XBOW (Xtreme Bed On Wheels) Build

[noseoil]

I think 3/4" for a bulkhead is just a bit of overkill. If you were running dado joints all over it on both sides to fasten & glue panels in place, I suppose it might be OK. Typically, it isn't necessary for the loads running through it on a small teardrop. Your home cabinets are made with 1/4" backing on the boxes & they are strong enough for base units & uppers.

I used 1/4" with no problem & It's plenty strong. By milling a dado into the walls & the deck, it's held in place very well with glue. The spar at the top is the "4th side" of the box & it becomes a solid part of the build, but is light as well. With cabinets fastened to it front & back, there's no place for it to go. I just don't see a need for the cost, weight & strength of 3/4" material in this place on a build as small as a teardrop. YMMV!

[S. Heisley]

I like the new layout plan a lot better, both looks and roominess. Also, I think that you would be okay with 60" width instead of 54". (I wouldn't go 52"). Is your chassis only 52-54"? ( 54" is the width of a full sized mattress. 60" is the width of a queen sized bed. )

[Dirtclod]

Noseoil, Thanks for the reply. You are correct on the cabinets, my Keystone travel trailer is full of 1X2's covered in cheap plywood. Good enough for them, I guess should be good enough for me. I really wasn't thinking about the extra weight of it. So maybe stick build and skin with 1/4 birch may be the way to go. Thanks again for the advice.

Sharon, Thanks for the vote of confidence on the new profile. I like to better as well and you are right, it will seem more roomy. My trailer frame is 60 wide between wheel wells so the inside will be approx 58 wide. I still plan on stuffing a queen size trifold mattress in there.

I spent yesterday welding mounting points to trailer since I neglected to have the trailer builder add them. DOH

[Dirtclod]

Been thinking about the AC. I am in Tennessee and late summers are pretty warm and humid. I have read every article that I can both on here as well as other forums. I am looking to do something like the Swiss Tear did and put an AC in the lower part of the galley. I ran across one in a Pot Growers magazine called 420 that looks pretty promising.

https://www.420magazine.com/forums/do-i ... space.html

He used metal 10 inch ducting to supply fresh air to the "middle" section of the AC unit and closed in both sides. His tests were pretty successful with the 10 inch ducts and no fan. His finding were that if you went with anything smaller than 10 inch duct you needed a fan to bring more air in. I know I cant have 10 inch ducts so would rely on a fan to pull in fresh air from the side and exhaust through the bottom. I know someone (maybe KC ..I cant remember I looked at so many) had to use a blower in the return from the tear to make his "DIY Climate Right" work. With the front of the AC in the tear that shouldn't be an issue. The issue then becomes keeping the outside 2/3's cool.

Pardon the crude Sketch Up drawing but my take on his plan would be something like this



I may build a box and play around with this before building into the teardrop.

Opinions?

[Dirtclod]

Noseoil.

I just finished re reading your build for the "I don't know how many times" and had a question for you on the hatch layout.

How did you come up with the amount to recess the sidewall of the galley for the hatch. I may not be phrasing this correctly so let me show you what I mean.



The area circled in Red is the recess I am talking about. How much did you cut off to allow for the hatch weather strip here?

[Dirtclod]

Afternoon All

I got a bit side tracked from the build putting together a swing set / for my grand daughter. If any of you has ever done this then you will understand 144 page instructions and about 4 days to put it together. She likes it that's all that's important.



I did get some work done on the teardrop over the last week.

Made a lumber run



Spliced some 1/2 Birch together for the floor. Not going to insulate at this time. If I feel its needed I will add a layer of foam and 1/8 over the top from the inside later.



Walls here we come

[working on it]

Been thinking about the AC. I am in Tennessee and late summers are pretty warm and humid. I have read every article that I can both on here as well as other forums. I am looking to do something like the Swiss Tear did and put an AC in the lower part of the galley. I ran across one in a Pot Growers magazine called 420 that looks pretty promising.

https://www.420magazine.com/forums/do-i ... space.html

He used metal 10 inch ducting to supply fresh air to the "middle" section of the AC unit and closed in both sides. His tests were pretty successful with the 10 inch ducts and no fan. His finding were that if you went with anything smaller than 10 inch duct you needed a fan to bring more air in. I know I cant have 10 inch ducts so would rely on a fan to pull in fresh air from the side and exhaust through the bottom. I know someone (maybe KC ..I cant remember I looked at so many) had to use a blower in the return from the tear to make his "DIY Climate Right" work. With the front of the AC in the tear that shouldn't be an issue. The issue then becomes keeping the outside 2/3's cool.

Pardon the crude Sketch Up drawing but my take on his plan would be something like this



I may build a box and play around with this before building into the teardrop.

Opinions?

• Looks like you've researched it quite a bit (I also found the "pot growers" A/C venting video while researching my system-if anyone searches my laptop, what'll they think???-). I wonder about two items in your projected design, though : 1) the exhaust blowing into a downward-curving duct will have some residual heat buildup, and may cause thermal shutdown in some cases (ask me how I know !), and if ducted under the trailer floor, won't there be the possibilty of heat coming back up into the cabin ?, and 2) the chassis may not need an air box surround, for cooling (unless it's also for sound isolation), but make sure the exhaust air can't find its way into the chassis box.
• I used a duct boot over my exhaust to turn the flow to the right, and thru the wall. It was part of my plan to seal the hatch (where the A/C is mounted) at night, to be able to run it, without leaving the hatch open. It was a major problem to keep the high exhaust temperature from building up inside the ducting (due to backpressure), and causing thermal shutdown, until I enlarged the exit vent, and introduced a high-flow axial fan into the insulated ducting. I altered your sketch to show my system.

