It seemed so simple... at first.

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

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby Felix_Esq » Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:25 pm

twisted lines wrote:
Felix_Esq wrote:Started with ribs, ended with skin.


That's a huge hurdle :thumbsup:

One that I'm afraid of.

PS. Hope the wind shift is good for you, not so good to the North.



AQI peaked over 500 (the extreme high end of "hazardous") earlier this weekend. Currently it is 192 (or merely at the upper end of "unhealthy"). So something better.
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -Lloyd Daubler

Build Gallery
Build Journal
User avatar
Felix_Esq
Donating Member
 
Posts: 55
Images: 102
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:03 am

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby nevadatear » Sun Aug 29, 2021 6:56 pm

Since you are in NorCal, you should haul it up to the Redwood Rendezvous (finished or not) and show it off! Check out the post about the RR under Jefferson State gatherings here on the Forum.
Debbie (with Randy looking over my shoulder)
Our build thread: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=41295&highlight=monstero
2009 Homebuilt woody, Kenskill inspired 5 wide
ImageImage
User avatar
nevadatear
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 2356
Images: 169
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2008 2:37 pm
Location: No. Nevada

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby Felix_Esq » Tue Aug 31, 2021 11:13 pm

Dry fitting the hatch with exterior 1/8 inch ply sub-skin shows no noticeable "spring-back." To ensure this remains the case I will probably pre-bend the interior skin before putting it on.

167047

Also put the first coat of "the mix" on the hatch exterior. This pic is a 1:2 mix of poly and mineral spirits. Why did I pick 1:2 for the first coat? Because some of you guys said start at 1:3 and others of you said 1:1. I can math good enough to figure out halfway between the two.*

167048

Next: More coats of the mix, caulking where necessary, aluminum skin, extruded aluminum angles along the sides and bottom, locking t-handles, tail lights, license plate lights, interior skin, and interior galley lights. I already wired everything up for all that.

Then resume work on the main body: coat everything with "the mix," caulk, re-attach aluminum skin on top and sides, affix all aluminum angle pieces to seams, re-install door, window, and vent.

Then the last bulk work is to bolt/weld the tongue box on including some fabrication work to build a bracket (something I have no idea how to do :shrug: ), do a better job of attaching the tongue extension (that the "PI" put on with two carriage bolts... I can't believe the trailer got all the way back here from Utah like that!), install bigger diameter wheels/tires (12" wheels 4 lug on 4"), install fenders.

Then I take a trip to the DMV to get everything registered! I feel like an end point is starting to emerge from the fog on a far off horizon!

The plan is to leave some of the interior cabinetry undone when we go the first time to see what life inside a teardrop is really like.

*I know that a 1:2 is not really the average of 1:1 and 1:3. Choosing 1:2 was a semi-educated guess.
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -Lloyd Daubler

Build Gallery
Build Journal
User avatar
Felix_Esq
Donating Member
 
Posts: 55
Images: 102
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:03 am
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby Felix_Esq » Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:21 pm

Contact cement really smells bad. Fortunately I have a 3M mask with cartridges for organic fumes.

Original alum skin replaced on hatch.

167111
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -Lloyd Daubler

Build Gallery
Build Journal
User avatar
Felix_Esq
Donating Member
 
Posts: 55
Images: 102
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:03 am
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby Felix_Esq » Tue Nov 16, 2021 10:17 am

After taking a few more weeks off to work on another project, I am back. Started gluing the skin on the roof/front, and ordered wheels and tires. I chose to work with 145R/12 radials so I can drive faster without messing too much with the suspension and axle, as would be required for a larger sized tire. Plus, my rig has the counters all set up, and a much larger wheel/tire would move those counters up to an uncomfortable height considering my wife, who will be my partner in crime as we wander the west, is only 5'3".

167695
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -Lloyd Daubler

Build Gallery
Build Journal
User avatar
Felix_Esq
Donating Member
 
Posts: 55
Images: 102
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:03 am
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby S. Heisley » Tue Nov 16, 2021 7:39 pm

:thumbsup: I can already tell.... It's going to be beautiful and worth all the blood, sweat, and tear-drops.
User avatar
S. Heisley
Super Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 8769
Images: 495
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:02 am
Location: No. California
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby Felix_Esq » Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:51 pm

I am back to work. This time I am doing things I have no prior experience doing.

Since my trailer is 4 feet wide and the body is 5 feet wide, the fenders either need to be bolted directly to the exterior wall of the trailer, or I need to build brackets to mount the fenders. I chose the latter, for several reasons:

(1) I have no intention of poking or drilling more holes in the exterior of the trailer.
(2) I wanted to try metalworking.
(3) My son wants to experiment with welding.
(4) I thought this would all be fun.

It took the entire weekend to get it done. Initially, the bracket was square because I had measured everything, but then changed my theory on how to put it together... without actually looking at the place that the bracket needs to be attached to the frame. Then I had to chop up the first draft of the bracket and re-weld things to make it fit around some bolts that are about amidships on the Harbor Freight trailer frame. Hence the 1/2 inch of relief at the front of the bracket.

I plan to weld the bracket to the fender, then clean, sand, prime, and paint the whole thing glossy black with a clearcoat on top.

167723

167724

167725

167726

167727

Learned a lot about metal. I am sure I could make better brackets if I started over from scratch, but materials are kinda expensive nowadays. Maybe if I am lucky, I can finish it before the end of the year!
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -Lloyd Daubler

Build Gallery
Build Journal
User avatar
Felix_Esq
Donating Member
 
Posts: 55
Images: 102
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:03 am
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby JasenC » Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:44 am

Always good to learn a new skill, looks like you're getting the hang of it.
I'll be done when I'm finished, if that's not fast enough, take a number.

Build Thread https://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=74269
User avatar
JasenC
The 300 Club
 
Posts: 420
Images: 122
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 2:05 am
Location: Snohomish county Wa
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby Felix_Esq » Wed Dec 01, 2021 12:14 am

I think it is funny how I can get some bigger things done quickly and make a ton of progress, then get to working on some detail or other and POOF there goes two days of spare time.

This week’s examples:

Getting the fender to the right height.

167730

And wiring up tail lights.

167731

The fenders had me working all day Saturday and a few hours Sunday. The tail lights have been a work in progress that had stalled out for a couple months. Today was research about wheel studs and making last measurements before I weld the fenders to the brackets I made. Such small details, such a huge chunk of time by comparison.
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -Lloyd Daubler

Build Gallery
Build Journal
User avatar
Felix_Esq
Donating Member
 
Posts: 55
Images: 102
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:03 am
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby Felix_Esq » Sun Dec 05, 2021 7:58 pm

Fenders progressing. First coat of black. There will be two more coats, a sanding, then two or three coats of clear, a sanding, and a buffing. I want these to be shiny.

167776

167775

And since I am working with volatile hydrocarbons, I decided today to put the middle and final coats of mix on the right side. After that dries I will put the aluminum skin on the side.

167777

I always loved the smell of a paint booth, but I should probably wear my respirator when I am painting... I am feeling a little weird while I am writing this.
I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. -Lloyd Daubler

Build Gallery
Build Journal
User avatar
Felix_Esq
Donating Member
 
Posts: 55
Images: 102
Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:03 am
Top

Re: It seemed so simple... at first.

Postby featherliteCT1 » Sun Dec 05, 2021 8:46 pm

"I am feeling a little weird while I am writing this" :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
featherliteCT1
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1120
Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2016 6:54 am
Location: Southern Indiana
Top

Previous

Return to Build Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 19 guests