4X8(ish) Benroy Build

[Wobbly Wheels]

Last night I cut away the tabs on the tongue box and had a look at the joints. The tabs worked like a charm - the lid stayed square to the box and it actually took longer to clear away the cut tabs and pull the pins out than it did to cut through them. In hindsight, I should have left the back off the box so I could reach in and clean the glue that squeezed out, but it wasn't too tough to cut out with a razor knife.

I started putting putty into the inside corners with a radiused scraper to create a bit of a fillet for the glass and to fill screw holes etc. With how stiff and light the lid turned out, I decided I'm not going to glass the inside at all, just primer and (bedliner) paint. I'll still glass around the outside of the battery box to seal it from the rest of the box and the lower corners and bottom to protect it should any water get in and sit there. Tonight I'll sand down the putty I laid in last night and I'll continue with wood filler instead of putty. There are a couple warts on the outside of the box that need to be addressed so they'll get filled but I think it's just about ready to glass. While I'm in town next week, I'll stop at my marine supplier and grab a chunk of 1 1/2" piano hinge for it and the battery compartment door and a latch for both, though I'm thinking just a polished stainless hasp and a padlock for the battery box in lieu of an actual catch. The lift handle will match the one for the galley hatch and is one of the salvage ones I posted earlier. This thing is coming together...in my head at least !

Last night's progress.

[KCStudly]

Looks like good progress to me!

[Vedette]

Good Work Brian!
Do you not have a Home depot close to you for that piano hinge? Probably Much Cheaper!!
You look like you are going to make it for this season.
Keep inspired!

[Wobbly Wheels]

Thx guys, you're good for my ego !

I figure the Farm Gathering will be its first long trip but I want to do a few shorter ones closer to home to work out any bugs. I'm motivated to git 'er done but weather and other stuff is keeping me from taking the big steps I need to to move forward (glassing). Almost any day now, the weather should break here and we'll be into spring with reliably warm temps...but the waiting is a bit frustrating. I tried getting a heater under the tarp last night but by the time it warmed up it was time for bed. On Saturday, I'll turn it on first thing and should be good to go by lunchtime.

No, there's no HD or anything here - we've got Timb-R-Mart and Home Hardware affiliates but all anyone here carries are the zinc plated hinges...which don't do well outside given how wet it is here. With my account, a 6' length of 1-1/2" stainless hinge is only about $15 so it's about the same as buying the plated one at retail. Trouble is, they are a shipping bill or a $70 ferry away so I have to take advantage of it when I'm going to be in the neighbourhood.
I have a busted leaf in the truck so I'm picking up a pair of springs at the wrecker's while I'm there as well. They're about $200 for the pair, but the shipping quote I got was $80 so again, while I'm in the neighborhood I'll be picking them up. My course wraps up at noon on Friday and that will be the busiest afternoon of the week with all the running around I'll be doing !

I've been talking to the local NAPA affiliate and have lined up the hubs for the trailer as well. It came with the 4 on 4" hubs for the little 8" wheels as popups do. I will be putting on 5 on 4-1/2" hubs to match the truck. I just need to pull 'em off to see whether my spindle is 1" or 1-1/8". Now that I know I can get them, I can measure out the clearance and start designing the fenders. I'm incorporating a step/rail under the door with fittings to match the galley and tongue box handles and will have racks for a couple extra water cans as well. Stay tuned !

[Vedette]

What kind of truck do you have that has 5 on 4 1/2" ?????
Brian

[KCStudly]

Ford Ranger, IIRC?

[Wobbly Wheels]

Yep, it's a Ranger. That bolt circle's just off the top of my head (I'll be confirming that before I order) I need to take a couple measurements anyway to see if I'm ordering hub spacers as well...but that's a job for another day.

[Wobbly Wheels]

I got the tongue box lid glassed today, as well as the battery box to seal it from the storage area.
I also got some filler onto the hatch to prep it for glass but haven't sanded it yet. It was definitely too cool to glass outside today (hence the indoor work) and I probably won't get any time to tomorrow so it looks like no more build progress till I get back next weekend.

I'll get some pics after the resin kicks off...

[Vedette]

You got more done than I did!
Started out like a house on fire(then got hit by the fire hose).....ended up dropping everything for a trip into Princess Auto for some parts???? And that pretty much killed the rest of the day.
Now it is time to pick up Sandi from work...then you know how that goes.
What must a man do to get quality time in on his trailer?????

[Wobbly Wheels]

Yeah, I don't know...I usually get into a groove when I'm doing stuff like this but I just wasn't feeling it today.
The little I did get done I felt like I was fighting it the whole time. I took another bite today but that's all it was.

I'll come back to it fresh next weekend and hopefully the weather will cooperate.

