CNC Build: The Bed and Breakfast at 4 years and 40,000 miles

...ask your questions in the appropriate forums BUT document your build here...preferably in a single thread...dates for updates, are appreciated....

Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage to LCG IX

Postby capnTelescope » Tue Oct 28, 2014 8:12 pm

aggie79 wrote:... looks fantastic. I'm sorry that we missed LCG.

Thank you, Tom. Yours looks fantastic-er. :thumbsup: I wisht you & Linda could have made it, but you had extenuating circumstances. :cry:

aggie79 wrote:I have LEDs on the bottom of the TD that give it a ground effects look ...

Several Tears at LCG had those. I like it, coming soon. These are particularly good for finding your Tear in the dark, after you've wandered away from the campfire. There's already a circuit for that. :roll:

aggie79 wrote:... but I put the outside and interior lighting rocker switches in the foot board cabinet. It is an easy reach when lying down.

I'm confused. :? Do you work the switches with your toes? Or do I have your cabin layout mentally bass-ackwards?

Meanwhile, back at the build...
I've definitely got some kind of ground loop thing going on with the skin. I put the meter on it, and got 12V skin to ground with lights off; 0V lights on. Still looking.

I found the cause of the leak at my water tank. :fb Somehow, I got a fitting cross-threaded into the plastic tank. :oops: Bad juju. :thumbdown: I think I've got the leak stopped, but I'm not happy about this one.

I spent more time today looking for tools than actually doing something. :thumbdown: On the plus side, I found a bunch of tools that were amiss for a long time. :thumbsup:

Beers! :beer:
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage to LCG IX

Postby tony.latham » Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:17 pm

"Meanwhile, back at the build...
I've definitely got some kind of ground loop thing going on with the skin. I put the meter on it, and got 12V skin to ground with lights off; 0V lights on. Still looking."


Brad:

With all this stuff going on, there's only one explanation and you're just going to have to accept it...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2224227/ :frightened: :shock: :frightened: :shock:

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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage to LCG IX

Postby pchast » Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:58 pm

Power wire touching skin. 0V when better ground present.
look for staple or nail,screw through wiring! Start with
which switch gives 0 volts and work backward.
:thinking:

Good Luck..
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage to LCG IX

Postby capnTelescope » Tue Oct 28, 2014 10:49 pm

pchast wrote:Power wire touching skin.


On further investigation, if I jumper the skin to wiring ground, the light goes on. This confirms my theory that the porch light's internally grounded base is connecting to the skin. :thinking: Or Tony is right and the trailer is haunted. :frightened:

Rewiring the porch/dome lights to switched positive from switched ground should do the trick. All I have to do :roll: is swap a few wires around on my wiring panel. PITA.

... and bring in an exorcist.

Which wires? :? My head hurts.

Maybe some of my running lights are self grounded, too. That would do the trick for porch lights coming on while hooked up. Or ...
pchast wrote:staple or nail,screw through wiring!

That isn't totally out of the realm of possibility, just harder to find.
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage to LCG IX

Postby aggie79 » Wed Oct 29, 2014 2:50 pm

Brad,

It's good to see that you've chased down you're wiring issue. My side clearance lights were self-grounded. Fortunately, I was able to isolate the grounds.

capnTelescope wrote:
aggie79 wrote:... but I put the outside and interior lighting rocker switches in the foot board cabinet. It is an easy reach when lying down.

I'm confused. :? Do you work the switches with your toes? Or do I have your cabin layout mentally bass-ackwards?


I probably should have said that the switches are in the cabinet located over the lower leg space. Here's a better pic:

Image

Overall, the cabin depth is 80" (bottom of angled headboard cabinets at front of teardrop to bulkhead wall). The distance from the headboard cabinet to the front of the cabinet with the switches is 54". Laying down, I can reach the switches.

capnTelescope wrote:I spent more time today looking for tools than actually doing something. :thumbdown: On the plus side, I found a bunch of tools that were amiss for a long time. :thumbsup:

Beers! :beer:


Tool chasing took about 10% or more of my build time.

Take care,
Tom
Tom (& Linda)
For build info on our former Silver Beatle teardrop:
Build Thread

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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage to LCG IX

Postby Jiffypop207 » Wed Oct 29, 2014 3:40 pm

When I built my tear I had the same issue with my porch lights....I made a spacer out of pvc trim board to go between the light base and skin; Caulk around top and sides....fixed. As for your light switch.....click it with a toe or knee! Seriously! I have my fingers crossed that your gutter never maxes capacity in a down pour. I had the same plate light bracket and I will simply say clear coat it now before it starts to rust to keep it looking good and matching the hatch. Very nice build.

