New Exterior Siding

[Piker]

Ordered 6 sheets of aluminum from airparts.com yesterday 12" wide by 4' long to cover the plywood seams on the backside of each panel. Hopefully I can finish these up this weekend and set this project aside until later this winter.



-cheers

[Piker]

The panels are finished... one stacked on top of the other with pink foam in between and weighted down with blocks to keep the plywood flat. The strips of aluminum on the backside of each panel is really going to make handling the panels much safer... they really strengthen the seams significantly.

So... setting this project aside now until sometime next year.

Cheers

[Pabell90]

Piker

Great to see your still going strong - you really could write a book on the work you have put into your coach - if someone ask manufacturers name it needs to be PIKER

[Gordon Dewald]

Well done. I am sure you will appreciate the amount of work you have put into the improvements. I certainly admire what you have accomplished.

[wingshot]

+1 to all the great work you've done to the coach and information you have shared.

[Piker]

I've been so busy the last couple months with the kids' activities and work... I haven't even been in the garage. The other day I poked my head in there and was quite literally surprised when I saw the panels on the floor. I had forgotten COMPLETELY about this project. I must be losing it.

I suppose in some ways this is a good thing... as I've said countless times, it's good when you own an rv and the rv doesn't own you. The fact that I pretty much didn't even remember I had an RV is a good sign that the RV doesn't own me.

On the other hand... the fact that I forgot about it kind of shows me that I've lost interest. My initial response when I remembered I had this project ahead of me was kind of like "oh @#$%." So I guess we will have to see if the interest comes back sometime. I had originally thought that after we got back from our winter florida trip I would go ahead and start tearing it apart, but I just don't know if I can stand being in my unheated garage in winter if I don't have to be. So then I thought maybe once spring got here I'd start it... but then I thought it might be better to take a trip early next summer, so if that's the plan then I'd have to wait till July to start it. I guess at this point I'm just not going to make a plan as to when it gets done. Again, not a bad place to be other than I cant get anything in my garage right now because the panels are taking up space. We got a new car for my wife to drive, so now I'm driving her old one... and the wrangler is getting parked for the winters... and probably will become YET ANOTHER project to work on. It looks like this winter its getting parked outside.

At any rate... just figured I'd throw an update on here to keep the thread alive. Not much of an update I guess...


-cheers

[ronspradley]

Piker, I have said before you got this. It will be what it will be, in the time that it is meant to be. Thanks for the update.


ronspradley


.

[Wroughtnharv]

“Life” as the song says. The coach can wait, us too, keep on keeping on. You’re doing good.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by ronspradley

Piker, I have said before you got this. It will be what it will be, in the time that it is meant to be. Thanks for the update.


ronspradley


.

Ron has said it very eloquently.

[WILDEBILL308]

Don't forget to prep the coach for winter or you will have a bigger project.
I am wonder if you could stand the panels on edge and make room to put the car in.
Bill

[Piker]

It’s certainly true... that it will be... what it will be. I actually feel pretty good about the whole situation. I’m not necessarily compelled either way... to finish it or to leave it set. Just waiting. That’s good cause I really don’t have a choice... lol. Work has been so nuts... I will definitely exceed 1000 hours of OT this year, but I don’t want to complain because I feel blessed to have a pretty decent job... and one that I Kind of like too. The boss tasked me with growing and managing his plastics shop about 4.5 years ago... and in that time we have gone from 3 presses and 3 employees to 12 presses and 13 employees... sales have about tripled and our margins are so far pretty strong. Between the tool shop and the plastics shop, we have about 40 people to manage and about 10 major customers to keep satisfied. It’s been fun to watch it grow and see the fruits of our efforts, but it’s pretty grueling. One day at a time... my hope is that we can grow it to the point where I can recover some of the time I’ve invested into it, but I’m not counting on it. I’m not family there and so there’s no inheritance or any expectation that it will ever be more than just a good job... which is still a good gig. I’ve got about 6 or 7 years before the boss hangs it up, at which point I’m not sure what will happen... There is family involved and let’s just say there are issues. If nothing else I’m getting tremendous opportunity to learn and grow. We will see what happens I guess.

Bill, I had winterized the rv quite a while ago... none of the pipes in this rig are protected from freezing at all, even with the heat turned on. For our trip to Florida this winter, I have a plan to install a 5 or 10 gallon tank in one of the storage bays that we can fill with antifreeze and pipe it to the water pump so we can use the toilette like normal for a day and a half. Once we get far enough south we’ll fill up with water and flush the lines. The trip home will be just the opposite... we will stop somewhere and drain the tanks and flush the lines with antifreeze from the small tank.

I probably could slide the panels to one end of the shop and have room on the other end to pull the Jeep in... just depends if I can get it to slide. I really don’t want to risk standing them up in end. The more they get handled the more chance I could damage them.

All for now.
Cheers

[WILDEBILL308]

I was thinking about storing them on edge. If protected by wooden boards I don't see it geting damaged. Make room for momas new car.
Have a great Thanksgiving.
Bill

[Piker]

The thing is, the panels need to be weighted down because the thin plywood wants to curl up as the humidity changes in the garage. I wasn’t able to manhandle them to one end of the garage, but there is a few inches of aluminum hanging out from each end... I drilled a hole in the excess and stuck a ratchet strap in it and inched the entire stack to one end of the building. It made enough room to get the Jeep in. Good for the winter now.

Cheers

[Piker]

Well, it's been just about a year since I put the new panels together for the drivers side of the motorhome... and they are still in the same place where I left them last September. On the floor, taking up valuable space and getting tripped over daily.

The mechanical issue we had on our last trip 2000 miles from home may have changed us. We were literally going to have to leave the old girl at a junkyard in Wyoming... somehow we pulled a rabbit from our hat and were able to finish our trip, but our confidence is shaken. I'm not saying we will get rid of it... nor am I saying I'm giving up on the restoration... but both of those ideas are on the table. I don't know if I'll have the intestinal fortitude to take it further away from home than what I can afford to have it towed back to PA for. And while we haven't seen it all... we've seen the best of what scenery this country has to offer.

Right now is a busy time of year with the kids school activities... and it looks like I might be taking a new job with another company here shortly... so I'm guessing the refurbishment is on hold maybe another year, or perhaps indefinitely.

Just a quick update for everyone... and a chance for me to lay my thoughts out so I can read them back to myself for scrutiny.

Cheers