The Poet Creek Express - Foamie Hybrid

[KCStudly]

I don't know how you'd get a 'better' finish than what you've got.

Wet sand, buff/polish, and wax.

But seriously, that's just not going to happen.

Randy, thanks for the Mobile link. I'm a big Who fan and that is totally appropriate!

Ned, your comments are most generous and greatly appreciated.

WW, thanks for "getting it" (touches finger to nose and points to you).

Thanks GPW, it is a bit taller inside due to lifting the 4 ft foam up onto the 2x (1-1/2 inch) wall sill, then having the ceiling and roof sit on top of the wall, rather than settling inside. So at the highest point of the 520 inch radius arch it is 49-1/2 inches inside. Cost a bit more in plywood sheets (with more waste), but I wanted the interior panel grain to run vertical anyway, so it just made sense to me (at the time, anyway) to "steal" the extra height. That, the big wide doors, and trying to keep the inside cabinets from closing in too closely are the arsenal in my attempt to keep it from feeling too closed in for the wife... and my fat self.

Did some more work today; just need to download a couple of pics, compose a little narrative, and I'll be back posting an update sometime tonight (probably after dinner).

Thank you all for the wonderful words of support.

[KCStudly]

Didn’t get as much done as I would have liked today, but I did have a nice sleep in, and breakfast, so have kicked vacation off just fine.

Started by adjusting and trimming the curb side bulkhead dado so that the bulkhead drops right into place now.

Then I spent a good deal of time masking off and painting the edges of the door seal flange and toe kick board with gloss black Rustoleum oil paint. Scuffed it with a small piece of greenie after masking.





There are a few spots where the brush left streaks where you can see the brown thru the black, but I have a small hobby brush that I can use to touch that up w/o having to mask again. (I wanted to pull the masking while the paint was still soft in order to get a crisp line w/o lifting the edges.)

At about 2:30pm, the hottest part of the day in the loft, I started to shut down, even though it was only 82 deg F and just 54/ct humid, I had stalled and was stuck sitting in front of the fan contemplating my next several moves… but not getting anywhere fast.

Couple of three more hours today, so I guess I am averaging about 12 hours a week lately. Not stellar, but progress is progress. Will have to step it up a bit this week!

Tomorrow is another day.

[GPW]

Difficult to keep motivated in this Hot weather .... KC , you guys have had your share this summer ... despite all that , your trailer is coming along wonderfully ...

Question : ... How are you going to treat the underside ... ?

[tac422]

Wow, that looks great !
I really like the black detail.
Well done !

[KCStudly]

Thanks guys.

Geep, the underside has been given a coat of TB2 thinned with about 30/ct water, then a full strength coat of TB2. IIRC I have already scuffed it in prep for wrapping the canvas under the edges, then I plan to paint the whole under belly with the same paint that will be used on the canvas; outdoor latex, I want to say acrylic, but I don't know paint that well and have not had any coffee yet this AM. (Even if it is just decaf, for an ex-caffeine user there is plenty in there for me.)

Today I hope to touch up the black trim paint (I remembered to pack the little brush); fit the bulkhead to the street side wall (the poly should be firm by now); and do the black trim paint on that side. If I still have any energy after that, I may get back to the spackle work on the doors.

[KCStudly]

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday… Race fans, hot rodders! It was a great day to be building. Cool morning with midday temp’s in the 70’s, humidity in the 50’s. Got a reasonable start and for the first hour or so I didn’t even turn the fan on.

Went back at the curb side wall with the little brush and touched up the black trim paint. Didn’t bother to mask and it was easy to wipe any small over runs from the top side of the flange and tow kick.

Swapped back to the street side wall, checked the fit of the bulkhead to dado (was a touch tight), masked it for routing, and did the trim edge as well.



After looking at that last pick on the camera I went back and trimmed the little bulb of tape on the top right where it doesn’t quite look fair.

First I routed the dado. On the curb side I had taken a scant 32nd and had to take a second pass, so on this side I just went straight for a 1/16th. Turned out just a little free, but I’d rather have that than have it fight me dropping into place while I’m gluing and screwing and trying to hold square.

Next I used the small brush and painted the edge of the trim. It took a little longer, but I had better control and was able to coat it out in one go.







Karl helped me shuffle the walls and floor again. Thought this “Valley of Walls” pic was a bit neat with sort of a mirror effect.


Got the floor back up on deck.


Not sure if I had mentioned this, but I had been thinking of having the rear floor edge aluminum powder coated. Will help prevent it from dulling, corroding, and keep it from getting that raw metal tarnish on everything. Dave Z. said he could do black (to match my door latches), silver (like the color of ceramcote header ceramic; argent like metallic Chevy Rallaye wheels; or clear, but I would have to “brush” the base metal to give it a uniform look).

