#1

[ghcoe]

Got the other roof piece kerfed today.

View attachment 2

The first piece is glued and dry.

View attachment 1

My GS ran out of pressure so I had to switch over to GG to finish gluing the two pieces together. I had just enough pressure to finish the outside perimeter with the GS

Hi @ghcoe, I know this is a really old thread, but I was wondering what you glued to laminate the two roof panels together. I'm going to be at this stage on my own build in a bit, and was wondering.
Did you apply GS (until you ran out) to the whole bottom sheet, or did you just spray it into the kerfs, or did you just go around the edges?
Also, if you did apply it to the whole sheet, how did you do that? Do you just spray some on and use a brush to spread it around Were you concerned with the GS expanding and buckling the two sheets in the middle, or does spreading it keep it from expanding so much?

Thank you!

Well that does go back ways. I had to go back and read up some.

From what I remember I was not too concerned about the glue expansion at that point of the construction. My thinking was that the kerfs where going to absorb the extra glue in the expansion. I just basically poured the glue on. I did not really have much time to spread everything out evenly.

In thinking back on this, I think the Gorilla Glue would be a better choice for this kind of glue up since the expansion rate is much slower than Great Stuff and more controllable.

A suggestion would be to glue up your first panel to the walls. Then apply the GG to the first panel kerfed side. Then spray the GG with water with a spray bottle and then lay the top panel on and clamp into place. The water will activate the glue and cause it to expand more thus filling in some of the kerfs and creating a good panel bond.

Another suggestion, if your are still concerned about panel separation, is to use some 2"x2" inside and outside to act as a clamp. Place a 2"x2" on top that spans across the walls and then screw it into a 2"x2" that you have cut to fit between the wall inside. This would hold the curve in the correct position and keep the panels from separating as the glue dries. I think if I do another curved front build I would use this technique. Screw holes are easy to fill later. I think you would only need a screw in the center and one on each side for this technique.

Well, hope this helps you out, George.

 

[zzzizxz]

[/quote]

Well that does go back ways. I had to go back and read up some.

From what I remember I was not too concerned about the glue expansion at that point of the construction. My thinking was that the kerfs where going to absorb the extra glue in the expansion. I just basically poured the glue on. I did not really have much time to spread everything out evenly.

In thinking back on this, I think the Gorilla Glue would be a better choice for this kind of glue up since the expansion rate is much slower than Great Stuff and more controllable.

A suggestion would be to glue up your first panel to the walls. Then apply the GG to the first panel kerfed side. Then spray the GG with water with a spray bottle and then lay the top panel on and clamp into place. The water will activate the glue and cause it to expand more thus filling in some of the kerfs and creating a good panel bond.

Another suggestion, if your are still concerned about panel separation, is to use some 2"x2" inside and outside to act as a clamp. Place a 2"x2" on top that spans across the walls and then screw it into a 2"x2" that you have cut to fit between the wall inside. This would hold the curve in the correct position and keep the panels from separating as the glue dries. I think if I do another curved front build I would use this technique. Screw holes are easy to fill later. I think you would only need a screw in the center and one on each side for this technique.

Well, hope this helps you out, George. [/quote]

That does help, thank you! I really like the 2x2 idea as well. I think I'll probably go that route when I get there.

Thanks!
David

 

[ghcoe]

Well after nearly 2 years I finally decided I needed to really finish #1.

I am dead in the water with #3 till I get caught up with my videos (see my Bug Out Trailers YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3xVuH ... SiploqPyrw). At this rate I will probably not get anymore work done on it till next spring.

#2 is still a work in progress, but is usable at this point.

#1 needs some attention since I have not done anything to it since nearly completed in 2017.

You ask nearly completed?

Well yes. I built it to a point where I could use it, but it really was not done. I still needed to put on the skirts that I had planned. Mostly this was just a cosmetic application so it was not a need to do till I got bored looking at it each day. I kept thinking I really need to finish this up so I don't have to look at it anymore. So here we go....

 

[ghcoe]

So here is #1 ready for some cosmetic surgery. Yes, she looks great, but we can make her look better by adding a skirt.

first we needed a pattern. This is easy to do with a piece of cardboard. I usually do not throw out big cardboard boxes for just such use. I also use cardboard to lay on when working on cars, trailers or anything else that requires me to sit or lay on the ground. Works great!

Once I trace out the pattern onto the foam it is time to cut it out. I find that band saws work fantastic to cut out small pieces of foam. They make a real clean cut, almost as good as a hot wire, but a lot easier set up.

 

[ghcoe]

Once I cut the foam it is time to canvas. I had forgotten just how long canvasing small parts with lots of angles took.

with small parts you have to wait for each surface to dry completely before moving on to the next angle. Takes hours and hours of waiting.... Here the first surface is drying.

Here is a in process shot of gluing up another angle of the part. In this build up I used 50/50 TBII and water on the large surface and then switch to the edges and back side with full strength TBII.

 

[ghcoe]

Once the glue dries I cut the edges using a piece of flashing for a straight edge and a box cutter. The box cutter will only cut a shallow cut into the foam, but it makes a nice and clean cut in the canvas.

Once I make the cut I peel back the excess canvas on itself as to not lift up on the canvas that I want to keep bonded to the foam.

Once I get all the canvas work done I want to add attachment points to the skirt. In this case I want to attach the skirt to the 2"x2" cross members I installed under the floor. I marked where the 2"x2" would be located on the back side of the skirt. I then used a hot wire to cut out a 1 1/2" deep pocket to accept a 1"x2"x7" piece of lumber.