• 

  AC exhaust thru floor, thru wall.jpg (75.16 KiB) Viewed 2815 times

• Because I used the insulated ducting (also insulating the duct boot with it), thEre is no retained heat inside the hatch, even when closed. I have a computer case fan on one side of the chassis, with an ambient air vent on the other side (wall), five inches from the chassis, so I didn't have to create an airbox to cool the chassis and compressor.
• Here's a link to a recent thread I posted details in:http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=68087#p1199026, and my post has another link to my full installation thread.
• I solved my problems with doing it that way, but it is a one-off from everybody else's. I would just make an exhaust air box going straight out the hatch (when closed) thru a shuttered vent, if I were to change it, or do another trailer.

• 

  shuttered exhaust vent.PNG (56.55 KiB) Viewed 2815 times

[Dirtclod]

Working,

Thanks for sharing your AC knowledge with me. I read thru all of your trials and tribulations on getting the AC to work in your setup. Sounded like quite the journey. My needs are exactly like yours, I (wife) wants AC and I want it permanently mounted. I have seen others that have the AC in the tow vehicle and then set it up onsite. I may end up going this route if time becomes and issue.

I somewhat expected the need for a fan or three to keep the compressor cool and to get the hot exhaust out. Your idea of going straight out through the galley hatch definitely makes sense. I am a long way from this point so I have some time to get it all sorted. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. I may need to pick your brain again before all is said and done.

Brown Santa dropped off the doors from Challenger yesterday I didn't get to open them yet, yard work got in the way.

[Dirtclod]

Got a little done last night after buying a new tire for the truck. Nail in the sidewall

Put the first coat of asphalt paint on the bottom of the floor.

[Dirtclod]

In between all the Easter Egg hunts with the grand daughter I was able to sneak in a little teardrop time.

Put a second coat on the bottom of the floor, then 3 coats of epoxy on the edges. The used my jig saw to cut out the inner wall shape then used a flush trim bit and my template to cut them exact



Used my trusty and really dusty biscuit joiner to join some 3/4 shop birch to make the inner wall panels.



I used the same wedge technique that I believe Tim used to pull them up tight



I spent last night opening the new Challenger doors. They were VERY well packed and look great.

Quick question for yall. How much space should there be between the bottom of the door and the bottom of the trailer if using a 6 inch mattress? 3 inches ? Or maybe 4 inches? I don't want to have the door frame dig into our legs when getting in and out.


?

[Dirtclod]

After cutting the grass, I made a little progress on the drop.

"Skeletonized" one wall. (Pardon the messy shop)



Not sure if I should cut this one out since it is on a seam. Whaddya think?



Now to sand it down and start cutting out the other one.

Still not 100 % on the hatch though. I am leaning towards the Steve Fredericks type hatch since I have his book. I can see the advantage of Steve's style for its waterproofness, but really like the look of the other style like the guys at Oregon Trailer build em.

Is one easier than the other to build? This is my first build so this is important.

Is one less expensive? Wow the $$$ signs are adding up already.

Any advice or criticism is always welcome.

[Dirtclod]

Morning TNTT

Spent a little time with the walls last night, following right along with Steve Fredericks' manual. I cut the 1 5/8 inch section from the top that will form the ledge for the cieiling and make the blocking pieces. Also routed out some dado's for the bulkhead and galley shelf. Will probably make skeleton type bulkhead but maybe the same for galley counter.

Picture for all you picture folks

[Dirtclod]

Made some progress over the weekend. Got the bulkhead cut and routed. Against Tim's advice I built it out of 3/4 BUT will be skeletonizing it too once I finalize the AC situation. Routed out the walls for the bulkhead and the galley counter top.

Making sawdust and making progress.

[Dirtclod]

Good Morning TNTT

I took a few days off and spent some quality time with XBOW this weekend. I pulled it back down and added pocket hole screws to the walls for securing them once I get everything dry fit the way I want. Skeletonized the bulkhead, then put everything back together to work on layout and cabinetry.

Planed down some 4/4 Poplar to 3/4. I may leave some at 4/4 for roof spars later.



Fabbed up a small Galley cabinet that will house the PD4045 and a 6 inch drawer below. The square to the left is where the AC will sit.



Built the cabin cabinets but still need to set them in place to make sure all is square. Hope to do that tonight.



Next will take everything back apart and start down the long road of applying Epoxy and Poly to the walls.

Making progress.

[swoody126]

Dirtclod, please excuse my failure to make my presence/following known very often

i know from personal experience thread initiators like to know their work is still being followed and that their work is entertaining, AIDING and inspiring readers

folks like you who maintain a relatively neat & clean shop/work area never cease to amaze this old man

your good pics sure do add to your thread!

as you get to the coating of your panels you might consider trying to keep from filling/coating the dados if you intend to use thickened POX as part of your joing process

at point of joining having bare wood for a preliminary slathering of unthickened POX in the dado will aid the thickened mixture and help prevent starving the joint

same is true if you are using TB glue because it doesn't stick/hold as well when it can't penetrate the wood fibers(no need to ask why i bring this up )

THANKS for posting

sw