21 replies to this topic

[ben.g.gibson]

Hey fellow wanderers!

 

A few years ago I picked up an '85 Grandby that needed some work.  My goal was to just make the camper functional, but one thing led to another, and as many of you can relate, the project scope grew a bit...

 

The timeframe and budget grew accordingly (more than I like to admit), but in the end I've been very pleased with how it all turned out.

 

Anyways, I took a bunch of photos of the project along the way, so I thought I'd share them here in case anyone was interested...

 

The day I brought it home:

 

 

 

 

And as it sits today:

Edited by ben.g.gibson, 10 February 2019 - 07:00 AM.

[ben.g.gibson]

Some before pictures...

 

 

 

[ben.g.gibson]

It was obvious that there was some structural damage. Start the tear down....

 

 

 

 

There were a few places where the aluminum frame had broken like this, and a few where the almuminum welds had failed.  I used some brackets like below in a few places, and in others, I had a friend come over with his TIG welder...

 

[ben.g.gibson]

There are fitment issues with early FWC's and modern truck beds.  The previous owner had already done the bulk of the work to narrow the camper, but the back wall had to be narrowed by about an inch to completely fit into my F250... 

 

[ben.g.gibson]

The canvas was pretty brittle, and had cracked in many places, so it had to come out... the scope grows...

 

 

[ben.g.gibson]

The wood lift panels were pretty badly water damaged (warped, rotted, etc.), and I knew it would never be easier to replace them than now, so...

 

It's always the "while you're in there" stuff that gets me on projects.

 

 

 

The hinges were still in good shape, so to save money I decided to reuse them.  Lots of rivets...

 

[ben.g.gibson]

I couldn't justify putting the factory siding back on where I had removed it to repair the frame, and I wasn't able to find anything that matched closely enough.  So the rest of it had to come off.  It was at this point that I knew I wouldn't be taking this rig on the trip I had been planning...

 

I also took this opportunity to upgrade the fiberglass insulation with some 1" rigid foam.

 

 

[BBZ]

Nice! I did that last year as well...

my build thread if you want some ideas or just killing time  .. Good luck with your project, it sure is challenging and fun all at the same time... 

 

Nice shop by the way.. wish I had something like that I would restore more campers..

 

 

http://www.wanderthe...ect-90s-granby/

[BBZ]

oh wait, I see its done.. more pics of inside?

[ben.g.gibson]

Nice! I did that last year as well...

my build thread if you want some ideas or just killing time  .. Good luck with your project, it sure is challenging and fun all at the same time... 

 

Nice shop by the way.. wish I had something like that I would restore more campers..

 

 

http://www.wanderthe...ect-90s-granby/

 

Well done, BBZ!  Do you have two FWC's?  In post #47, I swear I see another in the background....

 

And thanks - that shop was sooo nice to have.  I've since moved out of that place, and have been missing it.