 

[ghcoe]

Now it is time to prep for glueing the 1"x2"x7" piece of lumber into the back of the skirt. I placed the 1"x2"x7" piece of lumber into the hole and then clamped them to a block of wood that was cut true to 90 degrees. I then used a square to verify 90 degrees from the sides. Since I placed the 1"x2"x7" pieces of lumber all the way down into the pockets I am not expecting to much, if any, hydraulic lift from the glue . I am going to use Great Stuff to glue them in with. The blocks of wood and clamps I used to hold the 1"x2"x7" pieces straight for glue up will also add a bit of weight to help with hydraulic lift too.

I then used Great Stuff to fill the pockets. This glues in the 1"x2"x7" supports.

Once the Great Stuff dried I took off the support blocks and now I have my first skirts ready to install once I remove the excess glue.

 

[pchast]

What kind of wire are you using in the solder gun for a cutter?
How thick is it? I haven't found anything that won't bend when
heated yet.........

Thanks for the info.

 

[ghcoe]

What kind of wire are you using in the solder gun for a cutter?
How thick is it? I haven't found anything that won't bend when
heated yet.........

Thanks for the info.

I believe it is .030 flux core welding wire for all my hot wire needs.

 

[pchast]

Thanks, I'l try that.

 

[JazzVinyl]

I didn't know that great stuff could be used as a "glue" - thought its function was one of a spray foam insulation?

 

[ghcoe]

I didn't know that great stuff could be used as a "glue" - thought its function was one of a spray foam insulation?

It was used quite a bit as a glue on the early foamies. I find that I did not like working with it too much because it has a hydraulic effect that can cause issues. In this case I wanted the foam to fill in the excess voids in the pockets. I would probably rather have used Gorilla Glue for this application. I had Great Stuff on hand though and it cures much faster.

 

[Bigforkg]

Seen your trailer on YouTube and you directed me here. Love the trailer! Any updates and or issues with it?

 

[ghcoe]

Seen your trailer on YouTube and you directed me here. Love the trailer! Any updates and or issues with it?

Thanks!
A few issues.
- I used a piano hinge instead of a hurricane hinge for the rear hatch. The hatch is designed to keep water out even with a piano hinge, but what I did not count on is the hinge rusting and becoming rigid. Of course, I did not notice this till I went to open the hatch to get ready for last years first trip. It basically tore out the pop rivets I used to hold it to the embedded flashing. I have since replaced it with a hurricane hinge. What a improvement.

- I had to replace the roof vent plastics this year since it had degraded being stored outside. I am going to build a foam cover for it this year when I find some time. I don't install roof vents anymore to any of my builds since I think they are just a invitation to water intrusion.

- I have never been able to get the doors to seal properly. They don't let water in thankfully, but they do let cold air in. Someday I may revisit them or just install some manufactured doors.

Outside of that it has performed well. It has been stored outside since I built it and I have had no issues with anything besides what is mentioned above. It is however getting too small for us now. We had two dogs that travel with us and it is a bit tight. Looking to build a bigger foamie in the future now.

Thanks for your interest, George.

 

[HMK-TNT]

George,
I just found your YouTube channel and pretty much just binge watched. I really enjoyed it. I would have liked to see the rest. Especially the installation of the doors and windows and you PMF the whole thing. Oh and also how you added your drip edge.

I think you adding the pmf to the inside before glue up was shear genius! I think I might have even painted it at that stage. I’m curious to know about the lack of wood spars. Did you use any wood for the windows and doors? I appreciate you making those videos. I don’t see any videos that were as thorough as yours.

 

[ghcoe]

George,
I just found your YouTube channel and pretty much just binge watched. I really enjoyed it. I would have liked to see the rest. Especially the installation of the doors and windows and you PMF the whole thing. Oh and also how you added your drip edge.

I think you adding the pmf to the inside before glue up was shear genius! I think I might have even painted it at that stage. I’m curious to know about the lack of wood spars. Did you use any wood for the windows and doors? I appreciate you making those videos. I don’t see any videos that were as thorough as yours.

Thanks. Those videos pretty much were run from beginning to end of each step. I just sped up the video where I was not teaching so people could get a good idea how it all came together. Unfortunately, my hard drive crashed and I lost all of the rest of the build. I have always thought I would build another squaredrop and start where I left off. At this point I don't think it is going to happen any time soon since I have a bicycle trailer I am working on now and then I am moving to a larger trailer for myself. It will be at least another year or two before I could even think about a another squaredrop build.

I used a clamp ring style window. As long as you get a nice tight cutout for the window the clamp ring is fine. You do have to make sure the clamp ring is designed for 2" walls or at least close. I have seen some for 1 7/8" walls and 2 1/8". Those should work fine too.

The door I just used a soldering gun and make a 1 3/4" inch deep slot near the center of the wall. I used a piece of flashing that was 1" on one side and used that as a guide for the soldering gun. I then use some hard board or flashing to slide into the slot. This gives you something to screw the door screws into from the outside and the screws for the interior garnish/trim into from the inside.

There is no other wood in the rest of the build besides the floor.

Hope that makes sense. George.

 

[HMK-TNT]

Thanks George! I’m on page 5 of this thread. I’ve always been interested in the work people do on their builds. This has always been a friendly group of people here. I’ve never built a single trailer, but I keep finding myself coming back year after year.

 

[ghcoe]

I’ve never built a single trailer, but I keep finding myself coming back year after year.

Took me years to make the plunge too. Now I have built 4 and working on 5 now.

 

[ghcoe]

Wow! Just realized I started #1 Just over a decade ago. Time flies when you are having fun...

 

[ghcoe]

bump