Slowly but surely

There is a limit to the amount of work a man can accomplish in a single day. Or even a week. Work doesn't always seem to go as quickly as one wishes. I know dad works from sunrise to sunset on his motorhome. It's just that sometimes nothing shows. At the end of the day, he looks back and it's like he hasn't done anything. But the restoration goes on:

Plywood pieces for the floor have been cut and treated with wood preservative. The cutting job took some time, as there are curves and holes that have to be at the right place, and also there are a few notches on the back of the plywood to allow for the thicker welds seams on the metal underfloor.



Mom bought the carpet, wich will be installed soon. Good thing SHE picked the color. Dad is good at fixing things, but frankly color picking is not his best talent to say the least!
I'll eventually get photos of the carpet. Also I know Mom is working on something for the rear window, something that will look good and that will hide the damaged window frame. I'll provide details on this later.

As you've seen on previous pictures, the outside of the rear window has been painted over when the motorhome was repainted. Dad never liked the look of that window, it looks like a window they forgot to mask when they painted the motorhome. Since the paint cannot be easily stripped (It' just a tiny plexiglas) Dad decided to repaint it over with a darker paint, almost black. Now at least it looks more like a window.

Last week I wrote that the floor under where the water tank lies was in good shape. Well, Dad finally found some slightly damaged wood, that he figured was caused by a leaky water fitting at the tank outlet hose. But spraying the back of the motohome with a garden hose, he found that water leaked inside from somewhere along the rear wall and above the floor level. Looks like water is coming from the letters of the TRAVCO emblem, wich are installed outside on the fiberglass shell. A bit of sealant should fix that easily. The floor is not badly damaged, and a simple wood preservative treatement should be ok.



Speaking of the water tank, it is now undergoing cleaning and disinfection.



Dad also got the toilet out. The floor inside the lavatory seems to be in good shape, however it kind of flexes when we put some weight on it. This will have to be investigated.



The transmission filter has been replaced and the pan bolted back on. All driveshaft joints have been checked and greased, everything looks good. Next on the list will be the differential, rear brakes and bearings. The front end has been inspected, everything is in top shape.

The door step

When Dad worked on the floor repairs near the entrance door a few days ago, he took the retractable step out. It's a just a regular retractable metal step, like found on many RVs. Looking at this step, Dad figured he could make some improvements of its own. First, some reinforcements. Dad likes it big and strong. Dad welded a couple metal tubings to make it stronger and stiffer. Then another idea came up his mind...

Years ago, on a old car wreck (I don't know the exact car model but is was a convertible) Dad found two small hydraulic cylinders powered by a small 12V pump. These actuators were powering the top of the convertible. They are about 8 inches long, and the pump is about the size of an engine starter. They are surprisingly powerful, one of them can lift a man of the ground easily. Dad picked them up, thinking that one day he'll do someting with them. Well that day has arrived, and the "something" will be an hydraulic powered retractable step for the Travco. So Dad completely redesigned the original step's sliding tracks. This project is not completed yet, but the following pictures will give you an idea. Here's the step itself:



Here you can see the hydraulic actuator that will be used and the small pump. Stay tuned!



Finally, I'd like you to take a few minutes and visit Lathaniel's 1971 Travco restoration blog. He did an amazing job. I added his blog in my links on the top right of this page. Check it out!