4-Day Weekender - Toddler bed!

[Kharn]

I'm only a few hundred in at this point, just the trailer frame, air conditioner, camp oven and a few miscellaneous shop supplies.
I'm not committing to the MDO or doors/vent/hinge/lights/etc order (both will be on the order of a grand ) until I get the plans finalized.

[Kharn]

I spent a little time updating the cost estimate this morning, I attached it in case anyone wants to take a look at it.
The current estimate is $3533 and change, with a few items outstanding.

I forgot to include the window shaker air conditioner, it was $120 plus tax.

The cost also doesn't include niceties like drawer slides, hinges, cabinet pulls, etc, just the basics to get us camping.

[Kharn]

The Chesapeake Tearjerkers are having a Saturday camp-in today since we're all snowed in. I convinced my wife to participate.



She was not pleased with the lack of roof, walls, doors, lights, etc.

[Kharn]

I spent today cleaning the garage enough that I could move the trailer out onto the driveway for the first time.
I hooked the trailer up to my truck to see if the lights worked. As expected, they did not.
After about an hour of screwing around with it, I found that I had both a bad ground and a blown trailer running light fuse. I must've popped the fuse while troubleshooting because I'd tested the truck's plug at the beginning. The ground was fixed by running a wire from the grounding stud on the hitch to one of the lights, then everything lit up just perfectly.

I'm going to convert the trailer to LEDs and a 7-wire system when I build it, so this is just temporary while I run a few errands with it.

[working on it]

I spent a little time updating the cost estimate this morning, I attached it in case anyone wants to take a look at it.
The current estimate is $3533 and change, with a few items outstanding.

I forgot to include the window shaker air conditioner, it was $120 plus tax.

The cost also doesn't include niceties like drawer slides, hinges, cabinet pulls, etc, just the basics to get us camping.

And your wife knows this amount??? And still speaks to you? That's why I ditched the receipts long ago, and buried my purchases among hers and household repairs - I still want to be on a "friendly" basis with her. One of her maxims is "what's mine is mine, and so is yours"; but it doesn't work in the other direction. Eventually, she will and has caught on to my "hidden" costs, as during my racing days, when I blew a $5k engine, and obtained a new-bigger-better-faster-one very quickly afterward (I masterfully hid a lot of costs then!). Even she could tell the difference immediately, when I fired it up (she's not normally mechanically inclined). Cold-shoulder and silence for a moment (or a month?), then back to normal. But the racecar was for me only....she never, ever, saw it run at the strip. No appreciation or support, as it was a solo effort. But, with the trailer, though built as a solo effort (on my part), when she actually uses it (she plans a trip in May, after my second "solo" one in April), then the costs involved building this TTT will be deemed OK. Eventually. Good luck with your transparent accounting!

[Kharn]

I just point to her wedding ring set and say it cost more than the trailer.

[Kharn]

So I took the trailer on a 200 mile road-trip to drop off that annoying-large sheet metal brake, freeing up about 3x10' of my small garage, and pick up a new toy.



Only problem? We have 12" of snow on the ground, so I have to wait a bit before I can off-load it and move it to the shed where it belongs. It even has a ball on the back for hauling the trailer around the yard, if we ever get to spring and the snow melts.

I also spent about two hours talking to my dad about my plans for the teardrop vs his cabinetry experience, picking up the tractor finally let us sit down with AutoCAD to discuss things in detail rather than try to decipher each others thoughts over the phone.

His suggestions?
1) Drop the 3-piece hatch as the lower doors couldn't support much weight without being built around a metal frame (someone leaning on them when open could break one). Originally he wanted a 4-piece hatch, with an upper panel hinged to the roof, two side-opening doors and a lower panel hinged on the frame. I strongly objected so he suggested a two piece hatch, with the upper and middle panels connected together and the lowest panel being hinged to the frame and dropping vertically as a compromise.
2) Kreg screws wouldn't have enough grip, 1/2" plywood's too thin for reliable biscuits and the MDO wouldn't accept the glue well enough for my original plan, so he strongly recommends doing a 1.5"x1.5" stick frame underneath the 1/2" plywood, screwing in from the outside with #8 wood screws and then coating all the seams with fiberglass and epoxy. I asked about down-sizing to 3/8" or 1/4" plywood over the stick frame, he said to keep it at 1/2" for durability and strength.
3) Lower the walls 1/2" on the frame, so they serve as a drip edge instead of potentially wicking water across the bottom.
4) Use pressure treated 2x4s for the bed supports
5) Use sheets of pressure treated plywood for the floor of both the galley and sleeping area, with a layer of luan and caulked seams to cover the PT so it looks nice and doesn't smell.
6) Ditch the under bed storage compartments, the small ones near the tongue will be a lot of work for little return and the big one will be too hard to access when I'm fighting the 6" mattress. He suggests throwing a Rubbermaid on the bed when we travel and putting it in the truck once the dog's cage is moved into her tent.
I think I'm ok with 1-4, but 5 and 6?

I envision the under-bed storage as more of a "this trip has gone totally sideways" area, for stuff like a spare blanket, sweatshirts, jeans and boots when camping in July, extra trailer parts (spare hub, extra set of bearings, grease, various nuts, bolts), etc, that we'd never plan on using but bring along just in case. And for a box like that, after several trips without a failure, I bet we'd leave it at home, only to run into problems and need its contents. And the pressure treated plywood would, I think, just be a smelly, warped disaster, vs asphalt or bedliner-coated MDO.

