All aluminum hard sided popup toy hauler

[coal_burner]

using a large butcher knife i was able to peel the fiberglass nose piece away from the aluminum and wax paper.
Once it was off the camper, i used sheet metal shears to trim it down.
After I sand the masking tape off I'll re-adhere it to the aluminum skins with silicone and rivets.

I'm planning to lightly sand the outer surface to help paint stick to it, though I haven't figured out what type of paint will work best.

Ideas?

 

[coal_burner]

Mounted the linear actuators to lift the roof today.
Threading the aluminum to bolt the brackets on was accomplished by taking one of the stainless steel bolts to the grinder and knocking down the first few threads so it could be started straight into the pre-drilled holes.
Worked like a charm.

the actuators are mounted at a slight outward angle, attached to the wall reinforcement braces on the bottoms, and the longitudinal roof beams on top.

 

[coal_burner]

Scrubbed the ramp down with mineral spirits and got a HUGE amount of oil off of it.

The pic shows after I sprayed it with etching primer.

I apparently forgot to snap a Pic after I painted it battleship gray.

 

[coal_burner]

Since shopping online suggested they will cost $800 each, I'm attempting to manufacture a 5ft wide super heavy duty piano hinge for the ramp.

This is my 3rd attempt using metal bought off the scrap pile and dialing in my weld settings and clamping arrangement.

That's a 1/4" I.d. Steel tube welded between a couple of 1/8" thick strips of steel.

 

[coal_burner]

Now that its primed and painted, I did the final assembly of my piano hinge.
Packed all the barrels with waterproof grease, then tapped the hinge pin into place, inserting nylon washers between each barrel.
I intentionally held the welder on the last barrel long enough to deform the inside, so after the hinge pin is in, it doesnt want to come out.

 

[coal_burner]

Using about 75 stainless steel 1/4-20 screws, and lots of locktite, I firmly attached the hinge and lower ramp section to the back of the camper.
Temporarily its held closed but a 2x2 and some clamps.

My reasoning behind the zillion screws is that the rear frame member is made of 1/8" thick square steel tube, and that's a lot of weight to apply to such small and soft threads.

 

[coal_burner]

 

[coal_burner]

during the ramp mounting process, I raised the roof for the very first time.
Those linear actuators are SLOOOWWW!
2 full minutes to go from raised to lowered.

 

[featherliteCT1]

Looks like you will need to jack up the tongue of the trailer in order to lower the rear of the trailer in order to load your motorcycle into the trailer. Otherwise, the steepness of the ramp will cause the frame of the motorcycle to bottom out at the hinge.

 

[coal_burner]

That's just the first ramp section that matches up with the height of the lower walls.
Theres another 3 ft panel that's going to be hinged off of that, which will make the total ramp length 7ft instead of just 4ft.

I'm also putting a 4" curb on the end of the second ramp section to give me just a little extra boost.

Jacking up the nose will still remain an option if all that doesn't make it comfortably shallow.

 

[coal_burner]

Started insulating the roof today.
Using 1" thick polyiso board glued to the underside with clear silicone.

Tried a couple different ways to brace the foam against the curved aluminum roof using wooden boards.

 

[coal_burner]

Also installed the windows that have been leaning against my breakfast bar since last fall.

 

[coal_burner]

I finally got around to getting a current weight for the (as yet un-named) camper.

I bodged up a 4ft long class 3 lever so the applied force was within the range of my 50 year old (seriously) bathroom scale.

The scale read 295 pounds under one wheel, so i double that to get 590 pounds weight on each wheel.

The tongue weight (no lever needed) is currently 130 pounds.

Total camper weigh is [drumroll] 1310 pounds.
Not bad for a 7 ft wide camper with a livable space that's 16 ft long!

I have a small bucket of chain and an 8" foundation block setting on the back edge to simulate the weight and CG of the next ramp section and the steel bumper that's currently in the mail.

Theres also all the 1" polyiso to insulate the roof stored in there.

Still to be added is the bed, forward seating, and dining table (100 pounds total).

As well as the split deck a.c. (120 pounds).

Those items are all going to be set in the forwardmost part.

My C of G is a bit further forward than planned, so I'll need to bias all of my heaviest appliances (microwave, refrigerator, water heater) as far back as possible.

I need to dig up my oldest napkin drawings and see if I took the length of the lever arm on my torsion axle into account when I originally planned things.

Moving the axle forward 6" is possible but not aesthetically pleasing.

 

[coal_burner]

All ceiling insulation now installed

 

[coal_burner]

Took a quick trip to lowes to grab more foam.
Holycrap, even in its lowered position this thing looks huge behind my car!

 

[featherliteCT1]

even in its lowered position this thing looks huge behind my car!

It looks great!!!!

 

[coal_burner]

.

 

[coal_burner]

Slowly but surely (well, I've got the slowly part down pat) getting all the 1" polyiso insulation on the upper walls

 

[Pmullen503]

I finally got around to getting a current weight for the (as yet un-named) camper.

I bodged up a 4ft long class 3 lever so the applied force was within the range of my 50 year old (seriously) bathroom scale.

The scale read 295 pounds under one wheel, so i double that to get 590 pounds weight on each wheel.

The tongue weight (no lever needed) is currently 130 pounds.

Total camper weigh is [drumroll] 1310 pounds.
Not bad for a 7 ft wide camper with a livable space that's 16 ft long!

Wouldn't that be 295 +295 +130 =720 lbs?

 

[KCStudly]

Depends on the fulcrum point of the lever. I read the 295 to be scale indicated before lever ratio was applied.