Compact family camper Build - Always something...

[KCStudly]

For your light switches and door pull, you could do what I did and make a decorative trim piece. I had the same problem; by the time the wire connectors were on the backs of the switches they were deeper than the walls were thick. Call it a rosette or riser. No need to make the whole door or door flange thicker. I made the switch plates, too.


This could easily work for your inside door handle, as well.

[ryuandwings]

For your light switches and door pull, you could do what I did and make a decorative trim piece. I had the same problem; by the time the wire connectors were on the backs of the switches they were deeper than the walls were thick. Call it a rosette or riser. No need to make the whole door or door flange thicker. I made the switch plates, too.


This could easily work for your inside door handle, as well.

For the light switches, it will be very similar to what you did.
What kind of metal did you use to mount switches? Also, did you recessed metal?

[KCStudly]

The metal is 16 gauge 304 SS with a #4 brushed finish (16 gauge in stainless is .063 thk).

Yes, I scored the outline with a razor knife and hand chiseled the recesses so the metal is flush mounted. Soft maple from ho-de-po, Minwax "Natural" oil finish, with polyurethane.

[ryuandwings]

The metal is 16 gauge 304 SS with a #4 brushed finish (16 gauge in stainless is .063 thk).

Yes, I scored the outline with a razor knife and hand chiseled the recesses so the metal is flush mounted. Soft maple from ho-de-po, Minwax "Natural" oil finish, with polyurethane.

Thanks.
Recessed stainless make it very clean. I would like to copy that detail.

[ryuandwings]

I was able to work some since the last post. Not like I had hoped for but there are some big milestones mixed in there.

The first thing was to install galley hatch hinge.



After the hinge was installed, space between the hatch and the wall became uneven. I should have trim the wall after the hinge was installed. I will look into how the gap became uneven and fix it. I may have to plane top of hatch framing to shave off some dimension.

I purchased AC so I can make the hatch in the tongue box. This time, it is turning out like I planned.
Now that I know exactly how things will fit in the area, I framed up the hatch for the tongue box. I spaced the ribs for the hatch such that AC will fit in between these rib so I can locate the AC further out.


Here is storage area skinned up with the door.


I also installed latch for the doors. It made is so simple since I worked out all the problems with the mock up. Off course this is a technique found in this site.


The big milestone was all trailer lights wired and tested for the test drive. I had to get this done because I wanted to weight the trailer.
It is a bit hard to see, but a shot of right before the departure. I decided to go after dark hoping there would be less crowd at the truck stop.


The weight of trailer alone was 980lbs and 800lbs with trailer attached to the TV. I guess that makes the tongue weight 180lbs and about 18% of trailer weight. This is high, but I did not feel or see any problem as I was driving on the interstate. Hopefully it re-balances when it is completed.
Obviously this is not the final weight, but should be getting close. All I did not have in the weigh-in were windows, AC and aluminum skins and trims.

The next step is to finish plywood on the tongue hatch, epoxy all exposed plywood, varnish interior, aluminum skins...

[RandyG]

Not sure but I think most of the stuff you have left will only make the tongue heavier. What's the weight limit on your TV? Maybe once done try to load the heavy camping gear in the galley, got any cast iron?

[ryuandwings]

Not sure but I think most of the stuff you have left will only make the tongue heavier. What's the weight limit on your TV? Maybe once done try to load the heavy camping gear in the galley, got any cast iron?

Adding skin and AC will definitely make the tongue heavier.
There will be battery, oven, and more cabinetry in the galley that will help reduce the tongue weight, but because of the distance from the axle to the galley area, that will not reduce too much. Unless I really load up.

One thing I can do is to extend the tongue. I have an extending tongue so if I could extend 12" or so, it should get the weight down close to the limit. Which is 200lb...
Off course I could modify the location of axle, but I really don't want to do that unless I absolutely had to.

[ryuandwings]

After reviewing the trailer balance spreadsheet, I have decided to take the bullet and modify the trailer frame. If I move the axle 6" to the front, the tongue weight will be reduced down to 140lbs.
I may be able to get the trailer balanced with the way I load the trailer, but that mostly means I only get to load toward the rear of the trailer. The tongue box, front cabin cabinets, nor the under floor storage space would not be utilized much.
With the reduced tongue weight, I should have more option to load the camper.

If I'm going to fix the frame, I need to do right now before I finish the walls with aluminum skins.

