"The X-Cubed" C.T.T.

[Kharn]

You think yours looks ridiculous? I can barely squeeze past my floor to get to the other end of the garage, I'm glad I bought an exterior keypad because once the trailer walls go up, I'll be stuck at one end or the other.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

What a great weekend to get some work done! I'm used to building in the middle of winter, so this warm weather was a welcome change!

Finished the roof framing and started on the interior ceiling panels. My friend Sheryl came over and did most of the puttying and sanding while I was figuring out and cutting panels. After using the orbital palm sander for about 5 minutes she complained that it wasn't really doing well at sanding. The sanding pad somehow fell off and she was trying to sand with the velcro base. After a short trip to Home Depot I had a replacement base and got her going again. She likes sanding with the sandpaper pads much better than the velcro base.



More interior panels... the framing in the front sloped wall/ceiling is to allow for a recessed LED strip on the inside, and above that there will be an acrylic window (about 6" x 46")





Should be ready for some interior paint and wiring this week!

Solar panels, cell-cast acrylic sheets, and subwoofer will be here today. Doors, hinges, and wheels will be here tomorrow. I'll head over to my friends garage on Wednesday to get tires put on them and also pick up the two Interstate RV/Marine batteries.

Regarding my 1/4" acrylic windows.... I'll have the two in the roof, the one at the rear of the trolley-top, and now the front one. The front one I'd like to frost somehow, to make it translucent. Ideas? My buddy suggested a sandblaster. But I don't own a sandblaster.

[Martiangod]

Frosted window film
you can get it at HD, Lowes or on Ebay
there are some plain ones or some real cool ones.
I did a bath window with one that looked like stained glass and trimmed the bath mirror with the same, lasted forever and didn't bubble.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/frosted-window-film

The trailer is looking great so far. Did having an under construction trailer help in selling the X-11? Being able to show them build
quality

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I wonder how that film would hold up on acrylic since its made for glass. Thermal expansion for acrylic is something like 8 times that of glass.

I don't know if them seeing the new trailer had any effect or not. After seeing the trailer on Craigslist they did some research and found the build thread on here so they knew what they were coming to look at. They were still pretty impressed with this new one.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I just Googled frosting acrylic and came up with this spray paint from Valspar... http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/find-the ... eview=true

Says for glass or plastic. Although it also says interior use only. It will be on the interior face of the plastic, but I wonder if its UV stable. Anyone have any experience with it?

[Kharn]

How much scrap acrylic do you have? The orbital sand with 400 grit paper (definitely not the velcro disk ) might work.
But a siphon blaster isn't that expensive, plus its great for small metal working projects. Wear a mask, welding gloves and goggles.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I don't think I'll have too much scrap. I bought enough acrylic for the roof and rear window, and then the front window was just added because I found out I'd have just enough left over to do it. My concern with sanding was getting a uniform appearance over the whole piece.

[Kharn]

I just Googled frosting acrylic and came up with this spray paint from Valspar... http://www.valsparpaint.com/en/find-the ... eview=true

Says for glass or plastic. Although it also says interior use only. It will be on the interior face of the plastic, but I wonder if its UV stable. Anyone have any experience with it?

The product info says it can be used to frost windows for privacy, so I would expect it to be UV stable. Since it works on both glass and plastic (and without restrictions on which plastic), it is the physical paint itself that blocks the light, not a physical (like sand blasting) or chemical (fluoric acid etching) change, so you would also be able to scrap it off and reapply it if needed. I suspect the previous homeowner used that stuff (or a similar product) on two of my bathroom windows, I'd always wondered how they managed to scrape the frosting off one of the pieces of glass, leaving a perfectly transparent section, but it has held up fine otherwise, no yellowing or other changes.

[capnTelescope]

You could try spraying the inside surface with Brake Cleaner. It attacks many plastics as a solvent and leaves a frosty surface. If it doesn't work, it'll be a good prep for the paint!

I've also used the film MartianGod suggested, with good results on a vertical glass window. Gravity might be working against you, though. It clings, rather than sticking on with adhesive.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Think I'll cut up my acrylic sheets to the sizes I need and try the Valspar. If that doesnt work, then I'll look check out some other options. Not sure about the brake cleaner though.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

I got the ceiling panels in the main roof section installed tonight. Also trimmed out the opening for the front window, the fan, and the two recessed LED housings. These will get RGB LED strips and frosted lenses to diffuse the light. The rear RGB strip will shine straight down through another piece of acrylic, into the galley.

[Kharn]

Slow. Down.



Have you thought about window coverings for your skylights? Camp Inn uses a piece of fabric mounted on two curtain tracks for their 560's sunroof, I thought that was a pretty cool solution when I was looking for design inspiration on their site.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Slow down?? Does not compute!! I have my goal set - first weekend in June, for the TearJerkers Boondocking gathering that I'm organizing.

Haven't quite gotten to the curtains yet. The screen ceiling provides an obstacle. It will be very similar to what camp-inn does, but probably with wooden dowels spanning from side to side.

Although I have been toying around with a new idea: instead of having a flat screen ceiling at the front roof section, I might make a screen wall kit that encloses the sides and front of the open roof. In my model, I adjusted the strut location closer to the hinge which opens the roof up a lot more. It would actually provide standing room to change, it would make latching the roof from the inside much easier, and it would make mounting the curtains much easier.

[Kharn]

Mounted dowels could work (dowels sliding in a track could be a problem due to the span and their ability to rack and fall out without an excessively deep channel), you might need a powerful sewing machine to deal with folding over the interior show fabric, plus the lining, plus the exterior show fabric (maybe use fabric paint or embroidery for your X design to show through the skylight when both the panel and curtain are closed?) to make the rod pockets.

The screen roof would be pretty cool. Stowing the screen neatly would be the biggest issue.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Mounted dowels could work (dowels sliding in a track could be a problem due to the span and their ability to rack and fall out without an excessively deep channel), you might need a powerful sewing machine to deal with folding over the interior show fabric, plus the lining, plus the exterior show fabric (maybe use fabric paint or embroidery for your X design to show through the skylight when both the panel and curtain are closed?) to make the rod pockets.

The screen roof would be pretty cool. Stowing the screen neatly would be the biggest issue.

I've just done two layer curtains before. One plain side, one decorative side. Well, my Mom has done them for me.

As far as stowing the screen, it would be be detachable so that it wasn't always just hanging there when the roof is closed.