Hamdrop

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

Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:21 pm

Intro/Design/planning

I'm going to reserve the first few posts for the different topics on this build, so I can keep all the pics/progress somewhat organized.

The goal of this build is somewhat unique, as it's not canned ham, and it's not teardrop.
I like both, and I have respect for the designs of those who have gone before me.

Main design goals:
1. a floor - yea I know, not very exciting, but a place for muddy shoes that's not outside.
2. elevated bed / lounger -- again, seems simple enough, but a full size futon with a frame that makes it into a "double wide chaise lounge" is very interesting to me.
also the ability to sit up, and not just kinda lounge against a wall is a plus.
3. inside storage, including cooler space. I like a cold soda a night, morning, actually about any time.
4. ability to get dressed inside -- not everyone likes to do the "worm" to put their pants on in the morning, and the ability to sit on the end of the bed, and then stand up -- is huge.
5. safety -- no combustibles inside - period. To that end, not even a propane stove in a rear galley, where a propane leak could cause issue. All combustibles outside.
6. off road capable -- I know I know, build like an airplane, not a tank -- well, I'm thinking more like armored car....
7. low amp draw everything -- has to be able to boondock, and still run the heater at night if needed, or whatever else.

This is to be an expedition trailer for my son, who wants to backpack, well, everywhere. We explored T@b's and T@g's, and believe it or not, came away liking the T@g's much better, especially the off road wide version. Canned ham's typically try to put too much stuff in too little space, where a classic teardrop doesn't try. T@g's and T@b's kinda follow that trend as well. The only real downer on a T@g? no floor, etc.. so custom it had to be. I love the alde system in the T@b's, and have figured out a perfect DIY version of that (heat only, no hot water) with the combustion/boiler outside, running glycol, so no freezing issues. C-channel steel frame, and torsion axle, drop floor, solid walls. (yea, solid spruce, no plywood)

I'll get some pics up soon, I've got the trailer/drop deck / bed-futon lounge built, and ready to start the walls -- so hopefully I can put up pics at a reasonable pace.

Here's a couple to start, to show the trailer, and the deck that's on the "wrong side..."

IMG_5683a.jpg
IMG_5683a.jpg (228.5 KiB) Viewed 5328 times



IMG_5754a.jpg
IMG_5754a.jpg (228.06 KiB) Viewed 5328 times


not a dinette, but still comfy...
IMG_5762.JPG
IMG_5762.JPG (120.87 KiB) Viewed 5403 times
Last edited by jbell.louisburg on Tue Dec 19, 2017 7:43 pm, edited 10 times in total.
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am

Re: Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:22 pm

Exterior

no pics yet, but the exterior will be a bit unique as well.
As I do acoustical installs, I have 68" nylon open weave acoustic fabric available to me (left over from projects)
The plan is to stretch/staple fabric over the exterior, and then give it a good coat of UV stabilized fiberglass resin.
The resin and the open weave fabric should work well together, and give a nice smooth, no seam finish.

First pic -- cutting out the walls. Gotta love finger jointed spruce, makes this kinda thing a walk in the park.
BTW - the spruce blank is 6' x 11.5' -- can't do that with plywood easily.

IMG_5770.JPG
IMG_5770.JPG (88.58 KiB) Viewed 5330 times


The finished product....

IMG_6371.JPG
IMG_6371.JPG (195.7 KiB) Viewed 4098 times
Last edited by jbell.louisburg on Wed May 16, 2018 9:00 am, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am

Re: Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:22 pm

Interior

No pics yet, but the interior will be finger jointed 5/4" spruce (aka, the walls) finished with gloss poly.
The ceiling will be acoustic fabric, with a 1/4" thick X 1.5" strip of wood that will nail down over each spar.
This should give a nice fabric/wood ceiling, that will curve with the teardrop easily enough.


[EDIT]
Finished product.... went native on the ceiling, no fabric....

IMG_6613.JPG
IMG_6613.JPG (277.63 KiB) Viewed 3698 times
Last edited by jbell.louisburg on Sat Aug 04, 2018 10:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:22 pm

Up front kitchen
OK, so this one took a bit of doing. Wind shield was the biggest thing to figure out. I was going to put the grill on 36" drawer slides and let it slide out the side of the tongue box. Nope, that didn't work. Leaving it in the box, and the using the center storage box turned 90 degree on its side provides enough wind shield to be usable even in kansas winds.
Shurflo electric faucet that turns on the pump only when needed, and storage underneath for propane and water rounds out the kitchen.


IMG_6350.jpg
IMG_6350.jpg (100.36 KiB) Viewed 4139 times




cooktop.jpg
cooktop.jpg (126.86 KiB) Viewed 5331 times
Last edited by jbell.louisburg on Thu May 10, 2018 7:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:23 pm

heating/safety/misc

So, the DIY alde system...
1. 30k btu instant hot water propane - heating RV antifreeze - aka glycol, mounted in front of the tongue box.
2. solar circulating pump (2 of them, one from tanks through radiant heaters, the other from outsider boiler through tanks - interrupted by car thermostat)
3. car thermostat with relay, so that hot water boiler shuts off at 180 degree / back on at 160 degree when thermostat calls for heat.
4. a pair of 4 gallon tanks for some thermo-stability
5. radiant baseboard heaters (go by the space on each side of the bed)
6. simple round contact only thermostat

Only power required, is about 1amp to run the solar pump... boondock heat all night, no dead battery in the morning.

DIY-alde.jpg
DIY-alde.jpg (87.58 KiB) Viewed 5426 times
Last edited by jbell.louisburg on Fri Dec 15, 2017 10:38 am, edited 4 times in total.
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:34 pm

pics/progress/other stuff

Ever start to build something from IKEA, and it doesn't turn out like the picture?

yea, happens to me all the time....
(This was three Kallax 30" square bookcases plus 4 drawer fronts.... I void warranties...)

