Xplorer Fans?

[NishimotosB]

Our restoration journey

With the inside of the van nearly done, we turned our attention to the outside. This was definitely more daunting. I knew that I had to get going on the exterior or one of my neighbors might have called to have it towed away for being abandoned!

So I started small. I decided to refinish the propane tank. I know this is not something that one whould normally see, but I figured I should start here so that if it didn't turn out well only I would see it. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture of the tank. The condition of the tank while still functionally sound looked horrible with rust spots and paint peeling and the shelf on top was rusty all over.

It took a lot of sanding and wire brush work till it was ready for primer and paint.

 

[NishimotosB]

Our restoration journey

Emboldened by my success with the tank I decided to tackle a part of the van that everyone could see.

The hood and cowl!

 

[NikOregon]

Restoration

In case you were not aware, that door into the propane area with the circular opening inside is supposed to have a tube above the propane tank that is the storage for a stinky slinky (Waste tank drain hose) accessible from the little door.

 

[doristhexploris92]

Since you had someone look at it I am sure they could see where the toilet is attached to the floor, but just in case, I actually removed mine and it was bolted from underneath the van. I had to cut the waste pipe out first, then remove it the bolts from the underside.

New to this so I am not sure how to reply to someone directly, but this was in response to NickK

 

[doristhexploris92]

Parts Questions

Thank you for the compliments! I couldn't have done this without my wife's help. We are pretty much done on the inside of the van and I'll be posting more pictures soon.

I am in the process of remodeling the interior of my 1992! I am replacing my awesomely awful 90s shag carpeting with some wood flooring and redoing al of the door/wall panels. Funny you mentioned the curtains, I have all of the originals too and I was nervous to wash them!

I was wondering if you had window leaks. I want to replace pretty much all of the window seals, but am having a hard time finding what would work best. I found the rubber gaskets for the roof/skylight windows. I was mainly wondering if you replaced the rubber/felt along the driver & passenger side windows? And if you resealed any of the stationary rear ones?

Also, in the picture above, it looks like you replaced the carpeting...where di you find the metal trim for the edges - like you have when you step into the side of the van.

Any help will help! thank you!

Also how did you post photos in these posts. I'd like to share some pics too, I love seeing how others are restoring these vans!

 

[doristhexploris92]

Some pics

So I figured how to upload some photos....the back floor and walls were rotted so I gutted the entire rear of the van first, and with the help of my dad remade the door and wall panels. I bought new fabrics to cover them with. Just this week I ripped out the rest of the floors n the van and all of the front paneling as well. amazing enough, the all of the seats and cushions are in perfect condition. I just want to find someone who can make covers for them all in a different color. I took out the old mini fridge, and removed the toilet. I really don't want to have to mess with that, so I will just have a bigger shower and install some shelving or something for my toiletries. I bought it 'as is' and was happy to find out everything else works in the van, so just working on the interior cosmetics for now before putting her all back together.

 

[NikOregon]

Recirc toilet

Thanks for that, my tech said the bolts were like home toilet bolts, screw into the floor, so i will take a gander and see what i find.

NickK

Since you had someone look at it I am sure they could see where the toilet is attached to the floor, but just in case, I actually removed mine and it was bolted from underneath the van. I had to cut the waste pipe out first, then remove it the bolts from the underside.

New to this so I am not sure how to reply to someone directly, but this was in response to NickK

 

[NishimotosB]

I am in the process of remodeling the interior of my 1992! I am replacing my awesomely awful 90s shag carpeting with some wood flooring and redoing al of the door/wall panels. Funny you mentioned the curtains, I have all of the originals too and I was nervous to wash them!

I was wondering if you had window leaks. I want to replace pretty much all of the window seals, but am having a hard time finding what would work best. I found the rubber gaskets for the roof/skylight windows. I was mainly wondering if you replaced the rubber/felt along the driver & passenger side windows? And if you resealed any of the stationary rear ones?

Also, in the picture above, it looks like you replaced the carpeting...where di you find the metal trim for the edges - like you have when you step into the side of the van.

Any help will help! thank you!

Also how did you post photos in these posts. I'd like to share some pics too, I love seeing how others are restoring these vans!

My van was pretty leaky from sitting for at least 2 years. There were signs of water damage pretty much all over the place inside the van; some worse than others. I replaced the side window frame seal by pulling the frame off and replacing the old cracked seal with new flexible putty tape. There are plenty of videos on YouTube about leaky camper windows. I also replaced the seal tape on the two skylights at the front. Those things and a little maintenance on the windows seems to have stopped the leaking problem.

As far as the driver and passenger window seals, I have yet to replace those. It is on my list though.

The carpet trim pieces are from Home Depot. Just standard home repair bits that I cut to size. The new carpet is laid down on top of the old carpet. I didn't pull everything up like you did. You should have an easy time of fastening those trim bits if you replaced the subfloor (looks like you did).

The curtains my wife soaked in a solution of oxyclean and water probably 2 days changing the water each day. Then she used dish soap and hydrogen peroxide to scrub stubborn stains before putting them in the wash.

The pleated shades she soaked in the bath tub and hand scrubbed them before rinsing off and drying.

