Big changes- Laminate floor, W/D and LCD TV - Montana Owners Club

fulltimedreamer · 04-09-2005, 06:16 PM

We recently made some major changes in the Mountaineer. The dining "booth" was removed and the sleeper sofa was moved into that area. One of the recliners was removed from the coach and the other was put in the place of the sofa along with the end table that came from the Bay Window area. (I had previously removed the Shore Power Cable and replaced with Marine Type Connector so the Shore Power Cable was no longer stored inside this table from the outside.) We purchased an oak dinette table that had been removed from a HR Presidential and placed it in the Bay Window area.

After doing this we decided we wanted laminate flooring in the new dinette area and ultimately decided to cover the entire galley/living room/dining area with laminate flooring.

Here is a link to my WEBsite with pictures if you are interested.

http://www.geocities.com/fulltimedre...4/lam_flr.html

We just made a trip to Pigeon Forge and really liked the new arrangement. We no longer have to move a recliner to bring the slides in and the coach seems brighter and more open.

We looked at buying a new coach, but decided that with just a few additions and a few hundred $$ we could have exactly what we want without shelling out an additional $20K for a new coach. In the last month we added a Washer/Dryer that I was able to get FREE if I would remove it from a motorhome that was being used for boondocking and wanted to free up the space. We closed in the existing entertainment area and installed a 20" LCD TV which then gave me room to install the Washer/Dryer in that space with it opened to the bathroom. Here's a link to those changes.

http://www.geocities.com/fulltimedre...d_tv_inst.html

We also installed a Hughes Autoformer which made a big difference on this last trip. No more breakers tripping because of low voltage.

http://www.geocities.com/fulltimedre...ofrm_inst.html

And we upgraded to a porcelain toilet which is taller, feels more stable and is easier to keep clean.

http://www.geocities.com/fulltimedre...let_upgrd.html

In the next week or so I am going to build oak cabinets by the end of the sofa and recliner in each end of the slide to hold the folding oak chairs we use in the dining area. The chairs will be secured in the cabinets while traveling.

Then I think we will be through for a while with modifications as we are really happy with the new layout. We will be campground hosting during June and Debbie is excited about having a Washer/Dryer and the laminate flooring is really easy to keep clean.

Sorry for the long post, but we're pretty excited about our "new" coach.

Montana Sky · 04-09-2005, 08:35 PM

Lamar & Debbie,
Thank you for posting your pictures, the coach looks amazing. You both have put alot of hard work into these projects and it shows! Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

315RLS · 04-09-2005, 10:57 PM

These are the most extensive changes I've seen anyone make to their Mountaineer. What a world of difference the flooring makes.

azstar · 04-10-2005, 05:49 AM

Very nice Lamar,

Stopped by Home Depot to pick up the material for doing the over the MW cabinet that you did, and the wood for making the door to cover the opening above our TV, while there we talked to the Kitchen cabinet folks and to my delight discovered we could order the doors already finished to our specs. (Don't own a router) That got us to thinking before we ordered, what else should we think about?

Back at the Rig studying, Nina pointed out how much of a pain it was to retrieve stuff from the left side of the bottom cabinet under the sink as you walk into the coach. The one cabinet door is about 20x21, If we were to order 2 18x21's it would be a piece of cake to have two doors, swinging out from the center like over the TV cabinet.

Back to HD to add the two cabinet doors to the order. The same raised pannel with Cathedral pattern in the matching finish. Takes 4 weeks, but delivered to your address ready to hang.

Don't know if this has crossed your mind, but we're looking forward to the easy access to this side of that cabinet.

Happy Camping

fulltimedreamer · 04-10-2005, 08:38 AM

Montana Sky and 315RLS,
Thanks for the nice comments. We're just changing the coach to fit our needs. It's amazing how easy it is to modify things to your liking.

Steve,
You may have identified our next improvement. That cabinet would certainly be more useful with a door. Ordering the raised panel doors from HD is a great idea. Making the simple drawer front type doors is simple with a router, but the cathedral raised panels are a bit more difficult. I have a cabinet shop close by that I may ask about making doors. If you get pricing from HD could you pass that along?

azstar · 04-10-2005, 08:56 AM

Howdy Lamar,

The New Cabinet doors were $61 ea. and the drawer fronts used as Cabinet doors were $21 for over the MW and $32 for over the TV. compartment. That's plus Tax but free delivery.

