Donna and I had lunch Thursday next door to a local carpet outlet. After lunch, we stopped in to look at flooring for an old house we are remodeling. Well, while looking around we spot a remnant piece about 17 feet long and 8.5 feet wide. She said isn't that enough to recarpet the front of the Barth. I should have said NO. Guess what I have been doing all weekend.

This shouldn't be that hard so let's see what's involved.

• Remove chair next to entry door.
• Remove chair behind co-pilots seat. Uh-Oh, that's bolted down with long bolts through the floor with nuts under the coach. Not a one person job. Go find wife and show her how to hold a wrench on the head while I get under the coach and undo the nuts. Remove first 3 bolts. Discover fourth bolt is a different size. First 3 were 9/16, last one was 5/8.
• Remove Co-pilots seat. Wires to power seat must be cut. There is no Plug. Discover that bolts holding seat are 5/8 heads but 11/16 nuts. Get out from under coach to get another socket. Listen to wife discuss how stupid that is. Why would they do that.
• Remove Driver's seat. Pretty much a repeat of the Co-pilot's seat.
• Remove magazine rack by entry door.
• Remove Fold down dining table
• Remove next magazine rack.
• Remove firewall vent in front of Co-pilot's seat.
• Remove wooden console that is under the radio, heater control, generator control pod.
• Remove Radio Bazooka bass unit that was just installed before the Choo-Choo trip
• Remove the plywood panel that is carpeted serving as part of the firewall.
• Remove the small section of lower dash against the wall on the driver's side.
• Remove the knobs off the top of the four leveler controls. Remove the metal trim plate for the levelers.
• Remove the electric controls for the levelers.
• Discover that carpet is installed under the end of the couch. Remove the end of the couch.
• Remove couch seat and back.
• remove vent covers to front furnace that are under the couch.
• Remove the upholstered trim panel that looks like a base for the couch.
• Remove the night lights along the floor under the couch. Only break one light. Wonder where I can find a replacement.

I think I'm ready to pull up the old carpet. Discovered someone at Barth had a pneumatic stapler and they were not having to pay for the staples. After fifteen years carpet feels at home in the coach and resist removal. Brut force is called upon. Spend next several hours pulling staples from around the perimeter of the coach. The carpet on the front of the couch was certainly the worst. Not only hundreds of staples, it is glued to the metal couch frame. About this time the wife comes to check on the progress and decides that it will be a great time to shampoo all the furniture while it is out of the coach. Luckily, she volunteers for that job.

Finally, it is time to put something back together. Think I'll start with the piece of plywood for the firewall. Can't find the 1/2 inch staples for the pneumatic stapler. Yea, I've got one too. Pity the next sucker. Hope that ain't me. Drive to Home Depot 16 miles away for a box of staples. Spend the next day installing the carpet. It's only about 12 yards total but an unbelievable amount of cutting and trimming. You'll need a good carpet razor and lots of new blades. Hard to get the carpet tight but luckily the pieces aren't that large. Hardest area to make look professional is the transition from the hardwood floor to the carpet. Didn't want to use a transition strip since Barth didn't use one. The carpet is folded under and stapled. Took about six hours to actually install the carpet.

To finish the job, just reverse the list above and reinstall everything.

BTW, the carpet remnant was $75.00. Wonder what Camper World would have charged for this little project.

Nick

Hey, consider it just good practice for that '77 bustle that you're going to redo...

'Wonder what Camper World would have charged for this little project?"

The REAL question is: What would Camping World's installation look like? Not satisfactory to me, I assure you, and probably not to you.

So Nick, how soon are you planning a trip to Colorado? My coach needs new carpet too. Due to similar coaches, this install should be much easier for you. You will install a new wood floor at the same time, won't you. Of course, I want new carpet in the hallway and bedroom along with new tile in the bathroom. I'll cover the cost of the carpet, wood flooring, tile, tylenol and beer. On second thought, I'm not sure I can afford that much beer and tylenol so you might have to cover that yourself.

How about a bottle of 25 year old Glenlivet. You might want to check the discount liquor store.

Nick

I redid the carpet a couple years ago, so I can relate to the removal of seaats and fixtures. One difference, I cleaned and left all the existing carpet, laying the new stuff over the old. The road noise difference was amazing. The doghouse got inside and out marine soundproofing, also cutting down noise. Here's a pic without the reupholstered couch bed in place.