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BobJones · 01-03-2021, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmacdon61

Big project and a good video on it. I had a big leak one winter from the fridge ceiling vent and the carpet was ruined. We choose to use a glue down vinyl flooring. Bought the thick plush for soft insulated floor. Just my opinion but I liked the idea of glue (water protection of sub floor) and no worry about coach movement disturbing a floating wood composite floor. My Endeavor had 2 furnaces as well as 2 heat pumps. Removed the furnace under the old fridge and installed a residential (Samsung). Great having a real fridge and freezer. You'll be very happy with your changes, especially the shower which is on my next to do list.

Nicely done! And you're in Victoria! I'm in Parksville, come and do mine, I'll make the coffee

rmacdon61 · 01-03-2021, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobJones

Nicely done! And you're in Victoria! I'm in Parksville, come and do mine, I'll make the coffee

Old age and bad knees, not a job taken on lightly. Getting down is easy, it's the getting back up!

jacwjames · 01-04-2021, 07:19 AM

I put in a snap lock type laminate flooring ~10 years ago, it has held up well considering the punishment from the dogs with wet/dirty feet after a walk in the rain. We would throw down towels to try and capture as much as possible but it would get really messy.

I know that the floor was suppose to float so what I did in the LR was lay about 1/2 way across the room and then put down a large pool of gorilla type glue down and then continued to lay across it and then weighted it down with a large tool box and weight to keep the glue from expanding and pushing up. I figured this would hold the whole floor centered since it may float and drift. I started under the slide and then worked my way across, when I got to the opposite side I left a small gap and then filled with a clear silicone.

I also used a water proof glue in the snap lock joints hoping to prevent any water getting under the laminate, mostly from the dogs. It has held up well.

Not sure what the recommendation is now with using glue on a click lock type flooring. Since you are not dealing with a massive are the expansion and contraction is probably minimal.

Good Luck

BobJones · 01-04-2021, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmacdon61

Old age and bad knees, not a job taken on lightly. Getting down is easy, it's the getting back up!

I here you there

I'm 51 so still able

What I'm doing right now is fixing every single leak on the unit, first. After that, and after a rest, then I will consider doing the floor. Never done one, but yours looks so good and, for the most part, I have the time.

But I'm not going to do it until the unit is 100% hermetically sealed, so to speak. It's close, but there is still more to do.

You did a beautiful job. Oh, is the floor as cold as tile in the morning in the winter? Just curious.

rmacdon61 · 01-05-2021, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobJones

You did a beautiful job. Oh, is the floor as cold as tile in the morning in the winter? Just curious.

As cold as the room, but doesn't feel as cold as tile. I like the feeling of the soft give when walking on it. Doesn't stain and if scratched, not as visible as laminate. Also any water getting down between the strips can't be absorbed by the sub floor due to the glue. Replacing it would be a nightmare.

Fffrank · 01-08-2021, 02:03 PM

I floated my laminate floor and so far, so good. There are more photos in this thread but here's a quick one of how it turned out.

Ted DuPuis · 01-17-2021, 02:36 PM

I had to go out of town for a bit and didn't get a chance to work on the RV interior, but my wife worked on it in my absence. The Carefree universal vinyl replacement awnings came and just from opening the box, I think they'll be good. So we'll do that this week.

One thing I need to look at more is that it seems our heat pumps don't have the heat strip option on them and stop producing heat if it gets below around 30 or so. My wife's been running them (and the generator) a few times while working inside to keep things comfortable. My thought is that means I need to see if there's a way to add a heat strip option to the existing units, or maybe see about upgrading them to something newer/better that would include that functionality. These do work fine but I'm pretty sure are original, so something to consider. The space heaters we've thrown in have worked fine too.

Fridge wise, we'd like a side-by-side but finding one that is the appropriate size and will fit through the door is proving challenging. We found one we liked that Frigidaire made, but that apparently got discontinued. There's another one we found that is a possibility and is a built-in, which for an RV is probably not entirely a bad thing. It's a bit pricier but still cheaper than rebuilding the Norcold.

I also need to figure out what plumbing I want to replace while I have everything apart and exposed. One thing that I do think I want to replace is the drain hose for the kitchen, which is in the slide. I haven't found evidence of it leaking, but with everything exposed and given the issues we've had, it seems like a smart decision to replace. It's not entirely straightforward to me what that process is given that I'm new to RV plumbing, but it's exposed so there is that.

My plan is to run some water through the system on a warmer day to find any hoses that may have leaks and address accordingly. I've not found any indications that there are leaks from the hoses themselves (including that drain hose) so that leaves me inclined to leave well enough alone (other than the aforementioned drain hose that I'm told is a common leak source) and fix the water entry issues with the new awnings.

jacwjames · 01-17-2021, 03:27 PM

When I replaced my Norcold refrigerator I was hoping to bring the new Samsung in through the front door. Took out the passenger seat, stripped the Samsung to the box but NO GO. Could not get it to clear the head knocker box for the TV.
So we just popped out the window above the Dinette which we should have done in the first place. I have a tractor with a set of forks, just laid the fridge down across the forks, lifted it up and slide it into the coach. Worked great.

Look at the AJ Madison site, they have a filter where you can search by dimensions and type. https://www.ajmadison.com/refrigerators/

Fffrank · 01-17-2021, 03:31 PM

You can email dometic with your ac heat pump serial number and a photo of your thermostat and they can tell you if you can add heat strips. They got back to me in less than a day.

Do you not have a propane furnace??

Ted DuPuis · 01-17-2021, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fffrank

Do you not have a propane furnace??

We have a propane furnace but have been wanting to remove it, as we really don't like it. Very loud and we don't like the fact that it cycles on and off. For how we use the RV, we'd rather stick to electric and have a bigger fridge + storage.

Fffrank · 01-17-2021, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ted DuPuis

We have a propane furnace but have been wanting to remove it, as we really don't like it. Very loud and we don't like the fact that it cycles on and off. For how we use the RV, we'd rather stick to electric and have a bigger fridge + storage.

Just saying - it will be much cheaper to run than heat strips, space heaters or heat pumps.

But I agree. The cycle times and the noise is AWFUL. It's the thing I hate the most about my coach.

rmacdon61 · 01-18-2021, 12:22 AM

Our model had 2 propane furnaces, one under the fridge (rear heat), the other under the kitchen slide sink/stove (front heat). Removed the one from under fridge, installed a Samsung R-18. Don't really miss the furnace as I like a cool sleeping area and for the rear shower/bath, if cold, I just fire up the heat pump for a bit.

Ted DuPuis · 01-18-2021, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fffrank

Just saying - it will be much cheaper to run than heat strips, space heaters or heat pumps.

But I agree. The cycle times and the noise is AWFUL. It's the thing I hate the most about my coach.

I get that the furnace may be cheaper to run, but honestly I haven't found this RV to be particularly expensive to run so if it costs a bit more, I'm ok with that. I care a lot more about personal preference and comfort than spending a little more money. One good night's sleep lost is worth a lot to me!

BobJones · 01-18-2021, 08:03 PM

I'm up in Canada and if I leave a 400 watt ceramic heater going 24x7 the motorhome is too hot in the winter

Not kidding. Mind you, mine may be better sealed up than most. Point being, in my case, the furnace is only used to rapidly bring the unit up to temp (such as in the morning) or in the event of really cold weather. Other than that, it's not really needed.

There's a lot of ways to skin the cat when it comes to heat. Just use the stove and you'll see what I mean