'56 Caravanner - Remod

[muddy_hollow]

I've changed around the original layout to include a wetbath where the four drawer chest used to be. I really liked the chest of drawers that I re-did but after working out the dimensions, I could not make it work. If anyone is looking for a complete 4-drawer chest with a bent birch top let me know. It's real nice.

To do the wet bath I made the base out of IPE. The base will be covered in a couple layers of epoxy and 5 coats of marine varnish to make it water tight. The drain will empty into a bilge which will then pump it up into the grey tank. IN those spots that allow me to dump on the ground the gray water, the vent will be 1" so it will spill over on to the ground. The bilge is a standard marine shower bilge that I will mount under the floor. Keep tuned, I just ordered it.

The shower is made of king starboard, white, and the door is from a very new boston whaler that had been damaged in a boat yard explosion on the north shore of boston. The door is mint. The place I got it from was a salvage place here in town that specializes in insurance claims. Cool place.

The toilet is a vacuflush unit and allows a super amount of flexibility where I locate it and the black tank. The package was expensive, but considering it was a turnkey solution versus trying to plumb a custom job, I figured it was less stress for me to install. So far it's great. The tanks are marine tanks and will be emptied by dometic t-pumps (transfer pumps). My friend over59 convinced me that the pump out config was the way to go versus gravity. It's more expensive but a much easier set-up to install and for vintage set-ups super flexible.

I'm not putting a sink in the bath, since the kitchen sink it just outside. I'll have a medicine cabinet just outside the door so it's not a wide area to cover.

Here are some pictures.

Doug

[GreatPumpkin]

Originally Posted by muddy_hollow

To do the wet bath I made the base out of IPE. The base will be covered in a couple layers of epoxy and 5 coats of marine varnish to make it water tight...

Here are some pictures.

Doug

Doug - you're a brave soul to use wood for a shower base. I must say though, if you're going to do wood, IPE is probably the best way to go. Considering it's got a average lifespan of 25 years, and the added protection your putting on it, it should outlast you.

How did you join the boards together and what kind of glue did you use for this project?

[muddy_hollow]

Originally Posted by GreatPumpkin

Doug - you're a brave soul to use wood for a shower base. I must say though, if you're going to do wood, IPE is probably the best way to go. Considering it's got a average lifespan of 25 years, and the added protection your putting on it, it should outlast you.

How did you join the boards together and what kind of glue did you use for this project?

The Pan is roughly 32x32x6.5 inches tall with the bottom raised up 1.5 inches to provide access from one side to the other, plus add ventilation. The base was constructed tongue and groove with gorilla glue and then recessed into the sides via a dado. The end grain part was glued using a silicone based adhesive and the length grain was gorilla glued. We used the silicone adhesive since it would allow some back and forth under stress to avoid cracking. Under the pan itself I have 1.5 sleepers to add support.

I bought the wood for $1 a linear foot at a hardwood speciality place in Stoughton Ma called Downes and Reader. If you're a wood worker this is as close to heaven as you get. The entire place is filled with exotic woods from all over the world and occasionally they have special lots. This one just happened to be a special order for some decking that was custom cut and these 4' lengths were the left overs. I had gone there to buy some baltic birch and to pick up the plastic sheets to make the shower walls when I saw this pile and was inspired. Originally, I was going to use a Lesco fiberglass shower base, but after seeing the IPE and had seen a wooden IPE tub in the past, I thought it would be much nicer than fiberglass.

IPE is very dense and has a strong smell to it. When you sand it, it is something like cinnamon and caused my cousin and I to sneeze allot. It was fun to build and gave me a chance to catch up with my cousin.

Here's a link to the wooden boat tub http://boatdesign.net/forums/attachm...7&d=1192151216

[utee94]

I used Ipe' (aka "ironwood" around here) when I replaced the old decking in my utility trailer about ten years ago. When stored, it sits out in the elements with no cover, and I didn't use any sealants at all to treat it. Aside from the color weathering to a dull gray, it has not experienced any degradation whatsoever. My Dad and I had replaced two previous pressure-treated plywood decks in that trailer with each lasting about 4-5 years. I don't expect to replace this decking for at least another 10-15 years.

With the treatment you gave the wood, and the type of use you plan for it, I'd be surprised if it lasts anything shorter than 25 years, and likely it will last longer than that.

Plus, it's beautiful. Nice work.

[muddy_hollow]

Here's an update on my IPE shower pan. After much finish sanding, I coated it with penetrating epoxy called CPES. CPES has the consistency of diesel fuel and soaks into the wood fibers to embed the resin. After it cured, I sanded it yet again and applied a coat of system three clear epoxy. This took just a day to cure and sanded yet again and applied a coat of spar captains varnish. The pictures below were taken tonight when I brought it back in from the front porch after the first coat. The thing is so shiny that the flash makes it look like it has white blotches. Here's one with and without the flash.

