Conch Fritter Woodie - Finally gets its topsides painted!

[daveesl77]

Conch Fritter took her second road test trip today. She has her "wings" installed and the door handles and the galley door, so we could actually get up to some speed. At 60 you don't know it is behind the truck. Even though not balanced yet, it tows dead straight behind, essentially no wiggle at all. I guess we got the trailer pretty square when we built it. Still have to stain the trim, add in the circles and wing lines and then varnish. Stain will be a golden oak. Then build the bottom trim and boxes. And of course the door trim.



Showing off her wings. The external galley area is just now in the beginning stages of completion. The small, curved areas at each end of the bottom back will be covered with cedar. Then the galley hatch will be covered with an aluminum sheet. The hatch flips down and is supported on the cedar bumper (not installed yet) and acts as a support and swivel for the actual galley boxes, which get installed tomorrow. In the center, flat area, will be be the cut-out of the door scallop, which will be the license plate holder. The tail lights and turn signals I'm still designing, but they will be LEDs and will probably be recessed into the lower curves



dave

[KCStudly]

Almost done now and looking very sharp!

[daveesl77]

Thank you so much for your comments. Well, I'm a long way from done, but it is getting closer. It should be ready for the road trip at the end of the month, but there will be a number of "finishin'" things that won't be done. May or may not have all the inside trim done. Probably won't have the "pirate chest" tongue box built, but will have the aluminum base installed. LED lights might be on temporary mounts as the wood mounts I want to make probably won't get made in time. My duct blowers i got in yesterday took a dump today, so going back to my original idea of using computer fans. But, the galley will be in operation, as will all the water systems and the new mattress is supposed to get in on Tuesday. Inside cabinet doors should be painted and installed next week, but might not get the library rails up for the shelving. Also probably won't get the inside top shelves built and installed, but hey, I've got all the time in the world! I just want to get CAMPING!!!! oh, and see grandson graduate HS. Daughter and Son-in-Law dropped by yesterday on their way back to Ft. Campbell and she really liked it. I think he now wants to build one.



dave

[Atomic77]

I really like the wings Dave! You've built an heirloom... Very nice work. Sorry your fans took a dump but when you're the designer, builder, R&D department... That's just how it goes! As someone on this forum told me a while back, I did it the first time according to plan, then the second time according to reality!

[daveesl77]

Got the galley cabinets fully working in the slide-in/out/ rotate modes. Got the bed frame support/cabinets built and would have had the bed frame completed today but realized I was one sheet of plywood short, so a tomorrow thing.

NOW, while doing the side cabinets under the bedframe, the parts on the outside of where the galley components ride, I came to a revelation! When the galley components are pulled out, why I could have a 3' x 6' open area. It made a nice bench settee but then the full idea hit. What if I put in one of those small RV bathtubs in the open area. YEAH! I mean, what other 5x8 camper has a bathtub?! I was so excited, then my wife did her normal thing and shot down the whole idea...phhhttt. So, while I still have my exterior shower/toilet and she has her interior toilet if wanted, I can't have a bathtub in a teardrop. I am dejected and must now drink a beer .

On the reality side of life, our mattress showed up today, as did a few incidentals. Next 2 days should be the finish out of the bedframe and complete galley system. Pulled down my 3 x 5 aluminum base I've been saving for years just to build the tongue box with. I'm going to hate cutting it down, but it will be perfect for this build. Regina got the interior cabinet doors finished and wait until you see them, I think they are so cool! Probably get them mounted tomorrow too.

Almost done except for the finishin'

dave

[daveesl77]

Ok, so maybe it isn't the smartest thing in the world to build a bumper and primary support arms from 2x6 cedar, but I like the look and yes I know it will not withstand a crash. So, am I nuts or have others done this?

In this pic I'm just test fitting it. I did mount it today and jumped up and down on it while having the trailer fully supported on stabilizers (so no give from the trailer). I weigh 220 and it did fine. Support members are through bolted to the frame, then 3/16" x 5" steel L brackets double mount it to the floor, through bolted. All bolts are 5/16 and 3/8.



dave

[Atomic77]

I think it looks great Dave...definitely appropriate for your build.

[daveesl77]

Galley hatch is finished and installed. Still have to add on the latches. On the left and right sides (curved areas), this will be curved aluminum sheet with the spiffy, modified tail lights set into them.



