Our Bounder story started in Mid July 2021. We set out to purchase a motorhome that met our families needs, was relatively solid and was most importantly cheap enough not to have to finance. Since the beginning of the year we have been looking to get out of the city and buy a country home. After months of no houses available and offers being over bid we decided to buy the RV instead. Now we can take our home wherever we choose. We bought from a private seller knowing it had a few issues, but the issues seemed manageable. Meet our 1996 34J Bounder.
We took it out that first weekend for an overnight trip. The kids had a blast and we were able to better understand what worked and what didn’t.
We found there was a lot that didn’t; the air conditioners didn’t work, there was a nasty engine oil leak, water tank was cracked, the fridge didn’t cool, the generator wouldn’t run and the batteries seemed to be acting funny at different times. The interior was very 80’s and smelled a little bit like my grandma’s house. So we pulled back into our sticks and bricks and got to work.
Santanna (my wife) got started on the interior and I started on the mechanical stuff. With the help of MyBounder.com and some facebook pages we were off and running. The terrible oil leak was an easy fix, Santanna replaced the oil pressure sensor for 20$.
The water tank was welded by a local welder for 20$.
The fridge just needed some love by cleaning the electrical contacts (free). We also removed the front panels and painted them black with standard spray paint to match the stove and mircowave.
The generator needed a new fuel pump (50$) and the carb cleaned (free).
The battery problems were caused by corroded fuse in the under hood battery control box. I replaced a bunch of fuses with ones I had laying around (free). The air conditioners just needed cleaned and once I spun the compressor fans by hand they started working on their own.
We then moved on to the interior remodel.
The passenger side wall in the bedroom had water damage from previous owner. The water leak was fixed before we took ownership but the interior still needed fixed. We removed the bad section of wall and replaced it with panel board.
We painted all the cabinets and walls using Behr cabinet and trim paint from Home Depot.
We replaced the flooring with rolled vinyl from Menards.
We replaced the counter tops with butcher block from Home Depot and used the original counter top as a templet for the new ones.
The couch was removed and we decided on a daybed W/trundle. We have two children and wanted them to both have real mattresses to sleep on.
The dog house is the original, we removed the carpet and did our best to remove as much glue as possible. We then used Rhino liner to add texture to cover the imperfections. We then applied Rust-o-lium front door paint for color and reinstalled. The results were awesome but the glue removal was probably the worst part of the whole remodel.
The wall sconces are regular 110v fixtures we bought at Menards, we also bought 12v conversion light bulbs at Menards.
Santanna used vinyl from our Cricut machine to recover the light switches and used the Cricut machine to cut the new switch labels.
A safe was added to the cabinet where the TV was in the bedroom and covered by a family picture on a hinge. The Tv was relocated to the wall in front of the bed.
New Led lighting was installed throughout the entire coach.
We spent a day washing and waxing it.
It’s the end of July and we are finally done, here are the finished results. We are very happy with the way it turned out, and are excited to put some miles on it.