Adam
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage to LCG IX

Postby capnTelescope » Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:17 pm

aggie79 wrote:It's good to see that you've chased down you're wiring issue.

I'm now a happy camper. I'm now switched positive on dome and porch lights. Either switch closest to the door works the dome light, and either switch #2 works both porch lights. And I didn't have to remove a light fixture or wall switch. :D Or cuss very much. :thumbsup:

The only thing I don't like is that the black wires going to the wall switches are now positive, which kinda messes up my color code convention of black = ground. I'm not going to lose any sleep over that.

Jiffypop207 wrote:As for your light switch.....click it with a toe or knee!

That'll work. Maybe I'll keep a "light switch stick" in the cabin. I think I'll also rig up a small red LED to illuminate the switch.

Jiffypop207 wrote:I have my fingers crossed that your gutter never maxes capacity in a down pour.

Meeee too! :thumbsup: I haven't had a chance to sprinkler test it yet. There's still one little detail I need to take care of before I do that. Until then, it lives indoors.

Jiffypop207 wrote:... clear coat it now ...

Check.

Jiffypop207 wrote:Very nice build.

Thank you, Adam. :D I'm happy with how it's turning out.
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage catching up

Postby capnTelescope » Tue Nov 04, 2014 11:00 pm

So here I am, dwinking wed wine and listening to the election returns with one ear. Lots of little steps since the last post, nothing big -- yet.

One more item of fallout from the Maiden Voyage. The drain plug on my ridiculously spendy Yeti cooler has a slow leak. which got the bare wood in my Ecuadorian plywood cooler tray wet. It turns out the SandePly is not exactly exterior grade, and the glue gave up at the groove that holds up the tray bottom. The cooler tray will need to be re-done. This looks suspiciously like Yeti is in cahoots with the Ecuadorian Evil Conspiracy. I cant believe it! :shock: Yeti is a local, Texas company. That Yeti would commit such a traitorous act is inconceivable. I think its Ecuadorian sabotage, which just goes to show that these tree-killing short people wearing blankets and funny hats are everywhere, are a clear and present danger, and will stop at nothing. :x

Here's the proof of the conspiracy:
Image
That thin strip to the right is the unwaterproof glued strip that is supposed to hold up the right side of the floor. I also obviously have mold, further proof that the Ecuadorians are out to get me.

Speaking of wearing blankets and funny hats, who was that guy sitting on the other side of Mad Jack at LCG IX? I was sitting by MJ, wearing a genuine acrylic Mexican bordercrossing lean-to tienda serape' with no hat, and he was wearing a genuine alpaca poncho/blanket and a pointed (Dunce? Wizard? Witch doctor?) :NC hat. Looked Ecuadorian to me. I think MJ must have saved my life that night. Thank you, MJ. :bowdown:

(/rant)

But I digress.

I also finished rewiring the Tear to hopefully fix my porch light gremlins. This was all done at the terminal panel:
Image
No soldering, cutting wire or wood, or removing fixtures. Just moving wires around. Still looks like a bowl of spaghetti.

I also did some paint work on the fenders. I sanded down the runs, drips and errors, and gave them another coat of black. That's more like what I had in mind. Sorry, no pix. You've seen shiny black paint before, haven't you?

(R's +5 gain for the Senate.)

Finally, and here's the big one, :P I did some water testing on the hatch drainage. A small stream from the hose went down the gutters, just as planned. I had to do a little minor caulking here and there for drippy leaks, but nothing bad at all. I ran to the store and got some CA (super glue) to fill in some cracks where aluminum pieces came together. I had 3-4 little tubes of CA in stock, which turn out to hold about a quarter of the capacity of the tube, so I ran out. I used the whole new bottle. It must have been about half full, too. (exasperated sigh) But, it was enough. I wouldn't normally use the stuff, except it liked to wick into the small cracks. I was happy with the results.

Tonight is the acid test for the hatch weatherproofing. I'm all hitched up in the driveway, ready to go for inspection tomorrow (only on Wednesdays), and it's raining even as I type. It's supposed to rain all night and into the morning, so we shall see how it turns out.

Keep your fingers crossed for the weatherproofing and the inspection.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode! :wine:
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage catch up

Postby S. Heisley » Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:41 pm

Wow! It's a good thing that the leaky Yeti cooler was in a tray!
That tray probably saved you from getting damage on your teardrop's floor and walls!

I would have never expected that a Yeti would leak! :o
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage catch up

Postby anon1 » Wed Nov 05, 2014 7:46 pm

So, any updates? I've been following your build from the beginning and was thinking about you today with my fingers crossed. I'm sure you passed inspection and the gutter didn't over flow, right?

