First time RVer is now also a first time "Remodeler"?-'84 Southwind Redo

[87Rockwood]

I will agree that gray is still to dark. Try white/silver/yellow/tan colors. And if you are old school try "flames" around the wheel openings...

[ROMANICHEL]

Originally Posted by emoney

@Rockwood - yessir, this is a 454 GM and I'll Google those papers.

@chief02 - that's on the list too just because it's "new-to-me" if one of these weekends will cooperate.

Why is it that it's nice weather during the week and not-so-nice when the weekend rolls around, when you have to work Monday thru Friday?

For many years I have own a old Winnebago Brave with a 454 GM engine , they are great but very hot running motor, manifold is a bet to close to the starter so I instaled a steel plate in between and make sure you changed the gas filter, , also as for your suspension it would be a great idea to install Firestone air balloon they work great, keep up the good work

[seniorgeezer]

bought a 1985 Tioga about 6 yrs ago. Only had 27,000 miles on it. Hope to keep it many more yrs.

[emoney]

Thanks for the tips, Romanichel. I noticed the "run hot" thing as the PO installed a separate Temp gauge and it took some getting used to. Especially coming out of the boating world where anything above 190 degrees makes you get real nervous, lol

Congrats, Seniorgeezer. Lots of the "older ladies" out there that deserve love and attention. Throw up some pictures when you get time as we really like looking around these parts.

[emoney]

FInally, one thing checked off the "to-do" list;

New kitchen sink pull-out faucet installed (partially anyway). That's a "Laundry Sink" faucet from Home Depot.
I'm in the midst of finishing the cabinet bases inside, or at least I will be when I get off this computer. You really get to know how many stinking cabinets there are in these little motorhomes when you paint them, sheesh. At least it's starting to brighten up inside. More lately (fingers crossed), so have a good Sunday all!

[emoney]

As the expression goes, "Watching paint dry", you should already know how exciting my day is at this point. Actually, I'm about to run out for one more quart of the white paint, as don't you know it I'm about 1/2 a quart short. Oh well, whaddyagunnado, right?

In the meantime, I thought you'd want to see more pictures of my faucet, right? I mean who wouldn't'


Sexy, right?
As for paint, well, white as rice;



I'm at least getting the cabinet faces done so I can hang the doors before she goes back to storage. Come on paint....dry already!!!!

[LaZy507]

Looks good on the inside, im not crazy on the color of the outside, but its not mind and dont matter.haha..keep up the good work!!

[emoney]

Hur-rah! Doors are hung and for the time being, I am out of the painting business. Well, at least until next weekend, but still....


The above picture has a good shot of my new pulls. The only bummer is now I have to installed latches, since the ones that were replaced were all-in-one types. OH well, it's never "done" is it?


That door on the right, next to the bathroom is cork and I thought that would be handy so I left it. PO installed it so I can't take credit for it.
Oh there's still LOTS to do in touch-up, and even a few spots that got missed, but enough is enough for this weekend at least. You really start to feel your age when you're laying on your back and painting overhead, etc. Yikes!!!
Hopefully, next weekend will be nice and I'll finish the cabinets and get the color on the walls that momma has picked. Then, it's loads of cleanup from messes I'm making. When I went to start her to take her back to the storage lot, no going. Tried enough to drain the battery I just put in. So, after charging it and eating a bit of dinner, I went back and found that the auto choke spring is bad. I need to pull that carb anyway as it's really showing it's age and doesn't look like it's been cleaned since the factory did it. Looks like I'll be adding a new choke cable. It was easy enough to fire up and manually choking it, so I know that's the issue.

So, I'm pretty much done, outside of painting the walls, touching up the cabinets, cutting a bigger hole for the bathroom sink and installing it with new fixtures, installing the new tub/shower fixtures, paint(?) the outside, by 2 new tires, install a new vinyl headliner, change the carpet out in the cab, install strips under the toilet, oh, and install a new toillet. See, pretty much done, right? Yikes!!!!!

[emoney]

Oh, almost forgot, install an awning (which includes purchasing a roller tube & fabric of course), install that faux aluminum backsplash seen above, and add a couple of small flatscreen TVs, replace that little dinky microwave and install a surround around the new one, and........oh, forget it.

@Lazy, yeah the whole exterior paint scheme is quite the flip flop moment for me. If I had a facility, I'd do a full paint job myself, but I don't, so I'm left with little options. I may opt for leaving the tan and just accenting with black, but who knows yet. One thing's for sure, she's too ugly outside to leave alone.

[LaZy507]

emoney that paint job looks nice. alot of white thats for sure!, bet it brightens it up.

[emoney]

It's made a WORLD of difference. Not only does it brighten things up, but it feels "clean" inside now. Not counting that we just shaved a couple decades off her appearance, lol. I will say this, it was a much bigger project than I had anticipated it being. Mainly because it was cabinets and there was two coats of primer, then 2-3 coats of paint to get it looking good.....for me good, anyway. Still, I'd do it again in a heartbeat as it's probably the cheapest thing you can do to an older RV to make it look so much nicer. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product myself.

[emoney]

Well, whattya know? Another weekend and absolutely miserable weather. Not sure what's happening around these parts, but it must be global warming.....making it colder than average. Wait....what? Anyway, another rainy, cloudy, extremely windy and overall poopy day. Not much get done with the exception of $$$ being spent. Bought the catches for all the cabinet doors and ordered simulators for the wheels. Oh well, who know maybe tomorrow will be better. Oh, and I ordered a custom mattress today. Well, in reality I talked to my mattress man and we're meeting this week to measure it and then he will order it, but still. Should take a couple weeks to make but according to him, 8" foam with a sewn mattress cover for $200. Pretty good deal I thought, but then again, what do I know. Hoping for warmer days!

[John H...]

That sure looks a lot brighter. There is no such thing as being done with an RV, but your getting closer or catching up....

[emoney]

You're right about that! While the weather kept me away from the RV, it in turn drove me into the shop. So, to prove I wasn't totally lazy this weekend, I got this built;



Of course, I'm not done with it either, lol. However, I figure this will keep me busy on these wintry days so I don't get too lazy.