And so it begins...my removable foamie

[mezmo]

Just a fast mention before you do your interior:
Polyester resin melts foam. I don't know if that
is what you were referring to by "poly" in reference
to your interior covering. I'd hate you to see the walls
melt away before your eyes! If it's a thin panel made
of hardened polyester using a foam compatible glue,
then you shouldn't have any problems.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[SteveW]

Was going to do a polyurethane...will this be okay on the foam?? Seems I remember reading it would work, but please correct me if this is going to eat my foam. I'm going shopping in a bit and want to get the right stuff!

[SteveW]

Woohoo, Mr. UPS Driver just arrived with 4 packages for me...Christmas comes early!

[bonnie]

Woohoo, Mr. UPS Driver just arrived with 4 packages for me...Christmas comes early!

Don't ya just love it?

[atahoekid]

Right now, I kinda feel like a kid waiting for Christmas to come. I think my packages of electrical stuff should arrive soon. I peek out the window when the mail delivery person comes (she's not a mailMAN) I'm jealous!!

[millstone]

The SIP panel is very cool.

Where did you get your reese hitch? Was it hard to install?

I'm curious. I was going to install one on my Clubman. Traded it instead.

Mark

[SteveW]

Got the hitch from minidomore.com. It was pretty easy to install, although the instructions were for a hatchback rather than a convertible, so I had to remove a couple more trim pieces that weren't mentioned. I'm slow and methodical about that kinda stuff, but was still done in less than 3 hours, and that included washing out all the dust behind the bumper from our roadtrip out west seven summers ago!

[eaglesdare]

i put poly directly on my "blue" foam. not a problem. but please check and test on your foam first.

[SteveW]

Gaahhhh! Rain, rain, go away! Come again some other day after I finish my freakin build! Three nights of incessant rain. This is NOT doing anything to help with meeting my deadline (less than two weeks away!)

[SteveW]

Was going to do a polyurethane...will this be okay on the foam?? Seems I remember reading it would work, but please correct me if this is going to eat my foam. I'm going shopping in a bit and want to get the right stuff!

For preliminary results of using Minwax Fast Drying Polyurethane, to date no harmful effects to the (white beadboard) foam, but no real benefits either. Doesn't really like to stick to the foam the way I was hoping. Will try to pool it on a bit more and see what happens.

[SteveW]

Argh, used TB2 to put in my dowels into the foam instead of GG and was wondering why they were wiggly. Duh.

We have to hit the road on Sunday and this thing isn't even assembled yet. Sigh. Luckily the interior is basically done (or at least as much done as it's going to get before the trip) other than the ceiling. I'm not usually one to rush things, but I'm being forced to do so now. Tomorrow the dowels go back in and the walls, cubbies, and floor get glued together, followed by the first couple pieces of the ceiling. I have JUST enough days to get everything finished...but only if I don't have any more mishaps or setbacks (which of course doesn't seem to be in the cards so far). Making me really really nervous.

Progress that actually has been made...
All panels cut.
Kerfs cut in roof/hatch panels.
Door opening cut.
Door frame (for a couple Frank Bear doors...heavier than the rest of my teardrop I think, but no leaks to be had) constructed and glued in place.
Hard points glued in place.
Interior cubbies built and skinned with contractor paper/polyurethane (these took a lot longer than anticipated, as I wound up pulling off my first attempt)
Interior walls painted (for now...originally I started to skin with some leftover posterboard, but couldn't keep it from getting wavy, costing me even more time to pull it off and clean everything back up)
Dowel holes cut for walls and cubbies, then dry-fit together (and of course originally stuck in with TBII...luckily I didn't try to bond both sides together with it)

What's left to do...
Assembly.
Roof.
Hatch.
Seals.
Canvas.
Paint.
etc., etc.
The list seems endless.

On a good note, the actual trailer is finished and awaiting a trip to the DMV. I don't like the way the welding shop attached my aluminum fenders, but I gave them some creative license and they got creative. Otherwise it came out great. It weighed in today at 230 pounds. The camper should weigh no more than this...although the doors will add a good bit. I'm expecting to come in around 450-500 empty.

We made a trip to BestBuy to replace the old point-n-click that died recently, so I should hopefully get some new shots soon.

[SteveW]

Made some really good progress in the mad dash to get the teardrop ready for our trip up the east coast, but Debby had other plans. Not a dry day for the last 4 days, so no chance to get the canvas on. Ah well, we'll have to finish it when we get back. We've dumped all our camping days/stops in hopes that we'll do a part II later this summer and pick up all the spots we missed.

[SteveW]

Here's some photos of our progression. Sorry for the large size...










On a side note, GG works really well bonding leg hair to leg skin.

[atahoekid]

On a side note, GG works really well bonding leg hair to leg skin.

Not sure that I wanted to know that but I guess it's useful info Your build looks like it's coming along fine. Sorry you're not getting done till you get back but perhaps then the pace is not so frantic and you can enjoy your progress. Looks great so far

[SteveW]

Sorry you're not getting done till you get back but perhaps then the pace is not so frantic and you can enjoy your progress.

That's the hope!