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Monday, October 8, 2012

A Lazy Daze RV Remodel Update... Goldie's Done, For Now, Anyway


That's my new leather chair sitting in the 99 percent completed remodel of our new used Lazy Daze Motorhome. Let's play a little game of "The Price Is Right." How much would you bid on that leather chair that swivels and reclines and comes with a matching footstool? Don't go over, now, or you lose! Would you bid $2000? $1000? $500?

If you did, you're too high. Go lower! $400? LOWER! $300? Lower! How about $299 at Target on-line. But wait! If you buy one, the second is 50% off. So we bought two, one for the Lazy Daze and one for our living room. We plan to make use of our storage cube footstools rather than the single use ones that came with the chair, for obvious reasons.




Bobbie likes her new bench now that it has cushions for butt and back. She imagines another cushion, or maybe a pillow, against the back wall to recline against, feet up. We figure the bench could seat as many as five small sized people, four medium, or three extra large, for football parties. Add "my chair" and two footstools... well that's a crowd that might lift the front end off the ground. I'm still working on the keg installation design. Honey, do we really need a shower?

Below you can see the new flooring install. I just completed the trim this morning. Deciding that round "corners" do not lend themselves to miter cuts, I'm just going to caulk those areas with brown flexible caulking. I'm tired of putting this jig saw puzzle together; I'm ready to use it.



I had to customize the hall rug to fit the angled pathway to the lounge area by cutting out a triangular section with scissors and putting it back together by applying carpet tape on the backside. We'll see how it holds up. 

I believe almost everything in an RV should be as multifunctional as possible... especially when it comes to storage (hence the bench/storage area). So we'll use one footstool cube to hold Bobbie's knitting and Sudoko books (she's addicted, now... only bothers with the hardest one's). The other, should we bring it along,  will hold art stuff and magazines, maybe some maps and other manly items of my choosing.



My Korg keyboard fit under the bench as planned. I cut and fitted a piece of remnant carpet so it has a soft place to ride. Hopefully it's dust free, too, but I'll cover it just in case. 




We pulled the Chalet out of our garage in order to clean her up for showing to potential buyers. Bobbie emptied everything into boxes that now await being put into Goldie. Hard to believe we are loading up for the road! 



I know there are some pretentious RV "purists" out there who will pee on me for having a flat screen boob tube. Go ahead, if it makes you feel all high and mighty; I'm not there yet, and don't know if I ever will be as long as there are long winters. Football "gets me through the night," so to speak.  I can't imagine Thanksgiving without a game on... it's un-American! Bobbie feels the same way, so deal with it. 

Rather than make a trip to Mo Town and spend money on a ready made TV mount... one that swings out for viewing and locks back to a wall when not in use... I decided to try and do a "did-it-myself"out of scrap material. I used a 4 inch metal electrical box cover for a mounting plate that screws to the TV's backside (those 4 pan head screws are metric, BTW). Then I screwed the backing plate to a 9 inch long one-by-four (three quarter inch by 3.5 inches actual) and mounted a hinge on one end. I then screwed the hinge's other end to another 9 inch one by four and screwed that to the wall... crooked the first time, straight the second. I used a hook latch and eye on each of the boards to secure the together for travel. Voila! We'll see how that works out. Worse case, we hear a crash and I get a bigger TV.


Three batteries and room for two more.


Batteries. Not one... not two... not three, but four! Go ahead and laugh, but until we get a solar panel or two I want juice aplenty. The Honda 2000 is a fuel miser and will do nicely till the budget allows for solar. It's almost a quiet as solar, anyway, and you can buy a lot of gas for what two solar panels cost. In order to make room for batteries, I had to remove the big Onan 4000. A generater that big is overkill to me, too loud, and too much of a fuel hog. To bad, as it had just been rebuilt (it's for sale, BTW, cheap). I put some plywood down on the metal base plate and added three 12 volt batteries to Goldie's original pair of six shooters. The great thing is that the old generator mount slides in and out for easy service and inspection. It took three of us to lift the Onan off it's mount. By comparison, the batteries are much lighter.

So here's the rest of the tour De Daze. I'm sure we will continue tweaking the interior over time... there is a huge dinette that's bugging me, and I think the kitchen needs a granite countertop and stainless steel appliances... but that can wait. I figure I have over a hundred hours in just getting the remodel to this point. 
Good enough. Time to play.














