CNC Build: The Bed and Breakfast at 4 years and 40,000 miles

[capnTelescope]

Registration Day(three)
Called Investigator X, got the voice mail, left my name & number. Didn't return my call.

Registration Day (four)
Went back to the Assessor's office. Asked for a one-trip permit. My new best friend, S, asked if I wanted a 30 day permit for the low, low price of $25 cash. Yes! I'm legal for LCG IX!


Came to a bridge, burned it, toasted marshmallows.

[Sheddie]

Good news Brad. Have a good trip and don't forget to tell us all about it.
Frank

[capnTelescope]

There it is, in all it's glory. First campsite, first time slept in, just about any other "first" you can think of.

Things went pretty smoothly. The biggest annoyance was a short circuit that left the porch lights on almost the entire drive up there. I pulled fuses when I got there, and fixed what I thought was 2 wires touching at one of the wall switches the next day. Everything behaved when I put the fuses back in. The biggest nail-biter was that I didn't have my license plate light hooked up. I thought I was going to get there before dark, but nooooo. Google maps way underestimated the drive time. So I was driving in the dark with an unlit paper plate. No one seemed to care enough to say something, though.

My first night in the Tear, I discovered a major ergonomic mistake. I can't reach the light switch while laying in bed. It's not that it's too high. It is on the wrong side of the door, so I have to sit up to reach the switch. There is no fix that doesn't include exposed wiring. I'm just going to have to live with it. I will remember this for the "Next Build."

Everything else went smoothly up until time to go home. I hitched up and hooked up and ... you guessed it, the porch lights were on again. All switches off, both porch lights on. It's likely a grounding thing. The light's bases are internally grounded and contact the skin. This could get interesting. I think I can rewire the light circuits from switched ground to switched positive without major surgery.

Things to add:
A porch light on the front would be nice, as the tongue is in total darkness even with the side lights on. Luckily, I had my trusty railroad lantern with me for a quick fix,

but a serious light would help with hooking up in the dark. I can use the reading light circuit for this.

The door thresholds are not a wide flat, but rather are a thin vertical piece of metal that digs into the back side of my thighs. I think I'll add a board on the inside with the edge even height with the door threshold. Should reduce the digging in thing.

Oh! I almost forgot. The LCG IX gathering was great fun, and a good time was had by all. At least, no one got pissed off and left early. Read all about it in this thread. Plus bonus LCG pix on my photobucket.

[KCStudly]

Well look at you, all out there camping and having fun.

I struggled with the decision to put the porch and dome light switches on the hinge side or latch side of my doors. On the latch side (away from the pillows) my thought is that you can open the door from outside and reach in more easily to turn the lights on, but you would have to sit up from the inside to use them. If they were on the hinge side you would have to open the door more and reaching in for the light would be slightly more effort. This is why in regular home construction light switches are typically on the opening side of a door. So I decided to do it this way on my build. My rationale was also based on the fact that the pillow/reading lights are within easy reach while laying down, so I will just need to get in the habit of turning the pillow light on and shutting the dome and porch lights off before laying down.

Thanks for the tip about lights in the tongue area. Never gave that a thought. Based on your experience, I think I will add a nice bright light on the under side of my tongue box lid. Since my electrical distribution will be located there, it will be an easy add, and the light can be used for both the TB and for night time hookups. Maybe even have a micro switch to turn the light on with the lid opening.

All in all it sounds like you had a good trip!

[tony.latham]

Brad:

I'm glad to see her out in the trees.


Issues? Even the navy does shake-down cruises. Generally more than one.

"The door thresholds are not a wide flat, but rather are a thin vertical piece of metal that digs into the back side of my thighs." How thick is your mattress? Doesn't it sit up high enough to alleviate that problem?

The high here tomorrow is supposed to be 45º. Time to long-jon up and take the steelhead rod for a swing. I think the cover is going on the teardrop soon. Enjoy your camping weather down there.

Tony

[capnTelescope]

Well look at you, all out there camping and having fun.

Thank you! It was a welcome break from the hectic-ness of the last minute preparations.

and

I'm glad to see her out in the trees.

And thank you! You and me both, Bro.

I struggled with the decision ...

I used the exact same rationale, and just hated it the first time I wanted to turn on a light in the dark. It's a small door, and easy to open all the way from the outside, so... . Next time, I'll do it the other way. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

How thick is your mattress? ...

