Budget College Student Build

[mattiker]

Was able to put in a little more work today on the trailer. Turns out even booger welds can be a booger to remove lol. A little advice for anyone who is working with rusty metal and doesn't feel like going the route of angle grinding, I found that phosphoric acid works amazingly and can be had for under 20 dollars for a gallon of the stuff. It leaves an ugly finish but makes the rust inert.

In line with the budget aspect of this build, a neighbor of mine is moving out and was nice enough to give me a couple gallons of exterior paint. I figure I'll use this to cover my canvas after it has been affixed. The trouble I ran into today ended up sourcing 2" foam.There's some a ways away from me that I'll probably end up getting. Surprised that the stuff goes for ~$40 down here when I know it's closer to $25 in some states based on a bit of browsing. Might yet try to find a way to get it for cheaper, but as of now I'm stumped.

I'm also working on building a little foam cutter from an old desktop PSU that I have laying around. There are some handy guides on youtube for similar projects.

As far as design updates go, nothing major is occurring now. I have it drawn out at this point, and any real changes will be the result of problem solving once the build really starts. I'm hoping to have the trailer at least mostly assembled and painted soon.

[rjgimp]

I do a bit of 3D design and printing but you might consider something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GCP1E-6-Foot-Integrated-Extension/dp/B07TJJQP1S/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2V05LY9GY1D61&dchild=1&keywords=noco+power+inlet&qid=1613009022&s=hi&sprefix=noco+%2Ctools%2C231&sr=1-4



Tony

The only issue I see arising with many of the online options (that one included) is the screw design, as most are meant to go into a surface that is a bit more steadfast than foam. Realistically they're probably fine, but if I have the opportunity to overbuild something I'm going to take it lol. Seeing that did give me an idea though, as it would be pretty cheap to use 1/4 in hex bolts to squish the inside and outside faces together, which would also prevent it from turning when the cap is moved due to the bolts acting as anchors.

So, instead of using traditional screws that need to attach to the wall material... If you have a two piece design where one half is on either side of the wall, could you use sex bolts that would clamp your two halves to each other through the wall?
https://www.boltdepot.com/Sex_bolts_and_Mating_screws.aspx

[mattiker]

So, instead of using traditional screws that need to attach to the wall material... If you have a two piece design where one half is on either side of the wall, could you use sex bolts that would clamp your two halves to each other through the wall?
https://www.boltdepot.com/Sex_bolts_and_Mating_screws.aspx

That's certainly an option. I'll probably either go that route of make a thin sleeve to cover the part of the bolt that is exposed to the foam.

[mattiker]

It keeps raining on my days off, so I'm trying to be productive in other ways. Almost finished building my power supply/foam cutter, just waiting on a few additional connectors. In the meantime, I decided to model up my 2D drawings. I've seen where some folks on this forum will make a small model to get a feel for their build, so I figured this might help.

[QueticoBill]

If you just want to run an extension cord into cabin and be rain tight, just cut a hole in floor and cover with whatever. A second cover with slot would nearly seal when used.

[tac422]

This link is what I did on the Big Pink Foamie for electrical:

viewtopic.php?f=55&t=56441&hilit=big+pink&start=201