After installing the mattress it was clear that my conduit lift mechanism wasnt going to work. It mounts too low and wouldnt let the roof down far enough. I was planning on putting some bead board on it to make it look better but we'll just be realistic here and say it looked like crap and was never going to look good HAH! Instead of redoing it I decided to try rebuilding the lift panels using that factory spring loaded piano hinges. So I dove head first into researching lift panel rebuilding and went to town. Thankfully my rear lift panel is still intact and functioning correctly so I have a working unit to measure and confirm hinge placement etc. My local Lowes actually stocks 5mm thick, 4x8' sheets of sanded, one-side primed Poplar plywood and its only $17 per sheet!!! Talk about blown away. I feel like I need to buy a whole bundle for future use.
Removing the rivets from the 3 hinges might have been the single most painstaking task of this whole remodel. It took me 5 hours to get all of them out and get the hinges straightened/flattened and back into working order...holy ********.
I had them rip the plywood at Lowes to the same height as my rear lift panel pieces. Then I traced the old shape onto the new plywood, taped the cuts and cut the remaining bits with a circular saw. It worked out quite well. I sanded and stained the panels with Minwax 2718 Ebony. I had one chip that I glued so I havent stained that little bit but it turned out really well otherwise. Im thinking about redoing the rear panel just because I like the look of this one.
I need to find some different rivets that are the same 1/8" shaft but with a larger cap. These just look too small, like they will pull through the panel.
