Scot's Track Shack - finishing touches - updated 4/26/12

...ask your questions in the appropriate forums BUT document your build here...preferably in a single thread...dates for updates, are appreciated....

Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Mon May 02, 2011 9:58 pm

jeprovo wrote:Cool Build! How about masking off some letters or some graphic on the rear hatch when you paint it and leaving the letters wood grain?

Maybe I missed it, is your floor 1/2" ply too?
Any Plans to insulate?

Looking forward to seeing your progress!


That's a neat idea. Except I don't know what to put there...

Yes, the floor is 1/2" ply. At this point I don't plan to insulate this one, but I'm considering it for the next build, whenever THAT may be.
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

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Postby jeprovo » Tue May 03, 2011 12:37 am

Facemeltingly Epic wrote:That's a neat idea. Except I don't know what to put there...


Maybe the outline of your favorite track, or home track. Frame it in black, with the infield wood grain.

Though of a trailer name yet?
How about Race-Inn, Speed-Inn or Track-Inn?
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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Tue May 03, 2011 8:29 am

jeprovo wrote:Maybe the outline of your favorite track, or home track. Frame it in black, with the infield wood grain.

Though of a trailer name yet?
How about Race-Inn, Speed-Inn or Track-Inn?


I like how you think!

I was leaning towards either Casa Carrera or Track Toad.
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
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Postby Deryk the Pirate » Tue May 03, 2011 6:15 pm

Looking Great man! I think Im going to order a door lock like yours... the porch/screen door handle i have i dont like....if I lock it and press the button a few times it unlocks.
Build Thread lil vardo 1: http://tinyurl.com/baqe6py
Build Thread lil vardo 2: http://tinyurl.com/b3rwffm
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Postby jeprovo » Tue May 03, 2011 8:42 pm

Facemeltingly Epic wrote:... Casa Carrera ...


That name is a total winner!!
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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Sun May 15, 2011 9:42 pm

Nothing to report construction-wise, but I have taken the trailer on a couple more trips since building and installing the hatch. I took it to Laguna Seca the last weekend of April and today I just came back from the AMA West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon. Silly me, I took my camera on both trips and didn't snap a single picture!

The trailer seems less sensitive to the slipstream of other vehicles with the hatch installed, and it is nice being able to haul stuff in the galley now. I found out while loading up this last Friday that I can put enough weight in the galley to significantly lighten the tongue; I had a full 28-quart cooler and a case of bottled water back there. The tongue went from 70lb empty to under 50lb (at a loaded weight of about 700! :shock: ). I wound up hauling the bottled water in the cabin, and based on that I think I will probably mount the battery on the tongue when I get around to that.

We had significant overnight rain at Infineon, and I am pleased to report the cabin does not leak. Even with the roof vent open, I got no water in the cabin. I did get some in the galley, but considering I don't have any seals back there at all it was not much and it all just beaded up where it landed.

Even though it's obvious to even a casual observer that my trailer isn't finished, I still got lots of people complimenting it and asking me questions about it. It seems to be a good conversation starter...

Next week it's another run out to Laguna. I'm going to try and get the hatch painted before I take off.
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c3e73ca184

Or here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... cf567dd7b7

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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:04 pm

It seems now that I have a usable travel trailer, it has gotten exponentially harder to find the motivation to work on it...

But after a weekend at Laguna Seca with some rather high winds, I did get some decent hatch supports built. I built them similar to what a couple other folks have done here (St. Patron's build comes to mind first), using door stops and EMT conduit.

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I really am gonna paint the hatch to match the body. Honest. :)

BTW, my most recent road trip was to Sears Point for the Sonoma Historics, during which the trailer was subjected to the worst rain it has encountered yet. I had no leaks while I was sleeping (I usually close the hatch when I turn in for the night), but we had rain that lasted from 10pm one night to almost nine the following morning. I did wind up with some water on the floor of the cabin, which I'm pretty sure came in under the rear bulkhead while I was making my breakfast. I caulked it with RTV after I got home. Hatch seals aren't as much of a priority now that the rainy season is pretty much over, but I do need to get them done before fall.
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c3e73ca184

Or here:
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Postby Wolffarmer » Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:45 pm

If you think keeping the rain out is hard. Now you get to try to keep the dust out. Good luck.

:lol:

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Postby StPatron » Wed Jun 15, 2011 1:18 am

Lookin' good! :thumbsup:

And, you're already able to use it. Good plan.
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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:08 pm

I have finally painted the hatch! Honestly, it had adequate protection with nothing other than CPES on it, but I finally decided it had to match the rest of the trailer.

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And this is what I came up with for securing the hatch supports when they're not in use.

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This will make lowering the hatch considerably easier.

And tomorrow, as soon as I'm off work I am on the road again. I'm heading up to Sears Point for NASCAR, baby! 8)
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c3e73ca184

Or here:
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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:38 pm

Some of you might recall that I mentioned putting a cabinet with sliding doors in the galley of my trailer. My initial attempt of making doors begain with a sheet of 1/4" birch plywood from Lowe's that was so badly warped I couldn't use it for that purpose. I finally made another trip to Southern Lumber for a new sheet of plywood for that purpose.

