My 2004 Grandby project/ travel thread
- Thread starter eblau
- Start date
eblau
Adventurer
I've spent most of the week(nights) this week repairing the right rear jack mount which is solid now and cleaning the interior. I plan on tearing the linoleum flooring out since it is peeling at the corners and replacing it with some other peel and stick tiles or click together laminate. Overall I am impressed with the construction of these things even at 10 years old.
A few things in the plans:
-Wall mounted catalytic heater/ quick release fitting plumbed into the existing propane and also another exterior quick release to add an additional bottle.
-AC/ DC comp fridge, norcold doesn't seem to want to work on any setting but I also haven't really done any troubleshooting on it
-I Ordered a pair of LED flood lights for the rear wall and I am going to fab some nice sturdy mounts because the "single self tapping screw into frame" is really really weak and wobbly especially with the factory "tractor" lamps that are currently on it
-More cleaning, tinkering and then maybe a winter camping trip or two
I will using this primarily when we me and my girlfriend go to some road race courses on the east coast. Most of these tracks have hotels nearby but staying AT the track is just so much more conveinient. The driving force behind getting the camper was the last trip to VIR in Danville where we arrived to a completely FULL paddock at 2am (after 7 hours driving in the pouring rain) and had to fight for a full length spot in the pits to set up for the night. Like an idiot I brought my largest tent in the fleet and the wrong set of poles! I made do with what I had but I promised myself and my girlfriend that next year we would be in a camper, with heat and I will never fool around with tent pole assembly lit only by my LED flashlight again.
The second use of the FWC will be dirtbike trips, the dually is more than capable of handling the camper plus two dirtbikes on a hitch carrier and gear for a nice long weekend on some trails. Sleeping in a tent after being in the woods on some east coast trails is just plain miserable and an added bonus is the outdoor shower if facilities aren't available.
Eblau what kind if road race? I follow motorcycle racing, flattracked when younger. You might want to check WTW for big builds for ideas.
Bill
Bill
eblau
Adventurer
My girlfriend runs a 1990 BMW 325is in HPDE with NASA right now but she is doing the comp school with SCCA in the spring to progress towards her comp license. Not sure where we will go from there, perhaps a spec miata in the future or run a spec E30 with NASA. Whatever path she goes down I plan on being her "crew" and this camper will play a huge roll this coming season by just making it easier to get settled at the track more quickly so we both can enjoy our time there. I've been on WTW, such a great resource!
pappawheely
Autonomous4X4
My '88 keystone looks the same. No leaks.
eblau
Adventurer
Thanks,
The roof ended up being the least of my concern, the angle of the picture in the ad made the roof look a lot more wrinkled than it actually was. What he failed to tell me (he said he never noticed it and was selling it for a freind) was the right rear jack had been torn off and shoddily repaired at some point in its life. I bought it anyway and fixed it last week. Pulled the jack bracket off, ground it down, drilled new holes in the jack and the camper frame and reinstalled with butyl and some sikaflex.
eblau
Adventurer
They were really easy to put back in, I washed them on cold and let them air-dry though.
I am going to start replacing all the sheetmetal screws for the top clamps with rivnuts and machine screws, the idea of screwing those sheet metal screws into that soft thin aluminum just seems really stupid to me. I'm suprised FWC does not do this from the factory. I can see replacing the clamp screws frequently, the rivnut will be a permanent solution. I plan on fabricating some nice mounts for the LED work lights and using the blind rivet nut method as well on the back wall for the light mounts. I couldn't see the sheetmetal screws holding for that long considering the weight of the LED lamp units. The tractor lights that are installed from the factory are held in with two rediculously small sheetmetal screws that appeared to be working their way out probably from bouncing around on the back of the camper for the last ten years. Will post pics of the install tonight.
I am going to start replacing all the sheetmetal screws for the top clamps with rivnuts and machine screws, the idea of screwing those sheet metal screws into that soft thin aluminum just seems really stupid to me. I'm suprised FWC does not do this from the factory. I can see replacing the clamp screws frequently, the rivnut will be a permanent solution. I plan on fabricating some nice mounts for the LED work lights and using the blind rivet nut method as well on the back wall for the light mounts. I couldn't see the sheetmetal screws holding for that long considering the weight of the LED lamp units. The tractor lights that are installed from the factory are held in with two rediculously small sheetmetal screws that appeared to be working their way out probably from bouncing around on the back of the camper for the last ten years. Will post pics of the install tonight.
eblau
Adventurer
I made some simple brackets to hold my LED work lights. The center stud is what holds the lamp bracket and is welded from the back side
Drilled holes and installed the rivnuts:
Test fit the lamps:
Tomorrow night I will seal the old holes, wire the new lamps and reinstall everything with a fresh layer of butyl/ sikaflex. I am happy with how the install went. The rivnuts are perfect for this type of blind application into the aluminum walls. If I change my mind on what kind of lamps I want I have a sort of "modular" mount in the rear to bolt any type of lamp to that has a similar base.
Drilled holes and installed the rivnuts:
Test fit the lamps:
Tomorrow night I will seal the old holes, wire the new lamps and reinstall everything with a fresh layer of butyl/ sikaflex. I am happy with how the install went. The rivnuts are perfect for this type of blind application into the aluminum walls. If I change my mind on what kind of lamps I want I have a sort of "modular" mount in the rear to bolt any type of lamp to that has a similar base.
