New wood floor in my Royale

[mark1]

All, I wanted to share some photos of my recent renovations to my '78 Royale Center Kitchen. Ever since I bought it, I was a little put off by the
green(ish) shag carpeting. It had been replaced once (in the 80's, I think) but was really past its expiration date. I decided to go with an
engineered wood floor (leftovers from my upstairs home renovation). I used Mohawk "Fashion Gray" engineered wood flooring - basically a hand-scraped
hickory veneer on a manufactured (plywood) tongue-and-groove base that's a lot more stable than a solid wood floor, which is important for the floor
in an RV. I used "Level Step" underlayment that looks like 3mm neoprene with a vapor barrier, and used two layers under the indoor/outdoor carpet I
used in the cockpit (for sound deadening - worked like a champ), and for trimming the dinette bases. I replaced the toilet while I was tearing things
up, and in the end the coach FINALLY looks like I pictured it when I bought it (looking past the green shag carpet)

I have been beating my head bloody trying to get the photos in order and in a workable album, but no matter what I do, they read from "finished to
starting". Oh well - just scroll from the end result through the job to the horrible first photo that looks like one of those abandoned coaches you
see on craigslist.

http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/wood-floor-install-2778-royale-center-kitchen/p61456-img-20160921-1118245441.html
--
Mark Hickey
Mesa, AZ
1978 Royale Center Kitchen

 

[mike]

Very nice work, looks great.
Enjoy often,
Mike

 

[jdlisenby]

Looks great! 8)
--
JD Lisenby- USAF Ret
1978 Royale-455
Electromotive Tec2 FI & ignition

Navarre, FL

 

[mark1]

Thanks!

For a slightly better user-friendly experience seeing the photos, I put together a web page (that took about 10% of the time I spent trying to get the
gmcphotos album set up).

http://www.habcycles.com/gmcfloor.htm
--
Mark Hickey
Mesa, AZ
1978 Royale Center Kitchen

 

[scott nutter1]

That's beautiful Mark! That's my next to next project and it scares the hell out of me..
Did the ramp extend under the drivers side couch?
Scott.
--
Scott Nutter
1978 455 Royale Center Kitchen, Quad bags.
Houston, Texas

 

[mark1]

Scott, the ramp / hallway platform did extend under the front edge of the couch, but the frame was bolted to the subfloor. I'm not really sure if the
panel that's under the front of my couch is part of the original layout or not (my two beloved POs did a boatload of work on the coach before I got
it). You can kind of see where the foam in the front of that panel (along the bottom) was compressed by being pressed up against the edge of the
hallway panel.
--
Mark Hickey
Mesa, AZ
1978 Royale Center Kitchen

 

[78gmcroyale]

Looks great! Nice work !

 

[Keith V]

Mark, so there is no reason for that ramp?
My Royale has been massively redone but still is raised by the bathroom, I assumed it was for plumbing clearance or something

----------------------------------------

>
> Scott, the ramp / hallway platform did extend under the front edge of the couch, but the frame was bolted to the subfloor. I'm not really sure if the
> panel that's under the front of my couch is part of the original layout or not (my two beloved POs did a boatload of work on the coach before I got
> it). You can kind of see where the foam in the front of that panel (along the bottom) was compressed by being pressed up against the edge of the
> hallway panel.
> --
> Mark Hickey
> Mesa, AZ
> 1978 Royale Center Kitchen
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org

 

[mark1]

> Mark, so there is no reason for that ramp?
> My Royale has been massively redone but still is raised by the bathroom, I assumed it was for plumbing clearance or something

I have to admit I'm entirely at a loss as to why the hallway and dinette area floors are raised. All it seems to do is to reduce the headroom (and
right under the A/C unit, to boot). There is absolutely nothing under the panels I removed but more plywood (presumably the original floor it left
the GM factory with).

The only thing I can imagine is that the dinette seat frames they were using were too short to reach, so they bumped up the floor to meet them.

Personally, I love having the extra few inches of clearance, and wouldn't change it back even if it could magically include making the new floor fit.

--
Mark Hickey
Mesa, AZ
1978 Royale Center Kitchen

 

[Jim Hupy]

In the Royales, there were hanging bunks in both front and rear. Platforms
facilitate kids and short people getting up into them.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Or
78 GMC ROYALE 403

> > Mark, so there is no reason for that ramp?
> > My Royale has been massively redone but still is raised by the bathroom,
> I assumed it was for plumbing clearance or something
>
>
> I have to admit I'm entirely at a loss as to why the hallway and dinette
> area floors are raised. All it seems to do is to reduce the headroom (and
> right under the A/C unit, to boot). There is absolutely nothing under the
> panels I removed but more plywood (presumably the original floor it left
> the GM factory with).
>
> The only thing I can imagine is that the dinette seat frames they were
> using were too short to reach, so they bumped up the floor to meet them.
>
> Personally, I love having the extra few inches of clearance, and wouldn't
> change it back even if it could magically include making the new floor fit.
>
> --
> Mark Hickey
> Mesa, AZ
> 1978 Royale Center Kitchen
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

 

[Jerry Wheeler]

Also in the Royale, the dinette seat sat on top of the propane tank, and
without the platform, the dinette seat would be too high for most people.
JR Wheeler 78 Royale NC/OR

> In the Royales, there were hanging bunks in both front and rear. Platforms
> facilitate kids and short people getting up into them.
> Jim Hupy
> Salem, Or
> 78 GMC ROYALE 403

>

> > > Mark, so there is no reason for that ramp?
> > > My Royale has been massively redone but still is raised by the
> bathroom,
> > I assumed it was for plumbing clearance or something
> >
> >
> > I have to admit I'm entirely at a loss as to why the hallway and dinette
> > area floors are raised. All it seems to do is to reduce the headroom
> (and
> > right under the A/C unit, to boot). There is absolutely nothing under
> the
> > panels I removed but more plywood (presumably the original floor it left
> > the GM factory with).
> >
> > The only thing I can imagine is that the dinette seat frames they were
> > using were too short to reach, so they bumped up the floor to meet them.
> >
> > Personally, I love having the extra few inches of clearance, and wouldn't
> > change it back even if it could magically include making the new floor
> fit.
> >
> > --
> > Mark Hickey
> > Mesa, AZ
> > 1978 Royale Center Kitchen
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > GMCnet mailing list
> > Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> > http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
> >
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>