What I thought would be a 1 or 2 month project has quickly spiraled into 5 months, but is finally nearing completion! After pouring a lot of sweat blood and tears into this RV, the light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter and my family's life is going to change in a huge way!
When we purchased this 1982 Ford Glendale 22 foot motorhome, we planned not only to travel in it. But to try the "RV lifestyle". It has always been a dream and although I have always loved to live in Hamilton Ont. That love has quickly diminished. Drug addicts and homeless pretty much rule the streets, stealing and committing crime at will. The police are handcuffed in taking action by a city government who has received nearly $20 million from provincial and federal governments to solve the problem. What has that payed for? A bylaw that states encampments cannot be within 100 meters of schools or parks (parks have been their location of choice and typically right close to the children's play areas). Also dedicating an empty piece of city owned land for 80 (out of an estimated thousands) homeless people to live on. The Hamilton escarpment runs right through the city and has more than 100 waterfalls along it. It is also part of a United Nations Bioreserve, because it has the highest amount of biodiversity in the world. Right now huge parts of it are wastelands, lined with piles of garbage. Even the head of one of the biggest Unions in the city has spoken out about how his employees have witnessed bus loads of homeless from other cities, being dropped off in the early hours of the morning (3/4am ish).
There are a lot more issues facing this city, that I could go on about hours. So I'm going to stop ranting and get back to the RV. This post is about the interior (engine work will be it's own post).
After removing a lot of small stuff and painting the interior. The next step was to clean and reseal the roof, there was no leaks or issues but it only took a quick glance to tell if wouldn't be long before there was issues. While on the roof, why not install the solar panels too!
Before and after
Once the power was connected, I started to test different things. The fridge was a bust and did not work. So I removed it and right now that space is being used for tools etc. lol. Until we buy a new one.
I got underneath of the RV to check out the propane tank and what I found really surprised me! Despite all of the propane lines under and inside of the rig being metal or copper. The line connecting to the tank was rubber. Unprotected rubber, if anything had hit that line while driving. Well the next time I started the oven or furnace could be really really bad. Instead of just replacing the line, I decided to just completely remove the whole propane system and replace the oven with a wood burning stove.
This was no small undertaking! Once the oven was out of the counter, I built a wood box (minus the front) then lined it with thick ceramic tile for heat absorption. The original plan was to line the wall above it with sheet metal for heat protection from the chimney, but after I broke a few large and expensive tiles. Why not get creative and make a mosaic with them. This is what I am in the process of right now.
Over the next few days I will be finishing this area and installing the wood burning stove.
So far I am very happy with how it is starting to look and the functionality/safety of it. For a comparison, this is how it looked when purchased: https://hive.blog/hive-148441/@terrywayne/the-beginning-of-a-new-adventure
The ceiling is being done with a wood wallpaper and is also almost completed.
When I look back at all of the work, it's kinda crazy lol. But it is starting to pay off and will only continue from here on out! The do to list includes: Finishing the ceiling, new fridge, carpeting the floor, wood rails for the bunk beds and above the cab bed (with ladders), wood shutters that with fold down into small tables for the bunk bed windows, and installing a projector with a pull down screen from the ceiling. None of this includes the cab and engine that both still have work to be done. So there will definitely be more posts before this project is complete!