Escape Pod (2x2) (updated 4/15/12)

[ews2112]

I finally started my build. The Fourth of July weekend gave me a couple of hours to put together my 'bolt-together' trailer, and the following weekend saw the floor go on. I'm working out of state right now, but intend to get to work on the walls this weekend.

I'm including photos of my design and progress so far...







The trailer...assembled



Working on the framing of the floor...





...almost complete...needs a few more supports



Applying the sealer...sticky, but I had a helper (my youngest...the older one was taking the pictures and didn't seem too interested in getting her hands in that stuff!



Done!





I was done for the weekend, but my wife wanted to go out and pick some floor-covering...here's the floor bolted down and the vinyl flooring on...ready for walls!



My dedicated helper, again...



The girls haven't come up with a name for our little cabin yet...maybe soon.

I can't wait till I can get back to it this weekend!

Elliot

[grizz]

Great stuff, and awesome to have helpers.

I am sure the trailer will come up with its own name at some point.

I have no idea how mine became the "Grizz-Pod"

[BillZ]

Looking good! It looks like the same size footprint (5x8)as a regular tear, am I right? Very impressive use of space in your plans. I am interested in seeing how it all works out when it is done.

Did you get the 6x9 vinyl sheet from Lowes? It looks just like mine.

[ews2112]

I started on the walls yesterday and will post some pictures of progress soon.

Rian - the naming is coming along, but not in a desirable fashion. It's kind of a funny story, though. Apparently, while I was out of state last week, the girls and my wife were driving down the road throwing around ideas. My wife said that it should reflect the personality of our family. Just then, my youngest caught sight of an unfortunate animal on the road and said "road-kill," not intending it as a suggestion for a name, but my oldest thought it was perfect and now all of them think it's great...what does THAT say about my family?!? I'm not sold on that name...so we'll see.

Bill - Yeah...the bolt-together frame is 5x8. The overall cabin will be 6.5x10 with the floor that you see being 6.5x9. I have a 9 in overhang on the sides and a 1 ft overhang in the back. It's funny that you ask, because I DID get that vinyl from Lowes.

[ews2112]

Making headway...

I did begin work on the walls last weekend but am delinquent in posting pics.

This is the progress at the end of last weekend (walls starting to go up):





Now...for this weekend...

My brother (the one who planted this seed in the first place) came up for a couple of days and gave me the fantastic gift of time and skill. Unfortunately, we picked the hottest days of the year so far to get cracking...after he left Saturday at lunchtime, I was working in 98 degree temp in the afternoon...

Working on getting the upper part of the walls supported...



...cut out...



...and finally, mounted





We worked until after dark getting the rear-side of the walls completed and I don't have any night-shots, but here is the final product on Saturday afternoon...I was able to get the bulk-head wall installed as well, but you can't see it in the photo.





There was a slight design modification needed as I wanted my wife and girls to be able to stand inside the cabin...and the garage door height wouldn't budge, so I started a slope right past the door (over the double-bed/dinette). This way I can drop the tongue down to clear the door and then raise it back up once inside....the trailer will be stored in the back of the garage.

On another note, I was able to cut the windows because they arrived on Friday!! Yea!



...no work on the trailer on Sunday, but we did go shopping for material for the cushions and bought the base color of paint we'll be using inside. We've decided we want it to feel like many of the beach vaction homes we've stayed in and so it'll be light and colorful.

[ews2112]

...well, we came up with a name and it is perfect for what this little trailer will mean for us...Escape Pod. I did a little searching and it turns out that Northstar has a truck camper they call Escape Pod, but I'm not mass producing this or selling it so...I'm keeping the name because it fits!

[vtx1029]

[JIML1943]

Build is looking good.I like the name it fits the little trailers.

[grizz]

Looks great so far.

Name is perfect.

Nice thing is that if you contact North Star you may be able to get some stickers, or logos already made up to apply to your trailer.

[Chuckles2153]

...well, we came up with a name and it is perfect for what this little trailer will mean for us...Escape Pod. I did a little searching and it turns out that Northstar has a truck camper they call Escape Pod, but I'm not mass producing this or selling it so...I'm keeping the name because it fits!

I like the name you decided on and i'm jealous because your kids and wife want to help out!! my step daughter (now 17) looks at me like i'm a nut for asking if she would like to help !!!! i'm probably better off not putting power tools in her hands anyway.

[ews2112]

Jim - Thanks...my wife came up with the name and I thought it was 'spot on.' By the way, is that the StarTrek 'swoosh' I see on your trailer...an escape pod from the USS Enterprise? I thought about making lettering to look like the hull designation on the side of a space ship/shuttle, so that's why I ask.

Rian - That's a good idea, but I looked at their website photos and I'm not too impressed with the decals they use. My brother and sister are both artitsts so I may solicit some help with graphics for this little guy.

Chuckles - I am lucky...I think they've caught the bug now after seeing the progress...everybody seems into it.

I did get some work done (albeit very little, not a lot of time after I get home from work) last night. I worked on the bottom bunk support and will finish up tonight as well as getting the wheel-wells completed. The second photo below shows the bulkhead wall which was in last weekend.

[Cliffmeister2000]

Elliot, nice looking trailer so far!

It may be too late, but I noticed that the back portion of your trailer only makes contact with the frame in four tiny locations, while the front section has two long cross members to bear the load.



I did this exact thing, in reverse (I only had the 4 small points on the front part of mine).

I'm sure mine was a worse miscalculation than yours, because in the front I had the tongue acting as a lever all the time.

Anyway, earlier this year, the front of my trailer broke free of the frame. There was never any danger of it coming apart, but the frame was flexing under the torsion box and I realized it because I could see exaggerated up and down movement on my weekender.

After I crawled under and realized the problem, I cut and placed 2x4s in over the cross members and under the floor, and bolted through the floor, 2x4, and frame, four bolts in each 2x4.

[ews2112]

Thanks for the tip Cliff...I hadn't really thought about it and now that you've brought it to my attention, I may add something under there to support it better (and I don't think it's too late yet...better now than in a few weeks when the interior floor will be harder to get to)

There actually are two more small contact points on the rear frame cross-member (this is not to say that I think it's enough). If you look at the next picture of the final floor upside down, I added a couple more framing pieces in the back because it was obvious to even my untrained eye that that thing was gonna bow back there:

[Cliffmeister2000]

Well, that helps, that's for sure! And, it is not as big an issue in the back as in the front, IMHO. On mine, the tongue was levering up and down, and my biggest concern was stressing the frame to a breaking point.

The same trip that caused the torsion box of the trailer to separate from the frame, I bent the axle very badly. I hit quite a hole followed immediately by a bump on that trip! The trailer was airborne for a bit. What amazed me (and still does) was the torsion box suffered no damage that I can find, and I have been over and under it thoroughly since then! What everybody says about the torsion box providing all the strength is true, as long as the torsion box and the frame stay mated.

[ews2112]

I haven’t posted an update in almost two weeks, but I have been working whenever I can. I’m in New York again and my wife and youngest are at camp this week, so there won’t be any progress until Friday evening this week.

The last two weeks have shown some progress, but I wish I could have done more…

…working on the wheel-wells.





This past weekend, while I continued to work on the bunks and seats, my wife and girls did paint-prep on some cabinets we bought second-hand for the galley.





…the front bunk framing completed. The original cross-bars were just to hold the side-walls up and not nearly enough support for the bunk. Even though this trailer is designed for my family, I want the bunks to be able to support an adult.



What a mess…



Working on the seats…





…seats completed and decks cut (I don’t have the hinges yet). The bottom bunk deck is in two pieces to allow for easier opening and closing.



The seats will have lids on the front portion…the rear portion will be static to provide more rigidity. You can see the cut-through the galley wall where the cooler ‘drawer’ will go.





The basic layout of the galley: the counter will go all the way across and there will be one more small cabinet on the upper-right, leaving four feet of unobstructed counter underneath. There will be an opening with a door to pass though to the cabin for food service, etc (it is marked on the bulkhead wall, but not visible in the photo). The open area to the lower-right will be for the propane tank.



…and, about that color…it was supposed to be much redder…it will HAVE to be darkened. (I’m quite secure in my masculinity, but my brother-in-law put it best when he said “If you leave it like that, you’ll have to relinquish your man-cardâ€