Hybrid Foamie in Southern Alberta

[bonnie]

Shar, if your windows have weep holes in them along the bottom, make sure they are clear of obstructions, or the water will pool in the window.

[Shar]

Thanks Bonnie, I will check for that! They do have weep holes at the bottom. I almost installed them upside down, not realizing there was a difference.

Today we tried to install the door, and ran into 2 problems. One was that the top of the door (somehow) was narrower than the bottom of it. I had to put shims into the right side of the door frame, to get rid of a huge gap at the top left side. Then the door fit, but was catching on the bottom a little. I could still close it, but I had to lift it a little bit each time. I took the door down and planed the bottom a little, so it wouldn't drag.

Now it won't stay closed! I am wishing I left it the way it was before. I installed the latch on the outside, and have a screwdriver stuck through it so the door won't swing open. Doors are so tricky!

[Shar]

A momentous day! We bolted the trailer back to its frame (I had taken the bolts out when I tucked the canvas edges underneath) and I closed up the small panels where the bolt heads are hidden. All the big jobs are done, and I have turned a corner from "building the trailer" to "prepping the trailer for its shakedown trip".

Though there are still details to take care of, there is nothing that would prevent the trailer from being "campable". On Tue we will carefully check and tighten everything (lug nuts, etc) then on Wed we will take a spin to the Red Deer area (a couple of hours away) to see how she behaves on the highway. If any problems arise, we will still have several days to fix them before our longer trip begins.

If all goes well, this will be a tremendous moment in my life!

[bonnie]

Double post. Opps.

[bonnie]

You did it!

Doors are hard. Mine sticks a little, but I'm leaving it that way.

[Shar]

Thanks Bonnie! Yes, we decided to leave the door as it is, as well. I figure that one of our more knowledgeable relatives might diagnose it for us at some point, and help us fix it. Or we can just keep holding it shut with a caribeener.
Either way, we can camp.

[Shar]

The trailer had its first rain test last night. I found one small leak. There was a little bit of water between one of the windows and its inner frame. Now to figure out how it got in.

The other window, door, and roof vent held up wonderfully.

In this photo you can see a wide black line (the window), a narrow black line (the clamp frame on the inside) and a beige area in between (the canvas-covered surface of the window opening). That beige area is where the water was.

[Shar]

First highway test today!
We drove to Red Deer, which is about 1 1/2 hrs from Calgary, had lunch with friends, and drove back. The trailer towed well, though Mark says he can feel a tiny amount of drag. The front end of the trailer was originally supposed to have a triangular section out on the tongue, for wind deflection, but as you may recall I got behind due to lots of weather troubles and had to postpone that. The front end, as it is right now, is higher than the car and not as aerodynamic as it could have been.
That said, the trailer should work just fine for our camping purposes. I will calculate a gas mileage soon.

I haven't weighed the trailer yet, but it is light enough that Mark and I backed it into the yard (uphill) by pushing it manually; it seemed easier than maneuvering with the car.

Home now, with a good cup of tea in hand!

[tac422]

Lookin' good !!
Nice Job

[KCStudly]

That was a fast build! Nice job.

[Shar]

Thanks, Tac and KC! Still can't believe I got it done by the deadline. I only had to neglect the rest of my life for 3 months to get this done- you should see the dust bunnies at our house but it was worth it.

[Shar]

Cost analysis of my build, in retrospect...

When I begin the build, I kept careful track of how much I was spending. When I was half-done, and almost at the "limit" I had set for myself, I stopped keeping track. I just threw each new receipt into a pile and said, "I'm committed to the damn thing now, and I will pay whatever it takes to finish it!"

Today I sat down with the pile of receipts and added them up. It turns out that my total cost was $2920. Since my original budget was $2000, this is about 49% over budget. Not great thriftiness, but if we get lots of good camping time with the trailer, in the years to come, I will certainly feel it was worth it.

The most expensive thing was (of course) the trailer frame. I wanted a new one, of the HF or NT flatbed style, and they cost a lot more in Canada. The trailer frame cost $1000.

The wood was the second thing. I meant to save money by using the cheapest 1/8 ply I could find for skinning the inner walls, but the stuff they had at the store was cracked and horrible, so we ended up choosing some more expensive maple ply. Mark said it was worth spending a little more to have the walls look really good. I also used more wood than most foamlings because of all the anchor points I wanted. It added up.

The third most expensive thing was the foam. It cost enough that the build was no cheaper, really, than if I had used wood entirely. I ended up choosing the foam for the lighter weight, and its rot-resistance, not its price.

Glue was the part that surprised me. I had to buy 3 18-oz bottles of GG, and 4 gallons of TB2. This added up to quite a chunk of change. I have 1/2 a bottle left of each.

And I'm forgetting the windows and roof vent! They were pricey items, even though the windows were used.

Paint can be expensive but I managed to save money this time getting it from Habitat. And then there are all the little metal things you have to get: screws, washers, hinges, handles, hooks, etc.

Looking back, I can't say I would have done anything differently. The materials I used seem to have worked out well for me.

[Shar]

In a day or two, we embark on our first road trip with the trailer. Last night we slept in it to test out our mattresses. It's such a cute, cozy space! And the windows and roof vent provide plenty of ventilation. It will be a great place to call home while we travel. I am still worrying, of course, because it's such a long trip we are taking, but it did so well on our 180 mile test trip that logically things should be ok. There will be no posts from me for a while, then a bunch of pictures of our trip!

[bonnie]

Congrats! And have a great trip! Waiting for those

[Shar]

Thanks, Bonnie!

One last pic before we go- the morning after the sleep test!