Road Toad progress

[R Keller]

I've been pretty scarce on the board lately due to big push in trying to actually get the Road Toad on the road at some point. Recent progress: roof on (mostly), windows installed in doors, sunroof installed, front box built and installed. Building the hatch right now and then need to skin the whole thing in aluminum.

Thought y'all might want to see some progress pics...





Check out my website at
http://webs.lanset.com/rikeller/Trailer/index_trailer.htm
for more

Rik

[beverlyt]

Rik,
Very cool! Nice features too are the sunroof, child's sleeping area (would be perfect for pets too!) and the table inside.
Looks like you're doing a very nice job. Can't wait to see it all finished.
Bev

[Chip]

OK,,short and sweet,,,,,I LIKE IT !!!!!!!keep the pics coming,,,,

Chip

[mikeschn]

Hey Rik,

That is super kwel! I like the addition of the front tongue storage, accessable from inside and out!!!

The footwell is perfect. I'd like to have one of those in my 3rd teardrop!

What are those chrome strips on the inside on the ceiling?

Mike...

[BufordT]

Rik,

You have done one great job on the road toad. I like it a lot. Looks like you will have a lot of extra room in the trailer because the back is not tapered down. Keep the pic's coming. And get back to work.

Bufordt

[Ross Wade]

Rik,

Nice job. Man, you've got a ton of room in there. Keep up the great work.

Ross

[R Keller]

Thanks for all the kind comments. You could tell me you hate it too. But there's not much I can do about that at this point...

Mike: the "chrome strips" that you see in the interior photos are 1/2" wide by 1/2" deep grooves in which the wiring will be run. They will then be covered with 1" wide aluminum trim. What you see in the photos right now is the blue Styrofoam insulation.

I'm doing my wiring this way for a few reasons. Since I constructed my sides as panels with both the interior and exterior plywood sandwiching the insulation, it was a lot easier not to run wiring beforehand. And I didn't want to cut into the floor either. Also, it turns out that the 5/32" Finland Birch plywood that I got (4x8' sheets) has the grain running parallel to the 4' side (opposite of most plywood). This meant that in order to easily bend the front radius, I would only have a 4-foot width and would need to piece together the plywood to make the 58" interior width (60" exterior width). So I came up with this idea. It'll give me some interior aluminum trim accents and will allow me to access the wiring later should I need to.

The dual access front box idea was ripped off directly from the Camp-Inn. The storage below will be accessible from the outside curb-side and will be used primarily for for folding chairs. The storage above will be accessible behind sliding panels from the interior.

It does feel very spacious inside. I had to get rid of the curved back in order to allow space for the child's bed above our feet and still have galley storage up top, while keeping the main body length at 10 feet. Since there is equal room on both the front and back sides of the interior table, we'll be able to seat 4 adults comfortably at the table and 6 in a squeeze.

Well, it's back to the hatch. Hasn't been too painful so far, but we'll see...

Rik

[DLucas]

Hey Rik,
I've already sent ya a PM, but I forgot to ask, where did you get those door windows?? Were you able to buy them made to fit your door shape, or were they a special order and from where? Man, I like this trailer!!! I want one too!
DLucas

[Larry Messaros]

Rik,

Looks great! I think you will enjoy the inside table. It's great for those rainy days and for times when there are no picnic tables available.

One question, why did you go with the sheet metal footwell? Was it simpler that building a frame for the footwell? (well, actually 2 questions )

[Gage]

Looks good but won't your spare tires get in the way?

[R Keller]

DLucas: I'll check your message and send you a reply soon. The windows are custom and are from Peninsula Glass in Vancouver, Washington:

http://www.motionwindows.com

Jeff Kemp (Sales Manager) was very responsive and easy to work with there. The windows are their 1600 series. 1/4" tempered glass with Dark Grey tinting. You can get them in either black or clear anodized frames. I went with the anodized. I gave them a drawing with my cutout dimensions, corner radius, and wall thickness, and they built them. The angle matches the one in the door (and the angle of the upper part of the hatch). Price was pretty reasonable (at least compared to All-Rite!).

Larry: I went with the sheet metal footwell because I had Grant Whipp fabricate and powdercoat the chassis for me and that's how he makes them. It seemed the easiest solution too. It just gets dropped into the floor cutout and then screwed and caulked. The metal is, I think, 16 gauge steel. It has a 1.5" lip on top and bottom and is 7" deep. Corners are welded and the whole thing is powdercoated. It weighs about 30 lbs.

Gage: just wait until I put the other two spares in (hey, you can't be too careful!) Actually, I'll probably mount a spare on the tongue (depending on my final tongue weight, until I eventually get a tow vehicle that has compatible wheels. Right now will use the old Nissan Sentra until it doesn't work anymore.

Rik