Cortni Armstrong and Patti Baruxen from The Flipping Nomad took a break from their every day RV renovation business to once again partner with Keystone and Lippert to create a one-of-a-kind outrageous masterpiece -- this time hooking her wagon (literally) to the legendary Fuzion toy haulers.
Born out of a need for more flexible space, The Flipping Nomad team decided that a toy hauler was the perfect next move for their growing company. The team was based in Texas but ultimately decided that taking their business mobile needed to be a reality, they are Nomads after all. A toy hauler will provide Cortni with the mobile workshop and office space she needs. After seeing Fuzion's 425 floorplan, Cortni had her heart set on a side patio model and Fuzion Product Manager, Nick Ebenroth made her dream come true.
HERE'S WHAT THE ALL-NEW 2024 FUZION 425 LOOKS LIKE STRAIGHT FROM THE FACTORY. PRETTY SWEET, ARE WE RIGHT???
SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE FLIPPING NOMAD'S OVER-THE-TOP TRANSFORMATION.
The Before:
The Flipping Nomad arrived at the Keystone RV campus in Goshen, IN in early May and we revealed the floorplan that she will be redesigning into The Ultimate Fuzion before it was even off the line in the manufacturing plant. We did something that we have never done before and built a "shell" of a unit that had virtually nothing inside so that Cortni's design would only be limited to her imagination. Below are some photos of how The Ultimate Fuzion started. Keep an eye on this blog each week as we update the progress!
Update 1:
The Flipping Nomad is off to a fast start! Below is a list of everything that The Flipping Nomad team accomplished during week 1 of construction.
- Started getting the workshop space set up
- Removed two walls that they won't need for their design
- Tearing down those walls gave The Flipping Nomad team the space to start finalizing the exact layout
- They mocked up the bathroom with tape on the floor
- Gathered cardboard that they'll build mockup walls and cabinets with to confirm the final layout
- Installed some temporary flooring as a way to protect the subfloor and the decks during the construction
- (Not pictured) Future Solutions came out to start designing the solar power system
Update 2:
- The Flipping Nomad team had an awesome all-day meeting at Lippert’s headquarters where they talked with a lot of their managers about all things Lippert products; custom furniture and drapes, air ride suspension and pin box, disc brakes, unique windows with a custom profile, and more. They even hosted The Ultimate Montana to give their team members a chance to see it!
- They went to Lippert's fabric supplier to pick out the fabric for the custom couch and the dog beds
- A lot of time was spent ordering and getting materials in. One neat thing that they are able to do with the Fuzion is build cabinetry according to what is going to be stored in it. Cortni was finally able to hit “Check out” on a lot of products that have been sitting in my Amazon account, waiting for this build! It was things like a pot and pan set with removable handles, air fryer, toaster oven, food processor/blender combo, dishwasher, and more.
- Cortni finalized the configuration of the bedroom and bathroom. "I was having a hard time deciding if I should have access to the bathroom from the bedroom. I do not have that in my Montana and it isn’t a big deal. I don’t mind it at all, but I thought with the Fuzion it would be good to have a door there just to experience something else. I’m going to try to do a double sliding door, essentially making it so the whole wall roll away. We’ll see if I can make the mechanisms work. Fingers crossed!"
- The team got the custom bed frame built to house the dog beds. It kind of feels like a bunk bed of sorts! Rizzo is still learning how to use it (see picture).
- They continued to get the shop space set up as they had been hauling our tools around in boxes, waiting for the Fuzion to get built so they could get a special tool storage system. Until that system gets here, they got some great collapsible rolling shelves. They are awesome! They fold down so slim that they will likely take some in the Fuzion.
- The Flipping Nomad team weighed the tools to get a gauge for how much cargo weight is going to be associated with them. They were able to weigh about half of what they had; hand tools, battery tools, supplies (screws, silicone etc), and the paint sprayers. It came out to 360 pounds. They still have to weigh the mitre saw, table saw, tables, vacuums, and storage bin weight. They think we’ll come in around 1,000 pounds. That’s pretty good as a stock Fuzion is rated to carry 3,000 pounds.
Update 3:
We visited The Flipping Nomad team in the workshop and got a sneak peek at what they've been up to! While we were there, Cortni routed a window into a larger size. Take a look at some of the progress of the build below.
Update 4:
Our Brand Ambassadors were in town for the Brand Ambassador rally and got an exclusive look at the build progress. Here are some of their reactions.