Building a 5x10 Square-Drop (The Bradbury)

[gearsoup]

Well....the floor is built now, so I'll just have to live with it, despite the weight.

I've got the Raka glass/epoxy on order (900/350 w/pumps and 4oz cloth).

Any concern with the edge of the 6mm ply resting on the frame? I suppose I should epoxy over the edge (flat surface of 6mm ply wrapped around the short edge)

Hmm. I'm going to have to pause construction for a bit. I planned on "figuring out the hatch" when all the rest was put together, but now I feel it to be more prudent to get all my ducks in a row while I ponder the best method of sealing the hatch. I've got the hurricane hinge and "T" trim from Vintage, along with the neoprene galley hatch seal. I was initially thinking I could just have the "T" trim mounted something like this. Sorry for the not so clear shot, but you're looking up at the trailer from the ground:

 

[gearsoup]

The silver is the trim and the black would be the seal, running all along the sides and bottom, likely something (thinner) up at top below the hinge

 

[Tony Latham]

Any concern with the edge of the 6mm ply resting on the frame?

Just give it a good soak of epoxy. And yeah, having your hatch-ducks in a row is good.

Tony

 

[gearsoup]

I'm almost certain that's what @Onajourney uses for his rig: 5X9 ORAFT Build

I did drop him a DM, but never heard back

 

[gearsoup]

Tony, speaking of MonstaLiner; are they still even in business? I sent them an email to check on the "color sample" chart that I ordered, it got bounced back as undeliverable. I've read recent reviews of saying "I called, but got a full voicemail box". Their website is still active, they took my $13, but I'm hesitant to buy paint for a color I'm not decided on..

 

[Tony Latham]

Tony, speaking of MonstaLiner; are they still even in business?

Sheeeesh. I sure hope so.

Tony

 

[KCStudly]

Consider attaching the hatch seal to the hatch instead of the cabin. In my mind that puts it more out of harm's way when the hatch is open and less susceptible to damage from incidental contact.

 

[gearsoup]

Consider attaching the hatch seal to the hatch instead of the cabin. In my mind that puts it more out of harm's way when the hatch is open and less susceptible to damage from incidental contact.

Fair point, certainly no harm in locating it on the hatch itself

 

[gearsoup]

While I'm waiting for my first spine joint to glue up, figured I'd get to work on cutting the insulation out.

Speaking of the spine joints; Lowes didn't have anything snug enough to have a good fit with the 1/4" slotting bit/saw, but Home Depot did have some 1/4" AC that was a perfect fit. I made 3 long slots in the ply, perfectly centered. 2x at 10" and one at 14". Liberal amount of glue (but not too much) and clamped it together. I could probably disturb it tonight to glue up my other side, but I'll just let it cure overnight and tackle it first thing in the morning.
Finally got the 64 color assortment from Monsta, it's the actual paint on thick paper with the name on the back. My wife is leaning towards "Blood Bath"

While I favor "Lady in Red"

Honorable mention for Envy

We'll think on it a bit more and place an order.
Tony, how much paint do you reckon I would need? Does this apply straight to the epoxy/glass or does one have to etch/prime first?

 

[gearsoup]

Oh, and if you notice, I stopped working on the floor and built a stand at the height of the trailer. Well, a couple inches taller, but close enough. My floor, even though it's quite new and smooth, does have a 3/16" hump right in the middle of my 10' length that was causing my some grief on getting everything flat enough. The lower 2x4 of the stand is sitting off the ground 3/8" so I can still put it on rollers to get it close to the trailer when it's time to install it.

 

[Tony Latham]

Tony, how much paint do you reckon I would need? Does this apply straight to the epoxy/glass or does one have to etch/prime first?

For my 5 x 10, I needed 2 gallons. You have to give the fiberglass a light sanding with an orbital sander and 120-grit paper to take the shine off. Use a respirator, of course. It has to be primed. I used Rustoleum, but you might consider using Monsta's.

