This is a fantastic rebuild I always thought that the manufacturers Were being lazy when it comes to detail & decorating. Also could you put some posters up to give it that home feel. 👍👍 👍👍 3 March 2022, THURSDAY
Really nice mods to the Aliner. You should send your ideas to the manufacturer. They should offer some of these as options. The LED lighting, the drawers, vinyl planking, wood tabletop, and an option for 12V compressor chest refrigerator. Aliner should offer a propane instant on hot water heater instead of the 6 gallon tank ones that require a ton of maintenance. I am seriously considering buying an Aliner and your ideas open up the possibility of starting with a used one I can modify. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber….
Thanks. Glad you liked the video. Just wanted to share what I did because I learned a lot in doing it. I think it adds some weight and they want to keep it light. But the upgrades make it so livable.
Hi Chris, Thanks for responding to my comment. I have lost count of how many times I have watched your you-tube video. I also bought a similar fridge to you made by Set-power and placed it on a nice undermount slide-out. Because space is a premium I will be unable to put knobs on my drawers. I see you have a really nice indented curve at the top of your drawers. How did you achieve that? When I eventually get through with my remodel I will send you pictures of what I did. All the 1/8" boards were stapled and glued onto the frames. I decided to try and salvage those by just cutting out the drawer holes and painting the panel's dark grey. I'm not sure that the paint will hold up over the cheap veneer, even though I did sand and prime first, but it does look good. I am going to have drawer and door faces made by a cabinet maker and I am dropping off my newly cut cabinet tops to have formica glued on. Tomorrow I will cut the remaining face panel for the sink cabinet and then it will be done. Oh... except for plumbing. I ordered one of those typical trailer sinks that fits flush with a glass top. That was a pain to cut out. The plumbing parts they send from China are awful and not really so I may need a plumber if HD can't help me. So far so good ! It was your video that motivated me to do my own conversion! Thank you.
If you are having your drawer faces done just ask them to put a little groove in the top back side with a router. You could show them a picture and I think they could easily figure it out. As for plumbing I just sat on the floor of Home Depot with all the parts until I figured it out. 😊 sounds like you are heading in the right direction. Would love to see what you have done. Glad to have been a help in your process. Keep me updated.
One last question. I am doing the exact same thing for the adhesive tiles. My question for you is, have the tiles hold up? And if they have come down, how did you reattached them? As I was installing a few of them I came back the next day and found a few loose
Most of mine have stayed up. I had one come back down. I put more glue behind it and that seemed to work. But I think it is temperature dependent. I also really push hard into it and make sure it’s on there. But that being said only that one has given me any long term trouble. I needed up replacing it with one I had left over from the build. Seems to be working.
I am using the factory table mount. There is a metal ring on the floor and a metal ring on the bottom of the table. And around metal post to connect them. The rings are fixed but the post is detachable so I can use the table for my bed frame. I took the table ring off the old original table and just mounted it on the new table top I had built.
Chris - Great video and nice job on the upgrades to the camper! Love those led lights you have going up the walls. Can you let me know what ones you use? We have ideas on place for led lights, but I am starting to like where you located them. Once again thanks for video share!
Check the video description for my amazon shopping list. All of my purchased materials are on that list. That should help. :). Glad you liked the video.
Yeah I have a 12 v outlet behind it. Just use the cigarette lighter style cord that came with the the fridge. 12volt outlets are a simple splice into a 12v system.
I live in Texas and have been making tons of calls trying to get a quote to remodel my inefficient, poor quality cabinets in my Aliner Scout. It seems everyone has their formula for kitchens and coaches and nobody is willing to take a pop-up Aliner on. You have inspired me to do it myself. If I have trouble with the drawers I know I can get those made. What kind of wood did you use for your drawer faces? How did you secure them during travel from flying out? How hard was it to remove all the face boards from the framework? Thank you for your very informative video!
Thanks for the kind comments. I just went to home depot and used soft close drawer slides and I have had zero issue with the drawers opening in transit. I think I went Beech for the drawer faces, but the drawer boxes are just plywood. I don't recall removing the face boards being difficult at all. I did completely re- make the face boards with 1/4 dark finish plywood so I could cut it to my custom needs.