Happy Camping

Wordsmith · 04-10-2005, 12:13 PM

Lamar,

The changes you made look very impressive. I bet the entire laminate flooring gives the camper a warm feeling. When I see people do those sorts of things, I wish I was handier with such work. Hopefully, I can see the changes in person if we make it up to Fort Mountain in June!

jsmitfl · 04-11-2005, 03:35 AM

Fulltimer have you had any problems with the slide scraping the new laminate floor? We did this in ours and the roller in front of the tv/or stepup dug into the floor. I still have to fix it but we have to put outdoor carpet down when we put the slide in.

BillyRay · 04-11-2005, 04:42 AM

those are quite the upgrades! I know I wouldn't have taken on those by myself....not if I expected them to work after anyway!

fulltimedreamer · 04-11-2005, 08:30 AM

jsmitfl,

I have had a slight problem in the same area. That end was rubbing the carpet but the laminate is actually thinner. I'm hoping our resident Lippert guy (MIMF) can help me with an adjustment. I think as little as 1/8" would fix the problem. If not, I may cut a slot in the laminate floor and insert either aluminum, brass, plastic or steel for the slide to rub against. I did a test with a piece of laminate before I installed by running the slide in and out and it seemed to clear. After installation it is just barely rubbing the laminate so it is not a big problem but I'm determined to fix it.

tbhd · 04-11-2005, 03:15 PM

Thanks for the great pictures and explanation of how you went about making these changes. We installed the laminate flooring in our previous 5th wheel and we loved it. You're set to go---enjoy all your work you've done.

sreigle · 04-11-2005, 03:43 PM

Wow, nice job! Not only did we miss out on meeting you folks while you were in PF, we missed out on seeing all your changes!

AZStar, we did the same as you, ordered the doors in custom size from Home Depot. I am slighly color-challenged and had to pick the finish to match what's in the Montana but I did good and they match beautifully. We don't have the space over the MW so I did the space under the oven and under the bottom drawer of the computer desk. I didn't put any knobs on the doors (drawer fronts) but used spring loaded hinges that hold them closed very nicely. Since our 'new' doors are along the floor I put the hinges on the bottom so we pull the door down to open. And those hinges hold them open, too.

fulltimedreamer · 04-11-2005, 06:08 PM

Steve,
Those look really good. Looks like factory. There are acouple of places that I may put doors in the future. To match the cathedral panels I will probably get HD or my local cabinet shop to make those for me.

harleyrider · 04-11-2005, 09:13 PM

FullTimer

beautiful up-grades.I really like that flooring.I would like to cut out a peice of the rug.I have rug all the way to the enterance door.How does the laminate flooring attach to the floor?Is it glued down or stapled?Thanks for your help.

fulltimedreamer · 04-12-2005, 07:07 AM

harleyrider,

It is a floating floor system. You must leave a 1/4" space all the way around the perimeter. Around the walls you use a quarter round trim piece and there are transition mouldings that go from laminate to carpet and laminate to linoleum.

sreigle · 04-12-2005, 10:16 AM

Thanks, fulltimedreamer. This work was well within my skill level - screwing on the hinges and mounting door to the frame. It's when I get into the craftsmanship part that I'm seriously challenged. Thank goodness for Home Depot and Lowe's! The doors are pricey buying them that way, $47 shipped to our front door, but at least they're nicely built and finished and were sized to my specifications.

Wordsmith · 04-12-2005, 03:02 PM

Steve, thanks for the pictures of the storage upgrades of your 3295. I have wanted to see them since you mentioned them a while back. I also noticed the wood molding on bottom of the kitchen slide. Is that an upgrade, because ours does not have that but is solid carpet.

sreigle · 04-15-2005, 03:59 AM

Wordsmith, one of the things on our initial problems list for our dealer, way back in 2002, was that carpet wrapped under the front of that slide kept coming out when the slide was moved. When I picked up the rig the service manager had a big grin on his face and told me to come see how he fixed this. Even one of the service guys, probably the one who did the actual work, followed us into the rig, also with a big grin on his face. When I saw the wood facing they put on there my comment was "wow, I really like that". After they got done increasing the grins to big smiles he told me that's from a Big Sky. So they solved the problem by capping it with the facing from the Big Sky. So I guess I can say we have a partial Big Sky, huh?

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