It is always amazing how a little leak, or it's no longer leaking, turns out to be a very large problem. Fortunately, we knew this going in. Spent the last three days ripping out rotted wood and soaking wet plywood that has delaminated.

Started off peeling and scraping the plywood from the over-head bunk. These RV's are constucted like an Oreo cookie. A layer of styrofoam is sandwiched between two layers of plywood. Like a hollow core door, this construction is amazingly strong. A stiff putty knife and a small hammer to "carve" the plywood from the styrofoam seems to be the best way to remove it. Although the plywood glue itself has long since lost it's holding power, the glue bond between the styrofoam and the bottom plywood layer is still very strong.

After removing the bottom, we remove the rest of the interior plywood from the sides and front. I'm now ready to tackle opening up the seam between the front fiberglass shell and the roof itself. A pair of linesmen pliers, hammer, stiff putty knife, razor knife, cordless drill with a square bit, and a lot of patience go along way.

The inside is in nice shape for a 1997. Except for signs of moisture damage in the cab over, everything else inside is in good condition.

RV Quest Part 01

Although we've been on a "Dave Ramsey" kick for the past two years, my sanity needed a vacation. While "cash may be king", children are God's gift. My wife and I decided that we needed to share God's gift while we can. We are still diligently working on crowning that king, but finding a weekend a month and a couple of weeks in the summer to spend time with the kids, will have to move up on the priority list.

After being blessed with seven children, we finally have taken the plunge and purchased our first RV. We really wanted a Class C. The capacity to sleep eight is very important :) Our budget is tight so a new RV is out of the question. For the past year, we have been browsing EBay and other used RV sites looking for a bargain.


We found a 1996 Fourwinds Chateau for a nice price and only 150 miles away. Road trip.

After a couple of hours inspection we realize that yes it is in nice condition, BUT the front cab over has leaked in the past. HMMM. If it has leaked in the past, it is probably leaking in the present. Buying this one would mean rebuilding the front cab over. We decided to trade sweat equity over a higher price.




We're going to rebuild it!