Hi Chris, Thanks for responding to my comment. I have lost count of how many times I have watched your you-tube video. I also bought a similar fridge to you made by Set-power and placed it on a nice undermount slide-out. Because space is a premium I will be unable to put knobs on my drawers. I see you have a really nice indented curve at the top of your drawers. How did you achieve that? When I eventually get through with my remodel I will send you pictures of what I did. All the 1/8" boards were stapled and glued onto the frames. I decided to try and salvage those by just cutting out the drawer holes and painting the panel's dark grey. I'm not sure that the paint will hold up over the cheap veneer, even though I did sand and prime first, but it does look good. I am going to have drawer and door faces made by a cabinet maker and I am dropping off my newly cut cabinet tops to have formica glued on. Tomorrow I will cut the remaining face panel for the sink cabinet and then it will be done. Oh... except for plumbing. I ordered one of those typical trailer sinks that fits flush with a glass top. That was a pain to cut out. The plumbing parts they send from China are awful and not really so I may need a plumber if HD can't help me. So far so good ! It was your video that motivated me to do my own conversion! Thank you.
Looks great. Love the wood paneling look to the interior and the custom wood table. I might have to ring up Raptor PDX (local) for some custom options on my Aliner Expedition (coming in another week).
I enjoyed this immensely, you explained everything in detail. I just loved 🥰 what you did. I wish you many happy trails. You gave us something to dream about and add it to the wish list. Thx U
Does your propane heater crate condensation? That is the issue with many portable propane heaters due to the combustion and exhaust they create. Thanks!
Great video, so informative thank you for all the great details you provided throughout. Is that a 12v sealed lead acid deep cycle battery outside on the tongue, and does that play ok with the EcoFlow Pro, which is a Lithium-ion system? Is there 2 x 720w EcoFlow units installed under the bench? Lastly when you stripped back to the bench frame, it appeared to already have a previous mod to extend the overall width of the rear dinette / bed, did you buy it directly from Aliner/dealer that way, or did the previous owner modified it?
Thanks. No battery on the tongue. Empty box. Didn’t need it anymore. Yes 720 unit under the bench with an extended 720 unit connected to it. I got it used from someone who already extended the sleeping area.
Fabulous mods! Just got an Aliner scout that, like yours, doesn’t come with propane. But does come with an electric heat/ac pump. Weighing options for heat as we typically dry camp. Did your scout come with a non propane furnace (other than the Suburban you installed)? If so, can you run it on your eco battery?
Mine was a blank slate. Don’t know about the new heat pumps. If it runs on 12 volt then yes the ecoflow could run it. If it is AC then it could run it too but for a lot less time. Hmmmm
Hey Chris I love what you did to your Aliner The wood work gives it a much richer look, and the panel wood grade looks fantastic. You definitely made use of all extra room for storage. Just curious how you hooked up your light strips, and do you have a link for the LED lights. Thank you Roy
Thanks! There is an Amazon shopping list in the video description that should get you everything I bought for the lights. I ran a 12 v line from the power supply to a touch panel rgbw switch. Then ran rgbw cable from the switch to a splitter. Then ran more rgbw cable to the actual light strips.
I've been wanting one of these campers for a while but would need to make the dinette/bed a bit wider. I guess the easiest thing would be to cut down the galley and storage cabinets. I assume the cabinetry supports the sides of the camper. The size is perfect and I dont want to go for the larger model. thanks for the vid!
Thanks. Yes all of the support for the folded sidewalls relies on the small slide out bar cabinet near the door. The stove and sink cabinet does not take any of the weight. So make sure you have one good string cabinet near the door to support the weight. Other than that you can reduce the cabinetry as much as you want.
Hey there Chris, fantastic remodel!!! I'm strongly considering an A frame camper and dumping my pop up camper. Are there issues with leaking? Seems like when I watch videos of them being set up there's always daylight coming through where the side goes up to the highest point of the top part of the A frame itself. What has your experience been?
No troubles with leaking. There are small gaps it the top corners of the structure from where the foam compressed. The gaps are covered by an overhang so no problem with leaks. Some heat loss through the small gaps and the chance for a few bugs to slip in but it can easily be remedied with a bits of foam or something. Overall the standing height and ability to cook indoors is why I went pop up. And I do so much in the rain and snow that I didn’t want soft side. The a frame has been the way to go for me. Still happy with it. Thanks for the comments and let me know if you have other questions. :)
@@chesselbein thank you so much! Yes, I would do a ton more camping if I had a hard sided camper. It is Oregon after all :). Thanks for the encouragement, searching for the A frame for me now.
It really depends. The ecoflow pro setup gives me 1440 watt hours. The 12 v cooler only runs the compressor periodically. So if I was just running the 12v electric cooler that would last for a week or two I think. The issue is I run other things like lights and the furnace and the water pump. This whole setup give me about 3 days off grid in the winter but 4-5 days off grid in the summer. Of course if I move the battery charges while I drive. If I had solar I’m sure it would extend that as well. Not a great answer but it is complex.
