Tucson tortoise: Edit for photos

[noseoil]

Took the day off work yesterday & started doing a mock-up of the galley. Here's the beginning of the location for some basic stuff. The inverter will be located next to the battery box, on the bulkhead behind the cooler. Stove/oven combo goes to the left of the cooler.


Cooler & battery box shown, wiring goes up behind the cooler and into the electrical chase from the corner hole in the deck. Chase is on the front-bed side of the bulkhead, below the cabinets. Still need to buy an inverter, no heavy current draws, but 1500 watt inverter is planned, just in case I need it. Open to suggestions on brand, type, features, etc. if anyone has one in mind from experience. I've never used one & would appreciate your input. Figure I can make coffee or run a drill if necessary.


Finally, here's the breather penetration on the passenger side for the battery box. The horizontal frame web is the galley counter support. The extra hole above & to the right of the breather is actually for the opposite (driver's) side shore power inlet. I routed them into both sides to be safe until I decided. The two "X" marks on the left of the web are the location of the dowel joint where the plywood was originally fastened & glued together, prior to cutting. It was plenty strong enough until the 1/8" interior skin was glued in place. I'm still amazed at how many things have to fit together, for all of this to work and function properly. Feels good to be working again and making slow progress!


Vents for galley electrical & chase. As usual, the router & flush-cut bit comes in handy for repetitive cuts, where more than one thing needs to be done & replicated. The galley bulkhead showing the cut-out for the power supply, shelves, cd location & panels which will be in place later.

[Sheddie]

Hi Tim, progress is progress. You are going well! I take it that the sides and bulkhead are now attached.
Can't help much on the inverter side, haven't had a lot to do with them myself either. Main thing is to look at the power consumption of whatever you want to plug in. Things like toasters and electric jugs often draw quite a bit (toaster 1200w - 1500w, jug 2000w - 2500w) That's on our 240v system in NZ, I don't know how that compares to your 110v.

[noseoil]

Hi Frank, no it isn't assembled yet, it's just a mock-up at this point of what will happen later on. I'm still working out a bunch of details for locations & possible layouts prior to the build. Since I'm limited on space, I set things up to look at different parts, then knock it down & ponder a bit more. I won't do a real assembly until I have the cabinets complete and can start the actual build. I'd rather take it slow & easy than have to start tearing things apart due to errors.

Since I'm very busy at work, it's a pleasure to be able to work slowly & carefully without a deadline & pressure.....

[noseoil]

Still playing with the galley. Here's the counter 110v outlet, battery power disconnect switch & the lights etc. for the galley. This panel will be just on top of the counter. The access for the PD 4045 & charging station is above this panel, closer to the top shelf.


With the stuff in place.

[noseoil]

Made a few electrical boxes today, had some other stuff to do this morning first, it was a busy day. There are two types of boxes, one for the charging port, the other for lighting. Time consuming for such little stuff, but the detail work will make it worthwhile in the end.

The charging ports will have switches on them, so I don't have too much blue light for sleeping. They could also serve as night lights in the cabin, but we'll have to see how much light they throw. The duplex switch box will do interior lighting & the outside porch lights (one per side at the door). All in all a good day, but it's back to work tomorrow.

[noseoil]

Sanded, put a coat of stain on the boxes, sprayed a little urethane, put in the switches & did some preliminary wiring for the boxes. The copper has a scotch-bright finish, with urethane to keep it from oxidizing & turning blue over time. The two switch boxes for the inside & porch lighting mount on the walls by the doors, the charging ports (USB) are for the headboard area. They will mount against the side walls where I will have an open shelf for keys, phones, glasses, etc.

Here's how they look with my "test battery" in place & the switch in the "on" position. Had to charge the battery again, so I took it for a ride on errands this afternoon. I just plug it into the cigarette lighter and let the alternator do the work. Figure it's just like the charging circuit for the trailer when on the road. Crawling along as usual on the build, but fun to see the little stuff adding up and coming together.

[dales133]

Nice work, always good to see differnt ideas

[KCStudly]

Very nice!

[kayakdlk]

I like the boxes. Nice job

Dan

[39Ratrod]

Those boxes look amazing! Love the copper. Where did you source the copper sheets?

[noseoil]

There's an outfit here in Tucson (Phoenix & California as well) called Industrial Metal Supply. They sell aluminum, brass, steel, angle, sheet stock, round, ingots, you name it. They have a small area with off-cut copper sheets, just small stuff from some manufacturer, but it's big enough to make the cover plates for the trailer. It's an amazing place, you can get lost in there looking at the variety. Great prices too.

All aluminum profiles are sold by the pound, so it's a good deal if they have it in stock. They don't have the trim I need for skinning, but do have some other stuff I can use for bits & pieces as I build.

Started work on the galley cabinets today. Here's the center section tacked together & the glue is now drying. The big opening in the top panel is the power panel for the PD4045, above that is the CD player opening & 2 charging/power outlets (-12v & 1-USB). The lower recessed panel is for 110v, switches for the outlets & lighting, & the battery disconnect switch is the round hole in the center. Work tomorrow again, ugh.....

[noseoil]

Roughed in the galley cabinet. Need to putty, sand & finish now, but the galley upper, footboard & headboard are coming together. Here's the galley so far.


The footboard. I scribed the top to fit the contour of the headliner, so it will make a good tight joint. Did one panel first for a fit, then used the router to copy the pattern. Once a panel has the profile, it will lay up against the headliner like it grew there & support the 1/8" panel. The large center opening is for the TV. Wiring will be behind this panel in the bulkhead (the back of the galley & PD4045). Cabinet bodies are all 1/2" baltic birch, face frames are 4/4 alder.


Here's the head board. The large top/center opening will be for the AC unit. The lower face panel, covering the mattress, will be for storage of stuff we don't need to access very often. Handy to have a bit more space for odds & ends (we keep literature, spare bulbs & stuff there now.)

[noseoil]

Just a couple more detail shots from today. Sanding, putty & a shelf or two mostly. Here's the charging port as it will be when it's installed.


Here's another shot of the headboard, showing the lofting profile at the headliner. Same basic treatment as the footboard cabinet, cut one to fit & then trim the others with the router & flush-cut bit to match. Snug fit at the headliner once it's done.

[luscombe]

I was just looking over some build logs as I get back onto my trailer build when I saw your project. If it iis not too late, you might look at getting a good welder to redo some of the welds on your frame. They are very "cold" and have little strength. You might also look at adel clamps used on aircraft to secure your conduit and wiring to the frame. They will make neater job. Good luck with your project

[noseoil]

If this is one of the cold welds you're referring to in the frame pictures, it's the 3/8" thick spacer sitting on top of the frame to pad things out for a flush deck. Looks like the person who ran this bead wasn't the one who built the frame (an afterthought perhaps?). The welds on the frame itself were very well done & finished. Even the fenders & light brackets were properly attached and plenty strong. Some of the stuff on the trailer was added by a third party. I had some of it cut off and replaced if it wasn't done very well, but there's always room for improvement.


The clamps I used were just the regular hangers for 1/2" pipe from a commercial supplier. While they're a bit ugly, they're strong enough to do the job & were very cheap. I don't have access to any aircraft stuff anymore, or they would have been a good choice for the build. I like the ability to adjust these hangers as the 3/8" threaded rod can be altered for length by turning the clamp. Once the pipe is in place, they can't go anywhere, simple & effective. Thanks for mentioning these to me, I appreciate the feedback. best, tim