1986 Lance Squire LS3000 Overland Build

[norcal*PWRstroke]

Sink out stove out and oven out. The oven works great but needs to be cleaned up alot, the wife is going to copper wool and brass brush it all clean again.
I pulled the stove out to paint and then decided to just put a new counter top piece of plywood in while i had it all out! I am putting a stainless steel skin over it for the countertop and kitchen backsplash.

I painted my first coat of grey interior paint and it looks great. I was going to spray it but the wife likes the looks of the light brush stroke lines. I couldnt get pics of the paint it was too dark.

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

A quick look at the new grey interior color.
Got the kick panel for the step cut, painted and installed, It was leftover wall paneling from the dinette re-build.
Got the power converter door painted and converter re installed.
I started painting all the doors, they are trimmed in behr ultra pure white, and I am putting barn wood on the center face of each cabinet door, as well as the refrigerator door.
Went around the exterior today and replaced almost all the old trim screws etc with stainless steel. Almost time to warp the nose and paint the exterior. For the exterior I am going to try Monstaliner, black and white.
I wont put the new flooring down until all the painting is done, I still have to paint the ceiling white.

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

half of the cabinets are back in painted and old redwood Barnwood was attached to the face. I put on new hinges and knobs as well. hinge sets were only 1.25 at local hardware store.

 

[mtm_motors]

Great to read through your resto! I really like your use of foam insulation and interior treatments as well. Can't wait to see it finished up.

 

[Colorado_Outback]

Camper is looking awesome! Seeing the amount of rot you took on and how it turned out inspires me to dig deeper into my camper and sort out a couple things.

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

Camper is looking awesome! Seeing the amount of rot you took on and how it turned out inspires me to dig deeper into my camper and sort out a couple things.

Go for it, Ive seen your work. It will be no problem for you! If i wasnt trying to keep this old thing on a budget I would be done already. Also the wife keeps coming up with new re purposed building material ideas for the interior Those things dont cost much because i have most of the material lying around, just alot of time cutting and assembling!

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

The Black Diamond Deck skin will be here this week!
Got a drop piece of stainless steel today at the local metal yard for 2$ a pound cost me 28$ It was a little thicker than I wanted but the price was right and it was the perfect size for the counter and backsplash lip!
I have to re work my homemade press brake tomorrow to get the final 90 bend in it.
Re painted the rusty chrome on the stove with flat black hi temp paint.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

Norcal,
I hope my wife never sees this thread: too many great ideas that she would want to have applied to our rig. We have essentially the same footprint Lance Camper only your is 12 years older...and getting younger by the day! I was very interested in seeing the framing on the front nose as I'm contemplating a front window delete (as you are) and an 1/8" aluminum diamond plate cover for the nose. I saw a guy's Lance with the aluminum 'bra' for the nose and it looked like it could take a few tree limbs, unlike the stock sheeting which dents very easily.

You'll notice in the pic below, the drivers front clearance light is now along the Mojave Road somewhere. The Joshua Trees were a menace to the skin of the TC. I think this was the trip that i punched a 1" hole in the front nose. A lot of exterior parts were scraped off on this trip.

It was on there the day before: click the thumb to get the vid:


One other thing. I'm really contemplating doing the whole enchilada by Monstaliner-ing the entire rig: probably desert sand. That's truck, top to bottom, front to rear, and the entire TC minus the aluminum roof. It is one tough surface and would be a good, if thin, slight up armoring for the TC. It would be good for those scratches on the side panels.
Thanks for doing such a 'teaching' job on the build. I think the framing is Lance Protocol and is the same for my wood framed camper.
regards, jefe

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

Norcal,
I hope my wife never sees this thread: too many great ideas that she would want to have applied to our rig. We have essentially the same footprint Lance Camper only your is 12 years older...and getting younger by the day! I was very interested in seeing the framing on the front nose as I'm contemplating a front window delete (as you are) and an 1/8" aluminum diamond plate cover for the nose. I saw a guy's Lance with the aluminum 'bra' for the nose and it looked like it could take a few tree limbs, unlike the stock sheeting which dents very easily.

You'll notice in the pic below, the drivers front clearance light is now along the Mojave Road somewhere. The Joshua Trees were a menace to the skin of the TC. I think this was the trip that i punched a 1" hole in the front nose. A lot of exterior parts were scraped off on this trip.

It was on there the day before: click the thumb to get the vid:


One other thing. I'm really contemplating doing the whole enchilada by Monstaliner-ing the entire rig: probably desert sand. That's truck, top to bottom, front to rear, and the entire TC minus the aluminum roof. It is one tough surface and would be a good, if thin, slight up armoring for the TC. It would be good for those scratches on the side panels.
Thanks for doing such a 'teaching' job on the build. I think the framing is Lance Protocol and is the same for my wood framed camper.
regards, jefe

Well if she does happens to see it, the upgrades are inexpensive with regards to parts, but highly expensive with regards to your labor costs that you can charge her! She will owe you big!
Since you dont care if the window is gone then I highly recommend deleting it. They are always the first spot to leak and are covered most of the time anyways because they are so darn hot when the sun shines through.

Im surpsirsed those Joshuas didnt do more damage they can be very tough, natures very own mace!
How did you go about patching the 1" hole?
Your rig was one of the first ones I saw when i got on this forum, I love it!
Yep, my parents have a 97 and so much is still the same on their lance. Older Lance models came with some cutaway diagrams that show the internal framework and structure. My dad has one that came with his lance, I should try to scan it and post it up.

