Mark's Weekender-XL build

[Gold5one]

Thanks to member Starleen2 for the original Weekender II design. Mine will be about 5ft tall and almost a foot longer- it's an XL model!-

My trailer is the 1195lb HF model. I'm ditching the folding feature.

[Gold5one]

Build topic-1000,
I spent this weekend working on my HF frame- I moved the front half forward 6"- to the last bolt on the spring hanger channel. I then welded in the gap with angle and plate. I have 42" from the rear to the center of the axle and 60" from the center to the front. Pretty close to a 40/60 ratio. I still need to beef up the front hitch. I have a better distribution of cross members, since I did away with the folding feature and welded it up solid. The trailer is quite a bit stronger. It's now 102" long, which I think will help me fit everything in and give me a better door placement.
Next task is to weld some side channel pieces on the sides to better support the plywood overhang. I have a nice pile of junior super strut scrap pieces I saved from electrical jobs. I'll weld 4 to a side- once I determine how wide my floor is going to be-

[Gold5one]

After some research--I found an oversize weekender clone build- from 2008. Member Starleen2 crafted his Weekender II, on a 4x8 frame and it seems to be a really good design for first build- All I need to do is add 6" to the length measurements- and I plan on increasing the height to 5ft. I believe I will need make some adjustments in build materials to stay under 1000lbs.
Mark
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=25226&start=0

[Gold5one]

I started my build today-
First I needed to make my wall studs. The prices for materials continues to climb and climb. When I started my shantyboat project 3 years ago I bought 1/4" BCX for about $14 sheet. It is now $24 at my local Lowes! I purchased two 10ft 2x6's and one 8ft 2x6 to rip into oversize strips. They are 1.125" x 1.5" in size- I used a piece of 1.5x6 decking board to set the cutting width of my saw. I can easily make more pieces and they will always be the same size.

As you can see, the oversize studs have a lot more beef than a standard 1x2 furring strip. I can now use 1" foam board wall insulation.


Using a decking board cutting width, I can do 4 passes through the saw (5 pieces) and the last piece needs to be run through again to bring it to size, as it is about 1/16" too wide. A 10ft 2x6" board (@ $7.89 ea) rips into ten 5ft long studs at a cost of 80cents each. A 2x2-8ft furring strip is over $2 and cuts down into only one 5ft stud= a lot of waste.

[Gold5one]

If time allows, I will layout and build a wall panel tomorrow. As I was ripping these strips, my mind took me back 30 years ago. I started building a 964 sq ft rancher house ( my 2nd) the last week of March from plans I had sketched onto brown grocery sack paper. I paid two carpenter friends to work with me for one week to put up the house shell and tar paper the roof. I worked on it weekends and until 10pm every night after work by myself.(precut studs cost 85cents!) On Memorial Day weekend (2 months later) I moved the family into the house. Sure it needed a lot more work (bare concrete floors-partial kitchen,etc)), but I finished it over the next six months.
The weather is now perfect in SW Florida for working in the garage- it was 76 degrees today- 84 tomorrow.

[mikeschn]

I'm jealous! Here's it's 28°F with a real feel of 22°F.

Is your weekender 2 going to have a hatch like my avatar?

Mike...

[Gold5one]

Mike, It will have a rear hatch/door that opens up and is wide enough for a 10ft kayak to slide inside- about 32" - when my wife asked me what my pile of "sticks" was for, I told her that I was working on a boat trailer. - she knows what a boat trailer is. When she gets back from her 4 day Thanksgiving family visit, I'll have a "bigger" trailer to show her.
I hope she likes it.

[Gold5one]

I completed a rough frame for one side- I'm standing in front of the opening for a 24" wide door. The inside length measures 10ft-7"- add another 3" for outside length. I also made the angled corners about 10% larger so the sides looked more in proportion to the original Weekender II. I have all the corner pieces and angle cuts done to the plates, so it's just a matter of putting the other side together next weekend. I'll have to take the wheels off my trailer to finish it in the garage. I plan on using a couple of HF square furniture dollies under the axle. I am still undecided on the width- somewhere between 68" to 72" - I'll put the sides together with some wood pieces in the garage and see what works the best.Then I can bolt the plywood floor down on the frame. I need to find some windows, soon.

added- From the picture, it looks like I should move the axle above the springs. From my perspective, I need to lower the CG- a strong side wind could have too much leverage on the sides of a tall camper. Maybe I'm being overly cautious-??

[KCStudly]

Maybe I'm being overly cautious-??

Nope. Tall, narrow, very light trailer and high winds do not mix well.
Catherine's Penguino Build

[noseoil]

As far as the width goes, start with the biggest thing (mattress?) then add for walls/doors, extra space, etc. and that's what you need for the overall width.

[Gold5one]

KC- thanks for the reminder about windy days.That must have been pretty scary when your camper blew over. I once spent 2 days holed up in a Wyoming campground waiting out 60 mph winds. Even my 5th wheel couldn't stand up to that. I saw a couple semi trucks blown off the road when I got going again. Being a tad heavy isn't all bad, is it?-

Noseoil- I will only be using a single mattress- it's 35" wide and it makes the most sense to run it along wall opposite the entry door. - with a wardrobe in the other back corner. Once I build my other wall and panel the insides, I can set them up on the garage floor and play with the widths with my mattress on some milk crates.

[KCStudly]

Wasn't mine. Cathrine, another builder here, and a real trooper, built it all her own!

[Gold5one]

I made some good progress welding on my HF trailer over Thanksgiving. I welded front corner bracing and angle down the center. Solid welds have replaced the top bolts. I also cut and epoxy fiberglass taped the plywood floor panels together. Today I cut out the wheel wells and coated the bottom side of the plywood with Elastoseal rubberized primer coating. The second coat goes on tomorrow.

I still need to weld on 10" long side pieces of junior strut to support the plywood overhang and a couple more pieces on angle. I used electrical unistrut to strengthen the A-frame. I can still unbolt it, I I ever need to remove it for storage. Next weekend the trailer frame should be done and the floor bolted on. I'm getting really good with that 70amp welder- 5/64" rods work best.

[Gold5one]

I changed one of my cross members- moved it back 5" to where it was in the original design. Started welding on side supports, but I will have to mount the floor before I locate and weld the ones near the wheel well cutouts. Leaning towards using 1/4" bcx fir plywood for the sides. This is the same plywood I used on the sides of my boat - it may not be pretty, but it's strong. I estimate that plywood will weight about 100lbs . My floor weights 70lbs

[Gold5one]

This week, I mounted the plywood floor to the frame and I decided I didn't like 72" width on a 48" wide frame, so I trimmed it down to 68", 2" off each side. Future gas mileage trumped the extra space inside.