While the CPES was drying, I was working on fitting my AC under my sink cabinet and creating an extension harness for the control board. I'll post more on that later.

Doug

[balrgn]

Lookin good, sure got alot of fancy stuff goin in there! Way t' go!

[utee94]

Absolutely beautiful, great work.

I'm wondering how you will seal the drain to the epoxied wooden surface? Will the normal sealants work, or will you use something else?

[muddy_hollow]

Originally Posted by utee94

Absolutely beautiful, great work.

I'm wondering how you will seal the drain to the epoxied wooden surface? Will the normal sealants work, or will you use something else?

below is a picture of the drain that I'm using. The flange will be bolted to the shower pan and I planned on sealing it with a marine grade clear silicone.

[muddy_hollow]

So yesterday my Allure floor came in at Home Depot. I ordered the Wild Cherry pattern. My friend bill helped me install it last night and it went down very quick and super easy. Four hours and we were done and that includes breaks for beer

This afternoon after I got back from a family errand, I dry fitted the cabinets and cut the hole for the shower drain. Overall the floor looks great and the cabinets are pretty good looking too. Here are some pictures.

Just waiting for the tanks to come in and then I'll be ready to install the black and grey systems, plus I ordered the front couch which should arrive in a couple weeks.

[flyfshr]

I don't now where I've been because I just found this thread. WOW ! Very impressive work Doug. The re-assembly part is always the best especially when things are coming out as great as this. Keep posting your progress, I'm all eyes.

Brad
FF

[safari57]

Wow, is that ever coming together nicely. The finished product is going to be just outstanding. It is amazing what can be done with these trailers when someone puts their mind to it.

I'm enjoying the thread/updates, thanks for sharing.

Barry

[utee94]

You Ipe' shower pan looks amazing fitted into the stall. And I really like the Allure product, I'm interested to see more pictures once you have more of the interior installed.

[muddy_hollow]

I was asked in a PM where I got my sink and if it was custom. It is not custom and it was by chance that I found it in the first place. While at my favorite store, Ikea, I was browsing through the clearance area and noticed this standing up in the corner. I had just recently measured the original cabinet and was familiar with what I needed. It was a close match and inspired me to create the base around the sink.

The sink base is custom built and the design is based on the original cabinet, with several modifications.

Here's the link to the sink at Ikea: IKEA | Free-standing kitchens | VÄRDE free-standing kitchens system | VÄRDE | Double bowl sink

Thanks very much for the positive comments!!

Doug

[muddy_hollow]

Another PM asked about the shower drain and how it was going to work. I'm not mounting my grey or black under the floor, in fact these will be floor mounted and under the rear bunk. So gravity feeding the grey tank is not an option for the shower, so I'm using a marine shower diaphram pump and my funky connection shown on the left.

The funky connection servers a dual purpose, the center barb is where the waste water will drain into. The two barbs on either side are at different levels, one higher than the other. The lower barb is where the pump will draw waste water from (just the shower) and the higher barb will end in a vent to the outside. The idea here is that if I'm in a place that allows grey water dump on the ground or that my wife forgets to put the pump on the water will just flow up and out the vent.

[muddy_hollow]

My tanks came in the other day and my wife encouraged me to take apart my mock up in the loft and install it. So that's what I did today. The system is compact and consists of two twenty gallon tanks, one black and one grey. This was the best size for the space I had. You'll see two tanks, two pumps, and what looks like a smaller tank to the left side. The smaller tank is the vac generator. This connects to the toilet and when you flush the contents of the bowl are sucked into this tank and then forced up and into the black tank. The entire system is manufactured by Dometic and is typically used in boats.

The pumps in the middle are connected by a ball valve which is typically closed. In the case that one of the pumps fails, I can open this valve and use the other pump to remove the contents.

To turn these pumps on, I'm thinking of a couple different options. The first is to use a four pin connector and build a wired remote which I could trigger either pump while attending to the discharge hose. The second is to use a 12v remote with an A-B switch. I bought a couple of these remotes off of eBay and intended to use them for fun lights, but this might be a cool thing to try.... The third option is to hard wire in two switches on either the inside or out.

The pumps are Dometic T-Pumps (transfer pumps). Big diaphram pumps which are pretty low-tech but very powerful on drawing the contents and pushing them out the discharge. So far the beta tests using clean water have been pretty impressive. About three-four minutes to empty my tank.

The connectors are 1.5" aluminum cam couplers that I bought off of Farmtek.com Cam Couplers, Pipe Couplers, Plumbing Accessories, Barb Pipe Coupler - FarmTek The discharge hose will have a female connector and I'll use a roll-flat hose.

Now you might say this a bit much for a dump system and why not a gravity system. Mainly because I wanted to limit the amount of stuff on the outside and did not want to deal with building a system that would likely hang down under the belly. I wanted to keep the look as much vintage on the outside. Limited changes and NO cutting a hole in the top for an AC.

