'85 Full gut & Remodel

Steamboater · May 15, 2018

We are deep into a rebuild of a 1985 Itasca Sunflyer. The Chevy P30 chassis only rounded 50k recently so mechanically the vehicle is in good condition. The previous owners were living in the thing, not to mention the interior was 33 years old so we decided a full rebuild was in order. We wanted the bed to be a suitable size (as opposed to the stock 48" bed) so we are rotating the shower 90 degrees to accommodate the larger bed. We are also changing the dinette a bit, lifting it onto a false floor and going with an "L" instead of what was there.
I'm much more of a pictures guy, as they say a pic is worth 1000 words so here is my novel...

Joezeppy · May 15, 2018

Looks like a fun project. I love your graph paper and colored pencil drawings in the 3rd pic. I do the same thing for any project around the house. My wife jokes that it takes me longer to draw up the plans than to do the actual work!

msw3113 · May 15, 2018

So, knee-deep into it and still smiling, that's awesome.

How do the dogs like it?

tc tom · May 15, 2018

Keep us up dated. How do you find working on an RV? I rebuilt one from the frame up. 50% of the time I was cussing and the other 50% singing under my breath. But if I was a little younger I would do another one.

Happy remodeling, Tom

Steamboater · May 15, 2018

The pets love it! this is Uwe, our cat, supervising.

Deano2002 · May 16, 2018

those old velour seats are really comfortable, we haven't changed ours out yet. Whats the length on your coach?

Steamboater · May 16, 2018

Tom, so far everything has been relatively strait forward working on the RV. The suspension work was a breeze, new airbags, springs and shocks all went in easily in a 1/2 day of work. The cabin has been easy too. It is a simple box on wheels. New sub-floor was pretty simple to cut around the wheels and appliances (everything is square). I am still brainstorming on how to best waterproof the wet bath walls to the shower basin. I'm leaning towards just fiberglassing directly to the walls and down to the tub. I'm pretty green when it comes to fiberglass so I'm gonna attempt repairing the cracked dog box as an intro into fiberglassing before I attempt the full shower.

Deano, our coach is 22'. I love the short wheel base, we hope to take it to places you might not want to take a larger rig. Also it fits in our driveway without obstructing the garage or other parking. The seats are pretty comfortable! One of the arms on the driver's side is broken off and the cushioning has lost a bit of support but I imagine we'll keep them.

Deano2002 · May 16, 2018

Steamboater said:
Tom, so far everything has been relatively strait forward working on the RV. The suspension work was a breeze, new airbags, springs and shocks all went in easily in a 1/2 day of work. The cabin has been easy too. It is a simple box on wheels. New sub-floor was pretty simple to cut around the wheels and appliances (everything is square). I am still brainstorming on how to best waterproof the wet bath walls to the shower basin. I'm leaning towards just fiberglassing directly to the walls and down to the tub. I'm pretty green when it comes to fiberglass so I'm gonna attempt repairing the cracked dog box as an intro into fiberglassing before I attempt the full shower.

Deano, our coach is 22'. I love the short wheel base, we hope to take it to places you might not want to take a larger rig. Also it fits in our driveway without obstructing the garage or other parking. The seats are pretty comfortable! One of the arms on the driver's side is broken off and the cushioning has lost a bit of support but I imagine we'll keep them.

Menards sells 1/8" fiberglass panels in 4'x8' but, they are textured if that would matter, they sell inside and outside corners for that too. I lay up fiberglass matting and byply at work from time to time and, its not too bad. One trick is not to get it too wet and get a good fiberglass roller to roll the bubbles out as that makes a stronger fix, not that it matters a whole lot on the dog house. Rough that area up good with at least 60 grit to get good adhesion.

tc tom · May 17, 2018

Steamboater, thanks for the up date. I used the panels in our shower. I ran flashing up the wall and into the shower basin before installing the panels.

Tom,

Steamboater · May 20, 2018

While I continue to bang my head on the wall regarding our wet bath layout and the plumbing for the shower, we did have one Sunday success: Dynamat!

I found this stuff when researching car stereo upgrades and thought it'd be a great addition to our RV cabin. We plan to put tan automotive carpet on top of it. Should quiet the ride up substantially.

One question for y'all. I get a shudder at around 60 to 65 and again at 70ish. I have not had the tires balanced sense I got the vehicle but I've always experienced out of balance tires to shake at most all speeds. Are there other fixes I should be aware of for the P30 chassis?

Yes that is a photo of Dynamat and a cat 8)

Steamboater · May 20, 2018

Also this door mosaic cam out really nice. We've been using the Elmer's GlueAll and paper technique for wallpaper and decided to use maps. This artistry was the handywork of my girlfriend, I think it turned out pretty great!

cerd · Jun 14, 2018

Definitely get all of the tires balanced at a reputable shop. Don't cheap out. I got tires from Discount Tire. They were balanced, but out of round and they couldn't detect it with their machines. I only felt a very small vibration at high speeds, but at 30 or below, I could actually feel one side of my car lift and lower. I have never experienced that before and they still wouldn't even warranty out the tires.

I have actually started buying tires at Walmart and mounting them myself because then I know everything is balanced and normal BEFORE it is installed. I do not, however, recommend mounting your own truck/rv tires. The thicker ply is difficult to work with.

Again, bring it to a reputable shop that takes pride in their work.

zmotorsports · Jun 14, 2018

Subscribed.

This is a hell of a project to tackle.

Our first motorhome was a 1984 30' Travelcraft on the GM P32 chassis. I did a lot of mods to it from the chassis to the interior but nothing of this magnitude. You have peaked my interest.

Mike

Steamboater · Jun 16, 2018

Installed carpet in the cockpit yesterday. Still kinda slow progress but pieces are coming together and I expect some more sizable progress in the coming weeks.

Graycat · Aug 28, 2018

This is great! Do you have any more update photos?

Steamboater · Sep 1, 2018

This project has made some real progress. For everyone's viewing pleasure, I will let photos do the talking...

Here you can see the installation of our AC. Its a Dometic (not sure the model).

Steamboater · Sep 1, 2018

Here are pics of the progress on the "stain glass" wall we have built between the wet bath and the bed:

Steamboater · Sep 1, 2018

And more of the stain glass wall:

Steamboater · Sep 1, 2018

Here are some random ones of the progress of the interior:

Graycat · Sep 1, 2018

You really have made a lot of progress. Do I understand right that your shower is like a roll-in (no door)? That's what I want to do in my house.

Did you take out a skylight and install the a/c there? I've seen discussions about doing that.

Looks like you are going to be camping soon! I bet you are ready to be done and on the road.

'85 Full gut & Remodel

Member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Attachments

Well-known member

Member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Attachments

Member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Member

Attachments

Well-known member

Member

Attachments

Member

Attachments

Member

Attachments

Member

Attachments

Well-known member

Forum statistics