Time to tackle the cabinet rebuild

The outside of our little rig is close to wrapped up. We mainly just need to coat the roof with elastomeric and attach a piece of awning trim. Time to move inside and start rebuilding the cabinetry. We decided to laminate most surfaces with Formica and trim it out with red oak. The laminate will wear much better than paint or paneling and the oak should resist dings and show less wear.

The process is slow due to my inexperience and lack of multiple sets of bar clamps etc. I did manage to find another router with table, two bar clamps and a fire extinguisher at a garage sale for $15 which will help out immensely on the next set of cabinets.

The pictures that follow show the process of rebuilding the old kitchen cabinets.

We removed the veneer from the frame.

We fixed the frame and put on a new counter and veneer.

 

Next we used contact cement to apply the Formica.

 

A panel cutter on the router made clean cutouts for drawers, doors, sink and oven.

 

New doors.

 

New Drawers

Installed in the trailer!

Both the gas and water are plumbed.  The slot above the top drawer is for the cutting board that needs to be made. The closet wall goes to the left of the counter. We are saving the closet for last. The next step is to put together the couches and cabinets along the walls.

Shiny and Bright...That's Right

We had a great time on our camping trip in June. The trailer pulled really well and was a vast improvement over tent camping even though there was nothing more than floor and walls inside our little rig.

Last time I wrote we had just finished installing the paneling. The flooring was next on the agenda. We filled any imperfections with wood filler and then sanded it smooth. I started with a palm sander but ended up with a belt sander to get done a whole bunch faster.

My dad and I went to a couple of different flooring centers to browse through the linoleum remnants. We would have liked to put in laminate wood flooring but the extra thickness would have made it impossible for me to stand up straight so we went with a wood finish linoleum.

With the camping trip coming up fast we had to make our little 1967 Santa Fe Cub road ready so we started on the siding. At some point during the reconstruction of the trailer we realized that the old siding would never match up perfectly. We made a trip down to Cardo Industries (www.cardo-industries.com/), they supply aluminum sheet, bar, rod, etc. and are open to the public. I went to Cardo with the intention of buying original style siding but couldn't resist the shiny diamond plate.

We decided to cut in a hatch so that we could access the water storage compartment that will be built into the closet. We are using a portable water tank so that we have the option of filling our tank with out moving the trailer if we are dry camping.

The trailer was taped off and the original siding was spray painted with Rustoleum Hammered Nickel. It gives the look of natural aluminum. The lights were installed and tested.

At this point the outside of the trailer is about 95% complete. We started refinishing the interior components this week and are pushing hard to make another camping trip deadline. We plan on taking a trip to New Brighton with Kimberly's folks in a month or so!

Practice for the upcoming camping trip

MARSHMALLOW GOODNESS

The secret to a great marshmallow is LAYERS of crunch. Kimberly roasts a fine marshmallow under any and all conditions... electric burner, coals, flames etc. and I can build a 'mallow with the best of 'em. Anyway we thought that we would show you our twist on a classic.

Roast like any other and then slide the crispy shell right off.

 

Re-roast the mallow insides and let the shell slide off once again. Then shape the smaller shell to fit into the larger shell. Use a small spoon to push through the gooeyness and make room for the final crispy layer.

Re-roast the insides as before and then shove the whole thing into the cavity. I like to spread the goo around with my spoon on the top. Graham cracker crumbs between the layers and Mr. Goodbar pieces in the middle.... you know where I'm going with this.

Comfortable Surroundings

Thanks to all the help from my dad, the camping trailer rebuild is moving fast.  We may not be finished with all the details by our June 16th camping trip, but I am sure the Santa Fe will be in usable condition by then.

Kimberly cut and installed the foam insulation. She was fighting the flu but just kept trooping right along until she had the rig tight as a drum. After the insulation was installed, all of the wiring was taped into place and blocks of wood were cut in above the back window to serve as anchors for the overhead cabinets. On each side of the back window there is a piece of lumber temporarily screwed in to act as a cleat when we force the ceiling panel into the curve.

The ceiling panels went up like a dream. We used 3M 'Spray 90' to make sure the sheets stay put. We chose a honey maple color and plan to face the cabinetry and furniture with black Formica. We are thinking of doing all of the hardware and window trim in nickel.

The order of operations for the past two days has been, make cardboard template, transfer to wall panel, glue everything up, and tack it into place.

Areas that will not be visible were covered in 3/16" Lauan paneling. It is like super thick interior door skins. It is cheaper and thicker than paneling and you don't have to worry about the finish wearing off in the storage areas.

Here comes a plug for the best tool on earth. This little vibrating wonder cuts through anything with precision. There are about a dozen different makers and seems like more brands of this tool pop up every day. This unit is the Harbor Freight and Tool (Chicago Electric) $40 model with some better quality cutting attachments purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot. The attachments seem to be universal. I broke a lot of bones and had at least a dozen casts in my youth and remember them using the same tool to remove my casts over 30 years ago. Why did it take so long to hit the home improvement industry!!! Anyway, all of the windows were cut into the panels after installation by following the frame. Most notches and adjustments were made in tight areas without removing the work. Get one today... hehe

We will leave you with a shot of the newly painted, albeit already dirty step. We saw some grip tape with a reflector strip hanging on an aisle at the home improvement store and decided it would probably save us from a bummed up shin some late, wet night. The step is like brandnew.

Until next time,