A KIT Kamper Rebirth - a plan in the making

[RedneckExpress]

Well, as mentioned, my old KIT hasn't seen the road since her big adventure in 2012 and is showing signs in several spots of structural buckling due to injuries sustained during that trip and leaks that formed during the two years of idle time since her last time on the road.

I had originally planned to take her partially apart, and repair what's broken, but the more I look at it, the more I'm leaning towards starting over as many had suggested in the past.

Since I'm planning to build her from the ground up, I decided the best idea was to start with a well known set of plans, that come with instructions and full-size assembly sheets, that you basically lay the parts out on to help in assembly.

I will be using the plans for the Glen-L - Everglade 11' side-entry as the base for the rebuild.

Exterior

Interior - Floor plan


Thanks for the heavy details and dedicated thread on the Amerigo rebuilds, I am also considering adding a Snap-N-Nap to the rear of the base Glen-L after making necessary changes to the design to allow of the additional leveraging load.

The biggest expense will likely be in purchasing new aluminum siding to replace what I can't reuse off the original camper.

I plan to glue and KREG join all the parts instead of using the stapling method that the camper was originally built with.

Areas where changes in the design will likely occur are the corners for increase structural rigidity at the jack attachment points, and the placement of things like the propane tanks.

I may utilize fiberglass wall paneling in some ares on the exterior to cut aluminum expenses down, as I'm not interesting in Filon and Fiberglass epoxy doesn't cure too well in the wet cool oregon winter weather.

[whem2fish]

Hello old friend where are you now

[429CV23]

Just curious, what's the advantage of the side-entry? The door opens out, so no issue with blocking/contacting the bathroom door. If the door were a little off-center on the back, you could add additional storage next to the wardrobe.

[RedneckExpress]

Originally Posted by 429CV23

Just curious, what's the advantage of the side-entry? The door opens out, so no issue with blocking/contacting the bathroom door. If the door were a little off-center on the back, you could add additional storage next to the wardrobe.

Side entry gives you an entry point similar to most other RVs, allowing for a set of fold up steps, like what you have a trailer or motorhome. Also, the holding tanks for gray and black water take up most of the underside space underneath the rear overhang, making it unfeasible to anchor stairs into further along the back.

Also, I'm currently researching how Kamp King Koaches and Amerigo did their Snap-N-Nap folding rear queen bed assembly to incorporate into my design, which will be entered through the rear wall.

Originally Posted by whem2fish

Hello old friend where are you now

Still on Sauvie Island, bought a newer fifth wheel to take over house duty and the old Camper is in the barn, awaiting rebuild.

[whem2fish]

Sounds goo great to hear from you

[ronspradley]

Sounds like a great project. Looking forward to following along.

ronspradley

.

[429CV23]

Originally Posted by RedneckExpress

Side entry gives you an entry point similar to most other RVs, allowing for a set of fold up steps, like what you have a trailer or motorhome. Also, the holding tanks for gray and black water take up most of the underside space underneath the rear overhang, making it unfeasible to anchor stairs into further along the back.

Makes good sense. My folks had a slide-in when I was growing up, 11.5'. I can't remember if it had attached folding steps, or if my Dad made some for it.
I'll be following your progress, looks like a great project!

[RedneckExpress]

Haven't gotten the pictures taken of the Glen-L plan set yet, but I am still working on this .

So far, located some potential holding tanks, still undecided on if I want to go with the original holding tank design (Combined, large single tank), or take a page from the blog entry on Glen-L from the fella that built one of these and uses two twin 20 gallon tanks side by side.

I located where the blogger got his, Ameri-Kart - Holding Tanks. He used two of the H189Bs, side by side on the over hang.

I've also located a potential source for the shower pan for the wet bath (The original is too far gone to reuse, plus its the wrong size) Factory RV Surplus.

So far, I'm debating taking a page from the looks of the old Amerigo's and using a combination of Filon and the original siding, depending on the price of Filon sheets to cut costs, unless I can find smooth aluminum sheets for a better price.

Either way, my walls will be a sandwich design, with plywood on the inside surface and a layer of luan board on the outside of the frame (since filon will require the luan anyway), to make a nice durable truss.

The rear bed is still up in the air, I've been causally searching to see if I can find someone parting out an Amerigo, so I can simply steal the whole rear bed assembly, but I haven't found one within a reasonable distance.

To those that commented about structural weakening that would be created by cutting a giant whole in the rear wall, let me restate that my plan was never to have a large opening, rather a small door opening to facilitate entry and exit into the bed space, with the rest of the wall still solid around it, the rear bed basically being almost it's own little room.