Big Woody Build - St. Pete, FL

[toconnor602]

November 04, 2016 - Finish Hardboard / Cabin Flooring & Trim

Missed a few days since I had to travel to Milwaukee to meet with the new company I am transitioning my business to.

I installed the last piece of hardboard on the front of the trailer and strapped this down to let the glue set. I continued to use and absurd amount of staples as well.

My mattress was delivered so I really wanted to get the cabin done so I could make sure the mattress fit. Laid the rest of the flooring down and used 1/2" x 3/4" trim around all the edges of the cabin. Secured with glue and 3/4" nails. The mattress is perfect, I left a 1 inch gap on all sides to allow room for the sheets and blankets.

[toconnor602]

November 5th, 2016 - Hatch / Exterior Trim

These were two parts of the project that I have not looked forward to for different reasons:

Hatch - I have read many horror stories of people having to re-do the hatch and the difficulties of this step. I might have psyched myself out or given myself PHSD - Pre Hatch Stress Disorder.

Exterior Trim - I have been putting off finishing these pieces since they have been cut...not sure why, but they have been moved from the garage to the guest room and back so many times and I have never had the motivation to sand the down and get them finished....

Today was reckoning day.

Hatch - I clamped each curved hatch piece to the outside on the camper and made my marks on where I was going to cut each piece. Since my cabinet face is flush with the font of the rear spar and the spar is set at an angle I had to take a notch out of each hatch curve. Instead of guessing at this angle I made a cardboard template on each side, trace that angle on the hatch curve and cut it out. It was either that or shave down the top of my cabinet. I'm glad I went with this option.

I placed 1/4" spacers on each side and 1/8" spacers on the bottom and slowly cutoff / sanded until they laid in "perfect". I marked on the hatch curves where my spars would be placed. I then measured the width of the opening at each of these marks and cut the individual spars to that corresponding measurement. the top was about 1/4" more wide than the bottom.....looking back I should have trimmed my countertop/cabin over foot shelf some more before installing it, but play the hand you're dealt. Once I screwed glued and nailed the hatch together, i placed it in the camper and clamped it so it was snug on the 1/4" spacers on both sides. I left it like this until the glue set.

Exterior Trim - Since this is such a small piece (2" wide) and very long there was a lot of flexibility to it. I used the jigsaw to remove the remaining excess before I sanded. I worked in very small areas at a time making sure I had the trim properly supported. the last thing I wanted to do at this point was have a piece crack and have to start over.

Once sanded I applied 3/4" Maple EdgeBanding to the exposed sides. without this the cut sides would show the different layers of the laminate plywood glued together and it doesn't stain well at all. If doing this buy the pre-glued edgebanding!. I applied mine with the heat gun I use for the electrical heat shrink tubing and it worked great. I kept the leading edge flush so any excess would hand off the back (side attached to camper wall). again... work in small areas...apply heat, remove heat, press down/rub in until cooled and adhered. Once it was all adhered I filed off the excess on the back and sanded the edges.

Stained and sealed these pieces. ready to install.

[toconnor602]

November 08, 2016 - Exterior Trim

Simple day. Fit the exterior trims. Where the trim would meet the fenders I traced the curve of the fender and cut the lower trims accordingly. Glued and nailed the trim into place.

Also took the time to go and vote.

[toconnor602]

November 09, 2016 - Skin Prep

In preparation to putting the skin on, I used the scraping attachment on the multitool to remove any excess glue on the hardboard them made sure all the staples were sunk in. I decided to apply the skin in 3 separate sections similar to how i applied the hardboard..the seams will not meet in the same place. I had a hard time finding the 5x10 aluminum...also when placing the hardboard on....I realized that it is not that square. Using the 3 pieces will allow me to adjust as I go.

I also laid a liberal amount of caulking from the hardboard to the top of the exterior trim and smoothed it over.

Packing the house is in full effect as well, so I am balancing my time between both...while also keeping my deadline of Dec 1 in mind......a little stressful.

[toconnor602]

November 10th - 11th, 2016 - Skin, Fan & Battery Box

I laid the skin down starting from the back and working toward the front. I bought some more adhesive. they had a sale on the PL Premium Glue that was listed as 8x stronger, when I have been using the 3x stronger up until this point....thought to myself...couldn't hurt, right?. Do not buy this stuff.....it comes out like clay. there is no reasonable explanation for why they would put this in a caulking tube. I ended up squeezing the tubes into a tupperware bin and using a putty knife to spread it....my hands hurt just thinking about it again.

I strapped the skin down and put 1" wire nails every 4" along the edges. Cut out the access hole for the fan, laid down some putty tape, drill pilot holes and them secured with screws. I made sure not to over tighten and crack the base of the fan. I finished driving the screws by hand, waited a couple hours for everything to settle then tightened a little more.

I decided to build my own battery/storage box...because I don't already have enough on my plate I cut the base, placed my supports for the sides and used the undercoating for the bottom.

For the sides of the battery box I used some leftover 3/4" marine plywood and some Maple Veneer we ordered for another project. put down a thin layer of glue and then compressed them over night.

