Jim@HiTek
Gresham, OR, USA
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Where do the cockpit and driver's & passenger's chairs go?
Jim@HiTek
Have shop, will travel!
Visit my travel & RV repair blog site. Subscribe for emailed updates.
Winnebago Journey, '02
Cat 330HP Diesel, 36.5', two slides.
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Jim@HiTek wrote:Where do the cockpit and driver's & passenger's chairs go?
That would be to the left of the sofa/bed in the last pic. Rear of the rig is to the right side.
That's why the sofa is shown as movable, to allow room to get to the driver/co pilot seats.
At this point, I am thinking perhaps of closing off the front of the coach, as it is a huge hot and cold heatsink up there. The windshield, firewall, front side windows, and even the floor up front, will allow heat and cold in, and out.
The closure will not be permanent, but maybe a door, curtain, or something, (haven't fully decided yet), that will allow me to see out the large side windows in what was the living room. Those windows are too valuable while driving to be closed off.
If you want to do something, you will find a way.
If you don't, you will find an excuse.
-------------------------------------------------
Good judgement comes from experience.
A lot of experience, comes from bad judgement.
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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As long as the closure behind the driver/co pilot seats isn't permanent, in the future, if I decide to, I could use one or both of the front seats as a living room seat.
The co pilot seat spins all the way around easily. The drivers seat spins a little past 90 degrees before it hits the steering wheel.
So, that allows future renovation, if needed. I could insulate the front floor under those seats, and then block off everything in front of that. At this point, I don't see that happening, but it would be a possibility if needed.
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Here is another glimpse into the future...
The pic below is of the window behind the pilot's seat.
Looking at it, you can see that there are 2 layers of steel surrounding the window.
The original frame, is shown by the yellow arrows. The new frame, surrounding that, is the one shown by the red arrows.
The plan is to remove the window, then remove the inner steel framing. I plan to replace the inner steel framing with wood.
Since aluminum transfers heat and cold, removing the aluminum window framing from around the glass is in order.
The side glass must be safety glass (tempered), in order to pass state inspection.
So, I will remove the glass from the aluminum framing, and then make a new wooden frame, to put the glass in. That will eliminate all the heat and cold transfer through the frame.
So, that will leave me with 2 wood framed windows, hinged at the top, with the ability of pushing the bottom out, so the window can be open during a mild rain. This can also be used as an escape window as well. Screening will be on the inside.
Why, you might ask, would I put the glass into a wooden frame?
I am glad you asked. You have heard me talk about por 15 in an earlier post. In case you are unaware, por 15 is fantastic on wood. Yup, it seals wood, just like it will on steel. Completely sealed. So, now that will leave me with a frame that doesn't transfer heat and cold like aluminum, but is still waterproof.
I do plan on fiberglassing the outer wood frame to the siding, to eliminate leaks between the siding and the wood frame. That will make it all one piece, instead of relying on caulk to seal it.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/window.jpg)
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Jim@HiTek
Gresham, OR, USA
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Problem with using wood for the window frames, or for between window panes in a dual pane setup, is that the RV flexes during travel. Wood cracks when it's flexed. Those cracks grow over time, and moisture helps continue the cracking and splitting, eventually making the wood useless for it's intended purpose.
Just sayin...
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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Jim@HiTek wrote:Problem with using wood for the window frames, or for between window panes in a dual pane setup, is that the RV flexes during travel. Wood cracks when it's flexed. Those cracks grow over time, and moisture helps continue the cracking and splitting, eventually making the wood useless for it's intended purpose.
Just sayin...
Well, let me see if I can explain this a little better.
The frame that the window pane will rest in, will not be rigidly mounted to the coach. Think if you will of a square box frame, with 2 hinges attached on top - one on each end. That will be what holds the frame to the side of the coach.
The bottom will have a locking mechanism to keep the bottom of the frame secure, until I want to open it to allow air in.
That entire window pane with the wood frame attached, will rest against a rubber bulb type seal, similar to, but not exactly like a slide out seal.
So, the flexing that occurs, will be with the wood frame that is fiberglassed into the side of the coach, which has a steel frame surrounding it, and the rubber bulb will be a flexible seal and buffer between the two.
Does that make sense?
The goal is to keep the sidewall completely smooth, (no window frame sticking out), with a slightly recessed window, and a small overhang at the top, to keep water from running down the side, and back towards the seal at the top. Since the window is slightly recessed, the overhang will be flush with the side of the coach.
Not sure if I am getting the description of what is in my head across very well to be understood.
After all this writing, it occurred to me, just take an entrance door to a house, and turn it 90 degrees, so the hinges are now at the top, with the lock at the bottom. Since the door will open out - add a rubber seal inside to keep air and water out, and you have basically what I am thinking.
Is that better?
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Here is a drawing of what I was trying to convey with words. Hopefully, this will make things a little more clear, as to what I am trying to accomplish.
In the drawing below, the red indicates the outside skin of the rv.
The magenta color is the steel framing of the sidewall.
The green is the wood, the outside of which will be covered with fiberglass, (indicated by the gray line). That means the outside of the wood and the outside skin of the rv wall become one.
Also, the black indicates a rubber bulb type seal covers a small portion of the wood, (green).
Now the yellow is the frame that holds the glass, (blue), and which also swings outward to allow ventilation.
In case you think a rubber type seal isn't a good idea ... --- look at what seals the doors on your car. Those things almost never leak.
Hopefully, that will clear up what I was trying to convey.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/window1.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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We had some rain today, and it was one of those slow steady rains, that are good for getting moisture into the ground.
I went out to the motor home this afternoon. Upon opening the door, I looked at the drivers side wall. Now you have to understand, after welding in all that new steel, I haven't buttoned up the holes that were in the fiberglass siding towards the bottom.
There is some wood still glued to the inside of the fiberglass, left over from the plywood.
I took a picture of that area, and am posting it today. The reason being is, that it looks like water is running uphill.
Obviously, that doesn't happen. However, what does happen, is that the hole lets in the water, and then the wood absorbs the water. It doesn't matter if the wood is above, below, or to the side of the hole. It all gets wet.
And that is one of the problems with a leak, and wood. It's does not all run only down hill.
The leaks are where you see the holes. It is not leaking above the wood and running down.
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/wateruphill.jpg)
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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YEEE HAAAAAWWWWWW!
Good news coming..........
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fulltimin
Home is where we Park It.
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Joined: 12/14/2003
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SOOOOO....
Back to our test of the Norton Speedgrip with the same piece of 20" square aluminum.
I sanded the edges off of the aluminum like I did before, plus a little extra. On prior tests, I had just laid a piece of plywood on top of the aluminum to hold it onto the 2 x 3 framework, and then just placed weights on top to hold it down.
This time I decided to screw the plywood to the framework through the aluminum, and figured that would hold it tighter, and waited for it to dry, like so......
![[image]](http://paddleupstream.com/mohorebuild/speedgripscrewed.jpg)
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