2bit build #2 "The Deuce"

[starleen2]

I sold the truck camper last night, I am officially camperless!

Welcome to the club! Looks like we'll both be building for LCG!!

[2bits]

Well Scott we all know you can build one up fast, but the clock is ticking!

[2bits]

I write procedures at work and I am really good at it so I decided to write the procedure for my 2bit 2week build. (Of course you have to have all your parts and take two weeks off work but that's your problem haha....)

The name of the new build has been decided too. Since it is my second build, I am calling it "The Deuce". Not terribly creative but fitting and fun to say. The lady I sold my teardrop to really inspired me to do a car wrap for where the galley lid would be a caricature of me holding a bass guitar in a pool hall giving the "Peace", "V for victory, British F-U, and of course "Deuce"...

Something like the cover of the Australian release of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap



So, so far this is the procedure for a steel frame, Harbor Freight build that will look cool.

The Deuce Build Procedure

Day 1: $144
Trailer:
Harbor Freight 4x8 Utility $144
Paint wheels black
Build trailer kit
do not install rear section to shorten 1 ft
Do not install Fenders and Tail lights until later

Day 2: $50
Floor:
3/4" Ply $30
Cut as needed
Insulate with sound deadener/roof seal $20
Bolt to trailer frame
Cover with existing stain/poly…

Day 3:
Design:
Make profile template
Map steel upright lengths and locations for AC, Roof vent, door, window, power inlet, door handle, for cut list

Day 4: $150
Frame prep:
Cut steel with chop saw (borrow/use/buy Chop saw)
1/2" x 1/2" 16 ga square steel tube $150???
Alternate: 1" x 1" 1/8" Angle iron

Day 5:
Frame Build:
Bolt 1.5" wide, 1/8" thick steel strips to floor
Weld uprights to floor strips
Weld 1.5" wide, 1/8" thick steel strips to top of uprights to make profile
Weld spars
Box in for AC, Roof vent, door, and strength
1/2 x 1" angle for roof vent, spars for wider space to drill into
3/4" Square tube for front and rear lower joints for wider space to drill into

Day 6: $100
Basic Interior:
Trim 2 sheets of Pine panelling for headliner to fit $50
Temp install headliner, trace frame location on underside for screws, roof vent
Remove and pre drill from the inside and cut roof vent
Reinstall and pre drill screw holes into steel and install walls

Cut 2 sheets of Pine panelling for walls in half so pattern is vertical $50
Cut profile 5/8" short to fit inside frame and under headliner
Temp install, trace frame location from outside for door, AC, power inlet and screws
Remove, pre drill from the inside for screws, cut door, AC and power inlet holes
Reinstall and pre drill screw holes into steel and install walls

Day 7: $250
Exterior:
Install foam insulation in walls and ceiling $30
Cut profile
Install side lower 1" aluminum angle onto trailer frame $20
Temp install wall skin into lower angle slot, trace door, AC and power inlet holes
Remove and cut door, AC and power inlet holes
Over-cut door by 3/16" to fold edges over once installed
Install wall skin with butyl tape, no fasteners $50

Install roof skin with butyl tape, no fasteners $75
Fasten front lower 1" aluminum angle $10
Fasten rear lower 1.5" aluminum strip $5
Install 2 x12' profile trim with butyl tape
Drill from inside for roof vent and moon roof - cut from outside
Install roof vent $20
Install tail lights

Day 8: $120
Door (One):
Weld door frame
cut and install interior skin with screws
Install insulation
Cut and install outer skin with butyl tape
Install window $50
Install door handle $25
Install T-Molding $25
install plastic hinge $10
Install door on body
Install weatherstripping $10

Day 9: $170 = Campable
Interior finish:
Build shelf (Wood, Existing materialis, stain, poly)
Install AC with drawer slides and locking latch $50
Install Power inlet $20
Install foam bed $100

Day 10:
Make curtains for door

Day 11:
Weld frame for AC cover
Attach Black aluminum
Install T Molding
Install weatherstripping
Install latch

[aggie79]

Wow Thomas! That's pretty detailed...and an aggressive build schedule. You'll need lots of pull this off.

