Door of Perception

Molly's door was in bad shape. The interior panel had peeled in places (water intrusion), and the frame's welds had broken in two places. After an embarrassing interlude spent applying bondo and JB Weld, it dawned on me that this was aluminum. Being aluminum, the surface was slippery and no amount of glue was gonna hold. It would need welding. Luckily, in the next town over, a small farming center, I located a fellow who said he could weld aluminum. I tossed the frame parts into my trailer and pedaled over. He took a look and said "Fifty dollars." That sounded fair to me. Now Molly's door frame is solid.


By the way, about the door molding you see coiled on the door. I saved a sample of the old, crumbling one and took it to Guaranty RV Parts Department here in town. The guy behind the counter wrinkled his nose and told me to wait. He disappeared into the back for a while, just long enough for my two boys to become restless. When he reappeared, he held this coil of self-adhering rubber molding. "I only have sixteen feet," he reported. Coincidentally, that was how much I needed. Things were looking good. I figured I'd spend $20 here, then go buy some hose and maybe a... "That'll be ninety-six dollars." NINETY-SIX DOLLARS?! For sixteen feet of rubber? But I was cool. Didn't ruffle a feather. I gave him the last of my money and carried the coil outside. On the sidewalk an older gent who had been behind me when in the store asked, "How do you feel?" I said the only word that made any sense: raped. He grinned. That probably cost them ten bucks. You're lucky you got out with both your children."

So, I had a vision...

...an Air Stream vision. What if I went bare metal and buffed it out? How would it look? If it didn't look good, it was just my time. So I drilled out the old rivets and...


...went to work.


Reassembled, and the window frame sprayed (I didn't stay with the red, but went green instead):


I was pleased. Here's the finished product:


And installed (with Eternabond and SS screws):



The frame and hinges were acid cleaned, wire brushed and painted metallic silver.

Molly is now officially dried in. I want to thank father-in-law Bob for the SS antenna base. It's installed, along with 14 LED lights. Winter rains, here we come!


One final shot of Molly's new batwing antenna:


Later!

End of Summer Summation

I managed to do a little rattlecan on Molly last week. The front needed to be renewed. Of course, it makes the bumper looks worse. I'm looking for chrome rings for the amber lights.


Another view, and a reminder to fix the "hood."


The Dometic reefer cover is returned, attached with No. 8 inch-and-a-half SS screws into a new cedar frame. Looks likes she's wearing white dancing shoes.



The door frame came off in three pieces. This is me JB Welding them back together. After that, I stripped the paint and used steel wool to buff it out.



Walking home, I had the camera and, well, couldn't resist. If you look you'll see a new window between the first and second from the front. More about that later.


I've found new LED clearance lights and will have them on as soon as they arrive. I was also able to track down a water heater door (and possibly the WH itself). Thanks to Trish for that. I also spoke with Kevin, who sold me the AC: he has a crank-up antenna he's willing to part with for cheap. And I may have found some affordable PV panels. Can't afford solar now, but in the not too distant future...

I haven't been able to work much recently, and we're leaving next Thursday for four days with the inlaws. When we come back it will be September, and time to bear down on getting Molly rainproof.

That's all for now. May this find you well.

Winter is icummin in...

So you see we're running out of time. Winter is around the corner, it's time to lay in firewood. The rains are coming and Molly needs to be buttoned up. To this end, I've shifted focus from the interior to the exterior. New stack vent cap; repaired reefer vent (even though there will be no refrigerator); new ceiling vent; new AC; the door is off and the rotted jamb replaced...here are some pictures:

Starting from the stern, Molly's facelift includes (besides rinse and perm): all screws replaced by SS; new tail plate light, and the spare gets primer.



At the other end, 23 feet away, the same thing: all new SS (I really dig stainless); the grille will be cleaned and the black repainted. The front plate had to be ground off. (Yes, that's the door and screen safely out of the way of wood chopping.)


Here you can see the new jamb (really, just a backboard. The other was rotted.) and the rust preventive. And the firewood. I can already feel a chill in the air.


