The "Minibago" benroy continued.....

[twinight]

On valentine's day, The minibago found it's new home in Southern California.

You can see the sale thread here. http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=57710
At 5.5x13', it barely fits California's criteria for a camp trailer. But the size is great for a family with 2 toddlers.
I sent my wife the link and she was sold on it. 3 days later we picked it up in Utah.
We plan on camping for our summer vacation this summer, so I'm tasked to finish it by July.
The trailer is campable, but needs power, gas, water, and finishes.

The priorities are to skin the exterior to make it waterproof, and build the galley.

Sourcing sheets of aluminum larger than 48x144 seems to be an impossible task, IMS, Thyssenkrupt, both don't stock it.
Wood shiplap siding looks good, but would have to custom cut, it's heavier and makes sealing the transition from wall to roof more difficult. Wood paneling is not appealing with the trim required to cover the seams..
I have resolved instead to canvas the exterior, and paint, perhaps a simple 2-3 color pattern mural to make it more interesting. Paneling can be added later if so desired, but waterproofing is the 1st priority.

The galley will use the included SMEV cooktop and sink with drainboard. Unfortunately the galley is only 22" deep and a cooler would take up a lot of space. To maximize the space, we will be using a swing out counter for the sink. Since the swingout slides underneath the main counter, there is no space for a traditional faucet. The faucet will be a pot filler mounted on the sidewall with a 17" reach. The lower cabinet is a birch closet chest from Ikea which the drawers will be skinned in aluminum. The countertop is a birch finished butcherblock. Under the counter will be a trash can with a countertop drop through, and a grey water catch tank. The cooler will be on a slide out drawer that can be accessed with the swingout closed.

[rowerwet]

in hot weather the ice in the cooler lasts longer in the TV, with the air conditioning keeping cool on the outside.

[Woodbutcher]

My wife sewed me a cooler cover that helps alot. Even in very hot weather. Just made of fabric sewed around foil backed bubble wrap. Looks like this....

[kayakdlk]

Congratulations on the Minbago purchaser. When I saw this a while back I really liked the design and shape. I think covering in canvas as you mentioned would work great and be durable and waterproof. Any good two tone paint scheme would make it look nice. I liked the original owners red/white scheme, but any colors would work. I also like what you are planning for the galley. Hope it all works out for you

Dan

[Greg M]

It's great to see that GregB's project went to a good home. Have you tried the RV shops for wide aluminum? They usually have 104" wide coil stock.

[KCStudly]

Truck repair shops usually have the big aluminum on a roll. Any length you want, usually white.

[twinight]

I spent most of the weekend sanding down the exterior. Greg waterproofed every staple and joint with some hard sealant. Unfortunately it didn't leave a smooth finish. It took some effort even with a belt sander to knock it down. I ended up using joint compound to fill any low spots. While the left side required quite a bit of work, the right side was surprisingly smooth. A little more sanding and it will be ready for some canvas.


Here's the galley with the cabinet placed and the cooler fitted front-back. I removed the handle and the wheels to save space. The only question is whether the drain pipe will clear the edge of the cooler when the counter is swinging open and closed.


The only 50 qt cooler that had a <22" width was the coleman xtreme. While it advertised that it keeps ice for 5 days, the walmart reviews say otherwise because the lid is not insulated. I'm not sure if the black one sold at $60 is insulated or not, but I figured I can insulate the $30 walmart one myself. Hopefully it works as well as my igloo maxcold.

I guess in order to support an advertised 250lb sitting on the lid, they needed to gusset top to the bottom.


Some spray foam goes in first around the edges, wait for it to expand, the the first layer of XPS goes in.



Some more expanding foam and the second layer of XPS. I just need to find some thin plastic to finish it.

[mezmo]

Good to see that this build has gone to a new owner who appreciates
it and is finishing it out. There are some threads in the Foamie section
on covering with canvas and paint if you need any info.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo

[twinight]

My wife is still unconvinced on the painted canvas finish so I spent the weekend working on the galley.

It's 80% done. I still need to fur out the back wall behind the sink to install power and a pot-filler faucet. It still needs backsplash, upper cabinets and shelves. The gravity tank filler needs to be installed and hose runt to the tank.

Here is the galley closed.

And open for business.

[rowerwet]

canvas and porch paint work great mine has three years on it and still looks great

[jbyrd]

I really love the look of this trailer! I cant wait to see it finished after seeing how impressive your work on the galley turned out.

[twinight]

My wife is worried about the finish looking rough and bumpy. The overlapping seams at the edges would have to be covered with aluminum trim. I think its easier to ensure waterproofing than aluminum. Not to mention it's easier to trim to size and work around the corners.

I wanted to do a simple mural along the lines of this:

or this:


Or a pattern that transitions from one color to another.


Maybe a simplified version of a scene like this:

She likes the imagery from the Secret of the Kells.

[KCStudly]

I like the first image of the trees, but would use the purple tones from the second image of the mountains instead of the greens.

I think that would make a super paint job for a camper, and not too difficult to pull off, even for a novice. Great ideas!

Adding trim to canvas, with all of those fasteners penetrating thru, kind of defeats the idea of using the canvas in the first place, unless you can find vinyl trim and glue it on. Besides, what's the difference between a line of trim and a crisp canvas seam?

From what those who have done it have said, a couple of coats of paint on some nice #12 cotton duck cloth is all you need to get a nice surface; perhaps a little textured, but that helps hide imperfections and dirt. If you want it glass smooth, use block filler primer first, and block it out with an extra top coat or two.

Have you looked at Desert Moose's build? With a little extra attention to the application of the canvas you can achieve some very excellent results w/o trim.

$.02

[danlott]

If you are willing to do the work to apply canvas, then you should spend just a little extra money by going with epoxy and fiberglass. You should be able to get a really fine exterior finish, which could have a really nice painted design.

There are lots of videos on youtube about fiberglassing boats. It takes the same amount of work as the canvas does, should be more waterproof than canvas, will be a nicer finish and should have a higher resale value. I know a lot of people say they are not building to resale, but if you are going to put all the time and money into it you might as well build something that you can sale down the road.

Dan

[rowerwet]

compared to canvas, the glass adds much more weight. I've fiberglassed the whole bottom of boats before and found the weight gain amazing.
think of it this way, canvas is cotton, light weight, Fiberglass started life as sand, glass and sand are heavy. you could epoxy the canvas, or a much lighter weight fabric (bed sheet cotton). Personally the toxic nature, work time of epoxy, compared to paint, and the fact it needs a top coat for UV protection, not to mention the cost, are all negatives.
But the great part is, there are no wrong answers, if it works for you than it's all good.