Back in October 2018 when we followed up on a Craigslist ad for a 1975 GMC Eleganza II, when we first opened the door our first thoughts may have been, “Oh look at the potential!” The only thing on the interior of the door that was ‘finished’ was the cover over the mechanisms, the rest of the door was naked – exposing the underbelly of what the entire structure is built of.
When we replaced the flooring we saw there was a small amount of water damage near the door so we bought a new gasket and that has solved the water problem.
We added a keyless door locking system which we hardwired into the new outlet we had installed. One of the many nice things about the beadboard is you can easily remove a panel to make changes or additions without damaging the beadboard or taking the entire wall down.
We have kept everything we took out of the RV to use as templates or reuse if possible. We had a few long pieces of the original plastic window trim we were able to cut to size without cracking – well, we lost one piece, 49 year old plastic gets a bit brittle! I threw a coat of what I thought was white spray paint to clean them up only to find it was light gray. That worked well as it is the same shade we have throughout the rv, which is why we had the can in the first place (just no cap to know the exact shade). We painted the mechanism cover white and updated the door pull. The beadboard is so light weight it won’t impact the integrity of the door in addition to keeping continuity with the rest of the living area.
While there are a few touch ups to be done, we are happy with the outcome! That first impression when you open the door now makes me smile!
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Our New Neighborhood 2023 