Truck Canopy Trailer - Updates... Solar Panel, Jack, etc.

[Papi]

That's ingenuity! Simple, effective, and cheap. I like it.

[Woodstramp]

Ditto to what Papi said. I like it too.

[aggie79]

Very nice Erik!

You're almost campable!

Take care,
Tom

[ohbugger]

What kind words! I don't even have an interior, and master builder Tom calls it almost campable. You all are too nice. But I will be weathertight this weekend, then we get our garage back!

[ohbugger]

Lots of pics and not too many words this week.

Exterior is pretty much good to go. Windows in. Any boat or fiberglass people out there know anything about polishing gelcoat? Regular rubbing compound?

I'll get some kind of tongue box to visually break up the front a bit.




Now I can start on the interior!
Easy access when needed.

An aluminum stair threshold fit perfectly to provide some protection for the entry.


The brake lights.

The brake/turn/tail lights are 3 of these side-by-side.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/30cm-RED-15-SMD ... 2eb5040064
Cheap! At under $2 each shipped, we'll see how they last. If the link expires search ebay for "30cm RED LED FLEXIBLE STRIP"
The plan is that the middle light is the tail/marker light and the outer 2 are the turn/brake lights. Out of the 6 strips, one has a section of problematic LEDs, so buy 1 or 2 more than you need.

[jbyrd]

wow it's coming together great! cant wait to see what you do with the interior.

[ohbugger]

Having a blast assembling the interior!
Gotta pick up another sheet of plywood tonight!
I must say... if you don't have one of these:

You must get one. I can't imagine assembling a woodworking project without it. Leaves only a tiny hole to fill, and combined with some glue, you can build things up real fast and they will hold very well!

[wa_flyfisher]

I am not sure what the regs are here in WA, but you might want to hook up the third break light on the canopy.

[ohbugger]

I am not sure what the regs are here in WA, but you might want to hook up the third break light on the canopy.

I am pretty comfortable with electronics, so I was thinking of using a relay or logic circuit fed by the 2 rear lights to provide a signal for the 3rd brake light. (I only have a 4-pin connector) While this would fix the 3rd brake light from always flashing with the turn signals, the 3rd brake light would still flash if braking and turning. Still not ideal. In the end I decided to delete it which is fine by law.

Here's the Washington State Patrol Regulations for trailers:
http://www.wsp.wa.gov/traveler/docs/cvd/170_129.pdf
And here's the section pertaining to lights for trailers under 80" wide and/or 30' long.

"Two red tail lamps, one located near each side on the rear of the trailer. Two stop lamps at the rear which may be in conjunction with the tail lamp units. The license plate shall be illuminated by a white lamp which may be in conjunction with either tail lamp. Two red reflectors, one located near each side of the rear of the trailer."

Pretty simple!

[wa_flyfisher]

sounds like you are set!

Maybe I missed it, but did you insulate behind the plywood?

[ohbugger]

sounds like you are set!

Maybe I missed it, but did you insulate behind the plywood?

Thanks! Nope, no insulation. I wasn't really thinking about it back when I started, so the flooring is 1/2" plywood with no insulation. Most of it is single pane window glass, thin fiberglass, and the thin flooring. In the end I didn't see any point insulating the small percentage of it that is walls. I'll find out if that was a mistake! A while ago I was kind of down on the whole thing and thinking of ditching it to start over with a traditional teardrop. I'm glad I pushed through, but I can see why people built a 2nd or 3rd teardrop so often... There's so much that you don't learn until your hands are dirty.

----------------------------------------------------
Sidenote:
I have to wonder how many people build these things to use them and how many people build it for the fun of a project. I definitely plan on using it once I have it, but it was the fun and challenge of constructing the thing that was the most interesting part to me. I have no idea how much I'll use it, we hardly even go camping! Crazy and misguided? Perhaps. But then again in today's world camping is kind of crazy and misguided, isn't it? My neighbor likened camping to jumping out of a perfectly good plane with a parachute on your back. In fact, we just built a brand new beautiful home, why go spend the weekend in a trailer? I can't explain it...
Makes me wonder how you would explain camping to someone in the third-world.
"So, let me get this right... You have a large comfortable home with all the luxuries of the 21st century at your fingertips. But you leave the home and spend your vacation in a soggy tent swatting mosquitoes?"
"Yup, every chance I get"
Hee hee.

[mezmo]

Hi Erik/ohbugger,

It's looking Great! Small but really roomy. It has a nice 'finished' look
to the exterior. And it'd be hard to find anything with better interior
accessibility. Maybe it'll inspire you all into more time for camping?

The reworking of the window latch turned out splendidly. A little added
safety tweek might be to find some red or yellow plastic/rubber cover for the
aluminum bar handle end - to make it easier to see and more comfortable to
use.

It will be interesting to see your finishing details.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[ohbugger]

Thanks looking forward to getting finished up! It's definitely close! The interior just got stained which really brought out the color in the lauan. I have a few hardware details, the electrical, curtains and cushions and we're good to go!

[Woodstramp]

Eric,
To tell the truth, I thought your camper top idea would look jacked up at first... Just have to say you have done an outstanding job. Amire your resourcefulness and `eye`. The OA side profile actually puts me in mind of mid 50`s automobiles for some reason....the forward lean and the way the base covers the outside of the wheels...kind of like fender skirts i guess. That thing is looking great. I`d be proud to tow it anywhere.

[ohbugger]

Eric,
To tell the truth, I thought your camper top idea would look jacked up at first... Just have to say you have done an outstanding job. Amire your resourcefulness and `eye`. The OA side profile actually puts me in mind of mid 50`s automobiles for some reason....the forward lean and the way the base covers the outside of the wheels...kind of like fender skirts i guess. That thing is looking great. I`d be proud to tow it anywhere.

Ha ha, yeah, it's an odd thing. If I started over, I would do a normal teardrop. It is really roomy, there's enough room for 6 adults sitting, but I'm not sure if the trailer can handle the weight of 6 adults plus the trailer itself!
I'll be towing it behind an equally odd looking car, a scion Xb. So, it's a box, towing a box.
I am a pretty detail oriented guy, but not an especially skilled craftsman, so we'll see where it goes!