This Weekend's Project - Laminate Floor Installation

Photomom

Friends of friends have a Pleasureway motorhome built on a Sprinter chassis with a Mercedes diesel engine. It is absolutely fabulous, right down to the granite countertops, and they average 20 miles per gallon on their extended tours of the U.S. We'd have to sell the house though...A T@B is more our speed :-)

It would be cool to have one vehicle with the emblem though!

irvingj

Yeah, the star on the front is pretty cool, I have to admit (I finally got my Mercedes!).

But, you can get the Sprinter with a ram's head, a star, or a "Freightliner" emblem on the front; they're all the same internally.

Yes, our T@B is a Thor Industries/Dutchmen version, made in 2004 IIRC. I like its stove better, however, because the burner grates are raised. In the RoadTrek, the burners are recessed, with a fold-down glass cover that's flush with the countertop, so you can't put just any old size griddle over it. Anything beyond 10" round (which is adequate, I suppose) covers the rubber top grommets or the burner controls. I still like the T@B's stove better.

Build quality is pretty good, though we did have some relatively minor --but annoying-- issues with different things. Stopped by the RoadTrek factory in Kitchener, ON on the way back, however, and they graciously repaired/replaced virtually everything on my list. They even gave my wife & I a Jetta to use while they did the warranty work!

One nice feature, however, is the use of solid wood in the RoadTrek as opposed to the particle board in the T@B. Yes, there are some panels that are "manufactured wood," but most is solid wood. I'll post some pics of the inside.

Yeah, it was expensive, no doubt about that. Both wife & I are now retired, everything's paid for, so I agreed to buy an RV (ugh!). First time we just went to look at it, but I was so impressed with how it handled --and the mileage-- we started to look at the numbers and dove in.

Nomad

I looked at a Sprinter conversions before the T@B - some nice ones out there. Glad I got a camper instead, everything can stay at the campsite while I tool off. No need to leave all the stuff unsecured on a picknic table for the day, or r-level, or re-hookup.

Photomom

Irvingj, I am trying to understand why one would get one of the other emblems when you could get the Mercedes star!

irvingj

Perhaps a bit of a correction?

Yes, my T@B is an older version, and yes, we love the RoadTrek, but don't get me wrong:

I was supposed to have sold our T@B quite a few months ago, but I found myself stalling…. Too many pleasant memories!! That thing is so simple yet elegantly functional. I guess, financially speaking I should really sell it, but instead I find myself employing delaying tactics, repairing all the little things that have cropped up, rationalizing to myself (and my spouse) that "I couldn't sell it, knowing such-and-such wasn't working properly…"

So on it goes. Don't know yet what the fate of our little T@B will be, but for the time being she's safe at home, getting some much-deserved TLC.

Thanks-- (a die-hard T@B fan)

irvingj

PXLated, one of the nice things about our RaodTrek is its optional solar panels, 300W of them on the roof. Until we had some issues with the charging system (which RoadTrek took care of), we never had to hook up to anything. Even running the electric-only fridge and the rooftop exhaust fan on 12V all night long, I still had enough juice in the four 6-volt batteries to turn on the 3KW inverter and make coffee in my 120V, 800W maker in the morning with no problems at all. We could stop anywhere, and just drive off the next morning to continue our journey. Since the short wheelbase Sprinter is identical in footprint to a 4-dr long-bed pickup, parking was never an issue (except for height-- no parking garages!).

Will2015

Your new rig looks very nice. Guessing it cost quite a bit more than your T@B. Good for you to tackle such an ambitious trip
Around the countryl. I hope you got to see the North Cascades NP while you were in Washington. 

irvingj

Yes, Will, right on both counts. We're both retired, wife had been itching for a motorhome for some time (and I had been strongly resisting), and we found --very fortunately, I realize-- everything was paid off. We're both still in good health, so we bit the bullet and bought this very maneuverable and efficient small RV. Last summer's trip will be just the first of many, we hope.

I don't much care to drive in mountains with steep drop-offs on a 2-lane road, but we did take (going west) Rte 20, the Northern Cascades route. It was just was beautiful as we were led to believe, and the road was excellent: nice wide shoulders, with many places to pull off and just soak it in. For me, definitely one of the high points of the trip, truly spectacular. Spent the night at Colonial Creek campground on Diablo Lake. Caught a couple nice rainbows the next morning!

dailytrek

IrvingJ--Could you please describe the metal materials you used and where I might find them? Did you have a shop fabricate anything? Thanks.

irvingj

Sure-- we have a metal distributor/fabricator not too far away from us (Barker Steel/Harris Rebar). I had seen the aluminum grating; it's a "standard" product they carry.

I used cardboard to make patterns for both the aluminum grating in the center section, as well as for a slab of 3/16" steel that fits outside the frame from the front edge of the wheel well all the way up to the joint between the floor and the curved front -- pretty much right under the entry/door and that storage area beneath the fridge. I had them cut the steel & aluminum to match my patterns, but I did the drilling on the steel for the holes to match up with the front right stabilizer foot's amounting bolts, and welded two brackets that bolt to the frame and extend outward to support the steel plate (pieces for which I also had them cut; I don't own a plasma torch). The stabilizer foot's bolts, which passed through the floor, now pass through the steel plate as well. (There are also two bolts on the foot which attach to the frame.)

For the aluminum, I used pieces of Unistrut that I cut to length. I used existing holes in the frame with one exception where I needed to drill one hole on each side. The Unistrut is actually held in place by some small pieces of 1-1/2" (IIRC) angle steel; one flat side of the angle is bolted to the frame, and the other flat side slides right inside the Unistrut to hold it up. I also used jacks to apply pressure upward before I locked the pieces in with bolts.

One of the coolest products I discovered in my quest was called Rot Doctor, a 2-part cellulose-based (not polymer) epoxy. When mixed, it has the consistency of kerosene, that it to say pretty watery; it penetrates beautifully. I slobbered quite a lot of that onto the plywood beneath the linoleum in the storage area where the wood was the most rotten. The stuff smells horrible (worse that diesel!) and takes 2-3 DAYS to cure, but it sure works. I just kept the T@B plugged in and used its exhaust fan, as well as a small electric fan, to air it out while the epoxy cured. After a week or so, there was no residual smell. When cured, it's rock-hard.

This year, everything seems to be very solid, especially the entry area. No more soft floor!