No problem I hope my ideas help some people out who have a TC and like to get off the pavement. Im pretty young so I love criticism and advice from the other members on here. Even though I get plenty of it from my Dad!! Now that the sun is out I will be doing more exterior upgrades, functional and cosmetic.

 

[boxcar1]

The barn wood doors are outstanding.
I'm looking forward to the front cap. It should really set this Lance apart from all others.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

NorCal wrote,
"Im surpsirsed those Joshuas didnt do more damage they can be very tough, natures very own mace!
How did you go about patching the 1" hole?"
jefe writes,
The first thing I did when I discovered there was a hole was to use water proof Gorilla Tape (is any tape waterproof?) over and over the hole in a sunburst pattern:

Unfortunately it was on the road in Lewis and Clark country and they were predicting rain.
When we finally got home, we used very expensive RV caulking and just made a plug, by degrees,kind of like putting whipped cream on a pumpkin pie: round and round. No silicone caulk. Nothing else sticks to it.
The damage on the Mojave Road was on the front and both sides of the camper where both exterior light lenses were removed by slowly retreating Joshua trees; the stove vent was ripped off; and the top vent to the refrigerator was mangled and had to be replaced. There are many long trail rash grooves on each side. This is why I'm thinking of doing a complete Monstaliner job.
Because of major water intrusion in the 1" hole (while sitting at home ready for our 2500 mile trip to ID/WA/OR I had to remove the side strips on the front of the box and air out the innards with a leaf blower:




Water just poured out when I opened it up. Luckily, it was summer time and too hot and dry for mildew to form.
It irks me that Lance used such inferior insulation while building these. Fiberglass batts just stuffed in? I don't think so. But, we've already recouped our investment of $6500 for a 3 yr. old camper used 3 times. It was defacto brand new. 200+ nights in the box. We're doing the Mendocino coast in two weeks and BC in June.
I have forgotten to say, "great job" on your 30 year old mobile domicile redux; truly an inspiration.
jefe

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

NorCal wrote,
"Im surpsirsed those Joshuas didnt do more damage they can be very tough, natures very own mace!
How did you go about patching the 1" hole?"
jefe writes,
The first thing I did when I discovered there was a hole was to use water proof Gorilla Tape (is any tape waterproof?) over and over the hole in a sunburst pattern:

Unfortunately it was on the road in Lewis and Clark country and they were predicting rain.
When we finally got home, we used very expensive RV caulking and just made a plug, by degrees,kind of like putting whipped cream on a pumpkin pie: round and round. No silicone caulk. Nothing else sticks to it.
The damage on the Mojave Road was on the front and both sides of the camper where both exterior light lenses were removed by slowly retreating Joshua trees; the stove vent was ripped off; and the top vent to the refrigerator was mangled and had to be replaced. There are many long trail rash grooves on each side. This is why I'm thinking of doing a complete Monstaliner job.
Because of major water intrusion in the 1" hole (while sitting at home ready for our 2500 mile trip to ID/WA/OR I had to remove the side strips on the front of the box and air out the innards with a leaf blower:




Water just poured out when I opened it up. Luckily, it was summer time and too hot and dry for mildew to form.
It irks me that Lance used such inferior insulation while building these. Fiberglass batts just stuffed in? I don't think so. But, we've already recouped our investment of $6500 for a 3 yr. old camper used 3 times. It was defacto brand new. 200+ nights in the box. We're doing the Mendocino coast in two weeks and BC in June.
I have forgotten to say, "great job" on your 30 year old mobile domicile redux; truly an inspiration.
jefe

Yes just chunks of fiberglass insulation stuffed into spots. Mine was very loose and thin as well. I was not impressed either. Its sounds like you got a very good initial purchase price.
I will be doing mendocino and Ft bragg coast in about 2-3 weeks as well for my maiden voyage on the camper, (if repairs stay on schedule)! Im In ukiah about 57 miles directly west of mendocino, if you make it over that way maybe we can meet up. I would love to check out your rig!!

I have been to alaska and canada twice when i was younger. First trip with my parents in 1992. A 1976 regular cab manual F250 with a straight 6 and a blue six pac TC. My mom was pregnant with my sister, a lot of memories from that trip. Second trip was in 97 with my parents as well. I was 12 and my dad has is new lance and a 97 crew cab F350 with the 460 V8. I hope to make the same trip with my wife and kids someday.

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

Tonight I cut the new counter plywood and the stainless steel. I used pneumatic shears and a jigsaw. shears cut the stainless well.
The stainless drop from the stove cutout will be used as a new stove liner for under the three top burners.
The Stainless drop from the sink cutout will be used as a kick panel on the outside of the entry door.
Trying not to waste anything!

 

[boxcar1]

Good use of material.

 

[norcal*PWRstroke]

got a zodi camp shower for only 15$ at the thrift store today!
I had to build a new power box for the sump pump, it had 6 (1.5V) D batteries in series originally=6v. So I went and bought a 6v Lantern battery and a waterproof personal belongings carrying case to remake the box. I used the old waterproof switch from the previous box and reused the gasket for the outgoing power lines. drilled the 2 holes with a step drill. turned out great! Got 5 gallons of water to 88 degress in about 8 minutes and was getting warmer quick! I was surprised, works very well. Will be great to hang on the outside of the camper.

Video: