1974 Coleman Valley Forge - Complete gut job

[slepe67]

For my sanity down the road, I created a thread about my lighting needs.

Trailer Light Question - '74 Coleman

I've got a thred in here covering my project: "1974 Coleman Pop Up - Complete Gut Job" Ive run into a lighting issue. Rear Assembly is destroyed and not replaceable. Obsolete. The 45 yr old plastic housing shattered when I tried to jiggle it out. I'd like to add a new, more common...

expeditionportal.com

 

[slepe67]

Victory!

PM Lights has a great kit. $50/side. I simply traced and rounded the sides. Vertical fitment was PERFECT!

I guess I'll Dicor these into place, as there seems to be no real good way to fasten them. I will pull them out next Summer (2021) to repaint the exterior.

I bought more wiring, just in case. didnt need it.

On thw 1st photo below, at the bottom, you see 2 boxes w/ 4 total bulbs. These are for the License Plate light. Had to use the old school bulbs, as LED wouldnt fit under the housing. Darn.


I simply placed the assembly onto its resting place, traced the sides, trimmed and filed smooth.

 

[slepe67]

I'll get a Night Time shot later.

For now, a sigh of relief before assembling the interior sidewalls and getting on with the cabinets, roof vent & canvas. Soooo close...

 

[slepe67]

Ceiling vent: INSTALLED


Roof Lift Post Seams: CAULKED (Before pic below)




Interior walls: INSTALLED

Roof Crank: GLORIOUS (Painted so as to prevent loss)


What's left?
- Install cabinets
- Install countertops
- Install dinnette seat "boards"
- Install door tracks in ceiling
- Install door
- Repair cracked plywood in bed area
- Install Harbor Freight padding on bunks
- Install canvas

 

[slepe67]

Cabinets : INSTALLED

Used a pneumatic sheetmetal punch to knock holes in the bottom lip of the cabinets every 6-8". Set piece where I wanted it, used Sharpie to transfer drilling location & ran a 3/16" drill bit.


The cabinets are pretty flimsy on the front face, so I had to clamp a straight board on and run 8-32 screw through the floors, secured via Nuloc nuts. A far cry better than the factory staples.



Now to install countertops.

Im on the fence between caulking them on, or doing as the factory did and screwing in from underneath.

Im not a huge fan of the White Formica, but free is free.

 

[slepe67]

I need to start thinking about the cracked bed. The bed support connects to the bottom-side plywood bed-floor via 2 rivets.



I cant add ply underneath, as there's no clearance between the support bar and the trailer to slide the bed in.



Bed dimensions are 50-1/2" W x 70"L(?).

I thought about buying another 3/8" sheet and gluing it and bolting it to the top of the existing ply.

Or

I have some scrap steel plates.

With what I have, I could make 4 plates to bolt to the underside (2 each bed), & bolt them in from the top, using panhead bolts. This would allow me to slide the bed in as normal, and not have the added weight of another sheet of ply on each bed.

I picked up some HF Floor Mats. This will cover the bed wood, prvide a bit mote comfort and insulation from underneath. Between that and the 4" memory foam mattress, I doubt I'll feel any pan heads.

 

[highwest]

Fiberglass?

 

[slepe67]

Fiberglass?

No idea...LOL.

 

[highwest]

I mean, could you use fiberglass to fix the crack? I put epoxy/glass on everything, ha. They have the goods at the big box stores if you don’t want to go the full marine route.

 

[slepe67]

I mean, could you use fiberglass to fix the crack? I put epoxy/glass on everything, ha. They have the goods at the big box stores if you don’t want to go the full marine route.

I guess it COULD work? Ive honestly never worked with fiberglass, so I have no clue... Im fairly concerned with load bearing capacity on this one.

I think Im going to router-out the bad stuff, trace the hole and cut in a new piece. once the damage is repaired, I need to address the Load Bearing qualities.

This is where a thicker sheet of flat sheetmetal (5x12) underneath. Put a panhead bolt in every 2 square inches and that SHOULD work.

I think.

 

[slepe67]

Cabinet doors and countertop are in. I drilled pilot holes and screwed in from underneath. Due to rain & hail, I opted not to drive 20 miles to get plywood for the beds.


Not diggin' the colors...it looked bettet in my imagination.



Next up: I'll hang the door tracks and install the door I guess.

 

[slepe67]

I guess I shoupdve paid better attwntion to how I took this apart.

From my previous posts, you'll see that I used small boards to brace the roof. two of those are also for the door tracks.

The factory just used a 1" steel strap between foam board and the wooden roofing to hold the door tracks in. I THINK they were riveted in place, with 2 bolts on each end to keep the straps from sliding out of the tracks.

That said, I used 3/4" long bolts in 7 holes per track. Maybe I'll go nack and caulk them in to prevent backing out. I dunno. still seems better than Factory.


Here's the dusty door in Stow Position. If it hasnt fallen out by morning, I'll call it a WIN. ?

 

[slepe67]

What's left?
- Install dinnette seat "boards"
- Repair cracked plywood in bed area
- Install Harbor Freight padding on bunks
- Install canvas

 

[slepe67]

Well...let's see if this works....not 100% confident...

Cut out a 3-1/2" x 13" chunk of damaged bed.

Bought 2 sheets of 7/16" OSB (one for each bunk and the remnants will work for the Dinette Seats).

The original bed flooring is 3/8". i went a size up to be safe.

Instead of removing the OEM flooring, Im bokting the 7/16 OSB on top of the OEM flooring.

I used 8-32 bolts w/ nyloc nuts about every square foot.


I had to visualize where I wanted to put my bolts, hence the ue tape


Tomorrow, I'll work on steel bracing under the bed supports on all 4 corners.
If it doesnt SNOW! ?

 

[OverlandZJ]

Nice project Sir..

On your bed slide support poles.. do they just swing straight down to align in their fixed position?

Reason I ask, my pup is an 88 Coleman that has a single stud through plywood and turns 90* or so to align in it's fixed position. And it happens to use a plate to add strength and not poke through. Basically what I believe your considering doing? I actually have it set up for cleaning and loading as i'm heading out soon and can take a pic for you in the am if that would be desirable..

I'v considered replacing my slide ply when i rebuilt everything else, but ended up not doing so yet. Drilling out all those rivets while mine is still solid didnt seem necessary.