The stick construction would solve a few of my current issues about wiring, I could easily run wire from the front to the back plus I could insulate the roof.

[KCStudly]

I don't think PT is a good idea.

You could compromise on the under bed storage and do under floor storage like Zach added to XI (I think). Rather than cut thru the floor and access from under the mattress, he made drawer like bins that were hinged near the centerline of the floor and dropped down at the frame rail side. Not sure how well they sealed, but for seldom used stuff you could put in plastic containers. Just a thought.

[Kharn]

Do you think both the PT supports and plywood would be a bad idea, or only the PT plywood? Another thing I'd have to consider would be fastener compatibility, the new PT wood is very corrosive.

The X1's boxes might be one compromise, especially for the smaller boxes next to the tongue.

[KCStudly]

Most of the PT I have dealt with comes wet and must be left to "cure" for a season before getting any type of sealer or deck paint.

My belief is that you will want to coat it somehow anyway, so why have to deal with the negative aspects of it, only to seal it to the nines like you would regular outdoor or marine ply. Just go with regular and seal it well with your preference of coatings ("The Mixture", epoxy, tar, paint, TB, etc.).

My thought is that people assume too much with PT, that it is a cure all that will last forever with no finishing. Not true. It will warp and crack and twist, get gray and rot eventually, just like any other wood, but at least the bugs won't eat it.

[capnTelescope]

Hey, Kharn. Great build you have going here.

I think I'm ok with 1-4, but 5 and 6?

I vote for skipping the PT. First, It's somewhat hard to find. At least, the big boxes around here don't carry it. Second, and more important, IMHO, PT wood is toxic. Bugs eat it and die. They (the faceless, ubiquitous, all-knowing "They") also recommend you wear dust respirators when working with it. And you're going to sleep on that stuff? Not this boy. People get freaked out enough over formaldehyde out gassing.

The under floor storage for those "just in case" items makes sense to me. Just don't store your stove there. That would be a PITA. I keep that kind of stuff in a milk crate that is first in, last out of the TV.

Keep going, we're watching.

[Kharn]

The snow melted enough of a path that my dad and I were able to get the tractor off the trailer and to the shed today. Now the only obstacles to building are completing the plans and buying all the materials.

Dad decided to upgrade a few of his suggestions. He wants practically every 90 degree panel joint to be backed by at least a 1.5x1.5" stick, with suggestions for more and more of them getting complete 2x4s. If I let him design the trailer from scratch, I'm not sure it would stay under 2000lb.

We did figure out one solution for the hatch issue, the lowest panel can be connected via piano hinge to the body of the trailer, dropping to horizontal when open. It's only ~8" long so it will give ~12" of clearance between it and the ground, more than enough space for a toe kick, while avoiding the head-knocking potential of a 1-piece hatch, but I bet it will need a rib across the back of it for rigidity. Barrel bolts at each side and a lip on the main hatch will hold it closed.

For the interior cabinets, Dad pointed out that sliding doors would be extremely easy and light, there are definitely a few places I could see them being useful. But how about using them on larger doors? The cabinet over our feet would have doors almost 20" tall, I'm a little worried they'd vibrate open while driving and dump all of our clothes throughout the cabin, but I could always use a double roller or magnetic catch if that becomes a problem.

One dilemma I've run into is the galley countertop height, setting it at a reasonable working height (36" above ground) would only give me ~14" of space below it for storage, while having it high enough to store my camp oven (18" tall, plus some extra so its not a press fit) underneath would put the countertop at 42" above grade. My wife's only 5'2", so a high countertop wouldn't be easy for her to use. Since I'm using RV doors, I'll have two ~26x36" gigantic chunks of 3/4" MDO, I could easily cut one or both of them down to be side tables, and set the table rails to be 36" above grade, but then I'd have the big side tables to lug around, either on the bed or in the truck, or rip one down to the depth of the galley so it can stay in there. Our current cooler would never fit in the galley, and I'm willing to down-size to two 2.5gal water jugs instead of the current 5gal one (it also gets way too heavy for my wife to handle if it is full), so the largest item that has to fit in the galley is the camp stove.

How did everyone else balance storage vs a useful countertop?

[KCStudly]

Have you considered a high/low counter or just a partial counter supplemented by the wing tables? Have one side, or just a section wide enough for your cooler and stove higher, even maybe with full cabinets above and no counter, then the remainder at whatever height suits you and your wife.

[Kharn]

That would be an option, basically making a large enough counter so we could make lunch or other quick meal in a rest stop without having to unpack the side tables.

Having some extra height to play with would also let me put the oven on a slide-out shelf, making it easier to stow and deploy, without having to be on my knees fishing around in the back of the cabinet to thread a footman loop or find a fallen piece of webbing.

[capnTelescope]

One dilemma I've run into is the galley countertop height,

OMG, how I feel your pain. I went through the same type of dilemma in my galley. You can see what I faced in my latest post. My countertop ends up at 38" (according to the drawing, but consider the source). Higher than optimum, but doable. Giving up the camp oven, etc. just for the "right" counter height was never a consideration. Then, there's the cabinets. #?*!%&. After moving them down, there's still 18" depth to the top.

"Out there," any counter space is golden, even when it's not just right.

...would put the countertop at 42" above grade. My wife's only 5'2", so a high countertop wouldn't be easy for her to use.

Gotta keep her happy in the kitchen... Try this: Buy or build a "stand-upon" for the wife, so she's at the right height. As long as it's stable, it should be good. If she doesn't hit you for suggesting it.