What Birol should have done.......

[chasd60]

What a nice post:) . I wonder if Birol's camper is getting an overhaul at the rally this week??? Plenty of people going that are probably willing to "experiment" with his camper.:yikes:

[homecrew]

It appears that experiments have already begun....  http://www.arveeclub.com/showthread.php?t=52516
 
....and a couple of overhauls as well

[NightOwl]

good work, Charlie--:) Done  like the good moderator you are!!  (And I bet there isnt a single soul  here  who wishes you hadnt done it sooner!  Kinda like making  naughty  little kids behave, isnt it?)
 
:U Hey, Birol, ya better get that thing finished and polished up--Toni and I are coming up there before long on an inspection tour!:W  :canada:

[MommaMia]

Hey... fantastic thread!!!  I was just wondering whether or not Birol got his roof fixed at the rally!  We need an insider there to give us some details on what's going on!!!


Hey Birol!!  Can you hear me?!?!?!?  

How was is it sleeping in your beloved camper, Finally?!?!

[NightOwl]

well, after HomeCrew posted the link , I went over there to check.  Got a suggestion, Birol--how 'bout changing the name from "Finally" to "Guinea Pig"?

[MommaMia]

"Guinea Pig"?

Sorry about the hijack but this is too creepy!  I was just at the deer thread and posted to you about Guinea Hens.  2 Guineas at the same time... weird!

[wiininkwe]

Thanks Chas, good job, we should have all known better than to let the whole thing get so crazy.  Glad to see it's back to being all about Birol and Finally!
T

[birol]

No mods at the rally ! But there is a huge one scheduled for this coming weekend ! We are getting the roof off it and fixing it good with Lee ! I also got a fantastic vent at silent auction (DIRT CHEAP HAHAHAHA) and that will also be installed ! I splurged and got wireless internet access for 24 hours (ends today around early afternoon) So that I could check my e-mail and stuff. Yeah, with my laptop


It was great not sleeping on the ground ! It rained so hard and so continouosly the first nigth and next day on and off hard second night  and so on ! We were water proof And it was nice not sleeping under the threat of running water in the tent Storage is at a premium, but nothing which can be done about it ! I am doing the best I can , just with DD and me, it is working out pretty well actually. Four would be a tight fit !

Air matresses are perfect for the bunks !!! Putting the original bed foam underneath wouyld make it uncomfortably close to the canvas !

Propane connection is solid and working ! I love being able to heat water inside  for coffee and stuff. Electrical connection is holding on as well, laptop is running on 110 V right now !  We need curtains though ... having to open and close canvas for privacy is getting boring pretty quickly, with DD changing to swimsuit/clothes ten times a day !  A Dorm fridge is in the plans instead of the ice-box, it will be too nice to have one, since we will almost always have electricity where we camp, it will be dumb not to have a dorm fridge installed !

So, all in all, Finally is upto the task ! And yeah, this is what I should have been doing all this time !

CAMP CAMP CAMP      :tent:

[jpreiser]

Glad you are having a great first trip in your PU!!!!

[MommaMia]

No mods at the rally ! But there is a huge one scheduled for this coming weekend ! We are getting the roof off it and fixing it good with Lee ! I also got a fantastic vent at silent auction (DIRT CHEAP HAHAHAHA) and that will also be installed ! I splurged and got wireless internet access for 24 hours (ends today around early afternoon) So that I could check my e-mail and stuff. Yeah, with my laptop


It was great not sleeping on the ground ! It rained so hard and so continouosly the first nigth and next day on and off hard second night  and so on ! We were water proof And it was nice not sleeping under the threat of running water in the tent Storage is at a premium, but nothing which can be done about it ! I am doing the best I can , just with DD and me, it is working out pretty well actually. Four would be a tight fit !

Air matresses are perfect for the bunks !!! Putting the original bed foam underneath wouyld make it uncomfortably close to the canvas !

