Sealing wheel wells?

[Arne]

If I were building wheel wells, I would seal the wood, then put roofing tar on. It absorbs stone hits and forms a moisture barrier.....

My ideal wheel well would be made from the end and sides of a plastic barrel, cut to fit. Then tar it to cover attaching screws, etc. and hide dirt.

[48Rob]

48Rob wrote:
I'll agree that metal wheel wells are better for longevity, but they didn't make the size I needed...Rob

I have a local A/C sheet metal shop that does great work and very reasonable. When living elsewhere I've used shops across the country with excellent results.

If they don't make what you want in sheet metal it might be worth asking for a quote from an A/C sheet metal shop. You might get exactly what you want for a fair price.

Cheers,

Gus

Hi Gus!

Yes, I should have mentioned that option, it is a good one.
I like Arne's thoughts on the plastic too!

I personally enjoy shopping, and like to take on the challenge of finding a pre made part, designed for another purpose, that will work for me, at a fraction of the cost of the part that I'm "supposed" to use.

I can't lay claim to the idea, but the best one that comes to mind is a person who used 1/3 of an old tire to make fenders for their trailer.
So simple, so common sense, but so far out that most would never have considered it because it isn't what "everyone else" uses.
That idea probably comes from turn of the century, and was probably one of many similar "invention" thoughts coming from a very brilliant person.

My original quote was

they didn't make the size I needed...that would also serve as support for the bed...

I needed to maintain as much head clearance as possible and was limited by the space needed for the wheels, so in this particular case, the plywood worked out perfectly.
I'm not sure I'd want to use metal and wood, or plastic and wood in combination, as the chance that moisture would become trapped between the two is pretty high.

Thanks for bringing up the custom metal work though, it is a good option!

Rob

[eamarquardt]

I personally enjoy shopping, and like to take on the challenge of finding a pre made part, designed for another purpose, that will work for me, at a fraction of the cost of the part that I'm "supposed" to use.Rob

Thinking outside the box is great sport. Here are some of mine:

Old storage cabinets for 3X5 cards are cheap and pretty easy to find. I cut the tops off of plastic oil "cans" and they fit perfectly in the old card cabinets. This is how I store all my "parts is parts".



I got an old pressure cooker at a garage sale for $5. Added some stuff and now it's a water heater good for a Navy shower and doubles as a dishpan that can be put on the burner and heated up when the water gets cold (I hate doing dishes in cold water).



I plan on using led landscape lights as reading lights for the cabin. Superbirght Leds sells some really nice ones.

Those two'fer halogen work lights sold are too big and clunky for me. I get old tripods, mount a 150 watt halogen on em and they are light and portable. My favorite one has wheels on it. Just push it around as you need. No need to even lift it.

Currently converting a VW engine to serve as an air compressor. Two cylinders air compressor, two cylinders pump air. Going to use an aftermarket cruise control as a governor. Cheap and also has overrev protection!

Beating the "system" is fun. These are the examples of mine that come to mind.

The biggest way to get what you want on the cheap is buying second hand or at garage sales.

Cheers,

Gus

[StPatron]

I'm a firm believer in being able to learn from others mistakes, so thought I'd add this pic. (I'm using a pop-up chassis and parts)


You may be able to see a lip on the perimeter. That was stapled to the underneath of the floor decking. The plastic was very thin, IMO, and became brittle with age. Where moisture was able to get through the cracks and then onto the flooring surface was where the rot occurred.

Incidentally, the plywood flooring wasn't treated with anything underneath (no tar, no pan) and all areas that were able to "breathe" and gravity drain were completely intact.

Last evening I built plywood wells from my flooring cut-offs. The scraps were already treated with tar and were too tempting not to utilize. The wells will be used as support for other structures, so I needed something sturdy and the plywood fit the bill. They will be surface mounted. At all interior joints and on all edge grain I over-sprayed with a shaker can of auto body undercoating (left over from another project). I'm hoping that the combination of surface/edge-grain protection and gravity drainage will suffice.

I really like the plastic barrel idea. Some great info., thx.

PS: Coleman fuel works great for removing roofing tar from skin. And, no il effex dat aye kan tel sew farr

[Arne]

Many years ago, we had an air compressor run by a horizontal cylinder hit-and-miss engine, hand started with a crank.. The compressor was made out of half (2 cylinders) of a model A engine. The spark plug hole was the exit for the compressed air (with a check valve).. the valves had light springs on them and sucked in air on the down stroke.

The engine had been torched in half and the end was UGLY, but we used it for over 40 year to paint cars. There was an 80 gallon water tank mounted under the roof rafters above the engine/compressor... lots of volume.

It was made by my father.. he could stretch a dollar much further than I ever could.

[eamarquardt]

There was an 80 gallon water tank mounted under the roof rafters above the engine/compressor... lots of volume.

Floor space is at a premium in my garage. I built a plywood box to house my air compressor and hoisted it with a block and tackle into the rafters. I also got a free 240 volt fan (the compressor is 240 volts) and mounted it in the end of the box. When the compressor starts up a hurricane is blowing past it. It never gets hot even in the rafters. I can lower it down in a couple of minutes and take it anwhere.

There are lots of solutions "outside the box". Necessity is not the mother of invention. Dissatisfaction with the status quo drives invention!

The pics of the fender boxes also make a point for AFREEGREEK's suggestion that the end grain of the floor plywood not be exposed and that the box fender well box extend a bit below the floor. Easier to replace the box should it become damaged or rotted due to the end grain being exposed than the floor.

Cheers,

Gus

[goldcoop]

OK-

Then there are pre-formed plastic wheel wells...

http://tinyurl.com/24kl6vc

Cheers,

Coop

[afreegreek]

OK-

Then there are pre-formed plastic wheel wells...

http://tinyurl.com/24kl6vc

Cheers,

Coop

there's a few types of plastic that can be welded with a soldering iron.. if those fenders are this type of plastic they can be cut and reassembled to fit the space if they don't already.. I'll poke around the net for a bit later and see if I can find a link to post on welding plastic using this method. I've done it and it works very well but I was supplied with the material so I'm not sure what plastic it is..

[eamarquardt]

One of the things that HF sells is a plastic welder. It's virtuall identical to another unit and a fraction of the cost. It's kinda like a big soldering gun that air goes through and has a big heater and air regulator. Do not run it w/o air flowing. I learned this the hard way on another unit. Eight bucks for a replacement element!

I have one and have used it a bit but it's better suited to stright edges than what I was trying to do.

Cheers,

Gus

[Jerry Bleeg]

I made my wheel wells from 1/2" Baltic Birch and sealed them with CPES and Polyurethane Sealant and then a coated all the weather side with asphalt roofing tar. I hope it works. Not done yet. Out here in California, we don't get much rain during the camping season, so I think it should hold up pretty well with proper maintenance.