1987 Fleetwood Prowler 24P AC Cover Repaint

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Adam Swanger

I’m addressing the inevitable faded yellowish plastic in this camper one piece at a time. An easy one is the A/C cover. I had regular Krylon leftover so it took more coats than I think the specific “plastic” fusion would need but got the job done nevertheless. It was cold too so that may have contributed to the slow, thin coverage coats.

I cleaned all the crud out, taped off the control stickers then sprayed top and bottom outside on a stump. Also added some new padding next to the vents where the old stuff was really crumbling. Turned out looking bright and new!
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1987 Fleetwood Prowler 24P Tear down

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Adam Swanger

I haven’t had much free time but I ripped out the side walls, front walls and ceiling where they had water damage.

As always you can view the entire album at https://picasaweb.google.com/114575782978731528380/1987FleetwoodProwlerLynx24P?authuser=0&feat=directlink

There was soaked fiberglass insulation I just threw away and have been chipping out panelling to make clean edges. I was able to see where it was leaking in corners and temporarily seal on the outside while the work is done.

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P
From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

I re-used styrofoam insulation I found in the ceiling and I rescued a lot of pieces from packing material trashed at work.

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P
From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

When I pulled the ceiling down I got a big surprise!! Old, nasty, rotted, black ceiling rafters had 1x1s stacked and screwed to them for support and some left up that I could rip out by hand.

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P
From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

I have replaced one and put in cross supports but need a dry couple of days to take roof vent out and redo rafters and seal vent. I was given a large piece of like 2″ insulation by my aunt and will use it in the ceiling.

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P
From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

More to come as time allows.

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Paracord guitar case handle

Posted on December 23, 2012 by Adam Swanger

Got a chance to put a new handle on a guitar case. Used the existing brackets and tied in loops to connect the handle. The loops have since been replaced with metal and the handle has held up great!

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Paracord keychain lanyard

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Adam Swanger

Quick post about a red, white and blue keychain lanyard about 15 inches long I put together for my uncle. It is the first one I’ve made with 2-color weave and also intertwined a center line!

From Fun with paracord
From Fun with paracord
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1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Adam Swanger

All growed up and got a real travel trailer! 1987 Fleetwood Prowler 24 foot. Little longer than I wanted but price was right and another perfect learning project. 2 roof vents and lots of windows so plenty of natural light!

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

Full picture album here https://picasaweb.google.com/114575782978731528380/1987FleetwoodProwlerLynx24P?authuser=0&feat=directlink

It has kitchen appliances, bathroom and room for people coming along. Gas and electric tested and working. City water feed, A/C, hot water heater, sinks shower and toilet said to be working fine but haven’t tested as it’s getting too cold and time to winterize. Furnace has never been used by PO and I’ve successfully got fan going and heard gas but spark is not lighting pilot so thinking it just needs a thermistor. The fridge is not working and may just need a recall valve replaced but that fix is down the road a bit.

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

As usual, got a great deal but needs a little work. PO had fixed a water leak in the rear which involved the bunks being removed so that needs rebuilt but is a great storage area in the meantime. When I brought it home I discovered small leaks in the front and proceeded to tear out the paneling to find the source and dry it out. I found tape on the roof pulling up and cracked sealant so I did temporary caulk and duct tape fix that is holding so far. Leaks have stopped and wall studs are drying out.

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

I pulled down some of the roof paneling and discovered a very shoddy roof support patch job. The originals are nasty weak but look/feel to be dry and new 1×1 screwed in for support. Thankfully the vents are new so I just need to replace the rafters and re-seal entire roof correctly.

The inside front had a permanent bed built in and was taking up too much room. I have removed that and am looking at simple designs to re-build a couch/bed conversion again. Will need to consider the fresh water tank mounted under the couch and also make some adjustments to properly install tank. Also the hot water heater and water pump are in that area. The upper folding bunk half has a chunk cut out where it was part of the old bed so I will re-skin that before re-mounting as a cubby door so there’s more storage.

From 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24P

Next step is replacing the rafters and completely removing the water damaged paneling, replacing and either painting or staining to kick of the new interior look that will carry throughout! My aunt had some thick insulation left over that I will put in instead of the original fiberglass. Then build the couch and get pads/fabric and make from scratch. Going to be my first ones and I’m looking forward to learning how to do this!

Stay tuned!

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2012 Vegetable Garden wrap up

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Adam Swanger

Well the garden did surprisingly well despite the low sun are this year. You can skim the whole photo album here https://picasaweb.google.com/114575782978731528380/2012GardenProject?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Sam’s garden did well also, she is getting some good stuff growing! Had one strawberry survive varmint pillaging and she snagged it and ate it just when it turned red. She loved it! All the cabbage was munched down though. 🙁 The eggplant is really coming in too! She doesn’t eat it so we’ll probably fry it up for a snack for me when she picks it. 🙂

From 2012 Garden Project

The tomato plant has grown up, out and over the wire mesh and has yielded some tasty relatively seedless tomatoes. The green pepper plant is doing well although the wife told me to let them grow bigger before pulling them. They have good flavor and actually have a bit of a bite to them. The yellow pepper still hasn’t bloomed but that is on the border of not much sun in a day. The cucumbers were small and only got 2 but they are in the shadows so didn’t expect much. The hot peppers came in later and my son says they are hot so I’m not trying them!

Some pictures that I haven’t put in previous posts:

From 2012 Garden Project
From 2012 Garden Project
From 2012 Garden Project

Next year I get a spot out front in full sun!!!

