Story of Podder's Villa

The Story of Podder’s Villa

Hello,
I am 2011 RP-172. My owners are Helen and Sonny, who, after my makeover, renamed me" PODDER'S VILLA". They make a very good team; while Helen is the brain, Sonny is a hands on kinda guy. This is my story.
My owners bought me in September 2010 and I was glad to have a permanent home. A short shake down trip and Sonny got me ready for my first cold, long winter. Little did I know what was in store for me. Sonny and Helen talked about what plans they had for me, but I was not impressed when he started to tear me apart because I thought I was perfect the way I was. Boy was I wrong! He started by taking my bottom bunk apart, put in a floor-to-ceiling cabinet and two 32" deep drawers (his and hers) under the bottom bunk. Then came a cabinet at the foot end above the upper bunk (his) and another one below the top bunk (hers) for clothes. The kitchen counter was next. The lower cabinet door was replaced by a rolling door and the drawers under the sink were removed, including the spacers between the drawers. After moving plumbing and electrical wires out of the way I got four full depth drawers. A new counter was installed with almond laminate and a matching backsplash was included. Then, a new stainless steel sink and faucet plus a stainless cooktop topped it off. From there Sonny went on to build a new table, to match the counter. The tabletop can slide back and forth and can be locked in any position for easy access to the seating area. The under seat storage was split in two, left side for storage and the right side was turned into a cooler. A valance was installed across the back window and it hides the new blind (when open) and the additional accent lighting. Two corner shelves on either side of the dinette were added and a space was found for maps, magazines, manuals, etc. behind the dinette back cushion. Next came an access door to the HWT and the pump. The hinged door on the cabinet over the counter was replaced with a rolling door and two cabinets were added for dishes, cups, glasses etc. All the incandescent lights were replaced with LEDs and 10' of LED strip lighting was added (250 watts versus 50 watts).     
There were three more cabinets to come, one over the microwave and the others on either side of the dinette above the valances.
When spring of 2012 came, Sonny went to work on my outside. He put in four windows (portholes): one in the door, one in the bathroom and one over each bunk. Then he removed the AC (what a load off my roof!) and installed a skylight instead. Wow what a difference: I became very bright and cheerful. He then added a storage box on the back for more stuff including a 2000 watt Honda gen. Up front he build a box for batteries, LP bottle, toolbox, etc.
This spring he decided to change my front. The base was there, all we needed was a floor and to close it in, so he did that and now there is room for 2 LP tanks, 2 batteries, toolbox, spare tire, hoses, electrical cords, sewer hose, even a closet rod and other odds and ends. The other thing he did add 8' of LED strip light on the door side to light up the r-dome. We also needed a backup light, so Sonny built and installed it. The first time he turned it on I felt like Han Solo's Millennium Falcon taking off.
Other things Sonny did include changing the crank tongue jack to electric for cheap, and building a 12 volt electric trailer dolly to manoeuvre me into my tight parking space behind the garage. Being at home saves 80$ a month on storage fees.
My biggest adventure so far was a 4500 km roundtrip this year to Charleston, Oregon for the PNW round up. Wow, there were 30 of my brothers and sisters there. What a sight! All these people wanting to look at me, and the comments, (Elaine: "O my god, O my god"; Camper Sue: "I want this") and of course most of the guys yelled " Honey, now don't get any ideas". All in all my owners and I had a great time. So here we are at the end of another season. My owners look after me and I look after them, so the three of us make a great team. And I do believe I deserve my new name “PODDER'S VILLA”.



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I think I'd like to move to Edmonton!  Just to be able to look over Sonny's shoulder!

Thank you Bob for those kind words and a big hello to you and Camper Sue.