Tucson tortoise: Edit for photos

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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby noseoil » Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:11 pm

What I do for the vent is to use the AC as a "slider" setup, so it pokes out the front of the opening it normally travels in (the stowed position, aft). The box it sits in will have a 1/4" slope per foot at the bottom to the outside (toward the front, for condensate & weather drainage) and a removable face panel of aluminum just above the tongue box, facing the front. To use the AC, it will be necessary to slide the front panel out of it's track first, then the unit slides forward until the face frame around the unit (near the control panel at the "back" side or inside on the AC) seals against the face frame of the cabinet box it sits in. This provides an "airtight" seal for bugs & weather. The slope of the bottom shelf & the drain lets water run out & onto the tongue box.

The inner sides, top & bottom of the box will be laminated with thin aluminum to seal it from weather & rot. The entire AC unit sits about 6" out at the front once it's pushed into place (the back end of the AC unit itself), this allows for air flow to provide dumping of the heat to the outside while running. Unfortunately, it also sits about 6" to the inside when travelling. I'm using simple pins on both sides to lock it in place for travelling, so it can't move front to back. Once it's slid to the outside, gravity should hold it in place. With the tongue box being 22" tall, the AC starts at about 23" above the deck on its shelf, so airflow is directed over our heads for sleeping & naps. I thought about having it in the tongue box at floor level, but I didn't like that type of setup. This was the best of some bad choices due to size & everything else I had going.
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby Rlowell » Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:49 pm

Thanks for the quick reply. It looks like I will be retro-fitting my account to the front of the
Weekende r. I have inside shelves that I can rest the a.c. on coming from the outside. I will construct a box that it will sit in and have additional storage as well. It should give me 7 inches in the box and about 4 inches inside the camper. How would you seal the hole? I do not do fiberglass. The hole should be about 7 x 12".
The exterior box I am thinking of will be 31" x 36" wide x 10" deep and attach to the camper. I will have two shelves in the box, one for the a.c. to set on and another for misc. Stuff. I am thinking that the a.c. shelf will extend into the interior. Of course there should be a hinged door foe the a.c. to vent the heat when in camping mode.

Thoughts?
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby Rlowell » Mon Jun 22, 2015 2:53 pm

Some times I hate spell check! It won't let me type what I want. lol
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby noseoil » Mon Jun 22, 2015 6:15 pm

If I'm understanding you correctly, the thing you want to seal is between the original camper & the new box you're adding? I would get a good tight fit of wood on wood between the two, then fasten with screws & a urethane adhesive, Sikaflex or one of the good 3M adhesives to make the joint airtight & water proof.

Here's why I don't work on the build after work in the summer. This was taken a about 4:00 PM after work today. Nice, but there is NO FIRE burning in the fire box. This is just the sun doing its job on some sheet metal on my smoker. It's still stupid hot outside......
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Last edited by noseoil on Sun Nov 03, 2019 7:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby Rlowell » Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:57 pm

Thank you. I will look for a good adhesive. I also tend to use Kreg pocket hole screws and method. I am a testimony to Krek pocket holes and products.
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby Rlowell » Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:01 am

Bye the way...that is H O T ! Our heat index was over 105, they said temp. Was 106. :? :beer: moo

Rod :shock:
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby noseoil » Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:49 pm

Had to do something this week on the build, so I worked on some spars for the headliner installation. There are two different types of wood being used here. Most of it is 4/4 poplar for the roof vent, front & back & intermediate spars. Anything which will take more of an actual load is done with 4/4 red oak. I figured it's a bit heavier, but as far as holding the fastenings for the solar panel & the hatch screws, the oak is much better than the poplar when it comes to overall strength & longevity.

The large holes drilled in the spars are for some 3/8" Pex tubing I'm using for conduit runs. Figured it would be easier to pre-drill the spars prior to assembly than try to run a drill up on the roof with the headliner in place. If I ever need to fish more wires, I'll have a way to do it. Each conduit will have a piece of mason line in it, along with the wire runs. The string will let me fish more wires at a later time if I want to "upgrade" something. The smaller holes (with the counter-sunk edges) are for the drywall screws I'll be using to fasten the blocking in place at the vent & solar panel. Hopefully, on Saturday morning I'll have the headliner installed & the spars as well. Next will be the Pex & wire runs. I'm using some smaller plastic tubing for marker lights and small LED stuff, but the shore power & heavier 12v loads will be in Pex.
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Here's a cropped detail shot to show the basic layout I used to drill for the holes & how they look before installation. The Pex is 1/2" O.D. so I used a 9/16" bit for the holes. Don't want to have to fight this stuff as it's fairly stiff to work with & trying to bend it around corners isn't fun. It may soften up a little in the heat, but I'm not counting on it. More pictures to follow this weekend. Thanks for looking. tim
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Last edited by noseoil on Sun Nov 03, 2019 7:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby KCStudly » Thu Jun 25, 2015 6:56 am

Hey Noseoil, nice details.

