Redneck Ramada II

[Osage Outlaw]

I replaced everything in the actuator hitch. I removed the hubs and found one good functioning brake and the other side looked like this. I replaced it with all new parts. The brakes work great now.




I put 1/2" foil covered insulation and 1/4" luan on the floor. After my camping trip I'm going to put laminate flooring down.







I put some temporary shelves in the rounded nose section. I want to make permanent shelves after I finish the inside.




I made an osage log step.




Some precision chainsaw work made it a lot lighter.




After a second coat of sealer I took it for a test drive. The tongue weight wasn't to much. My truck pulled it just fine. The brakes work great. When I stop I don't feel the trailer pushing me at all. It was like it wasn't even there. I'm leaving for a week long camping trip soon. I should make enough money selling wood to finish the interior when I get back.

[jstrubberg]

I think the trailer is rated for 5500 lbs. I'm not sure what the total weight will be. I'd like to haul 2000 lbs of wood in it.

Here are a few pictures of some bow bows that I have made. I don't really make them to sell unless I get asked to. I enjoy making them for trades or gifts. I've sold a few bows and it took the fun out of it. The bow with the two holes in it was a gift to a friend. He killed a buck with it.

Gorgeous. Pulling off soft knots like that in the working limb ain't easy!

Do I detect a little Torges influence in there? I've built a bunch of selfbows over the last 20 or so years, although most of mine have been white woods and composites rather than osage. I have two partially finished osage blanks sitting in the shop right now waiting for the mood to strike again.

[Osage Outlaw]

I have read his book, Hunting the Osage Bow. I've also read all 4 of the Traditional Bowyers Bibles, The Bent Stick, plus a few more books about bow making. I've been influenced by all of them. Making selfbows is a passion of mine. This camper build would have never happened without my interest in selfbows. I'd like to see some of your bows. Feel free to post some pictures here if you like.

[Osage Outlaw]

I'm slowly making progress on my project. I hauled it to Tennessee for a week and gave it a good test run. I loaded it down with wood to see how it pulled. I was very pleased with how well it did. I think the axle spacing worked out perfect. It pulls well full or empty. This is the load that I hauled. Each piece of wood is 6' long.




Here was my camp set up. It drew a lot of attention. Most of the people in camp had to stop and look at it or take pictures. The air mattress wasn't very comfortable. As soon as I got home I replaced it with a memory foam mattress.




After my trip I got back to work on it. I insulated it with the foil covered bubble wrap. There is one layer on the walls and 3 layers on the ceiling. I also lowered the bed platform 8". I didn't need as much storage room as I had planned on.




I installed the floor. It almost matches the outside boards.






I want to make permanent shelves up once I get the walls finished.




I just got back from a trip to Michigan with the camper. I had a friend tow it north for me. We got a lot of honks and thumbs up on the interstate. Whenever we stopped for food or gas a small crowd of people would gather to look at it and take pictures. It seems to be very popular with the ladies for some reason. To bad I'm married.

Next up on the to-do list is to install the electric and inside walls and ceiling.

[3GKnight]

Those are nice looking bows!

[Osage Outlaw]

My project is pretty much done. I just have a couple of small details to finish up this weekend. I put together a slideshow of the build pictures with a Seasick Steve song in the background.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnQbD_xO9KQ

[AmericanMade]

That Bow is quite the nice piece.. . . .Sweet. . . .