Good luck with your journey. The pictures look great!

 

[NishimotosB]

Our restoration journey

It was some weeks before I began other work on the exterior. The first task was to remove the faded and peeling blue stripes. I started on the right side.

In the one picture I'm sitting thinking what in the heck did I get myself into!

 

[NishimotosB]

Our restoration journey

Next came masking and primer.

 

[NishimotosB]

Our restoration journey

Here are some videos of the process:

https://youtu.be/uSnHvpyv1h8

https://youtu.be/U-Hv6w5DGYs

 

[NishimotosB]

Our restoration journey

Here is a video of the painting process:

https://youtu.be/tC5p21koOm8

And some more photos. You can see that I used a rattle-can. I did about 3 coats with light sanding between coats.

 

[NishimotosB]

My van was pretty leaky from sitting for at least 2 years. There were signs of water damage pretty much all over the place inside the van; some worse than others. I replaced the side window frame seal by pulling the frame off and replacing the old cracked seal with new flexible putty tape. There are plenty of videos on YouTube about leaky camper windows. I also replaced the seal tape on the two skylights at the front. Those things and a little maintenance on the windows seems to have stopped the leaking problem.

As far as the driver and passenger window seals, I have yet to replace those. It is on my list though.

The carpet trim pieces are from Home Depot. Just standard home repair bits that I cut to size. The new carpet is laid down on top of the old carpet. I didn't pull everything up like you did. You should have an easy time of fastening those trim bits if you replaced the subfloor (looks like you did).

The curtains my wife soaked in a solution of oxyclean and water probably 2 days changing the water each day. Then she used dish soap and hydrogen peroxide to scrub stubborn stains before putting them in the wash.

The pleated shades she soaked in the bath tub and hand scrubbed them before rinsing off and drying.

Good luck with your journey. The pictures look great!

Correction on the cleaning solution. It was equal parts baking soda and hydrogen peroxide plus a few drops of dawn dish soap. This makes into a paste, and was a natural miracle stain remover. Originally we tried a lot of store-bought cleaners but many were very toxic smelling and wasn't a good idea to use in such a small space. She now has nicknamed herself "the Stainmeister" because she had conquered so many cleaning issues. So if you need any advice on any particular problem, (rust, grease, dirt, etc). I'll ask the expert for you!:trash:

 

[NishimotosB]

Our restoration journey

Here is a link to a video that my wife created showing the our van exterior.

https://youtu.be/uGJneUBLuBI

I hope you all enjoy it!

 

[doristhexploris92]

Can't believe you hand painted the whole thing! looks great though! Exterior id my very last thing and I am a far ways from that. My father and I pulled the two rear side windows out and completely (hopefully) resealed them using the tacky ribbon seal and a lot of silicone! I just ordered locking window gasket seals for the front roof skylights. I just finished pulling all of the interior panels out to redo with the fabric patterns I used in the back and now I am thinking about painting the cabinets like you did. Can I ask what type of spray paint you used to cover that laminate wood siding that is in there? and I need to find an awning like that jealous you are camping already! have fun.

 

[NishimotosB]

Can't believe you hand painted the whole thing! looks great though! Exterior id my very last thing and I am a far ways from that. My father and I pulled the two rear side windows out and completely (hopefully) resealed them using the tacky ribbon seal and a lot of silicone! I just ordered locking window gasket seals for the front roof skylights. I just finished pulling all of the interior panels out to redo with the fabric patterns I used in the back and now I am thinking about painting the cabinets like you did. Can I ask what type of spray paint you used to cover that laminate wood siding that is in there? and I need to find an awning like that jealous you are camping already! have fun.

Thank you! It's hard for us to believe the progress we made!

The paint I used on the interior and exterior is Rustolleum Protective Enamel in gloss white.

I added the panelling since what was there was just the formica panels. They were in pretty bad shape too so I hade extra incentive to make them look better. I purchased the panelling from Home Depot, it's 1/8" birch plywood that I stained and varnished.

Our van had the awning on it when we purchased it. My son and I pulled it out for the 1st time after we had the van for 3 months. I was expecting it to be in tatters but was surprised that it was in good shape and only in need of a good cleaning! Those awning new can be quite expensive. I bet you could find out more info in the forums about used ones.

 

[Goreds2]

Having some leaks in the ceiling windows above the cab. I bought some of this but have not applied yet. Should it work fine?

Flex Shot 8oz Rubber Sealant (FSH8C), 8 oz, Clear
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OX6OU6M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[NishimotosB]

Having some leaks in the ceiling windows above the cab. I bought some of this but have not applied yet. Should it work fine?

Flex Shot 8oz Rubber Sealant (FSH8C), 8 oz, Clear
Amazon.com

You could give it a try.

You would be better off to disassemble the frames and install new butyl tape on the frame and window. Also replace the frame lock seals. I did that and it wasn't too difficult. There are some videos on YouTube. I'll see if I can find the links.

 

[NishimotosB]

Here are some videos:

Hope these help. There is a lot of resouce material on YouTube.

 

[Goreds2]

Thank you NishimotosB and nice job painting your van. Awesome!