The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[steveonzakon]

There was news on our local Television station about Burning Man attendees being upset that super rich people were showing up in big air conditioned rigs with "sherpas" to attend to their needs.

I think its funny that the #1 Principle of Burning Man is "Radical Inclusion
Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community."

Unless you are wealthy. Then you aren't welcome, apparently.

[KCStudly]

I don't mind going OT every once in a while (... okay, in fact I encourage it all the time ...), and I am tempted to comment myself, but I wouldn't want any one to feel unwelcome here, so let's just leave it at that, please.

Thanks.

Oh yeah, I had an unfavorable day at work today shlepping through a few messes , so bear with me if it sounds like I'm not in a good mood; it isn't because of anything any of you have done.

[atahoekid]

Sorry about that thread hijack there. Yep, we've all had those days at work. I hope you have a nice long weekend to refresh. After all this holiday is about us, the laborers.... then get back and finish that beautiful build

[KCStudly]

Thanks Mel. I'm taking tonight off to relax, and I need to put new front shocks on the Jeep, but also hope to get something done on the build tomorrow.

It is 'The Big Go' this weekend (Indy baby, pop pop, drag it out there) and we have a family gathering at the in laws on Sunday, so there will be time to unwind, but I still want to put plenty of time in on the build.

Last night I had a late start, but tried to remediate and reinforce that dreaded buckle. It shows up in the pics a little more now that it was dry.



So I unfastened and let the front radius relax again.


I tried to knead out the buckle on the curb side as best I could by hand. I was able to put a little heat into it just from the friction of rubbing my hand on it, but I'm not sure that did anything. The manual pressure did reduce the bump some and brought the open fibers back together, but the crease will still be visible on the inside. You can also see how I used a piece of blue tape to hold the fiberglass tape in position like a hinge so that I could paint the epoxy on then just flip it into position.



By leaving the tape on I could brush additional epoxy onto the outside, stroking away from the tape, without pushing the glass out of position. Once it was pretty well wetted out it was easy to pluck the tape off and finish the other end. The little white circle in the middle is where there had been a small round sticker stuck to the roll of glass tape. It seems that the adhesive from the sticker kept the epoxy from fully penetrating in that area.


I am hoping that this will help stabilize the area for the final glue up, and maybe help minimize the buckle effect. The epoxy needed 10 hrs to fully cure.

Then I got distracted talking with Karl and Grotto Jeff, so didn't get anything else done.

I need to start focusing on the next phase of the build; probably hatch construction and hinge spar fabrication. Then capping it all off with foam.

Tomorrow is another day.

[KCStudly]

I figured I’d get where I wanted to be on the camper today, then switch and get dirty changing the shock absorbers on the Jeep. It worked out pretty well.

Karl gave me a hand gluing up the front radius of the ceiling. Except for the last bit, the last row of washers and the final flap at the bottom, he just pressed on the 2x4 strongback/spreader by hand and I shot the screws. We got all but done before either of us realized we hadn’t sprayed any water on it, but we hadn’t heard any popping or breaks, so no harm, no foul. I often feel rushed when working with Karl… but things get done, so...


The fiberglass patch really helped reduce the magnitude of the buckle, so I was happy that I went to the trouble. It is still there but is much less objectionable!



Scooped the excess squeeze out from along the sides and took a couple of pics to show how nicely the ceiling skin formed to the profile.



There was another much smaller buckle with attendant grain separation right near one of the wooden washers; which coincidentally was the location where one of the screws pulled straight thru the previous washer. Then Karl had to let off of the flap and it pulled all the way thru the panel. What you see here is a replacement washer to hold it tight until the glue dries. Nothing visible on the inside, so again, no harm no foul.

I’m definitely going to skin the whole front radius area over with glass reinforced epoxy before adding the foam; just to stabilize it all and prevent any future issues.

After waiting a little while for the adhesive to start to congeal, I climbed in and used the wooden chisel to ‘scrape’ the excess away and remove the masking.





Train kept a rollin’.

[GPW]

Fine Furniture ...

[KCStudly]

Thanks GPW. I appreciate the nice compliment.

We just got home from a nice belated B-Day dinner out with Chris and Karl. http://www.olioct.com/olio/

We split a couple of orders of the Grilled Sliced Hangar Steak Bruschetta appetizer (with portobello mushrooms, Danish blue cheese, and a fresh rosemary aioli). I had the special Beet Salad with red and golden beets, mango, goat cheese, kale and beet syrup; the grilled steak tip special with an asparagus, mushroom and Gorgonzola risotto (perfect steak, just the right amount of rich Gorganzola overload, and a touch of tangy/sweet BBQ like sauce down on the plate). For dessert a special Gran Marnier chocolate mousse stuffed "cannoli" (more like a sweet wafer thin rolled caramelized sugar cookie crisp thing) with pineapple anglaise, whipped cream, a couple of fresh raspberries and a small mint leaf.

All good stuff! It was a special treat that I am thankful for.

[tony.latham]

It looks fantastic.

I sense you squeezed about as much sweat out of this portion of the project as excess glue came from the seams.

We didn't make it to Salmon Mountain. With the road conditions, we were encouraged by the lookout volunteer coordinator to stay home. No sense staying home so we headed back to a chunk of territory that we really like for a couple of nights.


I think the cold musta shrunk that pic down!



Tony

[KCStudly]

Sorry you weren't able to do the lookout, but it looks like you had a good time!

For those of you who might not be following the "Discover The Bitterroot" facebook page, the forest fire fighters there saved some week old mountain lions. Cute.

[GoTurtleGo]

Hello KC,

I am new on this site and after having read the BIG thread, I am reading the build threads. I cannot tell you quite how amazing and detail oriented your build is! I am learning a great amount from it. Sometimes I have to read the details a few times because I have NO idea what you are talking about, but after I go look up a few key words and reread, I always learn something new.

So now I am looking forward to following as you keep working towards your goal.

[KCStudly]

Kathleen,
Thanks a bunch for the thoughtful post. I have been following your thread and posts, and am glad that you are finding useful info here. There is so much to be learned from all of the people that have been thru this before, especially from those who have built multiples, that it seems only fair to try and give back.

[Wolffarmer]

But you all ought to see my 64th birthday party next week.




The people do appreciate me.

I see we have a "burner" in our group. I live in Northern Nevada where the Burning Man Festival is held every year (as we speak) and have never been nor do I have the desire. I guess I'm too mainstream....

I got home today. There are at least 5 burners amongst us. We initiated another virgin this year.
Weather was cool and little dust this year. Exodus was great.

Randy

[atahoekid]

We got some well needed rain just as the festival was starting and my wife and I commented on how it must have held the playa dust down since the vehicles coming out of Burning Man aren't nearly as dusty this year as in previous year. Glad you enjoyed your experience!

Sorry for the hijack

[atahoekid]

KC, GPW said it best. That looks like fine furniture and as GTG said in her post, I think we've all learned a lot from your build. As much as I enjoy using my Road Foamie, I wish you had preceded me so that I could have learned from your work. There are a handful of builds that I want to see in person and yours is high on that list. What I appreciate most and find most amazing is your detailed documentation of the build. Thank You!

[KCStudly]

Thank you Mel. That's very flattering.

A little OT is fine with me, so long as we don't bash on anyone.
(Not that anyone was bashing, it just felt like it might be going that way.)

S'all good.