Hi again. So with the heater, are you able to run it at night without worry of any lack of air flow/oxygen and the like? I know things like the “Lil Buddy” will heat but are not recommended while sleeping… Thanks for any info you can provide because we are looking to find a way to heat the camper at night while boondocking
I was thinking about the little buddy style heater but I had your same concerns. I went with the suburban NT series forced air system. a bit more complex to install but it vents exhaust to the outside of the camper so no worry about fumes. There is still condensation but that is from sleeping inside it if all the windows and vents are shut tight.
I use the lil Buddy heater when I am boondocking. I stay warm under the covers overnight but I light the lil Buddy as soon as I get up. Unless the temperature is less than 40 degrees, the heater warms the A-frame in about 10 minutes and I often have to turn it off especially if I'm making coffee and cooking breakfast.
This is a fantastic rebuild I always thought that the manufacturers
Were being lazy when it comes to detail & decorating.
Also could you put some posters up to give it that home feel.
👍👍 👍👍
3 March 2022, THURSDAY
Great video and great work on the camper! Your shopping links really help to get a feel for costs when planning our future A-frame renovation.
Very nice job! Thanks for the electrical schematic.
Really nice mods to the Aliner. You should send your ideas to the manufacturer. They should offer some of these as options. The LED lighting, the drawers, vinyl planking, wood tabletop, and an option for 12V compressor chest refrigerator. Aliner should offer a propane instant on hot water heater instead of the 6 gallon tank ones that require a ton of maintenance. I am seriously considering buying an Aliner and your ideas open up the possibility of starting with a used one I can modify. You’ve got yourself a new subscriber….
Thanks. Glad you liked the video. Just wanted to share what I did because I learned a lot in doing it. I think it adds some weight and they want to keep it light. But the upgrades make it so livable.
I like the coolerfridge idea and the roll out pantry plank siding
Hi Chris, Thanks for responding to my comment. I have lost count of how many times I have watched your you-tube video. I also bought a similar fridge to you made by Set-power and placed it on a nice undermount slide-out. Because space is a premium I will be unable to put knobs on my drawers. I see you have a really nice indented curve at the top of your drawers. How did you achieve that? When I eventually get through with my remodel I will send you pictures of what I did. All the 1/8" boards were stapled and glued onto the frames. I decided to try and salvage those by just cutting out the drawer holes and painting the panel's dark grey. I'm not sure that the paint will hold up over the cheap veneer, even though I did sand and prime first, but it does look good. I am going to have drawer and door faces made by a cabinet maker and I am dropping off my newly cut cabinet tops to have formica glued on. Tomorrow I will cut the remaining face panel for the sink cabinet and then it will be done. Oh... except for plumbing. I ordered one of those typical trailer sinks that fits flush with a glass top. That was a pain to cut out. The plumbing parts they send from China are awful and not really so I may need a plumber if HD can't help me. So far so good ! It was your video that motivated me to do my own conversion! Thank you.
If you are having your drawer faces done just ask them to put a little groove in the top back side with a router. You could show them a picture and I think they could easily figure it out. As for plumbing I just sat on the floor of Home Depot with all the parts until I figured it out. 😊 sounds like you are heading in the right direction. Would love to see what you have done. Glad to have been a help in your process. Keep me updated.
Great job looks better than a new one ?❤❤❤❤
Very Nice Chris. Can't believe this didn't come up in my recommended videos before. Great Look~~
AMAZING! Thank you for sharing. Have been looking at Aliners for a month or so. Happy Camping!!!
never use old style tapered shank wood screws - they work loose; fine thread pocket style screws are the best to resist vibration
Some excellent mods - TY
Cheers
Really nice thank you for your video
One last question. I am doing the exact same thing for the adhesive tiles. My question for you is, have the tiles hold up? And if they have come down, how did you reattached them? As I was installing a few of them I came back the next day and found a few loose
Most of mine have stayed up. I had one come back down. I put more glue behind it and that seemed to work. But I think it is temperature dependent. I also really push hard into it and make sure it’s on there. But that being said only that one has given me any long term trouble. I needed up replacing it with one I had left over from the build. Seems to be working.
Nice job. Congrats.
Looks very home-y, homie.
Hello, can you share a bit about your table pedestal? What kind of pedestal are you using? does it dismount?
I am using the factory table mount. There is a metal ring on the floor and a metal ring on the bottom of the table. And around metal post to connect them. The rings are fixed but the post is detachable so I can use the table for my bed frame. I took the table ring off the old original table and just mounted it on the new table top I had built.
Incredible Job!