I'm going the memory foam route. It squishes when you sit/lay/stand on it.

Thanks for stopping by!

[Sheddie]

Hi Brad,
Good to see you had a mostly trouble free maiden voyage and that the issues you did find were all minor.
How did it tow? I bet the Toyota didn't even know it was there.
Frank

[Martiangod]

Always feels good to get it out in the trees to see what it really looks like.
A great moment in a long build, Always a few bugs on the shakedown, its inevitable no matter how much you plan or don't plan....|Bravo

[bc toys]

Glad you got down there to LCG it was one of my favorite gatherings hope to come to it again some day thanks for sharing your pics they are great it was nice seeing some of the people that I befriended while down there

[capnTelescope]

How did it tow?

Well, the Taco definitely knew it was back there. Gas mileage dropped from the usual 18 down to 15 MPG (approx 6.4 km/L ?). Sustainable speed was another issue. The Taco seemed pretty happy at 65 mph, but trying to do 70 or 75 mph resulted in many more instances of downshifting on the "hills" of East Texas. When I say "hill," I'm talking roughly the same slope as a freeway overpass. OTOH, the trailer followed obediently, and didn't shake or push the truck. I expect that once I get the A/C and propane bottle in the tongue box, it'll behave even better. Stopping distances were also longer, but not dangerously so. Gotta get the brakes hooked up!

I also noticed that the trailer suspension was plenty stiff. There was plenty of evidence that the trailer contents were well shaken, not stirred. I shouldn't have let the guy talk me into the 3500# axle over the 2000# one. Oh well. Maybe it'll loosen up with som mileage.

Overall, it was about what I expected, and I'm not complaining. I didn't expect perfection.

...|Bravo

Thank you Chris. It was a really good feeling to take the Tear out on the road and actually sleep in it.

[capnTelescope]

Glad you got down there to LCG

Meee too! It was good fun, good people, good eats and good drinks. This was my first gathering, but definitely not my last. There was plenty of room for one more. The campground was about 2/3 full.

[Kharn]

You could use a 12v remote like Zach did on his X-III: Build thread
For lighting around the campsite outside the area of the porch lights, we use these drop lights.
The cords are 20' and they're really bright, we didn't even set up the propane lantern on our camping trip.

[S. Heisley]

Congratulations! You were smart to take your maiden voyage as soon as you could. It allows you to find things that you might want to adjust now, before everything is completely done and sealed up. I think Zach (absolutsnwbrdr) used a remote control light in one of his builds. This is what I could find; but, with this information, you could contact him, if you're interested. search.php?keywords=remote&t=58625&sf=msgonly

You must've been the first one in camp. In the picture, I don't see anybody around your trailer, which is unusual. First trip, first sleep-in, first camping, first meals in galley.... What a treat, to have so many "firsts"!

[capnTelescope]

You could use a 12v remote like Zach did on his X-III

Coming soon.

we use these drop lights...

Oooo! I like. Also good for after dark car repair, etc.

Congratulations!

Thank you, Sharon. We hadn't heard from you here, yet. Welcome. I was afraid all the "boy talk" about CNC & stuff had scared you away.

You must've been the first one in camp. In the picture, I don't see anybody around your trailer, which is unusual.

First one Friday morning. When I was giving tours, I was too occupied to take pix.

Someone at LCG asked me about my Yeti cooler. It was another in a long list of firsts, so I didn't know. As of this morning (Tuesday), there was still ice and ice cold beer in the cooler. Breakfast of Champions!

Yeti gets the capnTelescope Seal of Approval.

All in all, the shakedown trip was a big success, meeting Teardroppers, finding bugs and seeing other Tears.

[aggie79]

Hi Brad,

Looks like you had a great maiden voyage! Your teardrop looks fantastic. I'm sorry that we missed LCG.

I don't have a porch light per se - I have LEDs on the bottom of the TD that give it a ground effects look - but I put the outside and interior lighting rocker switches in the foot board cabinet. It is an easy reach when lying down. I don't have a good picture of them, but in the picture below you see the radio and DVD cubby hole in the middle of the three cabinet doors. Below it is a flip down drawer front which conceals the pull-out 19" TV. On either side of the drawer front are the two sets of two rocker switches.



Take care,
Tom