Looking inside the door, you will one day encounter a hanging closet. Formerly the galley, the slot in the wall was for the stove fan. I'm going to straighten out the edges and make it a bit longer, then turn it into a window. Natural illumination for the closet. The bulkhead to the left will be sheathed with mahogany. (The glue is from the old plastic mirror that begged me to destroy it.)



I had no idea what it was but I was in a frenzy of replacing things, so I went out and found one that matched the original orange FRAM. The guy at CarQuest had no idea what it was for. He looked it up: air brake filter. Change every 5,000 miles. Done.



The forward side vents were trashed. Maybe I could find some one day, but would they match my color? (Ha!) Maybe I could have a pair fabricated, but could I afford to? (No!) So I thought about all the trucks I've seen that has a little window near the floor. I rushed out and bought some stick of aluminum L bracket, ripped it down to match the plexi's thickness, grabbed a hacksaw and some SS screws and made this:




Another view (ain't the white wheels pimp?):



Looking forward: this will be segregated sort of from the rest of the coach, thus permitting some privacy for the sleepers (2). There is a hatch in the center of the platform. The table will store beneath and mount in this area. Two benches will face one another and provide a "stateroom" feel:




View two:




As long as I'm standing inside the door, here's a wad of J B Weld (great stuff):



Lest I forget the new fuel pump (at least it's easy to access):




The rear "stateroom." The Master's cabin. And the Mistress. Let's not forget the Mistress.
Storage underneath:



Left will be the pantry/food prep area. Below is a shot of the three hatches allowing access to storage as well as the wiring harness, converter, water pump/heater, etc.


Structurally, Molly seems fine. When I'm finished in a couple weeks (?) there will be no leaks. Then I can get back to the inside. Since I can't afford solar panels right now, I'll pre-wire and wait. I have a vented area set aside for 4 batteries.

That's it for now. Thanks for visiting.

Molly at 109 (F)

When it's this hot, work has to be done (if at all) first thing in the morning. Last week Judy, our friend and babysitter (nanny?) was here three days and enabled me to make some real progress.

Even though it doesn't look like it.

Here is the front "cabin" for sitting, hanging out, and sleeping the boys:


The platform also will provide more storage (as will one of the seats).

Next, the deluxe suite for jenna and me (and, of course, more and more storage):


A shot of what will become the galley (don't ask):

A few other details follow.

Removing boots from pedals and steering column (in the background is the new vent frame).


Water lines beginning to be replaced (must sanitize the tank):


The windows made operable!



Frame for sidewall vent:


I also sandblasted and painted the wheels:


Molly lurks in our back yard, waiting for more (note the new AC on her roof!):



I've purchased most of the interior and it waits patiently for me in the shop. The walls will be mahogany, the ceiling birch, the floors a mix of cork and rubber. Can't wait to get there...

The Answer is Still 42

What is it about this Travco thing? They're heavy, expensive and drink gas like a three dollar whore. Mine especially. For one thing she's small. She strains my brain, making me come up with cleverer and cleverer ways to rehabilitate her. But I'm also starting a business, a micro-distillery (more about that at www.hardtimesdistillery.com) and it's quickly lessening the small amount of funds and time I have available. So why not just sell Molly and be done with it? This thought has often crossed my mind, but especially so last winter when she sat in the shop a dead, cold home for mice.

All that's changed now.

The sun is out, in a northwestern kind of way, and I feel re-energized in my desire to have my way with her. (Have you ever noticed the heavyhanded hint of sexuality men have in the ir relationship with machines?) To that end, I asked my next door neighbor if he would mind my parking Molly in his backyard for a few weeks. I was going to, and eventually still will, park her in our driveway. But first I want to get a jumpstart on the interior. I've removed the ceiling vents--in fact, all the vents. Lots of holes in Molly. I'm buying an AC for the front this Friday. After the vents are remounted, she'll be all dried-in for the winter (her center seam has been fiberglassed over). And hopefully her ceiling and walls will be (mostly) installed. Hopefully. Once we get the distillery up to speed, my time will be severely restricted. So strike now while I have dry days and a few remaining dollars.

