I mean come on, how can she say "no" if she's not around to witness it? As the old saying goes, 'tis better to ask for forgiveness, rather than permission.
And let me tell you, she was pretty surprised when she got home from vacation!
Long story short, she thought I was insane, so I started demolition at the end of July. She couldn't handle the smell. But with much perseverance, she slowly warmed up to the project and has really enjoyed it. Just last night we finally got it to the point that it is sealed up and "campable".
We took it completely down to the frame, saving what wood was left as templates. The frame got cleaned up and painted, and the axle was replaced with a Dexter Torflex with electric brakes. New wheels and tires, complete with new baby moon hubcaps. Every square inch of wood is new, but we re-used all the original aluminum trim, skins, windows, and door hardware. All the window seals got replaced, and we reused the taillights. The marker lights were too far gone, so we replaced them with sealed LED lights that are fairly reminiscent of the originals. The goal was to have a ratty looking old camper.... from the outside.
The interior is a different story. We didn't want the dark fake wood paneling, or the claustrophobic feel that the original layout had. We widened the bed a few inches, chopped the wardrobe down to counter height, and reconfigured the cabinets a bit. The refrigerator was ditched, and an air conditioner will take its spot below the stove. We added the overhead cabinets front and rear, because it seemed like a lot of wasted space without them. That also gave us the opportunity for some cool linear color-changing LED strips. The same LED strips are used under the gaucho, the dinette seats, and under the camper. They're controlled by a bluetooth app on a smartphone, which gives 200 different color modes, and can change to any single color.
On the roof, we have two flexible 120W solar panels, connected to two 75aH SLA batteries via a Victron SmartSolar 100/20 charge controller. When the sun isn't shining and we're plugged into campground power, a Progressive Dynamics PD4135 handles all the power needs, from the 120VAC outlets, to the various 12VDC and USB power outlets. With all that power, it seems silly not to use it, so there is a Supersonic 19" LED TV/DVD combo that runs on 12V, as well as a Kenwood DVD/audio receiver which can stream audio from any mobile device.
Since we ditched the original LP furnace, but decided to keep the original range and hood, I learned how to plumb copper line. On the tongue we have a dual-stage auto-changeover regulator fed by two 11lb propane tanks. The propane feeds the original Coleman range, a quick-disconnect that can be used for a portable fireplace (or grill), and a Wave3 catalytic heater.
We still need to build the cabinet and overhead compartment doors, make some cushions, and a few other little things, but I'd say we're in pretty good shape for about 7 months worth of work! Our maiden voyage is next weekend, with the Chesapeake Bay TearJerkers, and we cannot wait to take this thing for a spin!
