Pop-Up Trailer Standy Foamie Conversion

[daveo132000]

Part 20 (More PMF work):

After arriving home from vacation, we took time to get settled, then began work on the passenger side PMF. Due to the length of the sides, the only drop cloths I could source locally had a seam halfway down the length. So, I shot a level laser line from the nose to which I would line up the seam, and draped the canvas down from the roof. I stacked a few bags of fertilizer on top to hold it in place, applied undiluted Titebond 2 to the whole side with a large paint roller and smoothed the canvas into the glue with a dry foam roller. Over the angled front, we taped the front sloped portion back as it was applied, since we couldn’t stack weight on the slope.

As we applied the canvas, we tried to line up the seam to the laser, but slight variances resulted. The next day, I checked how well the canvas adhered to the foam near the factory seam, and found slight gapping at places long it. So, before we began to apply PMF to the driver’s side, I decided to cut out the seam on the remaining drop sheet, and apply it overlapping the bottom piece by an inch, and then apply a second 4-inch strip laid over the entire length.

So, on the driver’s side, I again shot a level line to act as a reference for the top edge of the bottom sheet. I applied glue on the bottom half of the wall, then we smoothed out the canvas into the glue. Then we draped the top portion into place, again weighted by fertilizer bags so that the bottom edge overlapped the lower sheet by an inch and smoothed it into the glue. Next, we laid a 4-inch strip onto the floor, applied glue to it, folded it up glue side to glue side, and adhered it over top of the horizontal seam, nicely lined up to a new laser line. A few thumb tacks kept everything in place.

Happy with this result, the next day I popped the stitch along the entire seam on the passenger side wall, cut the folded edges back, and taped up the top edge along its length for easy access.

I applied glue under any loose portions of the drop cloth along the entire length, and then applied a coat over the lower portion of the overlap. I then smoothed out the top portion of canvas into the glue, overlapping the lower sheet by an inch.

We then laid another 4-inch strip onto the floor, applied glue to it, folded it up glue side to glue side, and adhered it over top of the repaired horizontal seam, lined up to a new laser line.

The next day, we applied canvas to the lower front slope, overlapping the side walls by 4 inches. Next was the upper front slope.

Because it would be difficult to work on the middle of the canvas while on the trailer, we cut off the canvas edge seam, then marked a line 4 inches away from it that we would line up along the top roof to slope joint. We rolled the canvas onto an 8-foot piece of strapping starting at the bottom edge, then moved it to the roof. Then, I applied undiluted Titebond 2 to the top foot of the front slope, and we laid the canvas into the glue, unrolling it to just below the glue. Then we smoothed the canvas into place, lining up the reference line across the top roof to slope joint. Then, we lifted the canvas until the glue was visible and applied more over the next third of the front slope, repeating the steps to smooth the canvas into place. Then we repeated this process for the lower third, continued it next over the vertical front wall, and then overlapped it 4 inches over the lower front slope.

The next day we tackled the final surface, the roof. We again cut off the edge seam, marked a 4-inch reference line, and rolled it up onto the strapping. Then I applied glue to the front third of the roof and we laid the canvas into place, again lining up the reference line to the top roof to slope joint so there would be 4 inches overlapping the upper front slope. Then we applied glue and canvas over the middle third, and then the rear third. The rear and side edges were trimmed to 4 inches overlap, and were glued into place.

Overall, this used about 2.5 gallons of glue. I have no other projects to compare to, but as we applied the canvas, I could feel the dampness through the material without it bleeding through (except for the overlapped seams), and it held tight as we smoothed it with a dry roller, so I think it was appropriate. I had purchased two more gallons in case I ran out, so I am set for a future project now….

With respect to the bottom edges around the trailer, I first applied painters’ tape on the frame, then cut off the canvas to allow for 2 ¼ inches under the 2-inch plywood overhang. Glue was applied as on the foam, and the canvas smoothed into it, extending slightly down the frame edge. Once dry, I can trim the material even with a knife. Occasionally I needed to apply some construction staples around the edge near the wheel wells and rear edge to keep the canvas in place.

