1993 Revcon Trailblazer - Project Overhaul

[AdvWife]

Sorry everyone! 2020 has been packed with other projects that jumped ahead of this one. It has been well over a year since we touched it and I wish this update was "its done" but it is not. We got back into it last week and polished off the insulation and most of the exterior sanding. Temporarily stopped due to obligations and the upcoming holiday, but we're truly hoping to have it painted and dried in by Christmas at the earliest.

I really want to finish it by next summer, but that is being really ambitious as paid projects keep jumping in front of this big old gal.

Thank you for your patience!

 

[cabnetguy]

Great to see that you haven't given up! I was really enjoying your build. Looking forward to more updates

 

[Chorky]

Awesome still...I had the opportunity to buy one 2 years ago, and passed it up. Now I wish I would have... it would have solved a lot of problems with life on the road. Such a cool vehicle!

 

[Timod110]

Love this build. Hope you get back at it soon.

 

[AdvWife]

Arizona had been unseasonably warm and dry. We took time off work, specifically to finish the exterior paint this past week. So we popped out the 5 remaining windows and did some finish sanding. Only to find out that the following day, southern Arizona would see the first measurable rain in 110 days. Of course.

So we taped the five gaping holes and ran errands during our rain delay. In between fits of wind, we managed to tape up and prime the cab. Desert winters just don't have enough daylight.

In the meantime I got to work sanding/painting the windows for the driver's side RV section.

We lost so much of this week to rain, humidity and wind. We blindly moved the Revcon to the rear of the shop yesterday to put primer on the driver's side RV and paint on the cab. It is an interesting experience driving a 31' RV blindly, with just the guidance of your spouse, be we did it.

I'm bummed we're, yet again, behind on progress but we still hope to have it dried in as soon as possible. If the afternoon desert winds will cut a break sometime this week, we may just get the driver's side completely done. Hopefully by Christmas (fingers crossed), both sides will be done. Just maybe.

We will both be happy to put this part of the renovation behind us. Once the walls go up, windows installed, we can plan out the interior build while we tackle a few projects in between. Sadly, this sandy beast just gets the short end of the stick when it comes to our attention, but a personal project and a paid project are creeping in after the New Year.

Thanks for following along!

 

[ExpoMike]

How do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Keep up the work. It's looking good. I am kind of in the same boat with my M1010 project. Gets hit and miss amounts of time to work on it.

 

[AdvWife]

How do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time. Keep up the work. It's looking good. I am kind of in the same boat with my M1010 project. Gets hit and miss amounts of time to work on it.

Aint that the truth. Good luck with the M1010 project!

 

[AdvWife]

When a week turns into a month and a half...

We took a week off work in early November, specifically to finish painting the exterior of the Revcon. We got all 5 RV windows removed at dusk, only to realize that southern Arizona would see the first measurable amount of rain in over 100 days. I had checked the weather several times the week prior and wasn't expecting this storm. It rained all night and into the next day. Humidity was sky high and it was cool out. Three days into our vacation, it cleared up enough in the afternoon and we taped off the cab to prep it for primer. Mike primed the cab clear into dusk.

We laid primer on the driver's side RV the following afternoon, followed by color on the cab that evening. The following afternoon, Mike applied color on the driver's side RV.

By this point, we were back to work, so got as much prep work and paint done in the evenings. Which are pretty short this time of year. So in true fashion, we got primer and color on the passenger's side...in the dark.

Now into December, we were able to get all the gaping holes plugged up. The Ford got brand new headlights. After our trek back from Portland with only one functional headlight, it was well worth the money. New tail lights, marker lights and a back up camera were also installed. All the trim got a fresh coat of black and the RV windows/frames were sanded and painted black as well.

Finally after installing interior walls (I'll go into that in a follow-up post) all 5 windows were installed. And it looks like progress was made.

 

[AdvWife]

When we purchased the Revcon, we were provided with bamboo for the inner walls. We had intentions of using it and even outfitted the back wall and upper walls of the cab with it. Then the upper cab windows leaked. The bamboo wrinkled like a wood-like product would. When we purchased the Revcon, it was floor to ceiling in mold. We decided to abandon the bamboo. (Yes, the upper windows will be repaired)

We opted to use ABS for the inner walls. We decided on a textured white. It is a huge departure from our original plan but it is waterproof, mold proof and easy to maintain. It is rigid yet flexible so works with the curvature of the walls. And it is easy to cut. To balance out the white, we're planning on wood cabinetry.

We still have to do the rear wall and upper cab walls. But those will wait. We needed to get the Revcon dried in so we could transition to other awaiting projects. Sadly, this giant will again go to the back burner. I have stopped setting timelines with this project because plans consistently change and other projects need attention before spring/summer.

We're pleased with the how it turned out. The light tan exterior looks great, the white walls really make the space feel open and bright. Having new lighting and fresh paint really makes the Revcon look new.

 

[marret]

Coming along great. Thanks for taking us along.

 

[ExpoMike]

That is looking awesome!!!! Great work and love how the exterior has turned out.

What ABS panels are you using inside and where did you get them? I am getting close to starting the re-panel of my M1010 and have been looking at alternatives to wood products.

 

[AdvWife]

That is looking awesome!!!! Great work and love how the exterior has turned out.

What ABS panels are you using inside and where did you get them? I am getting close to starting the re-panel of my M1010 and have been looking at alternatives to wood products.

we ordered through ePlastics.com. We called and explained what we wanted, the approximate thickness we needed (.187 to accommodate windows) and the lengths we needed. They cut our panels to size and shipped it to us. They even shipped the excess from the panels they cut so we have small cuts to use for other projects if needed. They were really easy to work with.

 

[ExpoMike]

Cool. Couple questions if okay.

1. with the foam insulation, what are you using to glue them in place?
2. did ePlastics indicate any thermal expansion/contractions with using ABS for the interior walls?

I have been looking at FRP panels and many of them say to leave an 1/8" gap to allow for this but most of these were .060 thick, so they might move more than something thicker. Maybe ABS doesn't have that same problem.

 

[AdvWife]

Cool. Couple questions if okay.

1. with the foam insulation, what are you using to glue them in place?
2. did ePlastics indicate any thermal expansion/contractions with using ABS for the interior walls?

I have been looking at FRP panels and many of them say to leave an 1/8" gap to allow for this but most of these were .060 thick, so they might move more than something thicker. Maybe ABS doesn't have that same problem.

we used loctite Power Grab to glue them to the wall and foil tape to secure them to the aluminum studs.

we didn’t really get into the weeds with eplastics about the thermal expansion with ABS. We’re using c channel between sheets so they aren’t butted up against one another and it creates a “seemless” look.
Eplastic was really great to deal with so they may be able to quickly answer over the phone. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

 

[IdaSHO]

Great to see you are still at it