A2 Escape Pod

[mclanem]

So its been a long road. I have been thinking about building a teardop for years. Its taken me that long to get my wife on board. I got the itch real bad this past spring and I finally got her on board enough to really start planning. The plan was originally to start building around Memorial day with the hope that we could be using it this fall. Then life went sideways when I lost my job earlier this spring. It wasn't really a bad thing, and I recovered VERY quickly and I am in a much better place now, but it did mean that we put off starting the camper build for a couple months.

Well, today I finally started. Yesterday when I got out of work I came home, picked up my wife, and we headed to Harbor Freight to pick up the trailer. Of course when I took the slip up to the register she said that they didn't have any and I was very disappointed to say the least. I asked if she could order it but she said I should go home and order it online. This morning I went to order it and found the shipping was going to be $94, adding about 30% to the bill. So, I started calling around and the first person I talked to said that NO store in Michigan had the super duty trailer I wanted. I couldn't believe it. I when and looked at Northern Tools but at the end of the day, including shipping, it was going to cost twice that of the Harbor Freight trailer, which of course was the reason I was going with HF in the first place. Then I realized that there are two entries for that trailer on their site with different part numbers. So I called back to HF and found that if I gave them the other part number, suddenly they had it in stock and I was able to go pick it up today.

Progress so far. I got the main body of the trailer assembled minus the axle and wheels. My plan is to paint it all black enamel and then finish putting it together. The star of todays work was my impact driver with a bit so I could have a socket on it. That make screwing in all those bolts quick and tight.





Costs so far:
- Trailer - 295.99
- Trailer Jack - 24.99
- Paint Gun - 9.99
- Running total - $330.97

Question ... how much should I sand the frame before I paint it with black enamel? Do I need to take it all the way to bare metal, none, or just a quick rough up?

*Changed the title to reflect my current name for the trailer. The name may change again if my wife comes up with something else.

[mclanem]

Oh, one other thing. I am looking for a good name for my camper. I was originally thinking it should be the Escape Pod, but I worry that its a bit overdone. Then I thought of the McScape Pod because my name is McLane and I do that kinda thing some times. My wife didn't like it however because it reminds her of McDonalds.

We will see.

[booyah]

We all start somewhere. My advice, let the wife name it :-) gets her invested early!

I did that with the kids.

If you need inspiration let a guy know, I'm over in Lansing


Best of luck!

[Jack Olsen]

Scuff it with Scotch-Brite pads or sandpaper. Wipe it down with acetone. Paint it.

There, I saved you some work. But now...

Consider using the same impact driver to pull those nuts back off and add a drop of red Loctite to each one so all that vibration over all those years doesn't loosen up the frame.

[mclanem]

I was going to paint over the nuts with the enamel paint for that reason. Wont that be enough, or do I need more?

[mclanem]

Took some time this morning to rough up the paint with sand paper and a wire brush. After looking around last night on the forums I am thinking of extending the tongue 18". My understanding is that it would make backing up easier, and I would have a bit more room for that tongue box I would kinda like. If I am going to extend the tongue, I should do that before painting. The main hurdle is finding the steal beam to do it. I will have to go look into that.

[KCStudly]

There is a green "wicking" grade loctite that you can put on post assembly. Works great.

[mclanem]

Week days are busy but I have started painting the trailer. I think I am going to worry about extending the tongue later if at all. Got a few cans of flat black rustoleum spray paint and gave the trailer a coat. I have yet to flip it and paint the other side but that should be bad.

Spray Paint - $19.93
Running Total - $350.90



Next steps:

- Finish assembling trailer so I can get it off the saw hourses.
- Floor and basement.

[rebapuck]

You are off and running. Before you know it you will be hiding that running total.

[mclanem]

I hope not. When I was planning my trailer I tried to put together a reasonable budget so see how much it might cost, something my wife was asking me. I had to do some guess work and looking around to find numbers for various pieces. I hope that by posting my running costs someone else will have an easier time. And it just occurred to me that I could put links when I order things online. They might not be good forever but they will be for a while.

Today I plan to flip the trailer and finish painting at a minimum. If I can I will head to the store to get wood for the floor and start putting that together. I did just order stabilizer jacks off eBay to put under the galley. They should arrive sometime next week.

Stabalizer Jacks - $28 - http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-pack-Swing-Down-jacks-stabilizer-cargo-trailer-jack-camper-Concession-stab-/291392242492?hash=item43d854c33c&vxp=mtr

Running Total - $378.90

[coyote]

Great start! I scuffed the frame and repainted, worked great. I did not extend the tongue. Lots of peps do, and a good idea, i think. I have no trouble backing, although it is quick! Light as it is, if I need to, I unhook, pick tongue up and move by hand. I had a running total, started hiding it also after a bit...It ended up @ $3.02 a pound! I justified that, by comparing it to the cost of...say cheep hamburger!

[mclanem]

So over the weekend I finished putting together and painting the trailer. I had a little help from my very eager assistant with the spray paint.



And after a few coats and some time putting the wheels on, its all setup?



Next step is the floor. For that I need to go get some wood.

[booyah]

Those jacks look pretty close to these
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002VFE30
That I bought for my build.

My advice, license the build now. Michigan does permanent trailer plates, so you dont have to go through the hassle of weighing it later for the license.

Thats what I did on my build.

[mclanem]

As far as I can tell they are the same stabilizer jacks just cheaper. I will know by the end of the week since they have already shipped.

Good point on getting the plate. I got to put that on my to-do list.

Matt

[mclanem]

I make progress yesterday...

Last week I went and picked up wood for the floor. Yesterday I got to building. With the assistance of my local neighborhood tool walrus I was able to get a bunch done.



We got the a bunch done. Knocked out the framing for the floor. The trailer is 9' x 5'6".




I also started putting the plywood down for the floor but I didn't get a picture of it. I am changing my plan on the fly a little bit with the floor. I have been thinking of putting some "basement" storage in under the mattress but I am not so sure. It would be a pain to get to. My wife thinks I should skip it. I am currently leaning toward including it but at half the size I was originally thinking. We will see what I decide this week.

I don't have my receipt on me to add to the running total but it was around $65. I will add an additional update tonight.

Next steps:
- Finish laying plywood down for floor.
- Flip over and Paint
- Add fenders and Electrical Conduit
- Flip back and attach to trailer.