Chris - Great video and nice job on the upgrades to the camper! Love those led lights you have going up the walls. Can you let me know what ones you use? We have ideas on place for led lights, but I am starting to like where you located them. Once again thanks for video share!
Check the video description for my amazon shopping list. All of my purchased materials are on that list. That should help. :). Glad you liked the video.
@@chesselbein found them.
How is your cooler connected to 12V ? Did you have to install a new 12V outlet in the back?
Yeah I have a 12 v outlet behind it. Just use the cigarette lighter style cord that came with the the fridge. 12volt outlets are a simple splice into a 12v system.
I live in Texas and have been making tons of calls trying to get a quote to remodel my inefficient, poor quality cabinets in my Aliner Scout. It seems everyone has their formula for kitchens and coaches and nobody is willing to take a pop-up Aliner on. You have inspired me to do it myself. If I have trouble with the drawers I know I can get those made. What kind of wood did you use for your drawer faces? How did you secure them during travel from flying out? How hard was it to remove all the face boards from the framework? Thank you for your very informative video!
Thanks for the kind comments. I just went to home depot and used soft close drawer slides and I have had zero issue with the drawers opening in transit. I think I went Beech for the drawer faces, but the drawer boxes are just plywood. I don't recall removing the face boards being difficult at all. I did completely re- make the face boards with 1/4 dark finish plywood so I could cut it to my custom needs.
Hi Chris, Thanks for responding to my comment. I have lost count of how many times I have watched your you-tube video. I also bought a similar fridge to you made by Set-power and placed it on a nice undermount slide-out. Because space is a premium I will be unable to put knobs on my drawers. I see you have a really nice indented curve at the top of your drawers. How did you achieve that? When I eventually get through with my remodel I will send you pictures of what I did. All the 1/8" boards were stapled and glued onto the frames. I decided to try and salvage those by just cutting out the drawer holes and painting the panel's dark grey. I'm not sure that the paint will hold up over the cheap veneer, even though I did sand and prime first, but it does look good. I am going to have drawer and door faces made by a cabinet maker and I am dropping off my newly cut cabinet tops to have formica glued on. Tomorrow I will cut the remaining face panel for the sink cabinet and then it will be done. Oh... except for plumbing. I ordered one of those typical trailer sinks that fits flush with a glass top. That was a pain to cut out. The plumbing parts they send from China are awful and not really so I may need a plumber if HD can't help me. So far so good ! It was your video that motivated me to do my own conversion! Thank you.
Very well done sir!!!
Nice Creative Eye for detail. Excellent work. Cheers from Michael. Australia
Great ideas thanks
WOW.
Looks great. Love the wood paneling look to the interior and the custom wood table. I might have to ring up Raptor PDX (local) for some custom options on my Aliner Expedition (coming in another week).
Many thanks .
Van looks great .
We are restoring one atm , and your video helped loads .
Glad to help. Hope your remodel goes well!
@@chesselbein
We finished ours , only a couple of months ago .
I have a few videos upon you tube .
Your van looks great .
I enjoyed this immensely, you explained everything in detail. I just loved 🥰 what you did. I wish you many happy trails. You gave us something to dream about and add it to the wish list. Thx U
Nice work :-)
Thank you so much
I just bought a 2011 sport I’ll be living in for 5 months
This is so helpful 😊
Did you consider a propex heater as opposed to the suburban?
Very clever! Bookmarking this for when I get an Aliner. Well done!
Really helpful electrical diagram and propane setup
Does your propane heater crate condensation? That is the issue with many portable propane heaters due to the combustion and exhaust they create.
Thanks!
A lot of excellent ideas and execution -- thanks for sharing.
Great video, so informative thank you for all the great details you provided throughout. Is that a 12v sealed lead acid deep cycle battery outside on the tongue, and does that play ok with the EcoFlow Pro, which is a Lithium-ion system? Is there 2 x 720w EcoFlow units installed under the bench? Lastly when you stripped back to the bench frame, it appeared to already have a previous mod to extend the overall width of the rear dinette / bed, did you buy it directly from Aliner/dealer that way, or did the previous owner modified it?
Thanks. No battery on the tongue. Empty box. Didn’t need it anymore. Yes 720 unit under the bench with an extended 720 unit connected to it. I got it used from someone who already extended the sleeping area.
Great Video, Awesome Build!
Very cool upgrades. Good work, too. Thanks!
Fabulous mods! Just got an Aliner scout that, like yours, doesn’t come with propane. But does come with an electric heat/ac pump. Weighing options for heat as we typically dry camp. Did your scout come with a non propane furnace (other than the Suburban you installed)? If so, can you run it on your eco battery?