23 comments:

  1. Looking Real good. Now get on the road already.

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  2. Great job! She is a beaut! Happy Traveling!

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  3. Gee the photos look like the RV manufacturers' photos of brand new rigs!

    I think you were wise to hold off on the solar until you get lucky and pick up a bargain somewhere. No doubt the purists will take you to task for that.

    Be sure to get a three-stage charger that puts out 25-30 Amps for that battery bank. (Try West Marine.) Thirty minutes in the morning, thirty minutes in the evening, and even one large solar panel during the day would be great.

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  4. You've transformed the back room into such a functional space. Looks really good too. Way to go!

    Susan

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  5. You did a great job! Looks very comfortable. Enjoy.

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  6. Just remember the Purists don't live there you do. (this is where you stick out your tongue and wiggle your fingers that are positioned by your ears) I know you don't live to please them. Enjoy your new space!!

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  7. Great improvements, Mark! Home Sweet Home, I think. A lot more comfortable than the smaller unit. I hope your Chalet sells quickly and so you can use the money to take some good Winter trips.

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  8. Walden creek rv steveOctober 8, 2012 at 6:59 PM

    Nice job on Goldie- Looks clean also! Relax and enjoy- you could sell both houses!!

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  9. Great job, beautiful and functional. Enjoy.

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  10. Whoa Nelly!!! Thanks for the tip on the chairs...I have been right on the brink of tossing $$$ out for some comfortable bottom seats.
    Just in time, I think you saved my wallet!!...Thanks!!

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  11. You done good! Find yourselves a Lazy Daze get-together one of these days, and you will come away with even more ways to spend time and money on modifications. It's such fun to see what changes people make to their rigs.

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  12. Nice job! Old Blue is very, very impressed with Miss Goldilocks ;^0
    Love the Emerson quote. -scamp

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  13. hey really nice job!!.now i want one too.don't know if i should buy now or wait till you sale goldie.just kidding big guy.gary

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  14. Thanks for your encouragement. We begin the process of loading Goldilocks up for the road today! This shall be a winter of content. I'm looking forward to having more room than last year, and chipping away at further improving our second home!

    Thanks, Mark and Bobbie.

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  15. You did a great job, now enjoy the journey with lotsa room to play.

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  16. George and Suzie,
    Thanks... the "room" and the time to play! So Cool.
    thanks,
    mark

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  17. Looking good!! That's a good idea about removing the Onan giving you more battery storage--we are on the same page with a Honda and more batteries for now instead of solar. We boondock in the desert of AZ for a couple months, run our little Honda about two hours per day and are good. We don't watch much TV but do run the inverter for router and two computers.

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  18. Janna and Mike,
    That really addresses my dilemma. Why rush out and spend $1200 to as much as $2000 dollars on a couple of Solar panels and installation when you already have a little Honda fuel miser generator? The payback would take years and years, and guess what? There are days and areas when and where I don't want to camp in the hot sun... and there are days and areas when and where there are so many trees I can't camp in the sun... and there days and areas when it's so cloudy or rainy there is no sun!
    My super quiet Honda 2000 works just fine when it's raining, shady, cloudy... whether it's treed or open. So will someone tell me what I'm missing here? Is solar just a "save the planet" thing or an unnecessary luxury.

    Don't misunderstand... I want solar, just don't want the big cash layout given the above problems.
    Set me straight, someone!
    Thanks Janna and Mike, At least now I know I'm not alone :))
    mark

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  19. I'm seriously jealous of your new (and improved) "Goldie!"

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  20. IF you are going to mix batteries in your battery bank I'm glad to see that you went with some cheap ones. They will last for a while and then you can get a good matching set for your bank.
    Your 1200 - 2000 for a couple of solar panels seems outrageous. What is it that your looking to buy?

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  21. It’s always a pleasure for me to see an RV improved. I have my own RV, and maintaining it was never enough for me. I have spent a fortune in upgrading the whole vehicle, as I have long considered it my second home. I guess you could say that spiffing up my RV is my guilty pleasure. :D

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  22. OMG, you give me hope! Beautiful. We have just purchased a pristine 1983 Lazy Daze. We are the second owners. Too bad to change her now, but want to have it a bit lighter inside and wood lam floors. Your redo is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing. E

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