:lol: That cluster of wires under the 'Power Distribution' sign could use some red-sauce.
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Re: CNC Build -- Hydro-testing

Postby capnTelescope » Wed Nov 05, 2014 8:51 pm

TodAY was supposed to be Registration Day(5). I hitched up the tear in the driveway last night for an early start today. Public servants only serve the inspection to the public from 9:00 -- 11:00 on Wednesdays. Rain was forecast. It had to happen sooner or later, so no time like the present. Eventually, the tear was going to get rained on. I wanted to know about leaks now, rather than "out there." Last night and on into today's afternoon, it rained on the tear to the tune of over an inch. The rain even cancelled the VTR-65a inspections for today. Next chance is next week. :fb

:P Good news! No hatch leakage around the gasket. :thumbsup:

OTOH, :thumbdown: there was water intrusion in a couple of places. One was on the outboard side of the left gutter. This side of the gutters didn't get the CA treatment I described in the last post. The other place was on the hatch itself, probably around the license plate light and possibly around the tail lights.

Not perfect, to be sure. But since I've been making this all up as I go along, I'm calling it pretty good. At least so far I don't need to tear it all down and start over.

Thanks for stopping by! Wed wine again tonight. :wine:
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage catch up

Postby capnTelescope » Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:00 pm

S. Heisley wrote:I would have never expected that a Yeti would leak!

That makes two of us, Sharon. I looked around on their website, and apparently mine is not the first to leak at the drain plug. :shock:

anon1 wrote:That cluster of wires under the 'Power Distribution' sign could use some red-sauce.

:lol: I can't work on it in the mornings because of all the early birds trying to get their worms.

Your update is in the post above.

Thanks for stopping by, Sharon and Anon1.

:beer:
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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Re: CNC Build -- Maiden voyage catching up

Postby tonyj » Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:55 pm

capnTelescope wrote:

Speaking of wearing blankets and funny hats, who was that guy sitting on the other side of Mad Jack at LCG IX? I was sitting by MJ, wearing a genuine acrylic Mexican bordercrossing lean-to tienda serape' with no hat, and he was wearing a genuine alpaca poncho/blanket and a pointed (Dunce? Wizard? Witch doctor?) :NC hat. Looked Ecuadorian to me. I think MJ must have saved my life that night. Thank you, MJ


The guy with the loud, gravelly bass voice? That was Joe. No teardrop, but friend of Madjack and a helluva cook. Pretty sure he isn't from Ecuador.

You have probably offended the water nymphs, and they are unforgiving, and will not be denied entrance to your trailer (as evidenced by your cooler leak, hatch leak, water tank leak.). They are easily offended and hold a grudge.
Still graced with two eyes and ten fingers (due in no small part to luck!).

Just when you think a problem is solved, an uglier result replaces it.

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Re: CNC Build -- Hydro Testing

Postby capnTelescope » Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:51 pm

tonyj wrote:That was Joe.

Yeah, him. He's too tall to be an Ecuadorian. 'Nuff said.

tonyj wrote:You have probably offended the water nymphs

I think you have put your finger squarely on the problem. Now the question is, How do I placate the water nymphs? And how did I get them pissed off in the first place? I mean, I'm always careful not to pee into even the smallest puddle. I've never said a bad word about them. I do boil water fairly often, but who doesn't? If this means I can't heat water for my coffee, then it's War I tell you. War!

Whatever it was, it goes back a long time. Even before the Ecuadorian Conspiracy became known. When I think of all the times I haven't gotten along well with water, whatever I did must have been awful. And there's that time I almost got drownded. You're right, they take their grudges very ;) seriously. I'm sowwy, Water Nymphs. :cry:

tonyj wrote:they are unforgiving, and will not be denied entrance to your trailer

They're welcome to come in, as long as they stay in the dog bowl sink.
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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Re: CNC Build -- Registration Day (five)

Postby capnTelescope » Wed Nov 12, 2014 11:44 pm

This morning, I finally connected with the elusive Detective X and got my VTR-65a form, all signed and everything. Detective X looked over the trailer, asked a few questions about it, didn't ask for the axle receipt, and we talked a little about his job and my build, where am I going to camp, etc.

Only two things left to do: Head down to the Austin DPS regional office to apply for a VIN number. Once I get that, back to the tax collector's office to write a check and get my license plate. Luckily, the DPS office is on this side of Austin, so it's not too far.
Victory is near! :chicken:

I had a dentist appointment today which was left over from the one I cancelled last week because I thought I was going to get inspected then, but it rained and inspections got cancelled. Got there on time, waited about an hour while someone else got an emergency filling. I blew off the appointment and went home, cuz I have an important ditch to dig. Who wants to go to the dentist anyway? Boring. :SH

I haven't done much on the Tear, as there was a lot of stuff I let go while I got ready for LCG IX.
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Brad
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