Completely Restored 1975 Travco

I just completed this huge project and now it's ready for someone to enjoy! This 1975 Travco is 27 feet long and 8 feet wide, I have modified the entire coach to make it beautiful and comfortable to live in full time. I have a complete write up available that covers every step of the restoration but it's about 6 pages long so if you are really interested and want the full story just let me know.

Here is the abbreviated version:

1. Exterior
I repaired all the fiberglass then sanded, primed and repainted the exterior with period correct colors. I used 3M pin striping to finish off the paintwork. All the brightwork was removed, refurbished, polished and replaced. A steel ladder was fabricated and installed on the back to access the roof and solar panels. All running lights where resealed underneath and replaced. All the exterior cargo doors and access panels where refurbished and resealed along with all the rain channels. Just this week 7 brand new Yokohama tires where installed. The propane tank and trailer hitch where also sanded and repainted for a completed exterior.

2. Interior
Everything had to be removed until the only thing left was bare wood and insulation. Next I rebuilt the walls, cabinets and and flooring with modern surfaces. I used industrial rubber for the floors in the cab and entryway for durability and trimmed all of that in aluminum. For the main living area I used bone colored vinyl planks and real wood quarter round to finish the edges. A motorhome can be noisy as it drives down the road so I used a rubber backed berber wall covering for most of the walls, this adds sound deadening and insulation. All of the window trim was refurbished, painted and reinstalled with marine grade stainless hardware. In the kitchen I cut hundreds of cedar planks and used construction adhesive to build a light and beautiful backsplash.
All of the upholstery was removed and stripped down then recovered with a soft stain repelling industrial fabric. Adding the checker pattern to the upholstery expensive but I gave the coach interior depth and timeless style. I bought designer home curtains then cut them up and resewed them to fit the coach windows. Originally the coach didn't have a bed for two adults to sleep together in so I built a simple system that adds a center cushion between the couches for a large comfortable bed designed for a couple.

3 Appliances:
I threw away all of the old appliances so that I could make the coach modern and efficient to live in. The furnace was replaced with a brand new Suburban NT-30 and paired with a digital Honeywell thermostat for accurate, automatic temperature control. The rooftop air conditioner is a brand new Dometic Penguin II which provides ample cooling for the space. This is also the gives the slimmest roof line of any RV rooftop AC unit. The fridge freezer combo is also a brand new Dometic unit that automatic chooses the most abundant power source, either 120 volt AC or propane. The fridge automatically turns on and off depending on internal temperature as well. For the bathroom the toilet was replaced with a brand new Dometic unit and the water heater was replaced with a Excell on demand hot water system that automatically heats the water as soon as you turn on any hot water faucet. This way you don't waste energy keeping water hot all the time. I replaced the water pump with a brand new SurFlow pump and replaced all the fresh water piping with PEX piping to make repairs easier and protect against freeze breaks. Also on the fresh water side I added a large 3 phase water filter to ensure clean drinking water. To finish off the plumbing I had to rebuild the septic tank out of fiberglass for extra strength. For the electrical system I added a full Renology 400 watt solar system with a brand new battery bank. For the charger/converter I decided to go with a Powermax 4 phase smart charger to$ increase the battery life and finished the whole system off with a brand new 500 watt inverter connected to a dedicated outlet. Finally I installed a brand new Predator 8750 watt generator and wired it through the 240 volt side because that's more efficient.

4. Mechanical
The engine is a Chrysler 440 and I have done major upgrades to make it more reliable, powerful and efficient. One of the major reasons that modern engines are so much easier to live with is that fuel injection works much better that a carburetor. I stripped the engine of the entire fuel management system, ignition system, and vacuum system. Then I replaced everything and converted the system to a Fitech fuel injection system. It was a huge job but now the engine runs better than it ever did, it can easily drive up to 80 mph or higher if you really wanted. Before I did this conversion the Travco would be really pushing to hold 65 mph. I also removed the oil pan and inspected all the lower components of the engine and was very happy to find minimal wear, so I replaced the rear main oil seal and oil pan gaskets. For the transmission I did a full service with filter, gaskets, and new fluid. I inspected the brakes and found that they had been recently serviced so I left them alone. The engine has 96k miles and doesn't leak, smoke, or have any unusual sounds coming from it.

As you might expect with a project like this you are never really finished but you can jump in it right now and sell everything you own to live on the road in style!

Happy Camping!

Test drives and inspections welcome for serious parties
Blake 970 817 0332