Kenskill style build in Delavan, WI (Now Cub Modern)

[KCStudly]

I’ve seen somebody on this forum glue the spars to the ceiling first and they pulled it off. Can’t recall who it was.

I did my roof that way, but I didn't have a ledge, per se. Just flat topped walls with no outer skin (since I was doing monolithic epoxy/FG outer skin... i.e. fiberglass wrap). I held my ceiling ply back from the outer edge of my foam walls a little but let the spars... which had the 3/4 inch roundover radius of my roof to wall edge already on them... come out to where the epoxy skin would grab the end grain of the spars, then I infilled between the spars with foam board, packed the gap between ceiling edge, wall face and roof foam with small strips the same foam, and rounded the foam over to match the ends of the spars... no corner trim required. I had to make sure the ends of my spars stayed flush to the walls (as best I could) and didn't worry too much about the ply (... well, I did, but it was less critical than trying to match the spars to the side walls perfectly... just a lot of careful measuring and positioning during glue up). I did have a small variation at the top of the front wall where the ceiling ply met the front wall ply a bit skewed, but I was able to plane the edge of the ceiling to match just as the last bit of bending was taking place and she fell into place on the slat that doubles as the ledger for my key catcher shelf.

My roof arch isn't that tight (something like 520-540 inch radius over the top section or the profile), and at 64 inches wide, with the 5mm Okoume ply being heavier than 1/8 birch, my ceiling panel wanted to sag more than I was comfortable without spars installed. It was nice doing the staining and poly flat on the bench and then having the ceiling finished with very tight "no corner trim required" fit instantly after installation; just a little masking tape to remove and pow, she was done.

BTW, Mr. Lahey (and Breb), your camper is looking fabulous! Keep up the good work!

[Mr. Lahey]

breb- I got the struts from these folks. https://www.liftsupportsdepot.com/ Good prices, free shipping and no hassle returns if needed. When you look at struts look for ones with ez release ends if they have them in your size. Real easy to take on and off if needed.

I cut the vent fan hole with my router from the inside. Used a piloted flush trim bit. Covered the router base with masking tape to keep from scratching the ceiling.


Tomorrow I pick up my AGM battery. Nice sale price starts tomorrow. Hated to spend twice the price of a standard acid filled battery. However I wanted the sealed battery since it's inside the camper cabin.


I ended up putting glue blocks along the outside wall in between the spars. The ledge the ceiling panel lays on is just made up out of 1" foam insulation. So i put adhesive on the foam, but no use trying to staple the ceiling to the foam. So I glued the blocks to the panel and the wall and air nailed them in place. The ceiling is in there nice and secure now.

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I'm happy with the progress made for this season. I hit the goals I hoped to for this year and still have some time left to the season. So any progress made from here out is a bonus as far as I'm concerened. I'm going to keep pluggin away at it till it gets to cold to do any more.

[breb]

Today was small details and varnishing the outside of the hatch. You can tell the difference already on temperature change. the varnish was still tacky after 5 hours. I'm looking at this as a very productive summer and my build is winding down. I would like to order hatch struts and finish that but there are plenty of other things coming my way that doesn't include working on the TD. I have to help up by my dad this Saturday and then turn around and head back for Sunday morning back home 2.5 hour one way. Two weekends ago we pulled in dock up at Wisconsin Michigan boarder. This time of year is loaded .I was suppose to leave this morning for Medford for a couple of days and do some work on a friends property. That got called on a count of rain forecast. If you have a any interest in seeing any other teardrops you might take a trip up to Camp in Camp out at Castle Rock this weekend. It appears like they are going to have a large attendance. We did it several years ago. Are you going to try and get any insulation installed ? I'm researching the sight you suggested for struts.

[Mr. Lahey]

I know what you mean about other things coming your way. All the things I've put on hold to work on the camper this year are to the point I can't stall them much longer. Some of it kept me out of the garage last week. Looks like I may have to divide my time up between what I want to do and what I have to do.

Thanks for the tip about the teardrop gathering. Going to pass on it this time. Try to use the time working on the camper. Before I do any insulating I've got to do the wiring that will run through the ceiling. I am going to use foil faced foam panels when I do insulate.