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Freestanding Hammock Stand

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Adam Swanger

Perusing youtube recently and came across a freestanding hammock stand. Sounded like a fun project for my new hammock and the first ones I saw were made of lumber and hardware from store but then I found one made out of bamboo. My aunt and uncle have a forest in their backyard and when I asked if I could use some for this project my parents came back with numerous 20 foot-ish pieces, AWESOME!! Here’s a link to the first vid I found and saved for reference: http://youtu.be/yU-0GQKpd_M.

Full photo album with short descriptions is at https://picasaweb.google.com/114575782978731528380/20120819_FreestandingHammockStand or read below for details.

The bamboo was so long, I was able to get 2 legs out of each piece!!

From 20120819_FreestandingHammockStand

I lashed the 3 legs together with 10 feet of paracord. Started with a loop around an end piece then over under most of the time. Towards the end I wrapped the paracord around the cord joints between the bamboo to hold them tight.

From 20120819_FreestandingHammockStand

The legs ended up feeling very solid when I stood em up. I took an uncut piece about 12-15 feet long and laid it on top for a center support and lashed it to the leg stands.

From 20120819_FreestandingHammockStand

I attached the hammock temporarily with “plant holder” chain so no way it will hold my weight for a test but planning on buying some heavy duty chain to use later. Also, had some hooks I bought on the clearance rack that work perfectly for attaching hammock to stand! Connection picture is a little sloppy but seemed to work.

From 20120819_FreestandingHammockStand

All in all it was a fun, quick project but not complete. Need tougher chain to hold my weight and have seen some people tie rope around legs to stop them from separating under a load so might do that too depending on how the tests go. Thought about cutting the bottom of the leg on a slant to be able to spear them into the ground and hold steady.

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2012 Vegetable Garden Growing Strong

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Adam Swanger

Vegetables are growing fast and strong! Can’t wait to pick some and eat. Haven’t done anything except pull a few small weeds and water regularly.

I did go buy some 18″ bolt cutters from Harbor Freight for $10 to make the tomato mesh enclosure. Made quick work of cutting the mesh and leaving tabs to secure in place when I bent it into a circle. Also cut/pushed tabs into the dirt with foot and it is solid!

You can start at https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cgPc6Bo-jFFjMAP1rVzuqdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink to view the pics in order or scroll down for the highlights.

Wide angle shot. Everything is gettin big!

From 2012 Garden Project

Added onions in front of hot pepper plant. Only 2 or 3 survived.

From 2012 Garden Project

Wire mesh cut and put around the tomato plant for support when it gets bigger.

From 2012 Garden Project
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2012 Vegetable Graden Started!

Posted on June 4, 2012 by Adam Swanger

**Be sure and scroll down to see my daughter’s garden!! 😀

After 2 months of recovering from broken wrists/elbow and operation to straighten left wrist as a result of a minor motorcycle accident, I can FINALLY get back to doing little things!

Moved the garden to a different area of the back yard I think gets more sun. I had tilled down about 6 inches before the accident. Everything was planted on May 19, 2012 or thereabouts. Used individual raised beds this year instead of one long one. Added newspaper under soil for weed prevention and to till in next year. Have been composting and used some on top about an inch thick to “feed” the plants.

Felt like it was too late a start to go from seed so I bought some seedlings from Lowes this year. Got some Johnson Tomato, Green pepper, Crocked yellow squash, Yellow pepper, Hot peppers for the boy and cucumber. Also bought a 4×7 wire mesh concrete reinforcement to circle and put around tomato so hopefully that will grow full up!

Here’s a link to the 2012 Vegetable Garden photo album and a couple teaser pics below.

From 2012 Garden Project
From 2012 Garden Project
From 2012 Garden Project

My daughter took over the spot from last year and exteded it! I’m so happy she’s taking an interest in this! She planted more than I can remember but I know there’s onion, carrot, cabbage, eggplant and strawberry. Her photos start here https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/d060SEsUItV3LOnHK3qJodMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink and here’s a pic of the whole thing!

From 2012 Garden Project

Will post updates along the way. Looking forward to garden-to-plate soon!

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550 Paracord projects

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Adam Swanger

Got a whole bag or different colors and lengths of paracord from a buddy and have been playing with different wraps and weaves for bracelets, lanyards, keychains and more!

My favorite (read easiest) has been the cobra weave with king cobra around it for more cordage. It’s about 17 feet of cordage total with the inner length at 3 feet, first layer at 4 feet and outer layer at 10 feet.

From Fun with paracord

Also working on making the sinnet knot bracelet nice and uniform but am having trouble and need more practice. This is about 12 feet of continuous strand!

From Fun with paracord

My favorite fun little thing is a key chain. It’s fast, solid and immediately usable. The first one turned out a little wonky.

From Fun with paracord

I got it down by the second one and it turned out awesome! About 2.5-3 feet of cordage each.

From Fun with paracord

Another functional thing is the knife handle wrap. Very tight and adds needed bulk to small handle knives.

From Fun with paracord

An interesting one I saw is the flashlight handle if yours doesn’t have one. I like the idea just not sure if it would get in the way more than help. Guess it will depend on your situation.

From Fun with paracord

A nice way to carry some extra cordage and provide tighter grip is a flashlight wrap. This one had some other fancy knots on each side of the spine but didn’t add them this time around.

From Fun with paracord

Last thing I worked on was starting a lanyard for the wife’s squad radio so it hangs at her hip without clipping to pants. It’s just a cobra weave but it’s gonna be a LOT of it! Made some color option samples, guess which she picked. 🙂

From Fun with paracord
From Fun with paracord

I am also using a lot of paracord to tie up tarps and such so I carry a bunch to play around with in different scenarios. Oh and I used some paracord and pulleys my grandfather gave me to hoist the bicycle up off the garage floor so there’s more room in there now, very practical!

Can’t wait to try something new with this stuff!

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