[Wobbly Wheels]

....'cause glass jokes never get old

Ever notice how, no matter how much you enjoy a trip, that first sleep back in your own bed is sheer bliss ?
I slept like a log last night after a week in a hotel bed and woke up recharged and eager to pounce on the trailer first thing. Fortunately, it was freakishly warm this morning - about 12 degC at 10am. I finished sanding a bit of filler I had put into the hatch skin and got some glass on it. I ran the first layer across with its long edge along the hinge edge which, given the 38" width of the cloth, brought the bottom edge a little above the horizontal seam in the outer skin. I ran a 12" wide strip along that seam and then put the lower piece on from the bottom up. To help keep it stiff while it cures, I ran the glass down off the skin and onto the perimeter framing at the bottom. After it kick off and I'm removing the hatch, I'll cut the glass along that line and see if it 'pops'....which would suggest a twist I need to deal with before taking off the hatch to finish glassing it on the inside. For those following along at home, here's where we're at:



I had another little glassing job to do this morning: the other door skin.

With the bit of resin I had left over, I started tabbing the inside corners where the ribs meet the inside of the skin. I am thinking about mounting a shovel and jackall to the lid and/or I may want to stand on it to access the roof racks, so I am going to glass it inside and out. I picked up the 6' of 1-1/2" SS piano hinge for the lid hinge and battery box hinge (and probably door hinges) while I was in town, along with the new 4-leaf springs for the truck. I don't want to tow (or even load the truck) until I replace them.

The next step is to glass the tongue box and get the pigmented resin color coat onto everything. Fortunately, that's all stuff I can do in the evenings at the shop or under a tarp on sawhorses if need be.

Definitely took a big bite out of that elephant today !

[Wobbly Wheels]

I guess the first thing to cover is the new car - we picked up a new Escape a week ago Tues. It's got a tow capacity of 2000 lbs and 240 hp from a 2.0 litre - fun to drive.
The 2.3 in my 20 year old Ranger made less than half of that when it was new and it came with a tow capacity of zero. We're getting a hitch put on it but I cant see towing anything more with it than this trailer: that's not what it's for. You can see in the background that I still have the Ranger. Now that I'm not racking up the miles commuting in it, I can take care of some of the maintenance & repairs it needs (leaf springs, tranny, etc). I will probably get it back to reliability and then replace it - I wouldn't be comfortable selling it to anyone as it sits now.
Gratuitous car shot:


After ten years of mutual agreement with the neighbours I'm about to lose the parking space where you see the car, truck and trailer. The new owners need the space and, since most of it is on their side of the property line, it's their prerogative. I've got an alternative lined up to happen this weekend so I probably won't make much progress on the trailer, so let's catch up to where it sits now.....

I got the rest of the rest of the tongue box glassed and the inside of the hatch frames tabbed to the skin:


I got the galley corners tabbed in:

From here I can build out the cabinets as needed, though I am going to hold off on that until I've used it a couple times and have a better idea of what I want.
The remaining rolls of mat are to do the horizontal corners on the inside and to do the wall-to-roof corner from front to back.

Tonight I rough-sanded the glass and got the grey resin on by literally the last light of the fading sun. It's supposed to start raining again, bringing an end to the bright sunshine we've had (that's been great for glassing !)

Except for the doors (the parts are done, some assembly required) everything is ready to start going together. If the neighbours aren't in too much of a hurry, that will happen this weekend....but I doubt it.

I renewed the trailer insurance last weekend so it's good to go into storage until I get the hitch installed on the car and can drag it home to work on it on the weekends. With Brian's (Vedette) Farm Gathering coming up in July, the trailer looks like it'll be 'done' but it'll be a push to have the truck ready for a road trip.

Lastly, after testing out an LED panel from an eBay seller a while back, I bought ten more of them to make up some light fixtures or adapt existing ones.

These things will turn pretty much anything into a light fixture. Whatever I use, it will need a way to dissipate the LED's heat. It gets warm, but nowhere near what a halogen gets to.

[Vedette]

Brian
You might want to start towing with your new Escape?? Since we bought Sandi\s Santa Fe, she would rather we travel and tow with it, than our 46 Studebaker PU. She likes the air, cruise, stereo, rear hatch, and , and , and????? I like the gas milage ....better than double!
Glad to hear you are still moving forward.
Brian

[JaggedEdges]

ended up dropping everything for a trip into Princess Auto for some parts???? And that pretty much killed the rest of the day.

Heh heh, yup I can kill a day by getting in the vicinity of a Princess Auto also. Aladdin's cave/candy store for the mechanically minded for sure.

[ibbowhunting]

So, tonight I figured I'd round up what framing lumber I had and start making some sawdust while the other stuff dries out a bit.

I got the section forward of the door laid out, including the window (which will be on only one side) The idea is that I can use this as a master frame and just duplicate it for the other side, adding things like the AC inlet etc as needed. Piece of cake, right ? We'll see....

This is where I got to - nothing's glued up yet.




Now, these are my options for hatches: the one is a marine hatch that I need to get a replacement window for (about $30) and the other is a solid aluminum hatch that is ready to go, short of riveting the hinge back on and some paint.

I'm thinking I want to use the aluminum hatch, cut out the center ring, and use some marine glazing adhesive to glue in a piece of plexi...but I dunno yet...

what are the clamps your using in the picture? they look like abs/pvc pipe