Date: October 14, 2016

Time Spent: 3 hours

Today I got my Layton 1979 camper for two hundred dollars from a woman named Bethany. We met her husband in Minden for payment at a toy hauler storage lot. Apparently they were originally going to turn it into their “glamper” but she had found another newer one so they decided to go with that one instead. We then hauled it back to my mother’s house, which wasn’t very hard. They said that they had given it new tires but they had been on for three years, which mean that they could explode from being left to bear the weight of the camper without the help of jacks and/or from sun damage. I put the camper up on jacks because of this and put bags over the tires to avoid anymore sun damage. I made note to purchase a weather tarp soon because it had been raining lately and Bethany’s husband said there were several leaks inside.

I measured the camper and it came to about thirteen feet long, by seven feet wide. The interior is about six feet tall, but because I am only about five foot two, this is plenty of space to live with. In the back there is new wall with new paint from Bethany’s husband. Honestly, I think it looks ugly, so I don’t think I’ll keep it around for very long. Bethany’s husband left a lot of tools and trash in the camper so the first thing I did was throw out what I knew I didn’t need. Next I gave everything a good wipe down. The camper has a mini stove and refrigerator, they were both very dirty and run off gas so I cleaned them with a disinfectant. To keep everything on the interior light as possible, I’ll probably take them out and just get myself a breakfast station  to cook with. They only take about five hundred watts of electricity and are around thirty dollars if found at the right store. I’m not concerned with getting a refrigerator because then I would need a constant supply of electricity and because I mainly eat ready to eat foods, I think I can learn to live without one.

 

Date: October 15, 2016

Time Spent: 2 hours

Today I started to take down the appliances and previously existing frames. The bed, closet, and dinette were pretty easy, but the counter top and appliances proved difficult. Firstly, the counter top was built around the refrigerator, basically being bolted to the sides and frame. Next, I find that so was the stove. As much as I could, I only managed to take apart on wall of the counter top and unhinge the refrigerator door.

The next thing that I moved onto was the heater right next to the door.  It is bolted to the ground and exterior wall making the removal of it very difficult. My mother asked why I wanted to take it out in the first place because it could get cold wherever I go. I said that because every other appliance ran off of gas, the heater would probably run off of gas as well. I figured that because I was already used to living in my mother's house without a heater, I could just bundle up when it gets cold. She said that it sounded like an inconvenience, but I think it will be alright.

I went back to the stove to try and get it out, and I did, but then I found metal tubing holding it to the floor. I didn’t want to damage the tubing because I thought that I could then be able to sell the stove intact, same with the refrigerator. I didn’t know what to do next so I just left it be for now.

 

Date: January 30, 2017

Time Spent: 4 hours

My friend Sharline and I decided to take down the rest of the appliances and walls today. We started with the wall above the heater. We tried to take it out but we found the same metal tubing that kept in the refrigerator and the stove so it couldn’t be. We next took down the wall adjacent and found that the insulation was installed in one big giant piece in which the either the previous owner or the manufacturer had done which made taking it out a little more difficult. The insulation is trapped underneath the studs which could rot more over time and cause health issues in the long run. We then worked on the ugly back wall which the previous owner had installed: however, it was not done correctly as the drywall placed was cracked and crooked. The rest of the walls came down easier but there are some studs that need to be replaced just due to water damage and mold.

The stove and refrigerator still have the metal tubing keeping them in so the entire time Sharline and I were working, we were tripping over and bumping into them. Also the counter top that I had got the stove free from had to come down in pieces which took longer to get out. Most of the camper is cleared out now and ready for new studs and structures. I am thinking of making a couch at the back that can be pulled out into a bed. To the left side of the camper where the door is, I will put a counter top and a storage closet next to it. Then with the closet closing off the bed area, I’ll put a drop down desk so I can have a place to work if I want to stay in bed. On the other wall I’m hoping to put a bathroom somewhere and another counter top. I’ll have a composting toilet so I reduce the amount of water I use. I don’t know how I’m going to make a shower, but I do want to somehow incorporate one in. I’ll make another dinette like the one before, but this one will have better storage and a pop down bed for guests or if I’m sewing.

 

Date: January 31, 2017

Time Spent: 1 hour

I talked to my Architecture teacher, Mr. Belnap, and the guest teacher, Mr. Tolbert, over how the walls would be replaced and Mr. Tolbert suggested that I look into purchasing visqueen sheathing wrap and to go with what I had planned which was to just make a pallet wall to save money and time. I then was trying to figure out how to incorporate a bathroom in the camper if I am going to live in it full time. There are two tires on the camper and so there are two tire shells inside the camper to give them room to function: however, this makes it difficult to use that space as a bathroom. I’ve thought of moving the bathroom to the front or the back of the camper but the window placement makes it difficult to have any privacy. I am still working on where it will be but so far the current placement will be across from the entrance.

Then I meet with my mentor after school to go over some design questions and problems that I had. I asked him about how to patch up the holes in the camper that have been causing the floor to give out. Also I had asked him how to detach the stove, refrigerator, and heater in which he said that all I would need is a metal saw. He looked into the material of the tubing and the year in which it was made, to get a general idea of what materials they used, and found that it was in fact copper tubing which will be much easier to cut and work with. I don’t plan on keeping the stove because

 

Date: February 13, 2017

Time Spent: 1 hour

Today I had my friend Sharline to help with installation of foam board that I managed to get from my work. I could only get about five pieces since Waste Management and their crew happened to already be there to take our trash. The pieces were probably around two and a half feet by four feet which allowed me to install at least the left side of the wall next to the door. The foam board is a little thicker that the thickness of my walls which created a problem. If I were to shave them down, not only would I have bits of foam all over the garage, the air flow inside the walls will be irregular and  hinder its insulation ability. The whole point of insulation is to slow the rate of temperature change from the outside to the inside. There are many different ways to do this, because foam is very aerated so its insulation component is air. If the air were to be compressed or stretched too much, the rate of temperature change would be ineffective thus the camper would be too hot or too cold depending on the season. Unless I can manage to heat a thin rod and cut a slice of the foam evenly to the desired thickness somehow, I will probably have to find an alternative of insulation for the camper.