At first I thought it would be nice to match the black of the door latches, but then I figured that might disappear too much at night, whereas one of the lighter silver colors would be more reflective and therefore more visible at night. Plus the door hinges and rear hatch handle are stainless anyway.

So I called Dave up and he said no problem. Finished up the day by taking a ride south through the woods down to Dave’s place to drop that off. He said he would bring it to work with him on Tuesday, which is closer for me to swing by to pick up. He didn’t want to charge me anything, but I flipped him $10.

Stopped by the market on the way home and the strawberries have been really good this year (hmm, I picked up some pear wine from the local farm stand yesterday…).

Vette and I got home at about the same time and she had a couple of big handfuls of basil from her sister’s herb garden. Quick inventory of ingredients on hand, and I made…

Walnut Pesto
3 or 4 cloves garlic minced
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan
A good solid Tbs of Kosher salt
1 cup walnuts, toasted
2 big handfuls of fresh basil (big stems removed and rinsed)
1 sprig of fresh mint (about 1 doz leaves, big stems removed and rinsed)
Extra virgin olive oil (enough)

Grind the first 4 ingredients in the food processor to form a coarse meal. Add the greens, process while drizzling in olive oil until the desired texture is achieved (I like mine a little on the coarse side and a little dry and pasty… uses less olive oil that way, or you can add some cold water to get a wetter texture w/o adding so much oil). Adjust salt and texture to taste.

Spread a big dollop of that on a nice country style biscuit and toast it in the broiler oven. Yummy.

Great appetizer.

Cleaned, stemmed, cored and quartered the strawberries.


Brought about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of the pear wine, 3 tbs sugar, and a couple of small sprigs of fresh mint to boil just long enough to burn off the harshness of the alcohol. Removed the mint and allowed that to cool in the fridge; then poured over the strawberries and some fresh blueberries that Yvette had brought home.

For dessert I toasted a couple more biscuits, spooned on the fruit with a good drizzle of the syrup juices, and boy oh boy was that yummy!

[Wolffarmer]

Love that food porn

[kudzu]

In the early pages of this thread though, he explains his reasoning for wanting to make this something special...which he's certainly accomplishing !

I'm so sorry. Never meant that to sound disparaging of what KC is doing. I think it is wonderful & if we weren't such a demolition crew I would love to have a camper with such a gorgeous interior. It is going to be worth all of KC's efforts.

KC, I also love the black on the trim. That is a beautiful touch that adds a lot to the looks. Very nice.

[kudzu]

... Thought this “Valley of Walls” pic was a bit neat with sort of a mirror effect.

Love this pic.

[KCStudly]

Thanks, Kudzu.

I never took anything you've said as disparaging! All I can recall is that you have been full of support and praise.

That said, constructive criticism is always welcome! We are here to help each other, so if anyone has any comments, plus or minus, spell it out.

Just be kind.

[Wobbly Wheels]

In the early pages of this thread though, he explains his reasoning for wanting to make this something special...

I'm so sorry. Never meant that to sound disparaging of what KC is doing.

At the risk of hijacking, I pointed it out only to say that the info you were asking about is in there, but I didn't think it was my place to re-iterate it because it's kinda personal...and I didn't want to spam up his thread.
Sometimes I should just keep my yap shut...

[GPW]

KC , we are somewhat envious of your much Cooler /Nicer weather .... we won’t get that till November... Full steam ahead !!! Now that you’re comfortable !!! Good time to wet sand the panel finish to 2000 grit and buff with a wheel and a good wax compound ... You know you want too ...

Sorry , just thought I’d “give you the business" instead of heaping yet more praise on the huge pile already accumulated ...

[KCStudly]

It's all good.

If I have any issue with anything anybody posts here, I'd be sure to let that person know, either openly or by PM.

That has just not been the case.

Everybody is welcome here, and I sincerely appreciate each and everyone's participation.

No harm, no foul.

Thank you both for being honest and open. We're not just building campers here, we are also building relationships. Communication is hard enough in person, let alone with us each off thinking to ourselves without the benefit of being able to hear audible intonations or see facial cues. Sometimes it just takes a special effort. Thanks for making the effort.

I have no problem with honest and open communication.

Now let's go have some fun building!

[_Ryan_]

HI KC,

Wow man you are really coming along! I have been out enjoying my teardrop and am now getting caught back up on the forums. I need to look back at your build details over the last couple weeks (not a short read haha ), but I love what I see, the wood looks gorgeous.

Soon enough you will be out enjoying your build as well!

Cheers,
Ryan

[RandyG]

I'm still watching and it's looking great! I am very jealous of the nice weather, we can't get below 75 in the dead of night. And I think we would get in trouble with the neighbors running power tools at that time. Enjoy it!