Floor Plan for a 35' 4104
by Jim Stacy If you want to create a floorplan for a 35' conversion and you want to do it well, you must fight for every inch of space, every double use of floor space, every chance for a storage spot without losing the feeling of openness. You must also decide how practical it is to carry around a washer, dryer, dishwasher, ice maker, trash compactor and other "gee whiz" toys just because you can. Most of these require so much utility service, they can only be run practically when you have full hookups and are just a few steps away from a laundromat. Personal choices must always be made to weigh convenience against cost and space.
The '04 and '06 have prominent wheel wells and require special planning. We used twin beds in the rear to get around the problem. This has the added benefit of a wider aisle, easier bed making, open floor plan, and allows overhead storage on all three sides. In every low space available for storage we installed drawers to get better access without lying on the floor. This includes under the rear half of each bed, under the refrigerator, oven, dinette seats and the top step, which we partly covered.
A sofa took care of the left front wheel well but the right front was still in the way. I finally took my sawsall and removed the steel unit and replaced it with a flat top structure that allows mounting of the co-pilot seat. That seat was modified to adjust fore and aft, and rotates so that it could be used as a living room chair also. A drop-leaf table against the curb wall accepts two leaves and will reach the sofa if extra table area is needed. The sofa was ordered without arms to save a foot of length. Small triangular bolsters are armrests that can be removed, if needed, for full length sleeping.
We purposely made the dinette narrow (35") to keep the center more open. We decided the 35 inches was a spacious enough area for two, four in an emergency, and one adult could still sleep there, if necessary. The dinette has triple the benefits of a table/chair combination, as it has a great deal of storage space, can be a sleep area and also stays in place when you apply the brakes.
Except for the shower area, there are overhead cupboards the entire perimeter of the interior. This provides storage space and, with the addition of a narrow strip of plywood to the lower inside cleat, allows a chase for the bulk of the interior wiring. This makes it easy to add or change wiring. To keep the open feel, the overhead cupboard doors have a bronze mirror inset in the living room and bedroom doors, and white Formica in the kitchen and bath doors. The ceiling and walls are a light color Ozite fabric and the oak stain is a honey shade.
The floor plan allows all the underfloor water to be in the rear bay area only. This bay was insulated with 1" polyurethane/foil board and the doors were filled with foam to allow cold weather use. The interior walls and ceiling, outside surface of the wheel wells, and genset compartment were all hot spray foamed for heat and noise control. The rear bay has two 95 gallon tanks for gray and black water and two 80 gallon tanks tied together for fresh water. The coach can be dumped from either side and the gray water can be dumped through the black tank to clean it if necessary. The water heater is on the upper floor in the rear comer of the kitchen counter. Using this normally wasted space allows very short hot water runs to all faucets, so that a minimum of water is wasted waiting for hot. Plumbing was carefully positioned vertically to allow gravity draining for winterizing:The faucets are the highest, followed by the hot water manifold, the water heater, the cold water manifold, then the pump and tanks.
Plumbing manifolds were fabricated for cold water, hot water, and propane. Each fixture has a dedicated valve and supply line to eliminate inaccessible connections. The front and rear closet doors are designed to close across the aisle and latch, providing an 8' square bathroom when needed, and double use of the aisle area when not needed.
The neo angle shower was ordered in 36" size as the standard 38" was too large and the 32" required exiting the shower to pick up the dropped soap. We used "cultured marble" for the shower base and vanity top bowl. It is available in a wide range of colors, custom made in your dimensions, and easy to keep up. Simply covering the walls with the same white Formica used in the cabinet doors, made the shower stall. It tracked the curve up the side wall and onto the ceiling making a light, user friendly stall.
We find that shower curtains have advantages over a glass shower stall. It does not intrude into the aisle space and it is easier to clean, maintain, and replace. We used heavy-duty window shades for the same reasons. Mini blinds and pleated shades are chic but not too practical. The pleated blinds sag and the mini's are noisy and very hard to clean.
To save space, the partitions are all 3/4" double faced oak plywood with stiffening comers as needed. The shower plumbing is on the end of the vanity to save moving the shower away from the wall by two inches.
After two years of use, the only change we have made is to install a larger refrigerator. We have also talked about installing hard surface floors in the bedroom and living room areas in place of carpet, for ease of housekeeping. As you can guess we are pleased with the way it turned out. There are many, many ways to do a conversion and this plan might not be right for you, but hopefully it will give you some ideas. Let me know if I can be of further help.
Jim Stacy is a retired Technical Trainer for General Motors with thirty years experience in electronics and precision mechanical trades. He presently drives his 1953 GM 4104 through the warm climes of the south-west States. Jim, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, can be contacted via e-mail at jastacy@worldnet.net.
