Subfloor is nailed down..

Only had 1 afternoon to spend on the camper this week.

All I managed to get done in the last 7 days was to get the subfloor in place and nailed down.
Thankfully I have an air nailer so the whole process took only 30 minutes.
I think I used about 800 nails.. should be enough :)

Got a lot done this week..

I was able to spend some time on the camper this week and just about finished up the framework that needed attention. I replaced the rotted wood and sured up the other areas that needed it. It almost doesn't seem possible but I used 300 of the Kreg screws so far. There is a huge difference in how stiff the frame is now.

I had 2 areas that were a little weak I couldn't get to from inside the trailer. Under the door and just in front of the port side wheel well. Both of those spots had pulled out away from the frame a little bit and the trim that caps the aluminium skin down low had pulled out of the wood. I replaced some wood there, removed all the old nasty screws and replaced them with new ones and was able to get both sides solidly attached again.

On the inside I had an idea about how to clean up the leftover paneling that was stuck between the top frame rail and the aluminum trim channels. I had removed most of the old wood by using a utility knife but I wanted to be able to slide the birch up in behind that trim so it really needed to be cleaned out better. My grinder has a 1/4" thick wheel on it and by running it up behind the trim and slowly working my way around the camper I was able to completely remove all the leftover wood. The new stuff will slide right up in there without issue now so thats good.

At this point I'm ready to put the subfloor down. I already placed in the front piece to see how it looks and fits..no problems there. I took the little circular plate and gromet out of the floor that the wiring harness goes through so I can reuse them once the new floor is down. I should have the subfloor done in the next day or two.

Here's a few more pictures of the gutted interior with 99% of the reframing completed. I added a couple more crossmembers to the front wall and added a few 'gusset' type pieces to areas that were not rebuilt but needed a little more strength.

So now I am left with a clean slate to start rebuilding from.. Took a few weeks longer than I would have liked to get to this point, but I'm glad the demo and wood repairs are done.

The next step for me is to finalize the floorplan and figure out where I'm going to run wiring for 110 and 12 volts. I need to run those things prior to putting in the new insulation.. Still so much to do~

Construction..as opposed to destruction..

I finally feel like I'm doing something constructive on the camper. After a month and a half of taking things apart, I'm actually building / improving something.

We are still dealing with cold snowy weather here in NH so I've continued to clean up the windows and some aluminium trim I moved to the basement, but over the last couple nights I've been able to work on rebuilding the rotted sections of framing in the front half of the camper.

I picked up a Keg pocket hole jig kit at Lowes and that is proving to be invaluable. It allows you to attach wood together with a very strong joint and is perfect for tightening up the existing stapled framework and building new frame sections. This will also be crucial in making the new dinette area, the kitchen and the closets / cabinets as I rebuild the interior. I really can't imagine how I'd do all that without this little tool.

Amazon, Lowes and ebay retailers all have this kit for under $40 dollars. Its called the Kreg R3.

I made a little demo video of how it works.. Very low budget.. no special effects..  Here it is :

Here's an updated picture of the interior where I'm working..

The Starboard side of the dinette area is done and the port side is almost done. 

Next I need to rebuild the entire front wall framing floor to ceiling.