YellowGMCMotorhome: September 2015

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Countertop

We like the retro look, and wanted to try to match the drink cabinet countertop, but the pressboard was pretty blown. I went on a hunt for new laminate of the same pattern - no luck. Even sent photos to various companies to see if they had any old stock. no luck.

Countertop out of the coach

Stove corner

Edge of stove cutout

End grain butcher block

I think that it could be possible to salvage the laminate. I will have to try different ways of removing the laminate.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Hunting for leaks - roof survey

So on the hunt for possible leak locations. The one leak seemed fairly obvious.

Cracked lights

Seam over the Driver side. Looks like one good culprit.

Top View of Driver side seam

Another cracked light

Side seam under the window

Lovely roof top view!

Friday, September 18, 2015

Ugh - Water damage!

So it is rainy season here in Florida, the coach has been sitting at home for all of 2-3 days and I see this -

The counter is cupped. The edge of the sink is not touching the counter anymore. Great. Also parts of the dinette chair is wet/stained. Hint to future buyers, look at all stains carefully! Apparently there were/are multiple leaks. I start peeling off the green carpet to find water destroyed wood panels.

Wood has delaminated

Black stain on chair

water damaged wood

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Yay Generator is here... Boo more work!

So apparently buying a 40something motorcoach makes lots of things on it old and hard to find. Or discontinued - in this case the generator that fits the space designed for it. The previous owner took out the generator. So after our test outing with no power camping in Florida Summer, we were motivated to get power. Also, the AC doesn't work while driving and the driver wants some cooling. We do have solar power, so we can run fans but when it's humid and hot, it's not a happy camper place.

So after scouring craigslist nationally, and some quick dealmaking we have this:

Honda EV4010

Like everything old, there's a story. It used to be in someone's hunting cabin, which they have now sold and didn't need anymore. So not used very much, but also has been sitting. Needs work. On the bright side, it was less than half of current prices for one. So a certain mechanically inclined someone will need to rebuild it. And we're not even sure how it mounts in the frame or if the frame is there or what.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Home and the beginning of more stuff to do...

We got it home uneventfully, tires and brakes work. Steering is a bit noisy but it's better than before. Apparently it almost crashed when it was test driven due to the column, and the column was swapped out for another. But since it wasn't a new column, it's better but not great.

It's got a spot on the side of our house. Someone calculated there would be more space than there is, so it's a bit tight. Next project is installing an outlet box so we can plug in the coach at home and let guests use it. Maybe.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park

One of our favorite state parks, not too far from home, but a completely different feel, with wide open spaces and dark skies. It's a favorite spot for local Astronomers, far enough away from city lights for sky watching. There is a special pad for setting up your astronomy gear and exterior bathroom lights are all red to keep from destroying your night vision and reduce light pollution. There's two loops, one for equestrians with horse paddocks in front. We're in the main loop right now. The campsites are pretty well shaded, but the rest of the place is prairie. Last night there was a big storm and the power was out for over 3 hours. So we don't have a generator, we haven't tried out the toilet yet, we think the tanks may have a crack. We can use the bathroom sink, but somewhere there is water dripping from one of the tanks, probably grey.