Propane connection is solid and working ! I love being able to heat water inside  for coffee and stuff. Electrical connection is holding on as well, laptop is running on 110 V right now !  We need curtains though ... having to open and close canvas for privacy is getting boring pretty quickly, with DD changing to swimsuit/clothes ten times a day !  A Dorm fridge is in the plans instead of the ice-box, it will be too nice to have one, since we will almost always have electricity where we camp, it will be dumb not to have a dorm fridge installed !

So, all in all, Finally is upto the task ! And yeah, this is what I should have been doing all this time !

CAMP CAMP CAMP      :tent:

Sounds like things are going great!  About the fridge.  Consider not installing it but just placing it on the counter.  You can just use the icebox as a food storage cupboard for things that don't need to stay cold, like bread, chips, cookies, etc.  And you never know when it may be nice to have a little extra icebox space... Don't think of it as the fridge will take up counter space... you would have to store all the bread items on the counter too so it's an even trade.  pLus you can still use the top of the fridge as counter space... It will actually make a good work height for food preperation.

[vjm1639]

Birol..it sounds like you're really enjoying yourself and that all the hard work you've done on "Finally" has paid off!   You're gonna really be hooked on camping now!  :>

[Gone-Camping]

About the fridge. Consider not installing it but just placing it on the counter.

OK, having owned that exact same model, I know something that Mommamia doesn't, and that is there is no counter in the trailer...so to speak. However, what I did was utilize the rear dinette bench seat (galley side of trailer), and utilize the rest of that seat for additional kitchen type of stuff like the microwave, silverware drawer, and a 3 drawer sterilite plastic drawers. On the opposite bench seat we used that for clothing bags & overnite kits. Not much need for 2 dinettes unless you have 6 or more people camping. This also help break up the clutter, limiting it all to the rear dinette area, and also kept more open floor space without the rear table!
 
BTW, removing the Ice Box would be good, the small dorm fridge would fit right inside the opening. But I found that bending over to access it was a pain, and liked having the dorm refridge up on that bench. Additionally, the existing cooler box left in place made it easier to sell it later, and provided a GREAT bread box! I removed the cooler box in the first Starcraft, but not in the one like you have, it worked out so much better using the rear bench.

[MommaMia]

OK, having owned that exact same model, I know something that Mommamia doesn't, and that is there is no counter in the trailer...so to speak.

So what is above the icebox that's there?  There has to be some sort of small counter top above it?  Oh wait, that must be where the stove is, no?

BTW, removing the Ice Box would be good, the small dorm fridge would fit right inside the opening. But I found that bending over to access it was a pain, and liked having the dorm refridge up on that bench. Additionally, the existing cooler box left in place made it easier to sell it later, and provided a GREAT bread box! I removed the cooler box in the first Starcraft, but not in the one like you have, it worked out so much better using the rear bench.

So then I take it you are more in favor of leaving the icebox in place, using it for storage like I suggested and placing the dorm fridge on a bench seat.  

Can I make one more suggestion?  We found it extremely convenient to set the fridge up outside the camper.  But we have an awning and I know Birol doesn't.  But that's no biggie... a tarp to throw over it to keep out any stray raindrops that sneak out at night would work.  And if you are worried about critters getting in at night, a sturdy padlock works well.

[Gone-Camping]

The area above the cooler does indeed hold the range and sink, and it's got maybe a couple inches around these things and that's it. And I do recommend keeping the cooler, like I said, it makes a GREAT bread box!
 
Birol's trailer has TWO dinettes in it, and realistically speaking he only needs one of them. With both tables up, there is very little open floor space, but with one of the tables removed, that opens up quite a bit of floor space. Additionally, mine had 110vac power outlet next to that rear bench seat, so it made the location a no brainer. I don't think Birol's has all the power outlets, but he sure could add one in where necesary.
 
There should be one counter opposite of the galley next to the door, but it's small and better served for other things, but I suppose if push comes to shove he could try and put the fridge there.
 
Galley...

 
Dorm refridge & microwave on bench beside the galley...