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joelschneide · 03-28-2019, 07:04 AM

I wanted to keep a record of the progress I am making on my new trailer. I recently began this project on my 31' 1998 Excella 1000. All systems on the trailer are working but it needs a major update. Heres some detailing of what I achieved in my first week:

Fans:
I wanted to replace the combination light and fan unit shown below. The original unit didn't produce much ventilation and the light was not ideal either. The goal was to replace the fan itself with a Maxx air fan to provide a lot of ventilation and using the wires from the old light internal to the fan, rig up some LED puck lights that would stick onto the vinyl ceiling liner but be wired to the switch at the entrance way. After drilling a crazy amount of rivets and prying, we got the old fan out. We had to use a jig saw to expand the hole some before dropping the new fan into place. The wiring was simple and I was pleased with the results. I next replaced the Fan-Tastic-Fan that was in the rear bedroom with a matching Maxx fan. For a 31' trailer with one AC unit, having these two Maxx fans was essential to get good cooling.

Mousefur:
Yes, this deserves its own post, but I had to get rid of the mousefur. For those who havn't read the other threads, the Mouse fur is the carpeting covering the walls. It came off easily but leaves a nasty residue. My dad and I went to the hardware store and bought every stripper imaginable to do an official test of which stripper does the best job at removing the glue residue. The end goal was polished aluminum. Photos below illustrate some of the strippers. In the end this is what we found:
For removing residue from big panels: Use Citristrip (paint it on and use 3M brand scrub brushes to scrub away the junk and clean with shop towels
For the small areas: Use "Dad's Easy Spray paint and varnish remover" we used wire brushes to get the hard to get areas. Yes, the aluminum scratches some (hairline scratches) but I plan to go through and polish it with a buffer later and these will all come out.
Finally, and not pictured below, for finishing: Clean with 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner. This stuff does a great job and you should use a shop towel to apply.
Photos below show the results.

Finishing Touches: Finally, we sanded all cabinets and painted. We changed all hardware, inserted frosted glass panels in place of some mirrors. Installed under cabinet lighting, changed the flooring, added stick on backsplash in a few places and re-painted many of the window surrounds white (instead of off white) using a plastic paint. If anyone has questions on any of these projects I would be happy to elaborate. See pictures of final result.

Many more projects to come but wanted to get this thread started so that I could detail my problems and successes as they come. We did all of this in one week -- look forward to seeing what we can get done with more time!

joelschneide · 03-28-2019, 07:05 AM

More interior renovation photos:

joelschneide · 04-14-2020, 07:57 PM

I figured it was time to post an update to this thread as lots of work has been done since my last posting. After taking the trailer to the Outerbanks of NC for a weekend last summer I realized that the one AC unit in the kitchen area was not going to cut it. So, after having upgraded the Maxx Fan above the bed I ripped that out and had a second AC unit installed over the bed. Now, between the two AC units, temperature management should be a breeze! The easiest and most efficient way to do this install was to install a secondary 30 amp breaker box (placed in the back of the airstream) and an additional 30 amp socket on the outside of the trailer. The second AC is the only thing that runs on the secondary breaker box. Now when plugging in, I will hook up to 50 amp with a Y splitter to two 30 amp connections. After assessing how my seating would work (after ripping out the recliner couch) I realized I would get more use out of a longer bench and indoor bicycle storage than the piece of built in furniture that contains the microwave. So, I ripped out this built in, cleaned the aluminum underneath (after removing the mousefur), re-did the flooring, and painted the wall next to the refrigerator. Long story short, I wish I had made this decision before I did the flooring, mousefur removal, and painting the first time. When I removed the microwave built in I also needed a new place for the TV - this is where it gets fun. I enlisted the help of a local carpenter, John Sherwood of Sherwood Woodcraft, to help me build in the back wrap around dinette. The pictures will do more than my writing but to solve the TV issue, he installed an electric lift that raises the tv out of the backrest of one of the benches. Super clean system with a lid to cover the tv when not in use. Additionally, wireless phone chargers were installed in the top of the rails of the dinette to allow for easy device charging. There will be a table on a pedestal in the middle that will come down to add extra sleeping space. This system gives me a ton of extra storage, seating, and sleeping area. As a cyclist, I did not want to keep my bike outside where it could be damaged or stolen. Instead, John created a box with a nifty bike mount on the side. This box will be posted on the wall next to the refrigerator. Lastly, all of the drawer slides were updated so that they are now usable -- couldn't stand the factory drawer slides! I will post more pictures in a few days!