Well, I didn't get much done before the arrival of my brother and best friend Bob. But once he got here we made PROGRESS!
I cannot express how grateful I am to have someone who will show up and work tirelessly to make my dreams come true.
Our weekend was simple, Saturday, up at 5:30 AM, breakfast at local diner at 6:00, home by 7:00, setup shop and making noise by 7:30. We worked until 10:00 PM Saturday night (noise ordinance kicks in then). Sunday morning was the same. We stopped work at noon Sunday so he could pack and head home.
And here is what we accomplished:
A place to work
Bob laid out, cut, and sanded all the curves for the door and windows.
We had a rough plan to follow - Bob expressed a bit of apprehension at my desire to wing it, so I put pen to paper.
Bob deemed the pocket hole jig 'awesome'. I agree and I'm glad he brought his drill so we had a dedicated drill for the station. Changing bits, even with the quick connect, gets old after a while.
Walls assembled. I decided to make the back half of each wall solid so I could put a screw in anywhere. Since I am winging it on the inside cabinet construction, it seemed the easiest way to be sure I would have something solid to screw into. And, since my windows are all sized for 1 1/4" walls, I used 1/4" ply as the skin over 3/4" ply & 1x3's. The walls are held in place with adhesive and pocket screws. I was surprised they stood on their own once installed.
Next, we turned our attention to the roof slats and front window support. We got a few in place to support the walls then primed the walls. Bob is an awesome painter!
While Bob was priming the walls, I began working on the supports for the moon roof. I am very concerned the roof will sag under the weight of such a large window, so I constructed a reinforced slat to handle the weight. I was pleased to see the roof didn't sag a bit with the window in place!
Bob worked so hard this weekend, I wanted him to have the chance to work on something that will be finished. We cut a piece of walnut and he cut out a backing for the 12v cabin light. I am very impressed with the walnut and he did an awesome job making it look so good! And for the record, this was his first time using a router!
Alas, all things must end. Bob had a long drive ahead of him and we got him packed and ready to go. If I could talk him into one more weekend between now and Christmas, I bet this trailer will be finished by New Years!
After Bob was gone, I decided to clean up and call it a weekend. But as I cleaned, I kept saying to myself "I'll just finish up this one little thing..." That one little thing led to another, and another and before i knew it, I had the AC spot in place and had put the first coat of truck bed liner on the space where the unit will sit. I decided to use the truck bed liner to protect all the penetrations (cabin vent fan hole pictured). It seems like a good choice to block any potential water seepage. I will, of course, be using liberal amounts of silicone when i put my vents in place.
Not a bad bit of work for one weekend. I'm going to try to get the galley wall in place before Thanksgiving!
Happy Turkey Day Everyone!
by Hikerjohnd » Tue Oct 26, 2010 4:30 pm 
Heck of an idea! Love it! 
