# Bathroom Walls Redo



## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

This mod took a while to do and was the one thing I did not like about the Outback when we bought it back in 2004. Unfortunatly our camera is broke and I did not get any pictures so I will try to explain what I did. 
The interior walls for the bathroom are very flimsy and use to flex when the door was closed and just seemed cheaply made. What I did was to remove the paneling, door, and bunks to expose the framing on the outside of the bathroom. The paneling came off very easy because Keystone used no glue at all to help hold it in place. The next step was to add extra wall studs and side way support blocks to strenghten the walls. At this point I would like to say I was shocked how little support the bunk side wall had to support the bunks. The upper bunk is held into place by a total of three screws that go into 1 x 2's and the 1 x 2's had no side way support at all. 
The next step in making the walls solid was to buy five sheets of 3/4" x 8' styrofoam wall board and 10 cans of expanable foam. I cut the panels on my table saw, two per section, and sprayed expandable foam to glue the foam to the wall between the studs. This continued all the way around the bathroom and bunk area. The last step was to reinstall all the paneling and all the molding. The last thing to do was to reinstall the bunks.
The bunks were built the same way only they are alum. frames and the panels were glued somewhat to the frames and then nailed to the alum. To remove the upper bunk I had to remove one side of the paneling to gain acess to the screws, I removed the under side panel. When I reinstalled the upper bunk I screwed the alum. frame into the new 2 x 4 support that I built into the wall and used 2 screws per section. The last thing I did was to cut, spray and install foam panels between the alum frame. Then I installed new oak door skins on the underside and screwed them into place stained them to match the existing trim.
To fill all the small nail holes that were used to attach the paneling I used DAP Blend sticks. They are a type of waxy/crayon type of stick that is designed to fill nail holes and they match the color of the paneling perfectlly. They are highly recommended for any type of touch-up or hole filling in the colored paneling or white panels.
This project took around a week to complete working maybe 3 hours a day. The end result is that my interior wall are as solid as the exterior walls. The bunks are also solid and tightly mounted the the walls. The small vibrations we use to have when walking inside are all gone and you have some sound deadening when in the bathroom.
Like I stated in the beginning the interior walls have alway been a weak spot to me and almost stoped us from buying. If keystone reads this maybe they, when building the outbacks could spend the extra 100.00 dollars and make a better product. In any case mine is fixed to my likeing now. Kirk


----------



## mswalt (Sep 14, 2004)

That sounds like a lot of work. I'm glad you are pleased with the results.

I'm sure Keystone and many other manufacturers build to minimim standards to keep weights and costs down. Surprsingly, though, the units seem to hold up.

Congrats on a job well done!

Mark


----------



## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

I really enjoy reading about your mods Kirk, you're not afraid to really dig in and take things apart. Sound like a real improvement.

Mike


----------



## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Sounds like a great mod for sure.


----------



## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Kirk

Hats off to you. When you mod you mod























Thor


----------



## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

I think that one was worth the value of at least 10 mods








Do we get to check it out at the 2007 Western Region Outbackers Rally?









Good for you Kirk, way to go after it!


----------