I have not ruled out a gravity option to add on later. I've left space to add in a gate valve to be able to dump both tanks if needed. Likely I'll just stick with my pumps.

Here are some pictures. One is my toe that I cut on an old aluminum sheet. I now have both thumbs with pretty good cuts and a nice one on my toe. Blood, sweat, and hair loss

Doug

[muddy_hollow]

For those interested, here's a link to some info on the toilet system: http://www.georgeday.com.au/files/re...Bro_LowRes.pdf

[muddy_hollow]

I think it's funny how projects progress in spurts versus just steady state. These last couple weeks have seen the trailer go from near empty to most of the cabinets are in. The refrigerator is installed and bolted down, and tonight I cut the door for the wet-bath. I'll post some pictures.

My front gaucho replacement came in today and I set it in place. What I plan on doing is putting the fresh tank under the gaucho since there is space. BUT, I'm not sure what size tank I should use. I can fit several, but what I wanted to ask is what is a typically good sized tank? 20, 25, 35 gallons?

Is 20 to small?

Doug

[balrgn]

Originally Posted by muddy_hollow

I think it's funny how projects progress in spurts versus just steady state. These last couple weeks have seen the trailer go from near empty to most of the cabinets are in. The refrigerator is installed and bolted down, and tonight I cut the door for the wet-bath. I'll post some pictures.

My front gaucho replacement came in today and I set it in place. What I plan on doing is putting the fresh tank under the gaucho since there is space. BUT, I'm not sure what size tank I should use. I can fit several, but what I wanted to ask is what is a typically good sized tank? 20, 25, 35 gallons?

Is 20 to small?

Doug

You Funny - DO the Math

2 (female types) times x squared (X being showers and girl stuff) = you need a bigger tank.

[n2batr]

Love what you've done so far. I'm following along as my restoration continues. I made cavities for under floor tanks. I used 30 gallon fresh and grey. I would use as big as you can if you plan much boondocking, taking into account the added weight up front. Others seem to have gone 20-30 gallon tanks above floor up front without problem. How big is your grey? Other than what you drink and flush your fresh probably doesn't have to be much greater than your grey capacity when boondocking. I really like your vacuflush system. I've been looking at that system for my 58. I'm even considering the smaller casette system as I hate black tanks and those hoses!. Although its small the low volume per flush may be enough capacity for my needs. Once your up and running I'd be interested in your evaluation and thoughts. Great job. Ed

[muddy_hollow]

Originally Posted by n2batr

Love what you've done so far. I'm following along as my restoration continues. I made cavities for under floor tanks. I used 30 gallon fresh and grey. I would use as big as you can if you plan much boondocking, taking into account the added weight up front. Others seem to have gone 20-30 gallon tanks above floor up front without problem. How big is your grey? Other than what you drink and flush your fresh probably doesn't have to be much greater than your grey capacity when boondocking. I really like your vacuflush system. I've been looking at that system for my 58. I'm even considering the smaller casette system as I hate black tanks and those hoses!. Although its small the low volume per flush may be enough capacity for my needs. Once your up and running I'd be interested in your evaluation and thoughts. Great job. Ed

I blame my good friend Over59 for introducing me to Marine toilets. He uses a macerator toilet in his rig and that got me thinking about using them in my set-up. As for the vacuflush, I started down this idea after seeing the cassette tank on West Marine. I then dug into the vacuflush website and read up on the different types of cassettes available, they even have one that is not listed that as a RV dump valve on it. The big draw back is the number of flushes for the cassette, which is about 9 per three gallons as I was told. I then payed around with the idea of using the cassette system and then pump it to a bigger storage tank, but that turned into a hack of an idea. I contacted Mike at Northest Sanitation and went through all my options with him. Super guy and helped me loads to understand what I needed and did not need. I also did a bit of reading on the boat forums.

I decided to go with the vacuflush system since it's flexible, I can modularize it, take bits apart if I need to and I don't have tanks sagging down below my frame.

As far as fresh water, when Colin did my frame work, he talked me into this idea of an infloor, stainless tank that would be about 4"x41x41". The frame was cut and modified for the tank, the problem with that idea is the space is to large and the floor was ill supported. I scratched that idea, stiffened it back up with a sleeper.

I measured the height again last night andloor fresh tank up front I think I'm going to fit in the 25 gallon tank. Seems to be the best fit considering the height.

Back to the vacuflush, the parts where plug and play and took me a day to put together. I have not strapped it down just yet since I want to get the toilet set and plumbed before securing the system to the floor. That's coming up this weekend.


My grey and black tank are 20 gallons. Balgrn introduced me to the grey water fairies, which magically take your grey away at night. Amazing creatures With the vacuflush system and the 20 gal black tank, I can get roughly 59 flushes as long as I don't eat bran.