Long story short, I saved maybe forty cents buying that sheet of birch at Lowe's as opposed to buying it at Southern. And I actually spent less on what I did use for my doors.

Image

I made my sliding doors from a sheet of 1/4" mahogany instead. This was partly because it was the first 2'x4' sheet I pulled out of the rack and wasn't a wholly conscious decision, at least until I noticed it was a bit less expensive than birch.

I also got my first coat of paint on the doors and the interior of the cabinet.

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Both will be getting a second coat. The paint inside the cabinet is pretty thin, and while I got pretty decent coverage on the doors I'd like to hit them with a roller to cover up the brush marks.

I'm also in the process of making a platform on the tongue, which will be where I mount the battery when I get around to doing the 12v electricals. And that will be soon; now that it's summer I'd really like having a functioning Fan-Tastic vent!

Nothing like my dad wanting to reclaim his power tools to get a fella working... :lol:
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c3e73ca184

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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Fri Jul 29, 2011 12:07 am

I have made a start on the 12v electricals in my trailer.

Image

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As you can see, it's not terribly elaborate. All I have wired to the battery right now is the Fan-Tastic vent, and I must say that last weekend at Thunderhill the fan came in quite handy. Once it cooled off during the night, I actually woke up to shut it off. I will wire up lights in the interior and the galley at a later date.

I have also begun painting the interior.

Image

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What you see here is basically what I could get done with a 9" roller. Most of the rest will be done with a 3" roller and a brush.

During my last trip up to Thunderhill, I noticed that having the additional weight of the battery on the tongue did a lot to make the trailer more stable. I made most of the trip at 65-70 mph unless I hit anything above a light breeze. This did come with a slight penalty in fuel consumption; I averaged "only" 22 mpg for this trip.

And lastly, I have finally decided on a name for my trailer - the Track Shack.
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c3e73ca184

Or here:
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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Sun Jul 31, 2011 9:43 pm

I don't have any pictures to go with this update...

I'm still working on painting the cabin. It has turned out to be more of a project than I originally thought. I have so far used about a gallon and a half of semi-gloss white paint, and I'm still not finished. Remember the cheap plywood I bought at Lowe's for this project that I don't ever plan to buy again if I do another project? It has a nearly insatiable thirst for paint!

That said, the areas where I have gotten enough paint look pretty decent. Part of what makes this job time-consuming stems from my decision to not do an inner skin for the ceiling; the consequence of this is that I have a LOT of corners and edges to paint!

I have to use the trailer this coming weekend; it'll be a 24 Hours of LeMons race at Thunderhill. Hopefully I'll have the paint work done by then, but I'm not holding my breath...
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c3e73ca184

Or here:
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"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often, and for the same reason." - Mark Twain
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Postby Facemeltingly Epic » Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:27 pm

Oh, mercy me! It has been THREE MONTHS since I've updated my build journal! Some of that is laziness, most of it is because a) I have enough done on the trailer that I can use it and not spend as much time working on it; and b) up until a couple weekends ago, I've been using the trailer quite a bit.

About a month ago, I finally got around to installing interior lighting in the trailer. I went with LED fixtures; they cost a lot up front, but they produce plenty of light and don't use a lot of power.

This is the fixture in the cabin. In retrospect I could have gone with a single-array fixture and still had plenty of light (and a bit more money in my pocket).

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This is the fixture in the galley.

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And this is a convincing argument for doing insulated walls on my next build, as I could hide nearly all of that wiring! OTOH, I would have to work out an electrical schematic in advance, but that isn't too big a deal.

Also, at long last I have my checkerboard curtains!

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My mother finally found some black-and-white checked fabric, and bought enough to make a pillowcase as well. Now it finally has some race decor (and will get a little more once I get my Senna poster put up inside the cabin).

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My next project? Mounting taillights on the hatch... :(

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Last time I took the trailer out, I was trying to back it into a spot and hit a van. I wound up denting the rear bumper on the van and breaking off the left taillight. What you see in the photo above is what I resorted to just to get the trailer home. I got a shelf bracket at Walmart (pretty much the only place resembling a hardware store in Willows, CA that I know of) into which I drilled holes for the studs on the taillight. I then zip-tied it onto the trailer frame. I had to stop once to replace a broken zip tie but otherwise it made it home fine. Needless to say, the taillight didn't work on the whole trip.

I'll try to post updates in a more timely fashion from here on out. :)
Scot

My build journal: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=42585

Not enough photos there? Try here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... c3e73ca184

Or here:
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"Politicians are like diapers. They should be changed often, and for the same reason." - Mark Twain
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Postby Wolffarmer » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:00 pm

Welcome back Face Melt.

That is about the most interesting tail light mount I have seen. And as I have farmed or been around farms all my life that is saying a lot.

:lol:

I put a florescent light in the cabin of mine. At that time I had not seen any LED lights I really liked. And before I put some LEDs in I sure would like to see if I like them. I like to set and read when the weather is cold/wet out so good light is important to me.

Randy
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