This ends part 20. Exterior painting is planned next!

 

[daveo132000]

Part 21 (Exterior painting)

With the canvas application completed, I gave the glue a day to dry fully before I began to apply paint. I used this time to trim all the loose threads along each seam around the trailer.

Next up was painting. I had purchased a few cans of a flat finish exterior white paint while it was on sale at Canadian Tire, and stored it till now. Using Lucy’s method, I measured out 2 litres of paint and then two litres of water at a time into a bucket to make a 50/50 paint-water mix. I laid out what I thought would be plenty of drop cloths, and armed myself with a large paint roller and extension handle, and a roller tray. I quickly learned that watery paint is very messy to apply, splashes everywhere, and what is in the roller tube loves to pour out either end onto any surface other than where I want it. And so, the fun began.

The canvas sucked up this first coat like a sponge. Overall, I used 8.5 litres of paint (and the same amount of water) over the entire trailer’s exterior. Some practical painting tips to help someone down the line:

• Tape off or wrap the metal frame in plastic where you don’t want the trailer paint to go.
• Dunk the roller into the bucket mix, then tilt the roller to each end to pour out paint before removing it from the bucket.
• Keep the roller horizontal and then roll off the excess into a tray.
• Keep the roller horizontal and apply the paint on vertical surfaces moving upwards only, pushing a foamy amount of liquid ahead of the roller until it stops. Only then, roll downwards.
• Lay out lots of absorbent material around the perimeter of the trailer. The liquid weeps through the canvas and eventually will drip out the bottom onto the floor after you move to the next sides.

Due to the amount of water, this first coat took about 2 full days to dry. I kept the garage heat on at 20C and vented the humidity a few times even with an air extraction fan running.

While the paint was drying, my father visited and offered to help out, so we decided to install the ceiling plywood panels as it was a two-person job, even with a T-shaped support I had constructed to help hold the ceiling in place. I had previously cut the ceiling panels to length, so we just needed to lay out where the 12V wiring needed to drop down, accounting for wall studs, light placements, etc. I applied a bead of PL Premium on each ceiling joist, then shot brads in to hold the first panel on the driver’s side. We then moved the temporary wall under that section, to keep the roof true.

We then carefully measured the width of the passenger side panel in a few places, then trimmed its width to fit, scribing it to the exterior wall and leaving the factory edge down the centreline of the trailer. I tucked the 12V wire for a (possible) future vent fan and a square of 1.5” foam into the framed vent opening without adhesive, then we installed the passenger ceiling panel with glue and brads.

The next day, I spent about 45 minutes sanding the trailer exterior with some medium grit sandpaper, vacuumed all the surfaces to remove any dust, and began preparing the second patch of paint and water. Done in smaller batches, overall, I mixed 3.5 litres of paint and 1.2 litres of water to make a 75/25 paint-water mix. While the amount of liquid applied dramatically decreased, the messiness of the process did not. At least by this point, I had learned some techniques to keep the majority of the paint off the floor.

Before I began slopping paint around the garage, the boss and I disassembled the salvaged RV door, removing the window and door latch, and used a heat gun set on low to gently scrape off the original decals. While I painted, she cleaned all of the dirt, grease, and old adhesive from the door and the cargo hatches, so they would be ready for paint.

After allowing this second coat to dry on the trailer for 24 hours, I again sanded and vacuumed the exterior, then applied a third coat, this time about 4 litres of straight paint. What a pleasure it was to have thick paint stay on the roller, and use normal rolling techniques!

The next night the paint was still a bit damp, so I decided to add interior framing around the shower and closet. A 2x4 was glued and screwed to the floor to match the shower pan height, then a 2x2 top plate and 2x2 vertical studs were installed. The 12V ceiling wires were dropped down into the stud bays where they will eventually be switched.