I did get my battery today and installed it. I had left the ceiling panel loose so I could put the battery in from the back of the cabinet. I was sweatin it if all of it would fit in the cabinet. You can plan and measure all you want and sometimes it still goes wrong. It went in fine and the cabinet back went on just fine. Next up is a bit of stain and finish work to the new cabinet back. The open cubbies in the headboard need to be finished. I am also going to install a trim molding along the edge of the ceiling and wall. That will need some stain and finishing as well.

Installing battery before back goes on

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It all fits just by inches, but it does all fit.

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[breb]

Your Battery looks like a perfect fit. Looks like a well planned out setup for wires and components. I have narrowed down to two things left for this year before I throw a tarp on the teardrop and that gluing the inside skin in place and then mounting the 2 struts which are on there way from Lifts Supports Depot. ( Thanks for the heads up). I pulled wires again today through the hatch and cut the sheet of ply for it with the access hole . Also took the cut out piece from the access hole and and started to trim it to fit back in place. I'll have a pic of it later when finished. For me there other chores to be done and the hunting season is here. Wires everywhere

[Mr. Lahey]

breb- Your galley and hatch are both looking great! The teardrop silhouette on the cabinet front is a fun accent to all your beautiful cabinets. Nice work.

I'm going to spend today consolidating the shop for off season mode. I've parked my truck outside all summer. So I've grown to fill the garage with tools and a 4x8 work table. Plus I have the hatch off the tear and stood on its side in the shop. So first order is to get the hatch back on. Then knock down the work table and get the tear moved to it's off season storage spot in the shop. I can still work on wiring it there, until it's just too cold to be out there.

Im a tad bit sad that it won't be long till I'm forced indoors. I've got plenty of houshold winter projects if I want. Been threating to paint the first floor interior of my house for a few years now. I'm really tired of my living room color. Plus a new color look to the kitchen and dining room wouldn't hurt either. So that will keep me occupied in the colder months. Problem is the lack of enthusiasm for that kind of work. I would race home after work, to work on the teardrop. Not so much racing going on to get home, to paint a living room. Never really felt like work when I was on the teardrop. (Maybe a bit on the worst hot/humid days) Can't say that about house painting.

[breb]

I made it home about 7 pm from pop's place and the chores are done up there for right now. Thanks on the kudos . The silhouette is a fun piece but functional. If you notice the other 2 piece's of cabinetry have sliding bolt lock's at there bottom. The double door with the crafty Teardrop, is hung on the 2 panel knob's and prevent the door's from swing open in transit. Just and extra precaution. As I made it home tonight I see the box of gas struts with brackets were laying on my front porch. Great service from Lift Support Depot. Ordered Thursday and made here Saturday. Hope the installation goes as well as the order. I to do not have the same enthusiasm for those inside projects. Last winter it was remodeling the upstairs bathroom. toilet replaced , ceiling paint , wall paint, counter top, fixtures, hardware and I re cut and made a new frame for mirror . I'm not a floor guy and that needs to be done in that bathroom . My friend want's me to travel up north Wi. the early part of this week and cut yard and brush trails but it's looking like another wash out up there . Might mean another week on teardrop I thought about this before I went up to dad's place, I need to drain the pump and water jug. I haven't even

camped in it and I have to winterize it. that was just me testing it. This winter I was thinking about making a tongue box . I can do that in basement. This morning was an eye opener before we left at 6:30 am and had to scrape the window's on the car

Good luck with the wiring , we may get some workable temps yet

[Mr. Lahey]

As usual I keep finding one more little thing to do on the camper. As I really looked at my wire route plan to get the back of the tear wired. I found an issue. I had planned to drop wires down from ceiling and along the side wall next to a galley cabinet box side. As it turns out I did not have enough room to do so. Luckily the cabinet box was not yet final mounted. So I was able to cut a side off the cabinet box and shrink it up a bit. I then cut a new side for the box and glued and stapled it back together. I now have the clearance I need to get the wires through this area.