Mine was a blank slate. Don’t know about the new heat pumps. If it runs on 12 volt then yes the ecoflow could run it. If it is AC then it could run it too but for a lot less time. Hmmmm
Hey Chris
I love what you did to your Aliner
The wood work gives it a much richer look, and the panel wood grade looks fantastic.
You definitely made use of all extra room for storage.
Just curious how you hooked up your light strips, and do you have a link for the LED lights.
Thank you
Roy
Thanks! There is an Amazon shopping list in the video description that should get you everything I bought for the lights. I ran a 12 v line from the power supply to a touch panel rgbw switch. Then ran rgbw cable from the switch to a splitter. Then ran more rgbw cable to the actual light strips.
I was Sub 50 -- did I win something🤣
Cheers
HA! I think you win good karma for your own camper remodel. Best of luck!
Very creative and nice improvements
Wonderful video! I may have missed it...about how much have you spent on your remodel?
Thanks! I think I calculated around $4,000 all together? I figure that it also increases resale value down the line.
Outstanding job with the remodel. Too bad you can't buy one of these A-frames with the quality that you put into this build!
Thanks! The aframe line was so inspiring. It was like building a little house :). Cheers!
Just what I need! Lovely, looks sturdy! But does it have room for a cassette potty? Concern for me.
No this is the very smallest version of the Aliner. No bathroom option.
great video, Chris!
What model of Dometic cooler did you install and how did you power it? Looks great!
Dometic CFX 35. It runs off of the 12 volt system that is powered by the ecoflow pro portable power station. Thanks!
I've been wanting one of these campers for a while but would need to make the dinette/bed a bit wider. I guess the easiest thing would be to cut down the galley and storage cabinets. I assume the cabinetry supports the sides of the camper. The size is perfect and I dont want to go for the larger model. thanks for the vid!
Thanks. Yes all of the support for the folded sidewalls relies on the small slide out bar cabinet near the door. The stove and sink cabinet does not take any of the weight. So make sure you have one good string cabinet near the door to support the weight. Other than that you can reduce the cabinetry as much as you want.
Nicely done, definite improvement!
Brilliant additions!
Hey there Chris, fantastic remodel!!! I'm strongly considering an A frame camper and dumping my pop up camper. Are there issues with leaking? Seems like when I watch videos of them being set up there's always daylight coming through where the side goes up to the highest point of the top part of the A frame itself. What has your experience been?
No troubles with leaking. There are small gaps it the top corners of the structure from where the foam compressed. The gaps are covered by an overhang so no problem with leaks. Some heat loss through the small gaps and the chance for a few bugs to slip in but it can easily be remedied with a bits of foam or something. Overall the standing height and ability to cook indoors is why I went pop up. And I do so much in the rain and snow that I didn’t want soft side. The a frame has been the way to go for me. Still happy with it. Thanks for the comments and let me know if you have other questions. :)
@@chesselbein thank you so much! Yes, I would do a ton more camping if I had a hard sided camper. It is Oregon after all :). Thanks for the encouragement, searching for the A frame for me now.
Very creative. Great job. Enjoy
Very nicely done!
How many days can you run your cooler on the one 12v battery?
It really depends. The ecoflow pro setup gives me 1440 watt hours. The 12 v cooler only runs the compressor periodically. So if I was just running the 12v electric cooler that would last for a week or two I think. The issue is I run other things like lights and the furnace and the water pump. This whole setup give me about 3 days off grid in the winter but 4-5 days off grid in the summer. Of course if I move the battery charges while I drive. If I had solar I’m sure it would extend that as well. Not a great answer but it is complex.
How did you install the led lights on the folding roof?
Look at the picture at 12:35 during the lighting section of the video. Double stick tape on the fold up side walls. Mount the strips facing up.
Bad ass!
Great job looks beautiful!
LOVE THIS!!!
Very nice!
Clever work!
Hi again. So with the heater, are you able to run it at night without worry of any lack of air flow/oxygen and the like? I know things like the “Lil Buddy” will heat but are not recommended while sleeping…
Thanks for any info you can provide because we are looking to find a way to heat the camper at night while boondocking
I was thinking about the little buddy style heater but I had your same concerns. I went with the suburban NT series forced air system. a bit more complex to install but it vents exhaust to the outside of the camper so no worry about fumes. There is still condensation but that is from sleeping inside it if all the windows and vents are shut tight.
I use the lil Buddy heater when I am boondocking. I stay warm under the covers overnight but I light the lil Buddy as soon as I get up. Unless the temperature is less than 40 degrees, the heater warms the A-frame in about 10 minutes and I often have to turn it off especially if I'm making coffee and cooking breakfast.