The next day, I again sanded and vacuumed the exterior of the trailer. I then taped off all the metal surfaces around the door panels to be painted, them manually sanded the door surfaces and the screen door plastic panels that had yellowed with 320 grit paper, vacuumed them and tack clothed off any dust.

With all the dusty work done, I applied a fourth coat of exterior paint to the trailer, this time consuming about 3.5 litres of straight paint.

Moving back to the doors, I applied a coat of Zinsser 123 primer with a foam roller, then an hour later followed it up with two coats of gloss white exterior spray paint waiting the time per its instructions. Both cargo doors, both sides of two screen door panels and the exterior of the RV door were all sprayed before being left to dry for several days.

I ordered a new black plastic window frame, black door latch, and black cargo door locks (the original owner lost the keys anyway) to keep a similar accent colour on the exterior and match the black windows that I purchased. Everything should arrive in time to allow reassembly once the paint has cured well.

This ends part 21. More interior framing and more painting is planned next!

 

[daveo132000]

Part 22 (Interior framing, painting, and windows)

While waiting for trailer’s exterior and door paint to dry, I framed in the bathroom and closet walls, using 2x2s cut down from previously used bracing pieces. Each joint and the 2x2s against the wall were glued and screwed. A few nailing edges will still need to be added before interior wall panels can be installed.

I needed to leave on a work trip for 5 days, but after getting home I completed one final sanding of the trailer, and then applied the final 5th coat of flat exterior white paint to the trailer.

I also did a light sanding of the exterior door frame with 320 grit sandpaper, tack clothed it, then applied a coat of the same gloss white as is on the other door surfaces.

My salvaged cargo doors had 4 holes each drilled in the exterior frame, that didn’t line up with any wood blocking around my openings, so I needed to fill them. With a piece of vinyl tape on the exterior surface over the holes, I used some JB Weld to fill each hole, let it cure, then applied a light spray of white paint on the outside. The exterior door also needed to have 4 old holes filled, so I taped them off, filled them and removed the tape before the JB Weld cured.

I then taped off all of the rubber gaskets and the door hinges on the cargo doors, did a light sanding of the painted surfaces, then sprayed all the remaining surfaces with the gloss white paint to cover all the scratches from the previous owner. I hung the doors on some dowels to dry for the weekend.

Before I installed the windows, I wanted to ensure the interior plywood was protected with at least a coat or two of primer. It will be sitting outside for the winter, and I didn’t want wood getting damaged from moisture. So, I applied a coat of latex primer over all of the ceiling and wall surfaces that have been installed to date. Any surfaces still missing will be worked on in the spring.

Next came some final installations. After watching a few videos on the installation of RV windows, I began with the cargo doors. After trimming the canvas back, I pre-drilled new holes that lined up with the wood inserts around the openings, applied butyl tape to the door frames, misted the walls and butyl with some water, then mounted the doors with ¾ inch stainless screws. I needed to use 6 per door to pull the frames in tight to the wall surfaces. I still need to follow up with some caulking along the joints.


Then, I enlisted the boss’ help to install the windows. They were purchased on Amazon and are considered Exit windows. Absolutely no instructions came with them, yay! The trim ring inside uses 16 screws to bite into the outside window assembly groove with no need to use exterior screws. Unfortunately, I needed to run a jigsaw along a few of the wooden insert edges from the inside to shave off 1/8” or so to make it possible to insert the windows. I suspect the gap space I originally left shrunk as the glue cured under the wooden insert blocking. After sorting this out and cleaning up, I applied butyl tape on the window frames, misted the walls and butyl tape with some water, then the boss pushed the windows against the trailer walls as I installed the interior screws through the trim rings. Surprisingly, this went fairly well, with the screws drawing the frame in tight against both the interior and exterior wall surfaces. The windows operate properly and the screens pop in and out without issue. The exterior top hinges have some several small though-holes in the hinge’s rivets that are blocked by butyl, but I will caulk the holes with some black silicone later when I apply exterior caulking along the joints.

This ends part 22. Final steps to weathertight the trailer are planned next!