Doors
IMG_5831.JPG
IMG_5831.JPG (120.33 KiB) Viewed 5087 times


No Doors
IMG_5833.JPG
IMG_5833.JPG (123.03 KiB) Viewed 5087 times


Headboard
IMG_5845.JPG
IMG_5845.JPG (118.45 KiB) Viewed 5044 times
Last edited by jbell.louisburg on Tue Dec 26, 2017 5:02 pm, edited 3 times in total.
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby pchast » Thu Dec 14, 2017 8:19 pm

Welcome! Interesting approach.......... :D
pchast
Platinum Donating Member
 
Posts: 2023
Images: 97
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: Athens, NY
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Thu Dec 21, 2017 2:28 pm

pchast wrote:Welcome! Interesting approach.......... :D


Thanks -- this is fun, walls goin up !!

IMG_5779.JPG
IMG_5779.JPG (109.03 KiB) Viewed 5312 times
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby Staryder61 » Sun Dec 24, 2017 3:31 am

Welcome, great start.. like the spruce.. will be watching this.. :thumbsup:
Stay safe, David



Our CTC
6' X 12' CTC = Texas Sized Tackle Box
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=74704
User avatar
Staryder61
Silver Donating Member
 
Posts: 827
Images: 528
Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2017 5:11 pm
Location: In one of 254 Counties in Texas
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby Woodbutcher » Sun Dec 24, 2017 8:24 am

Well done! :applause:
User avatar
Woodbutcher
Platinum Donating Member
 
Posts: 4187
Images: 45
Joined: Fri Mar 10, 2006 10:01 pm
Location: Chicago Suburbs
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby KennethW » Sun Dec 24, 2017 12:36 pm

jbell.louisburg wrote:heating/safety/misc

So, the DIY alde system...
1. 30k btu instant hot water propane - heating RV antifreeze - aka glycol, mounted in front of the tongue box.
2. solar circulating pump (2 of them, one from tanks through radiant heaters, the other from outsider boiler through tanks - interrupted by car thermostat)
3. car thermostat with relay, so that hot water boiler shuts off at 180 degree / back on at 160 degree when thermostat calls for heat.
4. a pair of 4 gallon tanks for some thermo-stability
5. radiant baseboard heaters (go by the space on each side of the bed)
6. simple round contact only thermostat

Only power required, is about 1amp to run the solar pump... boondock heat all night, no dead battery in the morning.

DIY-alde.jpg


RV antifreeze will freeze(+12?) !! When is does freeze it does not expand. So it will not break pipes. So RV antifreeze will not work in very cold weather
KennethW
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1188
Images: 82
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 8:01 pm
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby jbell.louisburg » Mon Dec 25, 2017 6:47 pm

KennethW wrote:
jbell.louisburg wrote:heating/safety/misc
RV antifreeze will freeze(+12?) !! When is does freeze it does not expand. So it will not break pipes. So RV antifreeze will not work in very cold weather


yea, the diluted stuff -- +12 is true. -100f stuff is pure ethylene glycol - and freezes at -60. If my son is out in -60 weather, he should be home !!!
User avatar
jbell.louisburg
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 52
Images: 0
Joined: Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:18 am
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby KCStudly » Wed Dec 27, 2017 8:05 am

Nice start.

Just a word on non-std. fabrics and polyester or epoxy resin composites; the strength comes from the composite nature of the combined materials. Nylon is a slippery material that very few (any?) things will actually adhere to, so I would be really cautious about using it as a substitute. Might get bubbles or just not have the desired strength result; when in doubt, test. Especially if attempting to wet thru on a dry cloth technique (i.e. laying dry cloth on a dry surface and attempting to soak thru to the base, not generally recommended by "the experts"). I did a little experiment with epoxy resin and canvas, and the resin just didn't absorb in the way it does with glass cloth; the fibers remained visible and dry looking under the resin and it did not get as stiff as FG cloth. (Your acoustic cloth may have more voids than canvas or linen, but the ill effect may be the same if the resin doesn't truly saturate.)

I know there is an argument in there somewhere that glass fibers don't really absorb resins, either, but dedicated laminating fabrics are engineered to work with their specific composite resins.

On a similar note, we foamie builders have learned that the best faux fiberglass comes from using water based glues (TB2) and natural fiber fabrics (cotton canvas or linen) where the liquid literally soaks into the fibers.

In the end, you will have far too much manpower invested (more than you think) to risk the entire project on an untested method, so test. If a small scale test looks good, step up and do a larger scale test; sometimes results change with scale.
KC
My Build: The Poet Creek Express Hybrid Foamie

Poet Creek Or Bust
Engineering the TLAR way - "That Looks About Right"
TnTTT ORIGINAL 200A LANTERN CLUB = "The 200A Gang"
Green Lantern Corpsmen
User avatar
KCStudly
Donating Member
 
Posts: 9610
Images: 8169
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2012 10:18 pm
Location: Southeastern CT, USA
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby S. Heisley » Thu Dec 28, 2017 9:13 pm

That range top is a beauty! The shape of your teardrop looks nice, too! :thumbsup:
User avatar
S. Heisley
Super Lifetime Member
 
Posts: 8769
Images: 495
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 10:02 am
Location: No. California
Top

Re: Hamdrop

Postby pchast » Thu Dec 28, 2017 10:13 pm

Pretty stuff going in.
I question the advisability of cooking inside. :thinking:
Do you have enough ventilation?
pchast
Platinum Donating Member
 
Posts: 2023
Images: 97
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:47 pm
Location: Athens, NY
Top

Next

Return to Build Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests