What did you get for your Motorhome today?

[Myrtle lynn]

Chevy emblem. Had it kicking around and figured I would put it to use. Helps fill in the big empty space on the grill. Ha

[crazeevw]

Was at Florida State Airstream Rally over weekend. Airstream had a booth set up, wish I had bought a few more things now...

[dadstoy]

A 12 volt blanket to warm the sheets at Burning Man!

[8rmesse]

This isn't really anything I "got" for my motorhome. It is more of a project I've been working on to update my motorhome and make better use of the available space all while keeping it easily returned to original condition. I do not have a traditional television in my living room, just a 24 inch iMac, I use a Plextor PVR with EyeTV software to view and record live television on my computer and have a large array of external hard drives (8 TB) where I store movies and television shows. Since the original (still works) Zenith VCR was just taking up space I removed it altogether and used that area to house my external hard drive enclosures. This left a gaping hole in my overhead cabinet so I followed Airstream's lead and made a filler panel covered in brown speaker grill cloth just like the one above the VCR to cover the hole. It is held in place with velcro so I can easily access the Belkin Surge Protector that is also housed in the cabinet.

Next I turned my attention to the area below my iMac where the factory television was originally housed. I removed the tiny (but working) TV immediately after buying the Airstream and the sub-woofer for my JBL computer speakers now resides in that space. It looked fine but I never could find a place to set the Plextor PVR so I made a faceplate for that opening as well, again covering it with brown speaker grill cloth, then I cut two openings in the faceplate, one for the PVR, a second, smaller opening for my Sony Flash Drive Card Reader. There is a little shelf glued to the back of the faceplate to support the PVR and card reader and I used 3M double sided tape to fasten the PVR to the top of the shelf and the card reader to the bottom of the shelf then I attached the faceplate to the cabinet again using velcro. So for about $20 I have transformed two small areas of my cabinetry from wasted space to useful space all while retaining a stock look and feel to my interior.

Next I am going to make a pair of spacers for the new under cabinet speakers I bought the other week for $10. I tried to reuse the original speaker grills that spaced the speakers out an inch but they just will not work with the new Kicker 2 way speakers due to the tweeter being too tall to fit under the grills. There is always something to do on these older Airstreams, it's usually fun stuff however!

P.S. All the wires in the photos are now hidden as well, except for the USB keyboard's wire. I will be replacing that with a Bluetooth version ASAP.

[crazeevw]

Jason, that's one sweet looking set-up. Now, just for me, what's a PVR??? Thanks, Derek

[raveson]

Jason,
Removed the tv and rebuilt the cabinit to match the oak doors (pretty close), then used oak pannels for the upper cabinets (removable) and have installed the first of electrical readouts. The one I have installed is a 110volt read out, the next two will read coach and chassie 12v batteries. Also removed the 2 club chairs as we never used them and replaced with 2 light weight ottoman cubes. The additional open feeling was like adding a slide out! We carry a portable dish for tvs. Just another twist for space.

[8rmesse]

That's a clean setup raveson. I use my swivel chairs a lot but I'm sure removing them does make it feel a lot more open in the living area. Do you remember the color stain you used on this? I cut my speaker spacers out of oak today and will need to stain them to match the cabinetry. thanks

Derek, a PVR is essentially the same thing as a DVR. It lets you record live television digitally then using the included EyeTV software I can edit the commercials out and save it to my computer's hard drive. I can also connect a VCR to it and convert VHS tapes to digital where they can then be saved to a hard drive or burned onto a DVD.

[crazeevw]

Originally Posted by Myrtle lynn

Chevy emblem. Had it kicking around and figured I would put it to use. Helps fill in the big empty space on the grill. Ha

Myrtle lynn, the more I look at this Chevy emblem, the MORE I like it! Hmmm, I can see a trip to the local junkyard is in order.....

Thanks, Derek

[raveson]

Jason,
Started with honey pine and dark oak. Tried a number of mixes on scrap. It's a true crap shoot. Found that the minwax stain and varnish worked the best. You can get small cans as you will not need much. GOOD LUCK

[navyspook]

Originally Posted by crazeevw

Myrtle lynn, the more I look at this Chevy emblem, the MORE I like it! Hmmm, I can see a trip to the local junkyard is in order.....

Thanks, Derek

FYI...I put a stainless steel Chevy Emblem on my old truck. They're avail on most truck sites.

Bill

[8rmesse]

Thank you raveson. I believe I will carry a drawer or cabinet door with me to try to match it up. Maybe that will get me close anyhow...

[crazeevw]

Originally Posted by navyspook

FYI...I put a stainless steel Chevy Emblem on my old truck. They're avail on most truck sites.

Bill

Bill, how about posting a photo? Love to see your mod.
Thanks, Derek

[Myrtle lynn]

Originally Posted by crazeevw

Myrtle lynn, the more I look at this Chevy emblem, the MORE I like it! Hmmm, I can see a trip to the local junkyard is in order.....

Thanks, Derek

Thank you. I like the way it looks too. I wanted a gmc one, but I had this one.

[crazeevw]

hmmmm, couple folks in my neighborhood with Chevy and GMC trucks....lol

[8rmesse]

Originally Posted by crazeevw

hmmmm, couple folks in my neighborhood with Chevy and GMC trucks....lol

A small pry bar should be all you need

[navyspook]

Originally Posted by crazeevw

Bill, how about posting a photo? Love to see your mod.
Thanks, Derek

Derek,
Here's the emblems from autoanything.com

Didn't get it on yet....

My kids leaving for the Navy next week and things are getting busy.

Bill

[crazeevw]

Has anyone ever found the 'Airstream' individual letters for sale?
Thanks, Derek

[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by crazeevw

hmmmm, couple folks in my neighborhood with Chevy and GMC trucks....lol

Derek, snag me a GMC emblem! LOL

[crazeevw]

Dean,
Like this??? (this is the before pic...lol)

[streamquest]

here's the one to look for....