1991 Excella 25 refurbish

[AlinCal]

Thought I'd start a thread on the "Silver Sierra" Excella 25 we purchased back in Feb. this year.
After picking it up and bring it back home to Ca. from Az. I started tearing into it inside and out, not a very focused effort at all but did give me the oportunity to work on something new if another task got boring or waiting on parts etc.
From the tow home it was obvious it needed axles as it bounced down the road shacking the fridge door of it's hinges, popping a few rivets and opening the pantry slide while starting out locked shut, but I decided to wait till last on them so I can scale it and frankly it just isn't going anywere till done anyway.

[AlinCal]

Goal on exterior was to restore clearcoat but getting the oxidized upper area to blend into the still good coated lower areas was not a success so plan B went into effect, polish. A very labor intensive process for sure but I was determined to make this beast not such an eyesore.

[AlinCal]

It worked out that it was still winter with cool days and not much sun, impossible to polish in direct sun.

[AlinCal]

And when not polishing I was working inside. After refinishing cabinet doors on all but the kitchen I then tore the kitchen cabinet out and resurfaced the wall in aluminum and started building a new cabinet

[AlinCal]

New cabinet complete with stainless steel counter top. We eliminated the range as we saw no need for an oven and could use the drawers instead.

[AlinCal]

Now off to the bath, did not want to have the bath and kitchen ripped apart at the same time so now that the kitchen is done... used plan paper to make template for new stainless walls.

[AlinCal]

Stainless going in and new Grohe shower valve.

[AlinCal]

Back wall of shower and toilet wall in. Vent pipe will get a stainless box around it to cover.

[AlinCal]

The rest of the bath stainless is dependent on my metal shop freinds help and hes on vacation so...covered the wall behind the tv with aluminum and installed a new tv.

[AlinCal]

Lot's yet to do...AC unit will be replaced, refer works on ac only and the door hinges are trashed from flying open I presume while underway so it needs to go, axles as mentioned and some fresh tires.
I am also currently rebuilding the rockguard which I found to be easier than it seams, the plastic is not heat molded I found but only 1/8" thick and very flexible so the frame holds the shape. Just need to pony up a few hundred dollars for the sheet of Lexan for that.

[Farmer Dan]

Al, I was proud of the work I did on my '89 25' Excella - until I saw your pics !!! That is a great looking trailer inside and out. I replaced axles, countertops, sinks w / stainless steel, plumbing w/ PEX, flooring and 16" aluminum wheels w / Michelins. Then we traded it off in Fort Myers this winter ! (But we are very happy with our '17 26U1) Keep up the great work ! And the pics, too.

Dan

[AlinCal]

Thanks Dan, Are you a green tractor man? I have a nice 37 JD model BN that I would like to sell.

[Farmer Dan]

I am a green tractor man. But never got into the antiques. I do really enjoy looking and listening to them at the shows, etc. though. The new ones are SO nice to run ! But so very pricey, too.

Dan

[voxmaestro]

I have a 1990 Excella and here’s how I modified the bathroom cabinet, if you’re interested.

Didnt have enough room for my shoulders so I made a cutout like the newer versions have. Its shape was somewhat determined by the remainder of the Corian material I had for countertops so heres what I ended up with.

These were taken before the final polish of the Corian. The scratches from cutting buffed out.

[Re-Pete]

Alincal, Sorry, thread petered out. I was really enjoying it. I polished '92 29' Excella last summer and I'm in the midst of hitting the interior right now preparing for a total makeover over. It looks like your's was coming along nicely. You should post some finished pics.
Pete

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[AlinCal]

Thanks Pete,
I do need to add a few pics to bring things up to date. I did get side tracked though when a really nice 2011 19FC showed up behind my truck and is now getting all the love and camping excursions, but that's another story. Apparently they multiply.
The Excella got the front endcap and all inner skin removed mostly to push out a few dents it had but ended up with an aluminum segmented endcap replacement.Pics to follow...

Here's a couple pics of it's last camping trip to Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills.

[PharmGeek]

Wow - amazing restoration result!!

[jokila]

Really nice to see the restoration going along. Any recent pics of the completed interior?

[Re-Pete]

Originally Posted by AlinCal

Thanks Pete,
I do need to add a few pics to bring things up to date. I did get side tracked though when a really nice 2011 19FC showed up behind my truck and is now getting all the love and camping excursions, but that's another story. Apparently they multiply. [emoji38]
The Excella got the front endcap and all inner skin removed mostly to push out a few dents it had but ended up with an aluminum segmented endcap replacement.Pics to follow...

Here's a couple pics of it's last camping trip to Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills.

I'm looking forward to seeing more pics. Sounds like a very involved restoration.

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