The Stumble Inn

[eatatjoz]

The knots are what bug me most. Pallets aren't exactly quality wood. (side note. If you plan on using old pallets, you'll need to pre-drill the holes or the stuff splits )

It may end up staying. I've got a while before I make it to paint, so it will be decided later. Heck, it just may make my gun rack fit in a little better. As Alfred said... kinda rustic.

Thanks for the response guys. A buddy of mine hated the whole camper, so your support cheers me up a bit.

[S. Heisley]

This is an interesting build! Using the garage door window was a great idea! Looks good!

[eatatjoz]

I finally got the chance to put the roof on today. It still needs to be glassed and I need to build the galley door, but I got it cut, and it's screwed down!

Cabinet door is installed too. Not completed, but installed.

A couple of lights from my old office now adorne the cabin. Pull chains added to turn them off after settling in.

I added a mirror to the headboard so I don't come out of the camper looking like a Sasquatch in the morning. (Ignore the beer cans in the reflection:) )


I accomplished a little more than that, but I got occupied and forgot to take pics. Hopefully I'll have a chance to start on the galley lid tomorrow. I may not make Labor day, but I should be in the dry for bow season.

[Lcsodiver]

I really like the creative use of materials!! I can't wait to see how it turns out. Don't let your buddy get to you.... Your going to make everyone else when they realize they spent way too much on their fancy RV when you built this for next to nothing!!

[starleen2]

Just found this little jewel - Keep up the good work - it looks great! BTW- when others critize my builds or start to put them down - I say "gimme $5,000.00 and you can build it anyway you want" >Not that it cost me that much, but it usually shuts them up. This is your build and you're doing just fine with all the exotic materials - see you went from frugal to exotic

[eatatjoz]

Today the glass was started. I got the front pretty much done but there's a few spots that need hit again since I ran out of fiberglass resin. We'll fix that tomorrow.

My little brother moved in with me two years ago due to hardships. He passed away from a motorcycle accident a few months later. Among the things that he brought here was a few sheets of wood that was intended to be his entertainment center. He was really good with carpentry, and I would have loved to see what he came up with, but he never got around to it.
Today I decided that I wanted his "entertainment" center as part of my camper. I figure that using his project in my tear will remind me of him while "we're" camping. Just a little way for him to go camping since he loved it more than me.

top

wainscoting and a liner in the cabinet.


I also added a slide latch for my cabinet so that I could lock it up for when I go hiking/exploring.

Yes, I know that the roof slopes down in the center. I decided that this will alleviate the need for door gutters and drop the rain off to the center of the camper. I may be wrong, but I won't know until it rains.

Tomorrow starts another day of work. The galley hatch has been put off for a few minutes 'cause I don't want the interior getting wet at this point in time.
Gotta get busy if this thing is to be done by deer season.

[eatatjoz]

Well, Labor day has come and gone. I'm not on the road yet.

Sunday I got busy and stripped the galley. I hated it due to wasted space.
The first objective was to set the icebox on the outside so that I could add food and ice without having to open the hatch.



It's a bit of a setback, but it will work out better.

Sunday evening the GF came by the house and saw me sitting in the light of a coleman 220 staring at the silly thing. She knew I wanted to go camping this weekend and tried to make me feel better about it. She had to go to the store a few minutes later, and returned with her sleeping bag and pillow.
????
She decided that we were going camping in this thing ready or not.

so I grabbed a sleeping bag, pumped up the air mattress, and donned my camo quilt on top of it all.

We were camping!!! (in my yard) complete with a nice cozy fire and the warm hiss of a Coleman lantern.

Monday didn't accomplish much, but I reset the stove, put in a countertop, and added a drawer-fold down counter/table.
I'm still working on the best way to put the sink in, but I should be able to get that and a few more things done tomorrow.

[Curtis in Texas]

I wouldn't worry about the pallet wood used for the headbord.
Most of the pallets we get here in Texas are Oak.
I have built many projects out of them.

I find that if I run them through the table saw and trim off the outer layer of wood, (about the width of the saw blade) they stains up real nice.

I used them on my last project to make new counter tops, front valence and side tables for my BBQ grill out of them.

To me the dents and knots add caracter to the project.
And very water resistant.


Oh, and I have a Cousin who built his entire shop using used garage doors for wall skins. It was basically a pole barn until her screwed the doors on the outside. Now it looks like a Well insulated shop with a lot of access.
You really can't tell the working doors from the wall panels. Looks good.

