The Annex - 5 1/2 wide X 10 long X 5 high

[JohnSw]

Notice that the outer skin of the front wall overlaps the end of the wall.

[JohnSw]

The outer skin overlapping the end of the wall makes for a clean corner. There are screws going through the side walls into the ends of the front and rear walls as well as staples therough the overlapping outer skin. Later these corners will be sealed with fiberglass and epoxy.

The 1/2" plywood floor extends beyond the trailer frame to allow for screws to be driven through the floor and into the bottom of the walls. The whole assembly is very rigid.

[JohnSw]

Since my design is wider than the space between the fenders, I built wheel wells. I should have made them larger in case I ever want to put larger tires on the trailer.

You can also see the floor - wall joint in this photo.

[JohnSw]

After the walls were up, I framed the storage compartment openings...






And built a frame for a raised bed.

[KCStudly]

Moving right along. Remind me please, what will your final outer skin be? Do you plan on sealing all around the edges and wheel wells with epoxy, or...?

[dogscats]

JohnSw Nice build .looking forward to more post.

[JohnSw]

KC --- Finished in fiberglass and epoxy for front, roof and rear. Sides have epoxy without fiberglass except for fiberglass tape on joints. Wheel well have fiberglass & epoxy but it was hard to get the tape to be bubble free so it got caulked and painted too. The camper is finished except for some minir interior enhancements. Now I'm trying to finish the build journal since I read so many of them before I started my build.
John

[JohnSw]

With the plywood for the bed in place, 1x2 poplar rafters were installed using a kreg pocket hole jig and 2 screws at each end. Double rafters were installed at panel joints. The ceiling panels were glued and stapled after the rafters were in place.

[JohnSw]

I used 1/4 inch (nominal -actual thickness 0.2") underlayment from my local big blue box store and found it to work really well on the flat walls but it is so rigid that it proved impossible to bend without cracking. I got a thinner (0.18") sheet, scored the underside. By using 3 ratchet straps and stapling and gluing as it bent, I was able to get the outside skin on. Sorry there are no pictures of that process. If I was to do it again I would look for a more flexible sheet of luan. I was unable to generate enough force to bend the inside skin so I cut pieces to fit.

[JohnSw]

Before the outer skin was attached , I ran wires for the ceiling lights and my fan assembly. Another layer of insulation was also added giving 1 1/2" of roof insulation.

[JohnSw]

After the outer skin was all in place, I trimed the edge flush to the sides with a router. Then I used a 1/4" radius bit to radius the corners. I used 3 1/4 oz fiberglass and epoxy to seal the entire roof. I cut it long so it would hang over the sides and seal the wall to roof edge. I had a number of places where the glass would bubble at the radius. I cut these out with a utility knife and put patches over the void.

[JohnSw]

Since the rear wall, lower front wall and the sides had been epoxied and fiberglassed lying flat, I cut strips of the 3 1/4 oz fiberglass cloth to cover the corners. I used my wife's rotary cutter from her quilting to cut the fiberglass. It worked really well.

The joint between the walls and the floor was also fiberglassed. In order to provide a smooth transition, I attached half round molding to the underside of the floor so the fiberglass could come down the wall and wrap onto the half round. This should also provide a sort of a drip edge so rain doesn't work its way back under to the trailer frame.

I attempted to seal the wheel wells with epoxy but even with my angled corner pieces it was difficult to get a complete seal so I caulked it and painted it as well.

After the epoxy had cured, I primed the exterior with SealGrip primer from PPG-Porter Paints and painted it with a specialty Porter paint called "Breakthrough" . Breakthrough has good hardness and excellent adhesion to a variety of substates, fiberglass being one of them. Its also recomended for concrete floors. It's very thin and dries quickly so one must work fast to keep a wet edge. It's probably great for spraying but I used a roller with no problem.

[JohnSw]

I used a 7 pin connector for my vehicle connection. I bought this trailer junction box to terminate the cable. The grommets fit the 7 pin cable and, as I discovered by accident, 1/2" CPVC pipe. I had some CPVC pipe so I used it to route the individual wires.

[JohnSw]

I have two 12V electrical "panels" . All the vehicle lights have individual power and ground wires that run from the terminal strip to the light.




All the 12V power accesories (lights & fans) are connected to the fuse block I got at an auto parts store. The grounds are connected to a copper ground bar I made by flattening a piece of copper pipe. Some machine screws, nuts and star washers completed the ground bar assembly.

[JohnSw]

I used a minimalist approach to the AC electrical. I have a power strip with a built in 15 amp breaker. Plugged in to the power strip is another power strip to provide easily accesable outlets, a 5000 BTU air conditioner, and a line running to the tongue box so I can plugin the battery minder/charger.





I built my AC inlet using these parts...




I just pull the power strip cord out and plug in a 12 gage extension cord.