[toconnor602]

November 12th, 2016 - Hatch Sub-Skin / Trim / Weather Strapping

I placed the hatch back in and lined up the Sub-Skin so it was even on each side, marked where the spars were located. I laid glue on the top spar and along the edge hatch pieces down to the second spar. I then strapped the Sub-Skin to the hatch while it was in place and places staples along the top spar. Once secure i unstrapped, lifted it enough to glue on the second spar and down the edge hatch pieces to the third spar, re-strapped and stapled....and so on down to the bottom. once all glued and stapled I strapped it in to set over night...fingers crossed. I decided to attach it in place from all the horror stories I read about the hatches springing back.

I took the small pieces leftover from my lower exterior trims and cut them to fit inside the fender. these cover the last 3 screw holes.

Lastly I placed weather stripping on the outside edge of the exterior trims and putty tape on the edge of the aluminum skin. I used 1/8" x 1.5"aluminum Flatbar
I drilled pilot holes every 4 inches. Then sanded and Scotchbrite on each piece. I secured with 1" sheet metal screws. I also secured the top part of the hurricane hinge to the roof.

[KCStudly]

Moving right along, and looking good doing it!

[toconnor602]

November 14th, 2016 - Hatch / Weather Stripping

I added the remain pieces of 1/8" flat bar to the seams of the aluminum skin. I attached the 1/16" aluminum to the galley walls/exterior trim that will be under the hatch. I added a 2" strip of 1/8" aluminum to the bottom of the galley. All of the pieces were cut to fit, pilot holes measured, drilled..then sanded and scotchbrite before being installed. clear silicone was placed under each piece and every screw dipped in silicone before being driven in.

I then attached the skin to the hatch, set in place and strapped down to set overnight. I added the weatherstripping to the inside of each door and closed overnight to help adhere.

[toconnor602]

November 15th, 2016 - Hatch

The moment of truth.... I attached the bottom piece of the hurricane hinge to the hatch. My wife was kind enough to help me install the hatch. We lifted it up and joined the hurricane hinge, sliding the hatch from one side until it was in place, then lowered it, It needed a little persuasion in the form of a mallet and wood block to get it the last couple of inches, but it closed right up and fit nicely.

Can't really remember what else I worked on this day but I am sure it was productive

[toconnor602]

November 16th, 2016 - Hatch Trim & Battery Box

Well I had to take a trip to the Tampa Metal Supermarket. The 1.5" trim I was using would not cut it for the galley trim. it would have been too narrow and notprovide me enough material to sit flush with the edge of the camper while securing it to the hatch. I picked up 3 pieces of 1/8" x 2" aluminum flat bar.

I scribed in a 2" line from the side of the camper onto the hatch skin. I then propped open the hatch, clamped the trim to the hatch and traced the edge of the hatch onto the trim. I measured in 3/8" from this line and pilot drilled holes every 4" I then re-clamped the trim onto the hatch and drilled through pilot holes and through the hatch skin. am attaching the trim to the skin with machine screws and T-nuts so i enlarged the holes on the skin to accommodate the T-nut and enlarged the holes on the trim for the machine screw. I then laid down putty tape, re-clamped again and secure the trim to the sides. Once both side were done I did the same for the bottom piece.

For the battery box, once all sides were stained, I attached them with glue and nails to the base and let set overnight.

[toconnor602]

November 17, 2016 - Sealing Prep

In preparation to sealing the skin. I sanded the entire skin down using 500 grit then followed up by Scotchbrite. My plan was to use Dicor Lap Sealant on all the edges. however when I applied it to the fantastic fan I quickly realized this is not what I want to use. Did some research and found a Silver Metallic Silicone that 3M makes....off to Lowes I go.

[toconnor602]

November 18th, 2016 - Battery Box

So....my wife was teasing me that it is taking me longer to build this battery box than it is to build the rest of the camper. To get her off my back I need to get this thing done today!! haha.

So I sanded and stained the top trim and bottom trim pieces, glued and nailed those on. I cut, glued and nailed the upright trims in place and cut, glued and nailed the lid together. Since I was using all the scrap material I had around the make this box i filled in any gaps with wood filler and let sit overnight.

[toconnor602]

November 19, 2016 - Battery Box & Sealing

Finished staining the battery box, cut the hole for the 120 outlet on the side installed the outlet. installed the battery box on the tongue. taped off and sealed every exposed edge on the skin.

[toconnor602]

November 20-22 - Finishing Work

Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel I created a list of things I needed to do to ensure that she was "road ready" since she is going on her maiden voyage Nov 30th...whether she likes it or not....so in no particular order these are the things I worked on.......more pictures to follow shortly.

Install handle on galley door
install latches on hatch.
Seal hatch area better on side and bottom
Silicone exterior sides to include light & window
touch-up undercoating
touch up paint on fenders
install fenders
hook up satellite radio
extend ground wire on hook-up for vehicle
install buss fuse near battery
install junction boxes and connect stranded wire to solid copper to make for easier connections in power panel
build "Temporary Box" for power panel.
secure all wires for trailer lights to frame (used small binder clips...worked great..threw out the ones NT sent with the trailer)
repack bearings on tires
check tire pressure (glad I did as they were set at 20 PSI)
touch up paint on trailer frame

there was more as well. anyway here is the "finished product" so far

[toconnor602]

Moving right along, and looking good doing it!

Thank You Very Much!!!