Your trailer is coming along nicely. And you can't beat it for the price.

Happy to hear your GF is so supportive.

Curtis

[S. Heisley]

Are you going to have a way to lock up the refrigerator so that bears and hungry people can't steal from it when you aren't around?

Thanks for sharing your pictures. I'm enjoying watching your unique build.

[eatatjoz]

I didn't think about locking the food. Heck I leave the keys in the ignition of my truck most of the time. It does have a push button release latch so unless these little black bears evolve some opposeable thumbs, I should be safe with them. The coons may figure it out though.

I decided to just poly the headboard. It's actually a nice contrast to the two-tone paneling.

If the rain slacks off, I'll get some more work done and post up some pictures.

[Alfred]

She had to go to the store a few minutes later, and returned with her sleeping bag and pillow.
????
She decided that we were going camping in this thing ready or not.

so I grabbed a sleeping bag, pumped up the air mattress, and donned my camo quilt on top of it all.

Awesome! I haven't camped in my camper yet, either. But I have tent-camped in our backyard with the kids on more than one occasion. They love it! We have one of those $50 metal outside fireplaces, which we can fire-up for S'mores, light the camp lantern, read stories, then sleep under the stars in the tent. Best part is, if I wake-up in the middle of the night thirsty, or if nature calls, I can just get out of the tent walk in the house, then come back.

I think your build thread is great! Thanks for all the pictures. I am using lanterns similar to how you wired yours. Keep us posted!

AL in Asheville

[jdarkoregon]

Hey, when I first started reading this thread I would Laugh and laugh, BUT THEN I realized what you were doing was exactly what people were doing during the depression with teardrop trailers. Cheap, Quick, functional.

You are as creative as anybody here, and more than most, myself included.

What and how you are building is inspiring! You are making me re-think some of the construction methods I accept. I might even use some of what you are doing. Things like the fridge accessible from the outside, garage doors for walls or roof ( I might cover it with something, but wow, how fast can you get).

Keep it up, don't stop and I want to hear about the night you camped in it.

Great job

John

[eatatjoz]

You are making me re-think some of the construction methods I accept. I might even use some of what you are doing.

Don't do that! I spent the day measuring once and cutting twice.

I did manage to get a few things accomplished even with the mis-cuts, rain, and wrong gas fittings.

I got the floor to the galley in for one. It's a bunch of drop laminate flooring. I also cut up another pallet. This one had a solid plywood top, so I used it under the sink. I got a cabinet door out of it too, but didn't mount it due to lack of hinges. One of the angles in the back of the camper was cut out too, but not capped.


Some of the plumbing was put in place, handles on the drawer/table contraption, and a portable propane tank set in to test my kitchen light. Weatherstrip was added to the lower section, and it started raining again. I tarped the galley and moved on to a little molding work.


Some accents in the cabin.



My little camping trip last weekend didn't consist of much. We sat around with a few drinks by the fire, Turned on the radio, and fired up the lantern because I love that hiss. We sat and "watched" The Twilight Zone on the FM band and retired to the stumble inn at around 11:00.
We were really suprised at the amount of room in the little thing. It does have a queen sized mattress but it looks so small until you climb inside.
The rest probably shouldn't be published.
I'm ready to get it on the road! This thing is cool! (Ya'll should have told me about these little things sooner)

[jdarkoregon]

We were really suprised at the amount of room in the little thing.

Most people here would agree with you. Even the 4 wides have more room than you would think.

So,,, you painting the wood someday or leaving it just to prove it was free?

John

[eatatjoz]

I'm trying to hide the fact that it's all scrap material. I think I'll leave the headboard, but the cabinets and all of the visible signs of garage doors should disappear. I'll leave the area under the sink original just to prove that it's a pile of junk, because it can be hidden when the door is closed, but I don't want to look like Sanford and Son running down the highway.
This thing has cost me just under $116.00 so far, but I don't want it to show. The thing is that I don't have a real plan. I'm just building and hiding as I go along.

When I first got on here, your tandem was one of the first ones that I saw. It really impressed me and intimidated me as well. I knew that I couldn't build anything that resembles the quality on this board, but I wanted one, so it's being built anyway.

Worst come to worse, I can still sell it for scrap at the metal recyclers for the amount I have in it. (less time of course) I figure at $5.00 per hundred, I'll do decent if it doesn't pan out.
It's also giving me practice for building a real tear to be pulled behind my Vmax.

The whole experience is enlightening. I'm even getting better with carpentry.