For the record, I have tried to stay away from drywall screws for permanent installation because they tend to be brittle and can snap off. I would be especially concerned about that possibility in hard wood. I realize most of the strength comes from the tight glue joint, but it would really bite if you pop the head off of a screw or two while attempting a glue up. YMMV, just saying.
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby noseoil » Thu Jun 25, 2015 7:29 am

Thanks KC, but there are different grades & types of fasteners available & I found some good ones for the build. Pity, but the last place here in town where I bought them, closed their doors in March so I need to find a better place than the cheap home center places for better quality fasteners now. I bought some once from "Home Delay" which were completely worthless in this respect. They were so weak they couldn't be set properly without breaking, complete imported garbage. I always drill pilot holes into hardwood before assembly, even for hinge screws. With the correct size hole, they zip right in and hold really well. By the time some glue is on the threads to act as a lube & they're run in "just snug enough" it's a very strong joint. I also use a clutch on my drill, so I don't over-tighten during assembly.

That being said, if I do happen to snap one off on this stuff where it doesn't show, I'd just move over & do another close to the first. Compared to my day at work yesterday, a broken drywall screw would be a pleasure to deal with....
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby lrrowe » Fri Jun 26, 2015 9:03 pm

[quote="]",

Here's a cropped detail shot to show the basic layout I used to drill for the holes & how they look before installation. The Pex is 1/2" O.D. so I used a 9/16" bit for the holes. Don't want to have to fight this stuff as it's fairly stiff to work with & trying to bend it around corners isn't fun. It may soften up a little in the heat, but I'm not counting on it. More pictures to follow this weekend. Thanks for looking. tim

Image[/quote]

Noseoil,
I think your providing for conduit runs (using PEX) is a great idea. Great minds do think a lot as I did the same using regular plastic conduit in my subfloor. I have about 5 unused 1/2" runs.

I use the string idea also. If you ever lose the string in one of the tubings, a piece of tissue tied to the end of a string and a vacuum cleaner will fix that problem.
Bob

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Hot water infloor and radiator heating project:[url]http://www.tnttt.com/posting.php?mode=reply&f=54&t=62327[/

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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby noseoil » Sat Jun 27, 2015 3:18 pm

Here's the front with the headliner in place, showing the AC opening & a bit of blocking started at the bottom of the wall. I'm finished for the day now with outdoor stuff. It's 101 & a little bit muggy, as the monsoon season will be starting shortly. Right now the rains are in the "tease" mode. You can see it sometimes, even smell rain, but it doesn't rain enough to cool things off yet. I'm using two blue tarps to button up things when I'm not working on the build. 8)
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From the galley looking forward, through the PD4045 opening & TV opening to the AC opening in the headboard. Everything pulled up well enough.
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Vent opening from aft showing some spars, plywood weights for the spar glue-joint to headliner connection, & clamps in the vent opening while the glue is drying.
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A little bit better detail shot of the inside with clamps in the vent opening & how the headliner & canvas meets the headboard & walls. I still need to make some trim for the edges, because the canvas is 58" wide & the walls are 58 1/2" wide at the headliner. It will be 4/4 the alder, ripped at 1/4" or maybe 3/16" to go around the bend at the front where it meets the headboard.
160000

Will have to work on blocking tomorrow morning to add the fillers against the rabbet joint, headliner & wall panel. As always, thanks for looking. Time for a soak in the tub & a nap, I'm pooped!
Last edited by noseoil on Sun Nov 03, 2019 8:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby KCStudly » Sat Jun 27, 2015 8:40 pm

Looking great! :thumbsup:
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby Sheddie » Sun Jun 28, 2015 1:02 am

That is looking really good Tim. The canvas on the hood lining and the colouring of the wood should give you a nice bright interior. :thumbsup:
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby noseoil » Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:31 am

Thanks KC & Frank. I'm pleased with the overall appearance now, about what I wanted to see inside. Tried to keep the interior light & open feeling, even though it's a small space in the cabin. I've seen too many homes with poor lighting, dark wood & wall colors, which ended up making larger rooms feel too small & like a cave inside. A couple of lights would have solved the problem, but going "cheap" on the lighting made it seem gloomy. Even a small space can look bigger if it isn't too dark, but you get what you pay for I guess...

The Alder for the face frames worked out pretty well & isn't too dark, plus it's a nice "warm" color which goes with the lightly stained birch plywood. The birch got a stain (Minwax gel stain) called honey maple, which has a slight orange cast to it, but is still pretty light in color. To me, the birch looks pretty stark & white if it isn't toned down a little. The canvas is unbleached, so it has the whitish-buff color which goes well with the wood. Again, pure white canvas is like a movie screen to look at & is a bit too bright. I'm hoping the canvas will soak up a little sound and keep things from being too "boomy" when watching movies & listening to music at night. It has some flecks of tan in it if it hasn't been bleached.

I got some LED reading lamps, but they may be too bright inside the small area. Fortunately, they can swivel, twist & be pointed up at the headliner. With the canvas as a reflector we can have an up-wash effect and softer light for reading. This will throw the light back down & diffuse it a bit from the ceiling. Just have to wait & see how it all works out once I start wiring & locating things in a little while. I still need to locate a few things inside & figure out the blocking for final installation of reading lights, a dome light & some other "odds & ends" which make life more pleasurable. "Roughing it" was never my intention with this build.

Nice to finally see some real progress now. Making all the smaller things first seemed to take forever initially, but it's paying off & things are falling into place pretty quickly. I'm glad I spent so much time in the planning stage "way back when" last year at the beginning, as it really helps to figure things out in advance, to make it come together properly once the actual assembly starts.
Last edited by noseoil on Sun Nov 03, 2019 8:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tucson tortoise

Postby Rlowell » Sun Jun 28, 2015 6:14 pm

:thumbsup: It is looking great. Thanks again for the detail shots that help so many others.
Rod :beer:
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