Habitat I

[mikeschn]

I like it! I like the cabin car doors like you did in this picture...



BTW, I notice you have drawn it up with a torsion axle. Is that what you are going to have Red Trailers ship you?

Mike...

[TheDuke]

I worked out a deal with Paul to ship the frame without axle & springs, but with wheels, at a lower price. I've worked with Dexter to spec an axle that fits exactly what I'll build (extra clearance for wall ply extension). The total price is much less than having a specialty frame & axle welded up locally. A friend will weld on the axle and the 2" spacers here at my place. The frame mods for the dropped floor I'll do myself.

[TheDuke]

Final Revisions plus a few more views are now in the album. Moving on to working on the electrical.

[mikeschn]

I see you've been cleaning up in your album again.

[TheDuke]

That's what comes from not being able to start the actual build. All I can do is revise and revise (and hopefully improve). But remember the saying "there comes a point in every project when it's time to shoot the engineer and BUILD something"? That's where I'm at.

TheDuke

[mikeschn]

How's the build coming along?

Mike...

[TheDuke]

Good to hear from you, Mike.

The NorthWest weather is the problem now. The only space I have to build in, is stuffed with other peoples junk, and I can't move it. Can't build outside, not around here. Too much rain, etc. But it will happen, one way or another.

I notice you're frustrated right now, too.

Thanks for asking.

TheDuke

[SaGR]

I like the mods for the "bathroom"!

Dug this one up looking for ideas for the in-laws. Have a unique problem to solve for them. He wants a teardrop, but here's the catch - he's 6' 7" so I'm now looking for a plan to get him into one.

If we drop the potty the Habitat I is ideal...

[TheDuke]

If your friend is 6'7", the only way something like the Habitat could accomodate him is by getting taller, if he wants to stand up. If not, then lopping off the loo and stretching the mattress is simple. Without the loo, there's not as much need to stand, so the height could come down from what I have.

But if you do that, you're almost back to a generic benroy. Other than the loo, the only thing unique that I did in the Habitat is the kitchen arrangement with the pass thru and the fold down seats.

The Sketchup views I currently have in my album are quite outdated. I've gone way past that, and have a lot more constructed in Sketchup. Just haven't put it in the album. Still wrestling with the placement of the PetCool, which I've taken out of the kitchen area.

Still trying to find a place to build it that will work year round. Remember, I'm near Seattle.

How's your TD coming?

TheDuke

[TheDuke]

Now that I've read your post again, I think you might have meant to drop the FLOOR of the loo, not to eliminate it entirely. In the Habitat, the floor is already pretty close to the asphalt, so you'd have to go up. Just take the difference between 5'8 and your friends height, and that's how much taller it would have to be. At least in the loo area. If you raised it everywhere, it might look like a Bekins van.

[mikeschn]

Hey Duke,

Are you starting your build this summer? I haven't seen any new pictures lately...

Mike...

[TheDuke]

The answer is a definite maybe. At least, the chances are better now than they have been. The money and space problems have settled down, so - - - - -.

The main reason for all the delay is the agonizing re-evaluation I have been putting myself through, as far as exactly what the design should be. You might remember I jumped into this forum with a little thing called the Skeet'r, which I really liked when I did it, but all the comments were right on and I knew it was too small. I over reacted in the opposite direction (typical of me) and did a horrendous amount of design work on the Habitat I. It had everything my heart desired, but it was becoming large and heavy, and my TV wouldn't pull it. So I junked that and (once more) decided to get out the clean screen and start again. I went back to the beginning, but with a little more knowledge this time.

Back when I began all this, my eye had been caught by the Grasshopper shape like a lot of other foks, and the Skeet'r was roughly similar. Somewhere in the last few weeks I came across Mikes pdf file of the actual original Grasshopper shape, and reproduced it on the screen, and found that the original Skeet'r shape was sort of "off". So the Grasshopper bug bit me once again, and has resulted in something which I hope will be a lot more functional and realistic, plus lighter, and sticks real close to the original Grasshopper shape, which I like so much.

In the next few days I'll be taking down the pics of the Habitat views, and putting up the first of the new design, which doesn't have a name yet. Meanwhile, if anyone in or near the NorthWest knows of a basic stripped 5x8 trailer frame with 12" or 13" wheels, on either leaf springs or torsion axle, let me know. We can have a meeting of the minds and I'll tow it home. That's all that is between me and starting this adventure.

TheDuke

[mikeschn]

Back to the grasshopper eh? Well good for you. But do me a favor. Leave the habitat pics up. There's a lot of good information there.

Thanks,

Mike...

[TheDuke]

Will do. When I get around to that bit of housekeeping, I'll add some more current Habitat Sketchup views. That design progressed quite a bit before I shelved it. Nothing wrong with it. It just outgrew my TV.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Revise, Revise... Then Improvise.