feb 9th! I'm sorry.
But at long last I have emerged like the phoenix from the ashes. and behold there was foam...
Ok, so from the beginning
I picked up this treasure for the princely sum of $200.00. its a 77 coleman tent trailer, no rust (thanks to the beautiful northern Nevada high desert and its lack of humidity I presume). I parked her in the yard for a bit whilst cleaning out the garage and getting a few cabinetry (paid) jobs out of the way.
In between caring for my littles and getting some paid work done I did this
Tent popouts are off, lid is coming off, interior is gutted and mouse poop and pee is reeeaaallllly stinky
I harvested the sink, water tank and electric pump, the stove, the heater and a few odds and ends that I may or may not find a use for.
I painted the old 3/4 ply with the mix on the bottom and Kilz inside (mouse destinkifier) because I just couldn't get past the idea of throwing this single sheet of plywood away that was nearly 7x10ft. I work in construction and I can't tell you how many times I wished I could get a 5ft wide sheet of plywood handily much less one that was 7x10! but in the end... alas... it had to go.
I had to move the axle, which made the cutouts for the wheel wells in the wrong place in the plywood... but I can patch it... but then I stretched the cabin forward into the V of the hitch and it just got to be too much work to save it
. so sad... off to the heap.But on we must move! After I cut and welded (
) the axle back about 14 inches I decided I would mount the water tank as close as practical to the axle to minimize the influence of the full or empty water weight on the trailers fore/aft balance. As I have learned from all of you... that is what bear is for. I mean Beer.I may or may not use the water tank, the inlet comes through the floor and I haven't quite figured out how the interior is going to come together, I am going to wait til I can lay down inside and get a feel for where the bunks should go and such.
So I did end up finding my foam at the Depot, its going to be two layers of 1" laminated to 2"
because that is all I could find. here in the shadow of that big piece of foam is my little helper Ella. And people keep wondering why I would build this with foam?
And then this happened.
So nothing was hurt except my truck and my pride. Kids were at preschool and daycare and I was coming home to put on my snow tires. Really. I really was. Except something funny happened on my way home. Actually I made it home, almost. This tree belongs to my neighbor across the street. And, well, I decorated it a little bit. So I went across to my house, made some coffee and called AAA. I must say that if you are going to get your truck stuck in a hole up against a tree on the iciest and coldest day of the winter, the best place you can do it is in your neighbors yard. I mean it wasn't my tree that got dinged up,(I fessed up to the neighbor, we're cool), and I got to sit inside my own comfy house with a cup of coffee and the fire blazing while I waited for the tow truck. Really not too bad. Oh except for the messed up fender. But a 2x4 and a sledge hammer fixed that right up after I removed the fender and put the snow tires on. long story short this was supposed to be a FoamHome work day!
And on and on we go!
I went ahead and did a structural insulated panel on the floor, 1/4 inch Luan, 3/4 inch foam with 1x4 supports over the frame rails. I put 1/2" ply on top in order to avoid one the untimely death of one of my lovely children, when they put a knee through the floor. I figured the extra 1/4" was worth avoiding the jail time. Anyhoo, all glued and screwed together and the floor felt pretty darn solid. I thought long and hard about putting the cross-member 1x4s in but it turns out they weren't necessary anyways with the 1/2" ply.
And then I had my first casualty... I like to think of my loss more in light of how when you bless a ship you break a bottle of champagne over its bow. Racer 5 beer is way better than champagne. (a very nicely hopped India Pale Ale created by some of the best brewers in Mendocino CA.) I really couldn't have chosen a better beverage with which to bless this creation, though it still saddens me as I look at the picture... it was a nearly full bottle.
And then...
Walls! just like that in the space of two words on a forum post there were walls! Well, maybe a few hours looking at profiles, realizing I needed to go taller, learning how best to cut them, well maybe more than a few hours. So there you go. Walls.