You may want to consider painting the HF frame. The red color of my HF utility trailer turned a girly shade of pink in no time. I don't think pink will go well with your AC/DC theme.

Is build #2 going to be ready for Loyd Park?

Take care,
Tom

[2bits]

Hi Tom,

Yes definitely the Red will be painted black! Thank you for reminding me! I will update the procedure.

I wrote this out as a procedure for me to follow so I will be as prepared as possible because I can't start the build until after I get the mobile home moved which may still be another month from now, so that puts my schedule super tight. I think working in the evenings and taking a couple days off will give me enough time to get it built fast enough, but the real speed bump will be money as it always is. I will do my best and we'll see if I can get it done in time, I REALLY want to roll up into Loyd park in the Monte Carlo pulling the teardrop because I will probably need to take the truck to LCG due to gas and I want to bring alot of firewood. Wish me luck!

[2bits]

Hi Tom,

Yes definitely the Red will be painted black! Thank you for reminding me! I will update the procedure.

I wrote this out as a procedure for me to follow so I will be as prepared as possible because I can't start the build until after I get the mobile home moved which may still be another month from now, so that puts my schedule super tight. I think working in the evenings and taking a couple days off will give me enough time to get it built fast enough, but the real speed bump will be money as it always is. I will do my best and we'll see if I can get it done in time, I REALLY want to roll up into Loyd park in the Monte Carlo pulling the teardrop because I will probably need to take the truck to LCG due to gas and I want to bring alot of firewood. Wish me luck!

[dguff]

I really like your planned profile. That picture was my 1936 homebuilt teardrop that I had for a few years and have since sold it. It was one of my favorites.

Jerome

[2bits]

Hey Jerome, It was a beauty!!! I am now thinking it will be a cross between that one and I am also liking the very first teardrop as well, the Homeymoon House Trailer, they are both very similar, but I think I will need a little more flat top so I can fit the AC on the shelf, then swoop down to a point like this one.

[planovet]

Tag for updates

[2bits]

I have been looking around for stuff I can sell to finish out my move money, and I decided that since I never watch TV, haven't had cable in 15 years and don't even have the rabbet ears hooked up, my new flatscreen TV that I used as a computer monitor to watch Netfixx and DVDs on could be sold now and replaced later, so I put it on craigslist and got a call literally 5 min later and sold it to that person for just under what I bought it for 6 mo ago.

So with my $300, I squirreled away a hundred bucks to pay for the primary wire to go from the meter pole to my trailer breaker box once I move, and with the remainder....



Along with a receiver kit and trailer wiring for the Monte Carlo, with my Handy Dandy 20% off Harbor Freight coupon, at only $144 TOTAL with no tax added, the trailer that will be the frame for my new build...



It's now finished except for mounting the wheels and squaring it up and tightening all the bolts up. I am going to wait to mount the fenders and lights until the end of the build. I snapped the pic just before dark, but It will be a rolling frame tomorrow morning. So I guess the build has begun! I got the smallest and cheapest one they had because it weighed out to the the right choice... That is all I could afford, I prefer to camp alone anyway, and it's the same trailer as the bigger trailers except with bigger wheels (but the same hubs), and a little more frame. So I am going to extend the frame in the front to keep the axle at the back, and I can buy bigger wheels later if I feel like it is needed, but I am not planning any cross country trips in it so I probably won't. This is a low buck, high speed build. Let the build begin!

[planovet]

You must have had the instructions upside down

[aggie79]

And I think there is a little much camber - or is it caster - on the wheels.

[2bits]

I don't know what you guys are misunderstanding, this is going to be a underground build because it's too dang hot above ground!!!

[2bits]

OK I finished the trailer today and turned it over haha. I went ahead and attached the fenders and the tongue just so I wouldn't have loose bolts and parts floating around. I will be pulling the tongue off and adding a couple feet to the length in the front at some point.... nothing special, but here's a pic.

[KCStudly]

Build on!!!

It is always a pleasure to see the genisis of a master's creation. I am sure that I speak for us all when I say that we are all looking forward to your progress.

For us "followers", you sir, are a master.

Lots of people watching this one.

and I see that you have gotten your head out of the sand.