I would have to lift the body from the trailer, disassemble the trailer, weld new leaf spring hangers, paint, reassemble the trailer, modify the walls to fit new axle location, then finally put the body back on the trailer. That's a lot of extra work I did not plan for... , but I need to get this right.

I will report back in two weeks or so. Wish me luck.

[RandyG]

Wow, that's alot to do! Is there any way you could just move the whole cabin back 6"? Would that be easier? Just hate for you to get set back like this.

[ryuandwings]

Wow, that's alot to do! Is there any way you could just move the whole cabin back 6"? Would that be easier? Just hate for you to get set back like this.

It would be more work to slide the body back since the body extends below the frame.
I'm planning the process right now and I may be able to get this completed in a long weekend...

I really don't like to go through this setback, too. But I would rather have a well built camper that I can use for many years, too. I think it make sense to get this right now than regret the decision later.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I forget if I mentioned it in this thread or another, but if you're concerned about weighing down the Outback, you might look into replacing your stock springs with a pair of Rallitek Overload Springs..... http://www.rallitek.com/RallITEK-Overlo ... acy/p-4610

On my 05 Outback I had the Overload Springs and also 1-1/4" body lift spacers (from Subtle Solutions) on top of the strut assemblies. Jacked the car up a little and was quite a bit stiffer. Great for towing!

[tony.latham]

I'm very impressed with your build. How are you going to tell your second born, that you've written into your final will & testament that his older sibling gets the trailer? That thing's going to be a multi-generation heirloom.

I read your post on your tongue weight. I think teardrop builders need to keep a bottle of Tylenol handy. You'll figure it out.

I'm surprised you've kept the trailer weight below a thousand pounds. (My 5x10 weights 1380) How long is yours?

Tony

[ryuandwings]

I forget if I mentioned it in this thread or another, but if you're concerned about weighing down the Outback, you might look into replacing your stock springs with a pair of Rallitek Overload Springs..... http://www.rallitek.com/RallITEK-Overlo ... acy/p-4610

On my 05 Outback I had the Overload Springs and also 1-1/4" body lift spacers (from Subtle Solutions) on top of the strut assemblies. Jacked the car up a little and was quite a bit stiffer. Great for towing!

I thought about modifying the Outback, but that will be the last resort. I love my Outback, but it is at 170,000 and I don't know how long more I will have this...

[ryuandwings]

I'm very impressed with your build. How are you going to tell your second born, that you've written into your final will & testament that his older sibling gets the trailer? That thing's going to be a multi-generation heirloom.

I read your post on your tongue weight. I think teardrop builders need to keep a bottle of Tylenol handy. You'll figure it out.

I'm surprised you've kept the trailer weight below a thousand pounds. (My 5x10 weights 1380) How long is yours?

Tony

Thank you very much. I may have to build another one to satisfy both.

I know what you mean about the Tylenol. You think you have things figured out, but one thing leads to another and before you know it, right decision at one time turns into a major headache down the road. Fortunately, I don't mind these problem solving. I actually enjoy them in some degree.

As for the weight, it won't be below 1000 pounds once I'm done with this. I still have to add aluminum skins and this will add probably around 100 pounds. Mine is 5x10 as well (more less).

[ryuandwings]

Well, this is not the update I was expecting to make.

Last week, my 2007 Subaru Outback 2.5i started to stated shaking very violently and smoking under the hood. I had it towed to the Subaru dealer near by and they told me cylinder #3 had been damaged and I had to replace the engine. I love my Subaru, but I'm not going to spend a lot of money that has 170,000 miles.
So I'm looking for a new TV.

As we look for a new TV, there are some challenges to the search.
1) I drive about 90+ miles a day for my commute. So I will put on about 25,000 miles a year. I want to avoid buying something new for me.
2) I thought letting my wife drive new TV, but she really like her car.
3) Oh yeah, we don't have a lot of money.

After tough negotiation, we got list down to,
a) Subaru Outback 2.5i, 2014 or 2015
b) Subaru Forester 2.5i, 2015
c) Mazda CX-5 Touring, 2014 or 2015
d) VW Jetta Sportwagen S(not TDI) , 2014

I will have to add trailer brake and probably tranny cooler with any option may be except with Outback.
She did not like to drive my 2007 Outback because she said it is too low. I'm not sure if newer Outback are higher, but they look higher. Anyway, I think I can convince her to drive above cars. I think she likes Jetta Sportwagen better.

I just looked at the specs and have not done research in depth. I will have to get something selected and buy really soon.
If you see something I need to rethink in above list or something I should consider, please let me know.