Tear Out -- Stripping the Interior Bare!

My camper has been sitting for a while untouched.  Between work, vacation, and boat prep work I have not had any time for it.  I decided I had to get something started.  The last two days have been the two hottest days of the year--95 degrees and 805 humidity. I would have been working on one of my boats but did not want to be in the sun.  While working inside a camper sounds hot, it was not too bad with most of the windows open and two roof vents open.

So here is what I decided to do and did.  I removed most of the interior of SLEEPER, my Barth Camper.  I took lots of picture which I will post later on.

I set up two drill guns with the smaller sized clutch bits and had two spare batteries.  I hired my friend Marco, a friend who has worked with me in the sailing industry, and we started unscrewing clutch screws.

My goal the first day, Wednesday, was to expose both wings.  Well, we didn't do that, but we did get the starboard side removed, including the furnace.

We started by removing all the cabinet faces and drawers.

The kitchenette has a nice sink and faucet but ugly laminate and tired cabinet framing.

The below photos shows the cabinet above the dinette. I think I can refinish this and reuse it.  All the cabinet doors and drawer faces can use some freshening.  I plan to put new veneer on each.  I may put new veneer on these cabinet frames.  First I will need to sand them down and see what the bare wood looks like, and what it looks like with various types of stains.

The small cabinet above the dinette window was tough because I wanted to save it, and also it required unscrewing by hand the screws into the ceiling. 

Most of the closet was damaged and it had to be broken to get it out of the camper.  Marco got the bathroom apart except for the shower pan.  I loosened up most of the cabinet above the sink--the bottom shelf was damage, but i felt it could be repaired.  One stumbling block was I could not open up the outside door for the refrigerator--I don't have a key for that, and while the water heater came right out, the refrigerator was stubborn. 

 The shower pan is a funny shape and I thought there was a holding tank under neath. We later found a lot of  rotten plywood on edge to support this, but it was obvious water got past it and cause some rot.  When I replace this area, I may clean up this shower pan.  One thing I will do is to make sure there is no wood under this shower pan and that there is a path for the water to escape.  I would like to put in a heated holding tank.  I may cut a hole in the bottom of the back part of the camper and make that section deeper to provide for a holding tank on the port side, and a larger propane area for the starboard side.

This is the furnace. I could not get it working right away and while I felt I could get it working, it did not seem worth it.  It takes up a lot of space.  I don't like the space the duct-work takes, and a furnace like this is a huge power draw.  Modern furnaces take much less space.  In any event, I'd rather have a non vented propane heater which requires no electricity, or else yacht type propane or diesel heater which, again, does not require electricity.  So this came out and will go to the dump.

 Here is the port side again.  the stove is not yet out.  I am probably going to replace this stove, and I'd debating whether to try to sell it, or else dump it.  It does have a nice stainless top and a fresh coat of paint on the front would make it presentable. 

This area has a lot of plumbing, which explains the fact this area had rotted out.  The jack support are in this area, or perhaps under the stove.  I did not look that close as there were Yellow Jackets living in the rotten wing under the stove.  There appears to be a water tank here, judging by the valves coming out.  It will be interesting to see what is under here tomorrow after killing the bees.

After removing the furnace, you can see the starboard side aft jack points.  This look ok.  This area needed to be exposed because the mounting bracket is damaged and needs to be replaced.  I would like to replace this wood with a fiberglass panel for greater strength.  I will need to see how hard it will be to swap it out.  I'll start on the bad one opposite first.

Here is the forward starboard side jack point.  Like the aft one, I will need to remove these bolts and replace or improve the existing jack mounts.  I'd like to have electric jacks, so that may mean a custom made set of brackets.  The front ones need to be swing out brackets and these are a different design than the original.

After four hours in 80 humidity, and 95 degree temps (and it felt hotter), Marco and I called it quits.  We worked almost without break and got a lot done.


Day 2 of the Tear Out:

Today, Thursday, Marco was held up until noon.  I started by removing the cover for the water heater, and pulled a few things out to make space, and organized some of the debris that needed to be thrown out, and the things to be saved for possible reuse, or for reuse as templates. 

The goal for the day was to remove the rest of the interior on the port side all the way to the forward bulkhead, plus the water tank and enclosure. 

The big obstacles were the stove and refrigerator.  Marco got the stove out and after sawing some of the wood framing, and a trying a lot of different things, we got the refrigerator out.   Our next obstacle was getting the refrigerator out the door.  It would not fit and removing the door was a problem because the screws were rusty and stripping.  Later on unscrewed what we could and cut a few wires and pipes off the back and managed to get the refrigerator out of the camper.  Later on Marco got the shower pan out--what a mess underneath that.

Here is the water heater removed.  This heater is propane only.  I'd like to have a solar water heater on the roof, so I will need a storage tanks which means I might as well put one like this back in the camper.  The better heaters provide propane heat, electric heat when plugged in to AC Mains, and have a coil for a supplemental heat source like a motor coolant system or in my case, a solar hot water panel.

Some of the water lines in the water heater compartment.

We didn't take any breaks the first day, but we did today because there was a yellow jacket next in the port side wing.  The hammering stirred them up a few times and we took a few breaks when they seemed particularly stirred up.   The rotten section just above the broom is where the Yellow Jackets live--under where the stove used to be.  This was taken before removing the drain/vent pipe.

We also removed the plumbing, black pipe, copper tubing, and PVC drain and vent pipe.  We took out everything but the yellow jacket nest.


Here is what it looks like with the dinette platform still in place.  That will not be going back in. I want as much leg room as possible for my long legs.  I am tempted to leave the dinette out and to put in a recliner here with a fold out desktop for a laptop.  I can decide that later.  Up forward is the enclosure for the pressurized water tank.  That will not be going back in.  I will use a yacht type rectangular tank for increased water storage, and an on demand pump and accumulator.  I will add an outside shower also opposite the galley.

Here is shot before taking off the white laminate on the side of the wing, and the front portion of the two pieces on the top on the port side.  We wisely left the bees alone--to the left of the broom.  We removed the wooden panel on the right side (starboard wing) vertical board, and the water heater support--top left.

Another shot taken before removing the plumbing and after sweeping up some.

End of the day.  I took a walk to retrieve the water jug and snapped this at night.  It shows all the spray foam under the paneling on the wings. 

Tomorrow we take out the thin laminate walls coverings.  That involves drilling out many rivets.  The inside window trim will need to be removed and then replaced.  I also want to remove the front overhang plywood as there are a few spots with rot.  So the goal is to expose all the interior framing including the floor. The hardest part will be removing the plywood floor as these screws seem to be impossible to back out.  Also there seems to be a second layer of aluminum framing on top of the edges of the plywood.


After that my goals will be:

Repair the damaged jack points with fiberglass panels instead of wood.
Remove the silver tar on the roof.
Order new Stainless Steel screws for the windows and door.
Order butyl tape for sealing the windows and door.
Remove and re-bed all the windows and door.
Reseal all the aluminum joints on the outside.
Repair the two corner dents.
Replace missing or damaged rivets.
Reinforce any areas needing reinforcement.
Remove all the insulation.
Spray in bedliner.
Replace wiring.
Spray in insulation to fill all cavities.
Replace decking with fiberglass or Nomex panels.
Replace walls and ceiling providing aluminum sheet metal above in case these need to be cut out again in the future.
Provide conduit for future wiring changes.
Finish interior.