2019 Heartland Elkridge 38RSRT - "That'll buff out"

[Boogie_]

Picked up this bunk house at a salvage auction Friday.

...stay tuned for rebuild.

[lexar]

Yikes! What's the story behind the fire?

[Boogie_]

Originally Posted by lexar

Yikes! What's the story behind the fire?

No idea.
They don't give you those details at the auction.

But it was something outside the camper that started the fire, not the camper itself.

Most likely the power pole it was hooked up to shorted and caught fire.


Here's some pics of condition of the bunk room/bath.

[bddadles]

Hope you got a good price and are handy. You are taking on quite a project. I would think since it is a Heartland it is built fairly well so you should have a good foundation to start. Good luck and remember to have fun.

[dadnjesse]

Good luck. That looks like a lot of work, plus it must be taking on water every time it rains.

[tuffr2]

Not saying much but you are more man than me.

Just a thought - can you piece it out and make your money back. I would think this should have been free to $500.

[Boogie_]

Here's some of what I've gotten done since Saturday.

The right side bunk/outdoor kitchen slide only suffered some light smoke damage, so I just needed to get it out of the way to get at the interior paneling and flooring.

Welded some castor wheels to some 2" angle I had laying around the shop and screwed them to box on the inside corner of the flange moulding.

Made up some blocks the support the front of the slide but they were unnecessary as the track bar cross-member was there to hold it up.

Shot some long screws through the existing mounting holes in the cross-member to keep the box from falling over.

Scooted it out easy as pie.

[tuffr2]

I will say when you put it together it will be better than from the factory. The work I did - I replaced staples with stainless screws, I added thicker wood in places the factory had thinner wood.

[Boogie_]

Left side slide out was a total loss except for the frame.

Will need to be total rebuilt.

Pulled it completely out and have it on a cart we use when we have to pull a pickup bed off.

Back room gutted except for a few pieces of paneling, also took out the bathroom walls and fixtures. This will allow me to replace all the paneling and flooring pretty much the way it was built at the factory.

Tomorrow the roof starts coming off.

[Boogie_]

Sorry about the sideways pics.

Will try to figure that out.

[lexar]

Glad it was an external event that caused the damage. Had me wondering. Nice work by the way.

[Boogie_]

Thanks for the comments guys.

@bddadles - No worries.
I've bought over a dozen salvage campers though the years. Some for personal use, some to flip. In fact, I've held a dealers license since '85 and have rebuilt hundreds of cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc.
My dad owned an auto salvage, my brother and I both worked there from the time we were walking. Now I own a body shop and an auto parts store. Never owned a vehicle that wasn't a wrecked I fixed and painted.
For anyone who has a couple house builds under their belt, this project is a piece of cake. I see it as no more than remodeling an 8 x 10 bathroom.
And yes, I did get a good deal on it, less than 10¢ on the dollar.

@dadnjesse - Thanks. It must have spent very little time at the salvage pool. I'm finding almost no water damage. But I'm not leaving anything to chance. Any suspect is being ripped out.

@tuffr2 - Part it out?!?!?! My wife and daughter would kill me!
Your right, these RV's are built out of the crappiest materials by unskilled labor. My repair will be the strongest part of the rig.

@lexar - Thanks. Really the demolition is the worse part. Once I'm into the clean wood and stuff it will actually start to get fun.

[JDT]

I have a friend who always buys wrecked vehicles to rebuild for his personal use. I'm not sure how much money he saves doing it but I would imagine it is significant. It is a skill set I don't have but admire in others. Keep us posted and the pictures flowing. Looks like you are getting after it.

[dadnjesse]

It looks like you have the facility to do the work, keep the pictures coming.