The Red Arrow

[TheOtherSean]

I've decided to build a small standy or slouchy trailer, which I've decided to name the Red Arrow. The tentative plan is a small canned ham, about 6' 8" wide and 10' long, with a small dinette (convertible to a bunk) forward and a full bed aft. I've purchased and begun assembly of a Northern Tool 5 x 8 heavy duty trailer. I am debating on drop floor or not. Alas, there are no pics due to the interference of rainstorms. I should have some designs to share (or pics if the rain relents) sometime in the next couple days.

[TheOtherSean]

Woohoo, progress! I've gotten the trailer frame mostly assembled.



As a courtesy to neighbors, I've not been working past about 9 PM outside, so there's been some work going on in the basement. I've got the floor pieces mostly done and one wheel well half built. Unfortunately, there's only enough room down there to have so much in progress at any one time, and drying time on glue, wood putty, etc. is slowing me down a bit. Still, hope to have more of it out of the basement and in the more-photogenic outdoors soon.

[TheOtherSean]

And here's a couple plan images on what that trailer frame should have built upon it.

[Woodbutcher]

Looks like a solid plan. Have fun with your build!

[TheOtherSean]

Thanks. I should have more pics this evening.

[TheOtherSean]

I finished off the trailer frame assembly last night, at least so far as the kit parts are concerned. I need to purchase and attach an appropriate jack, as well as attaching the stabilizer/jack things I purchased for my failed Cabinette build 8 years ago. The top bolts connecting the side rails to the cross-members present an obstacle to laying the floor flat on the frame, so I'm constructing a wooden mini-subframe for the floor to rest on yet clear the bolts.



The actual floor is ready to be installed after that's assembled and treated. It is resting atop sawhorses under the small shelter you can see at the edge of the first photo. I have to leave the shelter in the down position most of the time to prevent wind-related problems. I ran inside for bit last weekend and went back outside to find that despite concrete blocks sitting on a couple feet it had been been caught by the wind and blown half-over, with damage to one of the legs and a tear in the fabric. Now all the feet have concrete blocks and it stays down most of the time.

I've also completed assembly of the first wheel well, and the glue is drying. It will need to receive "the mix," paint, and caulk before it can actually be installed. The wood for the second wheel well is about half-cut.

[TheOtherSean]

I completed assembly of the second wheel well and applied the first coat of "the mix" (polyurethane diluted with mineral spirits) onto them and all the floor-related wood. Unfortunately thanks to the cool, humid weather it is taking longer than I'd hoped for them to actually dry. The next coat will probably have to wait for tomorrow.



I picked up the wood for the walls while waiting. That's a dozen 2.7mm (website says 1/8" but its a bit thinner) 4 x 8 "utility panels" (i.e. thin plywood) down in my basement awaiting my attention. I'm reviewing my plans to figure out how best to layout, draw, cut, etc. everything given there's not nearly enough space for a 10+ foot long side on my worktable. I also need to figure out the new circular saw I picked up but that may wait for morning. No sense accidentally cutting off any body parts.

[TheOtherSean]

No pictures today - I finished applying the final coat of "the mix" to all the floor and wheel well wood, then followed it up with a coat of primer paint. That should allow me to touch up missing primer tomorrow morning before work and get the top coat on that evening. I'd guess I'll have the floor out of the way by Tuesday. I've also figured out how I'm going to handle in my basement the initial cutting and dry-fitting the walls. With that out of the way, I measured and marked out some of the circular and elliptical arcs that will need to be cut out.