Christmas break - time to update what I should have published months ago . .

December 30, 2019

Once again I have been delinquent in my posting - seems pretty clear I am not going to ever be a daily blogger The back of the camper has been mostly completed - finishing up cabinets, painting, getting latches put on along with handles and hinges.

The stove area is now mostly complete with the exception of painting the sliding doors where coffee stuff and oils will probably be stored.

The old microwave was unable to pop popcorn without turning it into a smoldering mess - so we updated to a Panasonic inverter microwave.  With some creative woodwork, washers, and tie wraps we succeeded in mounting the microwave while re-using the metal frame that was on the original.

The TV cabinet has been finished off - although the wood paneling may still get painted or replaced as it didn't turn out as well as we had hoped. . . .

The lamp is screwed down and now has a 12V LED light installed so will be ready to work all the time.

The top is Aspen wood that has been sealed with Danish Oil (which is our new favorite wood finish as it is super easy to use and almost impossible to mess up!) - The right side of the top is removable for the TV to lift up.

Looking toward the other side, the top cabinets and pantry are all finished and painted - along with another lamp which is also converted to 12V and bolted down on top of the pantry.

The table top is happily mounted on the peninsula base (which has both drawers and cabinets).

The sink area has also been fully painted (although the dishwasher is in the house for the winter).

The heater space has been finished off with a vent cover and paint.

Off to the right you can see the hall wall unit which is under construction (but will eventually house things like the step ladder or other tall things).

Also sort of visible is the "attic" space in the hall above the bedroom door (top cabinet with door).

The entry coat rack and bench also came out really nice (more cedar paneling and Danish oil), although there was some drama involved in mounting the coat hooks . . .  Turns out that the holes they put in are not actually square with the hook itself (or the rectangular mounting plate) . . . So first time they got mounted with the holes square . . . Much wood glue and many toothpicks later we have them mostly mounted so the hooks are vertical.

Once we had finished most of the back area our attention turned to the bedroom as we still had some warm weather left in the fall to at least rip everything out so we could more effectively measure and plan the build out.

Hmmmmmm - ok - I am pretty sure we are not supposed to have mushrooms growing in the camper!

Turns out the pass through door was never sealed properly so the camper has been leaking since it was built . . . . Once again - no surprise there - a little re-building and more caulk to the rescue.

After a lot of screws, prying, and hammering we pretty much took everything out of the bedroom except the base for the bed (which forms the pass-through with doors to the outside).

Then we kept going - taking off all the bed decking and cut the metal frame down to queen size width . . . This means that we are removing the pass through on the right side (the door is still there but will be insulated and sealed off.  The pass through on the left side (the metal box on the left side) was designed for a built in generator - but we will just be using it for storage.  As you can see we have removed most of the "outdoor" storage which the pass-through storage usually provides.  Our plan is to use the bed of the truck for that kind of storage.  The right side is getting turned into a large closet area so we will have plenty of clothing storage.

And happily the mushrooms have dried up and been vacuumed away!

Now that winter is here more seriously we are staying indoors and I am working on planning out the electrical components along with where to buy all the parts. . . . The electrical with batteries and solar panels will be some of the most expensive components so sourcing them carefully can save quite a bit. . . . if only there were not so many choices of what components to use and where to buy them . . .  but that is what winter is for!

Meanwhile Julie's task is to get the bedroom design firmed up in CAD so we are ready for spring!

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