The fire/hunt trailer

[bullchuck1]

New guy with a new build. I have been reading here for a while. The bug has bitten. I purchased a second hand 6x12 premier cargo trailer. It is in very good shape, with a spare tire and a tool box on the front.
This build will have two purposes,
#1 - for hunting
#2 - a place to rest when out on wildfires.
I got it home and, the first thing I did was an axle flip. Big mistake, I forgot how many times you will have to climb in and out during the build. But it will be a good thing when I am done. Should have been the last thing to do. So the steps are ordered and on the way.
Now to start on taking out the inside plywood . This opened up a whole new can of worms . And now it is time to go fishing, I mean to fix things. When I took the front off, there was a big gap in each corner. I could slide my hand up in there when I was laying on the ground. Took floor out in front cut and trimmed till I had better fit. It took most of the day . Working on sealing the bottom and putting back in and caulk everything up. Will work from the front to the back on the floor. Then insulat the trailer.
It will be slow to start with, waiting on steps as I will have to cut and reweld the frame ,to fit the steps. Then thing should go faster.

[bullchuck1]

More picture's

[Staryder61]

Welcome Mark.
You've got a good start there.
Have fun with it and remember it's all about the fishing and a place to rest.
A lot of great help in this section.

[bullchuck1]

So I started to brace up the floor. I put a brace every 18". It is a little bit of work, as the cross members were not welded in square. I will do this all the way to the back of the trailer. Just waiting on good weather so I can put the plywood out side and go to it. I should say that all floor ribs and wall ribs are on 2' centers. So with this extra bracing it should be stout for off road. Also I am thinking of running 1" tubing on the walls every 18" to give it strength, see the mock up in picture. What does everyone think of this plan. It also will give me 2" insulation in the walls. So good or bad let's hear it.

[bullchuck1]

Just a little update. Got all the plywood siding and flooring out. Finally got the floor braces finished. I was going to makea jig to weld them all up. However the floor joist were not square ,so each one was cut to fit and welded individually and then bolted in . This took me a while, having to work by myself. Hope to start on putting the floor in and some caulking next week. Then insulation.

[Staryder61]

The bracing's sure gonna make it stronger.
Yes, nothings square on these trailers.. and the gaps and holes you find..
I measured off for my ceiling fan, from both sides.. and laughed.. in 14 inches I split the difference between a 1/4" out of square.. for the ceiling brace..
All the wood covers those things up..

[bullchuck1]

So I am back working after my sister passed away. I have some updates , pictures and questions.
So the floor and bracing is done for now. I will sand the floor inside when done and seal it. I cut and screwed together 4 " strips of plywood for the second layer of insulation. I had a bunch of 1/4" rivet nuts from a project that never happened. So I used those to put up the plywood strip. I thought this would be more ridged, than using self tapping screws. Between the floor braces and the plywood slats there should no flexing when off road. Started cutting some insulation and putting it in . I will pull the slats off and give it a good tape job then put them back on for second layer of insulation and tape. Before the second layer goes up I need to run wires.
Now a couple of questions, I am going to make a 2" wide and 1" thick frame out of plywood to support the fan . It will be attached between the roof bows. Dose this sound right or is there another way? I have some small gaps in my insulation about 3/16" - 1/4" in spots. Should I fill them in with some spray fome or just tape over them?

Thanks for the help.

[Staryder61]

Mark, I believe I did my fan a little different than some have, it worked great for me.
I cut the fan hole out, insulated leaving enough for a 3/4" thick plywood frame to fit in against the metal roof.



I used Pl premium to adhere the plywood to the roof of the frame overlapped the roof struts, then I clamped it over night.
I then insulated between the roof struts to the plywood frame.



The next layer of insulation went between the wood struts I added for my ceiling plywood, it's all locked together..
When I installed the fan on top, there was no flimsy movement of the metal, and the plywood allowed me to secure the fan
with screws to it.
Used PL premium between all layers of the metal, plywood and insulation around the fan.. there's no vibration either when the fan is running or a 18mph wind with the hatch up..

On any gaps I add up to 3/8" with the insulation. I split the difference to both sides ran a bead of cheap caulk down the gap and taped with the aluminum tape..

Myself, I have stayed away from spray foam on any gaps where it could push out the metal and cause a hump on the exterior..

Maybe some of this will help you..

[bullchuck1]

That is what I am thinking of doing.
On the front corners,there's about a 1/2" gap between the skin and bow members ( wall supports). This was how the trailer was built. Do I need to worry about this or leave it alone. I was thinking of filling them in with some fiber insulation, then put the foam board back in.

[JasenC]

if you're going to be using it in the winter you might give all those craves and crevasses a go at with the spray foam.

It's looking good

[Staryder61]

That is what I am thinking of doing.
On the front corners,there's about a 1/2" gap between the skin and bow members ( wall supports). This was how the trailer was built. Do I need to worry about this or leave it alone. I was thinking of filling them in with some fiber insulation, then put the foam board back in.

Mark, I had a couple places like you are talking about with the big gaps between the struts and the metal. I tried a little foam on a couple of those and was not happy with the results. It expanded until it bulged the metal out on the exterior. So I very carefully scrapped that out. Cut some thin strips of foam board and slipped it in to those places, using caulk to hold those in place and then replaced the foam board.

[bullchuck1]

Thanks for the tips.

[bullchuck1]

I am looking for some advice, on putting in my roof fan. My question is the roof has a slight bow and the fan has a flat bottom. I have a piece of 1/2 plywood cut to brace the fan. I understand that when I tighten the fan to the plywood it will flatten out the roof. But on the inside the roof still has a bow, and the trim is flat. What am I missing . What is the correct way of doing this? Any help or suggestions are appreciated from this fine group.

[Staryder61]

Mark,
when I did mine.. I placed the plywood up where it belonged.. knowing it would be flat against the curved top metal.
I used some small wood shims to space the gap.. and pl premiumed the plywood and shims in place.. there wasn't enough of a curve to worry about.
When I applied the trim piece on the inside of the interior, there is a 1/6" gap maybe.. between the corner screws and the center of the trim ring.. this could be taken care of by adding an additional screw each 4 sides to close that gap. I didn't feel the need to do so. And felt it might be helpful to let the small gap float for expanding and contracting..

[JasenC]

You could build a curb with the bottom cut to match the curve of the roof which would give you a flat spot to mount the fan.
This is the plan for my curved roof, I'll probably cut the outside edges at an angle, 15/20 deg so that it looks a little cleaner/smoother transition.