The hatch is 3/4" ply, covered with a 1/8" thick sheet of aluminum, hammer finished then cedar strips over that. I went with all dark cedar on this due to the variations I did on the sides and the bumper colors. The weather sealing strips I made from 2" EPDM. These slide against aluminum angle. I did a leak test using my pressure washer, nothing got in. Having the galley hatch recessed and on the downward curve should pretty much negate any leak problems. All wood is coated with rubberized paint and will then be covered with thin aluminum sheeting. All wood ends are covered with silicone, then the paint, then the aluminum.



Also got the "C" channel installed. There will be thin strips of cedar over the flat aluminum part. Channel is both screwed and glued and all screw holes are filled with silicone. The bottom channel will hold the cover for the galley opening when the galley is pulled out. Top C channel will hold a linking piece of fabric between the camper and the ez up canopy. Oh, and got the first set of RGB lights on this wing. They look so cool at night. And yes, the wiring hanging out will be hidden, that was just for the test. The RGB lets me "dial in" any color or brightness I want. Yellow bug light - bright white - CHRISTMAS COLORS!!! I'll do a photo tonight to show it off.



dave

[daveesl77]

Here is the galley, fully open. These photos were done before I added in the sink faucet and the on demand hot water heater.



Triton 5L on demand water heater hangs next to the stove, behind the stove cabinet. There is 11 feet of counter top. I'll be covering the stove top counter with aluminum sheet.



Sink flips over. Stove flips back and shelf comes out. I'll be adding an aluminum wind break that folds around the stove. The water heater stores in the cabinet next to the sink. There are also some additional supports for the sink box.



Everything folds back up for storage. There are 3 opening cabinets, each is 16 x 16 x 16. Two have forward facing doors, top has an opening lid. Temporary storage is also under the stove and in the compartment next to the sink.



Here it is being rotated and slid back into its travel mode.



Slides in and out with a small amount of force, just enough. I did not put the bearings I originally planned, as it slides easy enough as is. I did put an 1/8 sheet of plexi on the floor, under the cabinets, which aids in movement and keeping down the scratches. I sat on the stove cabinet without the least problem and I weigh 220.



Changes I will do later - cut the cabinets down by 1" in height. I cut my tolerances too close with this and I'm just able to get them in and out, would like a little room to spare. Still not sure if I like the "home made look" on the hinges , but I may well change them all over to hide aways later. Will build a real track for the cabinets. Presently they pull out and rotate fairly easily, but a control track would make it lots easier and more secure during the transition. By reducing the height I can put in fold up support legs instead of having them removable as they are now.

dave

[KCStudly]

Pretty nifty!

[daveesl77]

Conch Fritter is almost ready for the "dance"



Bumper mounted, skirts are on, galley door on, trailer lights installed! We want the art deco look, so added in screws in the aluminum and on the cedar to look like rivets. You can't really see it from this angle, but the aluminum is curved




She is now getting ready to get hit with a massive thunderstorm. Took down the canopy as want to see how she does in full-tilt-boogy mode. And yes, we have hand polished the aluminum sheet to a brushed level. It used to be part of an industrial aluminum shelf system, so it was in pretty bad shape, but after a lot of hours it has come out pretty good. Not mirror finish, but we did not want that.



And yes, the Wiley Windows will be open during this entire storm. Want to see if it leaks anywhere



Regina got the screens made for the windows, these are great! Still need to make the aluminum trim for the doors and the rear curve area between the wings and skirt and put the cedar over the C channel



Tongue box is on, but by no means finished. When we get back we'll convert it into a "pirate Chest". There will be an aluminum sheet across the front of the camper, from just above the box to the base, you can kind of see the demarcation line on the canvas. On the top will be another "c" channel covered by cedar, covering the transition from EPDM to canvas



Almost done except the "finishin'"

dave

[KCStudly]

She sure is "pose 'n"!

[capnTelescope]

That fold-up galley is just slicker 'n whale snot!

Great build you got going there, Dave. You can almost smell the campfire.

[OP827]

She has a character, and she's so cute! . I just almost missed the kitchen, wow, this is neat!

[noseoil]

Dave, a labor of love & a job well done. It really looks nice with all the trim & finish work you've managed to think about. The galley cabinets look like they came out of a Harry Potter movie! Now it's time to get on the road & put some miles on. Do you have an all-up weight now that you're (nearly) finished?