Quick note: I borrowed a battery from my truck and crossed my fingers. Not having a front seat, I used a folding chair. Would she crank up? It's been nine months. I slid in the key, pumped the gas, and turned her on. It was thrilling to hear her turn over, and enormously satisfying to hear her start right up. (I had left one of my tool bags sitting on the shop floor. It was about three feet away from the exhaust just aft of the door. One side of it now sports a big black circle from the carbon that shot out of the pipe.) She works! She drives! She is worthy once again!

But I would have to keep it simple.



Sun-dappled beneath a spreading chestnut tree:




Bucolic, ain't it?

Inside, facing aft, looking up:



That swingin' wall paper is the bathroom door.


Same shot, not looking up, with a brilliant glare in your eyes:




Where formerly a kitchen stood:




That's one small step for man, one giant leap for Molly:



Onward! I wish you all a blissful, blister free summer.

Sparks Fly

Sure, sparks are flying now. But for a while there...

The winter came and snow fell--along with plenty of what Tristan calls "sky water"--and nothing was done on Molly. I lost momentum. Things happened. The dog ate my homework. I even reached the place where I thought why not just spend five thousand and buy a MH ready to go?

So I set off to do just that.

I strapped in the boys and off we drove to Cottage Grove to look at a....piece of crap. And he wanted almost five thousand for it. I drove away disappointed. But being one nonadverse to adversity, on the drive back began thinking about that damned galley (faux kitchen) in Molly.

Molly.

If only I could get rid of the galley, there would be so much more room. And who needs a refrigerator anyway? They break down and are expensive to begin with. Hmmm. With those items out of the way--what about no stove/oven? We're camping, aren't we? Recently, I bought an induction stovetop and it works beautifully. And what if...

All that what-ifing lead to this:


As you can clearly see, with the old kitchen out of the way, a bottleneck was removed from the creative process. Now we could have this:



And this:
Molly would (will) become a pocket cruiser. Never stop thinking she's a boat. What's first? I think installing solar power, now that the ceiling panels are down and running wire is easy. Then some serious woodworking for a bit. A cork floor. New headliner. Some privacy curtains. And we're ready....to tackle the outside.

The Kindness of Strangers

Nothing of any note has been accomplished on Molly in the last three weeks. It's not easy to want to work in her when the temps are in the twenties. Nicer by the fire. But idle hands and all that, so last weekend I saddled up and rode off to where I first laid eyes on Molly.

Ken, the gent who promoted her to us, has kindly offered me scavenger rights to an 80s RV on his property. He has no use for it, plans to cut it up after he sells the motor and running gear. He certainly has no need of the interior details--the very things I desperately desire. With this in mind, last Saturday around noon I loaded up some tools, packed a lunch, grabbed my smelly dog, and roared off in my trusty 1976 (same year as Molly) F-100, racing along twisty backroads at a wholloping forty-five miles an hour. As usual, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape, and enjoyed the hour it took us--me and my smelly dog--to get there.

This is the rig Ken set me loose on:



As you can see, not in the best of shape. After a long inspection, I started with the seats. The original layout of Molly did not include a passenger seat. That's something I intend to change:


In the above picture, I've already loosened the 4 bolts holding the driver's seat. I took the passenger's seat as well. There were also all sorts of small-ish things I took: visor shades, reading lamps, curtain track and miscellaneous hardware. But it was the big ticket items that really excited me. Such as...

...a refrigerator!

...a hot water heater!


...an air conditioner/heater! (In fact, there are two of them.)

Do they work? That remains to be seen. I want them to work, of course. But if they don't...there's always Plan B.

Whatever that is.

At any rate, it got me out of the house, I had an opportunity to see Ken and his wife, take in the air, enjoy the solitude, and snatch me some bling.

Idle hands, and all that.

signed, Dudley Who-Needs-A-Hammer-I've-Got-A-Sawzall Clark.