Since I have a laminated shell my wall to trailer connection seemed straightforward. I just used GG on the bottom edge of the interior sheet, connecting it vertically to the trailer deck, load bearing so to speak. Then I dropped the exterior sheet 3" past (the height of the trailer deck) and glued and temp screwed it to the side of the deck and laminated them together with GG. it is essentially a half lap joint where I have vertical load on the interior sheet and horizontal shear? connection to the trailer with the exterior sheet.
So I ended up profiling the nose both ways (sort of airstream-esque), really just because I liked the idea of being able to do it in foam. You just would never do that in wood right? I mean it would take so much effort to make the angles come together that it would drive me mad. But in foam? no problem. The plywood inside the half completed picture is the form around which I bent the front curve. I braced it vertically with some stringers to hold the "lid" up and create the shape to mold to. This also gave me something to screw the foam to while the glue dried. Kerfing is 1/2" deep at 1.5"spacing inside with the painters tape on the outside to keep from snapping on a kerf line and it really came together nicely I think. The wall shape will bring the roof profile down on top of this and it just looks cool. IMHO.
I was putting off building the hatch forever. I just couldn't wrap my head around how it would come together and just as with the rest of this project I really just had to start making cuts and then it all just happened. I cut two C shaped spars out of 1 1/8" plywood to match the profile of the rear section, then ripped 1 1/2" pieces of the same plywood to span across. I used GG and pocket hole (kreg Jig) screws to put it all together. It worked, I mounted it to the bulkhead of the galley wall and I could open and close it to my little hearts delight.
And then I skinned it on the inside with 1/4" alder. and well...
Here's my advice to anyone following me. Prebend the 1/4"skin. I thought it was weak enough that it wouldn't matter, but once all the glue dried and I had about a thousand 1" staples holding it all in place and took off the clamps and I closed that hatch... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH !!!! the tension of the 1/4" ply was enough to push my perfectly framed hatch assembly out of whack. Hold your hand in a C shape where it cups your mug there in front of you. Now open your hand about 1/2". Doesn't fit anymore right? Right.
So after scratching my head for two nights I came up with a solution. I disassembled the hinge from the mounting point, raised the now non-fitting hatch until the majority of the C shape touched the profile and remounted the hinge base slightly higher. This has in effect widened the gap at the top, (move your hand til your thumb and inside of your hand is touching your mug but your fingers are off. Structurally sound, as far as the hinge point and contacting the majority of the profile. I still have to cover the Cspars with foam on the outsides, as they sit inside the width of the trailer by 1" on each side so I can make up the difference in the foam. I love foam. It is such a forgiving medium. The solution to my oops is... more foam glued back into place.
I built the roof up today. I added two curved spars into the roof of the cabin, supported by 1x2 let into the walls, this should help support a bit more roof load (thinking a bit of snow) and gives the roof a nice curvy shape in both directions. Couldn't do that with wood. I seem to recall something in physics about the dome being the strongest shape? well I'm going with it anyways. here's a pic of the drivers door getting cut out, my helper is always handy with the vacuum for catching those little pink balls. The verticals are the 1x2s holding up the roof spars and they will also give me hard mounting points for my door hinges. how handy.
I owe you all a couple of pics of the roof assembly but that brings me pretty much up to date. I've decided my electrical needs will be limited to 6 LED lights, 2 interior cabin, 2 galley hatch, 2 exterior over the doors, and one 12v socket in the cabin and one in the galley. This is getting wired tomorrow along with the trailer lighting, LED again just because its cool. Then I think I should be ready for canvas and paint? I've got my hardpoints in already for lighting and hooks and what not. Once the exterior is dried in I have to get some real work done or I'll be broke.I have a shake out camping session planned for the 28th of this month. Roughing it since I don't think the galley or interior will be completed but hey thats kind of the point right? I can put my bed in and give her a tryout.
I'll try not to stay away so long next time. I have still been collecting ideas from you all with the nightlight on under the covers at night, so I figure I should give back too. Thanks all for your hard work and ideas.
Rob
PS its those darned kids that keep me from getting this done faster!