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Also got about half way finished with reorganizing the shop to get my truck back in. The big thing was I had several sheets of plywood to get into my storage stash. Which will give me a good deal of room to get the tear moved closer to the wall. I'll have enough rooom to get the tear door open on the wall side and have plenty of room to get my truck pulled in.
Plus some storage room for dare I say the word.........the snow blower.

[DaddyJeep]

dare I say the word.........the snow blower.

That day is coming. There is nothing we can do to stop it.

It seems that the little things at the end of a project take more time than the bulk of it. Looking good.

[breb]

Well i had a minor goof up when I mounted one side with a gas strut and tried to close the hatch . I only had the hurricane hinge attached to the hard wood cross member with 4 screws and only in about a 1/4 inch. That let loose and I was fighting to hold on to everything while re propping the hatch with a 2x4. I ended up waiting for the wife to come home to help hold things in position while I detached everything
and putting hatch on work table . The hatch needed to come off for skinning and finishing. Just not the sequence I had in mind. I had to recondition the 4 holes a bit, not monumental . There are more mounting holes , I just didn't want to keep reusing them with the hatch coming on and off. still don't know about the hatch struts yet. I have to get the hatch back in position and mount the other side.

[tony.latham]

...still don't know about the hatch struts yet.

The first go at struts is a true baptism by fire. At least it was that way for me.



But they sure are nice!

Tony

[Mr. Lahey]

breb- At least your strut set back was a minor one with minimal damage. Could have been worse for sure. So how about some spec's on your install. How far from the hinge are you mounting them? What kind of strut pressure? What's that nice looking hatch weigh? Really like the access panel in the hatch.

I've been wiring away a little bit each day when I can. Drilled holes in all the spars to route the wires. Pretty much finalized the wire path all the way back to the tail lights. Drilled holes in all the hatch ribs and ran all the plastic flex loom from the galley wall to the hatch. As usual I'm catching things I did not think of at the start of the wiring project.

First realization was the side marker light wiring I was running through my lower galley cabinets. It came to me that I went through the trouble to make that cabinet removable. Yet I was running permanent wires through it? I'd need to cut the wires to remove the cabinet if needed? Made no sense. That led me to realize the same thing for the hatch harness.

I have the hatch back on the camper to store it in place for the winter and so I could wire it too. It will need to come off again to skin the tear and canvas cover everything. So the hatch harness should easily disconnect from the main wiring too. So when I head out there today I'm going to look at how I am going to do the disconnect points. I prefer a terminal block set up when possible. If I have an accessible place with the room for it. May settle for spade type connectors in the harness itself as a second choice. These are not connections that will come apart very often if at all. So the spade terminals may be okay.

As a side note I'm getting $5 thru $20 dollared to death. Wire crimp terminals, blade fuses, second galley light, plastic wiring split loom, and on and on and on. I will say this eBay has been a wallet saver for most of this stuff. Yeah it takes 2-3 days to get stuff, but just so much better prices. I bought 300pcs of 3 assorted wire size uninsulated butt connectors off eBay for what the auto parts store wanted for a 10 pack of same item. I like to support the local brick and mortar stores when I can, but there also comes a point where it makes no sense.

[Mr. Lahey]

...still don't know about the hatch struts yet.

The first go at struts is a true baptism by fire. At least it was that way for me.



But they sure are nice!

Tony

Tony- I see I'm not the first guy to use his cooler lid as spare counter space in the galley!

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[tony.latham]

...still don't know about the hatch struts yet.

The first go at struts is a true baptism by fire. At least it was that way for me.



But they sure are nice!

Tony

Tony- I see I'm not the first guy to use his cooler lid as spare counter space in the galley!

DSCF3875a.jpg

That cutting board has inset magnets that hold it on the cooler.

T


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mr. Lahey]

Have to knock off early today from working on the tear. Thought I'd post some update pic's of the wiring work going on. Today I wired in the tow vehicle harness to the camper. I'm using a 7 pin connector mainly to charge the battery while driving. I don't have brakes on the trailer. I did set it up so I can easily run the required brake wires if I upgrade in the future.


So there is a pic of the wire panel, wire route thru spars, and beginnings of the hatch wiring

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