Tony

 

[gearsoup]

It's been a bit since I posted an update, so here's what's been going on, both good and bad:

Got the bottom side epoxied, my first coat soaked in a bit (or went on thin in some areas) so I scuffed it up and gave it a second coat after a couple days had passed:

PL3 Premium and staple nailer in hand, I installed the outer skins and test fitted the insulation and doors (all is good). Also, I routed some chases for wiring to switches:

Because of the wiring that needs to run in the walls, I decided not to install the inner skin until after I had fiberglassed the outside (I felt it would be a pain to manage wiring along with the epoxy). So last night I made an attempt at glassing the driver side wall. In some areas, it came out really nice, but in other areas I can still feel the grain of the cloth and there are also areas where it's bubbled up. I don't think there's air underneath, but rather, too much epoxy that didn't squeeze out. I'll likely have to wait until it's cured a bit and sand those areas down and try again....

Also, in my haste, I bought fiberglass at 50" wide. I say to myself, not a problem, the cabin is 4' tall, plenty of overlap, right? Nope. Outer skin drops down 1.75" and extends up another 2.2" inches, so I really needed 60" cloth. Made the best of it and tried to hide the seam as best as I could, but it's ugly.... definitely need to sand

Fact is, I couldn't find 4oz cloth in 60" widths, maybe I'm being blind?

 

[italianub]

Fact is, I couldn't find 4oz cloth in 60" widths, maybe I'm being blind?

Looks like you're making good progress!!

I also couldn't find 60" width for 4oz, so I settled for 60" 6oz from Raka.

 

[gearsoup]

Last night, I laid up the epoxy and fiberglass on the passenger side. I took my time and things went a lot better. However, I do have a question about where I should expect my results (smoothness) to be. This is a single coat of epoxy and 4oz. glass, and in most areas, I can still feel (and see) the texture of the glass:

Should I scuff it up and give it another coat of epoxy, or does it not really matter since I'm priming and finishing with Monsta?

There are a couple areas where the epoxy is sitting a little bit thicker and all you feel is smoothness..

 

[Tony Latham]

Should I scuff it up and give it another coat of epoxy

I would. It takes quite a while for epoxy to be fully cured, even though it may seem to be, so make sure you wear a respirator. You don't want to inhale uncured epoxy.

I would use a 150-grit disc on a random orbital. Just take off the shine.

Tony

 

[gearsoup]

So, get it to be a smooth fiberglass-texture-free surface, yes?

 

[Tony Latham]

get it to be a smooth fiberglass-texture-free surface, yes?

Yes, or close to it. The texture in the Monstaliner will help a lot.

Tony

 

[gearsoup]

Drilled my pocket holes last night and today on my lunch break (I work from home). Word of note; the newest Kreg jig doesn't have a detent for 1" thick material; it skips from 3/4" to 1.5". I could have (and did) whittled out some detent spots on the Kreg 320, but it wasn't a perfect placement. I managed to find an R3 model on Amazon so I went that route instead.
This afternoon, I made the deadman braces out of the door cutouts, making sure I could still use them later if needed (draw/door faces). Got them screwed to the floor and did a dry fit of the walls.

You folks aren't lying when you talk about plywood being all over the place. I thought I was working with something relatively flat, but boy oh boy, is it wandering around. The next couple of days I'll be poking away at the bulkhead, getting that trimmed down and ready for the glue up. I just had to make things complicated and squeeze extra drawer space out of it....

 

[gearsoup]

Also wasn't pleased with my glue up job. I couldn't get clamps on some of the edges, so I piled a LOT (about 450 pounds) of weight all over, but it wasn't enough. I've got some unsightly gaps around the hatch area

 

[gearsoup]

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. I had some business travel to attend to (USA > Germany for a week) and it really broke my stride. Things have progressed slowly since my return, but I did get the interior storage mostly sorted. Shelves and doors will come later, but this needed to be installed before I move on to the ceiling and roof!