent shine but it's getting there. I'll show some before and after pictures when it's done.
The Monaco had a couple of fans wired to dash switches for the occupants and one of these was jammed and the other ran slowly - I had looked around for replacements but yesterday I was in Walmart and found some black plastic car fans for $9 apiece. I grabbed two and when I came to look at them today they are absolutely identical to the old ones except made from plastic. The old ones had chrome rings (now rusty) and clear plastic fans whereas the new ones are all black - but the shape and fittings are the same so I swapped them over using the old mounts.
These went back into the existing mounting points and both work just fine. The funny thing was that even the originals were 'Made in China' even back in 1984!
I glued the pieces in place using construction adhesive.
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The Dunks
Madera, Ca.
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Joined: 08/06/2003
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The rig is looking so nice.
The Dunks - Terry and Steve
'05 Endeavor - The Oasis
'05 Jeep Grand Cherokee
In God We Trust
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stevelv
Living on the island
Senior Member
Joined: 05/24/2006
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Thanks
Yes, just getting down to the cosmetics now - need to get the wood trim 1/4 round down and replace the mattress and curtains and I'm still working on the outside to get some shine into the fiberglass.
I also got some new Bargman marker lights to replace the old tired ones - amazing what a difference just a few clean lenses make to the look.
I don't suppose anyone knows where to get replacement bulbs for the remote spotlight do they? Still trying to work out how to get into it but it looks like a sealed unit with dual filaments inside.
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f.wernlein
Northern Virginia
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Joined: 12/13/2007
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A possible source for the spotlight bulb...try West Marine.
This is a great thread...many are put off by such projects, but you are really showing what some skill and sweat equity can do to renew an older RV.
Good Luck
Frank W.
1985 BlueBird Wanderlodge
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