go ahead, call me crazy !

[dave campbell]

thanks OP8 for the great info again

Hi Dave,

That's a real work of art. It is a pity in a way to cover up all that lattice of steel so beautifully wrought!

Where is the original one that you are replicating and where was it built?Larry

thank you so much ! definitely more art than science here---- the missus has always maintained it's like a viking build. a very cool photograph.
the original 'mystery trailer' we found online while looking at images of vintage trailers, and the spark caught. further research revealed that it is a one of a kind, but appears to be factory made in 1936. there are no builder's hallmarks. the company that did a full restoration is located in california---called sierra trailer restoration. where the trailer resides now i have no idea, but i know where it's twin will be soon !

[dave campbell]

well, i welded the cage to the base today. i chose 10 contact points and had at'er. also templated the front floor section, and cut the plywood. tomorrow it will be installed along with the rest of the floor

cage welded to base.JPG (50.83 KiB) Viewed 2000 times

[S. Heisley]

Hi Dave,

That's a real work of art. It is a pity in a way to cover up all that lattice of steel so beautifully wrought!

I can also see some similarities with Viking shipbuilding:



Congratualtions and well done



Larry

Oh! M'gosh! You're right!

[dave campbell]

update for today--- floor is in !!
bottom layer is 1/2 factory grade, exterior ply and the top layer is sanded 5/8 exterior ply. next i will be making paper templates for the door jambs, and using 1/2 ply scraps doubled up to fill the voids in the two bulkheads.

thought of a decent name for this unit------ Mahi-Mahi

like a mahi-mahi.JPG (63.38 KiB) Viewed 1919 times

the cage.JPG (61.39 KiB) Viewed 1919 times

[KCStudly]

Looks great! Keep plugging along.

[OP827]

Great! Did you use bunch of self-tapping screws to fix the plywood to steel?

[dave campbell]

Looks great! Keep plugging along.

thanks !! 'plugging' is fast becoming shambling which then leads to straight up knuckle dragging-- i understand.

:thumbsup: Great! Did you use bunch of self-tapping screws to fix the plywood to steel?

yes i used self tapping screws (#10 X 1) and PL premium on all the beams, but quite honestly about 7% of the screws were bunk. i pre-drilled holes to make it easier as they just wouldn't grab. even then many tips broke off in the hole, which then i had to re-drill. over about 120 screws---4 lost their tops. i used a regular 18V drill, and not an impact driver to reduce screw damage. the second layer of ply is held on with superglue and deck screws at about 7" intervals, except in the doorway where they are closer to 4" apart---and the seams between the layers are all staggered. floor thickness is 1 and 1/8"

after making ram-board templates, i whipped up 18 chunks of 1/2"ply to be doubled up in the bulkhead. that got me 1/4 of the way through this phase

bulk bits.JPG (44.19 KiB) Viewed 1893 times

some peanut-butter---

bulk bits3.JPG (51.09 KiB) Viewed 1893 times

and voila !

bulk bits2.JPG (66.58 KiB) Viewed 1893 times

[dave campbell]

i'm not one to take a selfie but i couldn't resist today

selfie.JPG (51.39 KiB) Viewed 1877 times

currently typing with my hand in a "c" shape from holding the jig saw for so long

zen.JPG (45.66 KiB) Viewed 1877 times

night all

[dales133]

Looking good and yes it does look a bit like a mahi mahis head at the front.
Keep the pics coming

[dave campbell]

Looking good and yes it does look a bit like a mahi mahis head at the front.
Keep the pics coming

as cool as it sounds it doesn't really roll off the tongue. next name up, and believe me we have discussed many-----is ORBIT. fun. simple. fun to say. orbit---meep morp.
has metal connotations, hints of tool. it's a noun. it's a verb. it's a shape. it's what we do with camp spots, like comets....

ok enough of that.
today was a slog !~it doesn't look like much but a LOT of time went into the bulkhead bulkout program.

first i completed the core----templating with ram board---transferring and cutting----re-marking and belt sanding to tweek the fit. X 72 different pieces.
from the factory they would have been 72 same pieces, but i'm not a factory---just a machine

bulkhead core complete.JPG (67.37 KiB) Viewed 1824 times

after the core, then the 5/8 wrap to both sides, for a thickness of 2 and 1/4". the door will be well hung

bulkhead bulkout.JPG (44.23 KiB) Viewed 1824 times

meep-morp

here's view of the jamb from the outside. plywood all the way through

bulkhead view from outside.JPG (28.69 KiB) Viewed 1824 times

[dave campbell]

more to say.....

here's a shot showing the two sides of the door, and to the right of the jamb is the backing for the wall up front

door jamb morph.JPG (18.1 KiB) Viewed 1854 times

once i had one side flowing to my satisfaction (used the old eyeball, a pen, then jigsaw followed by 4"grinder with 40 grit sanding pad)
then i made a template, flipped it around to the other side, and copied

bulkhead template.JPG (53.74 KiB) Viewed 1854 times

somewhere there is an algorithm with which you can calculate calories burned by measuring this heap

reduction.JPG (64.09 KiB) Viewed 1854 times

[dave campbell]

forgot to mention--- i did a little research on spray insulation today. if i get it done locally---650 $ minimum charge !! plus i have to get the trailer to them. if i get the stuff from a distributor in burnaby--across the water--then maybe 400 after taxes and delivery--and i get to do it myself at home

[dales133]

Looking good dave.
Another name worth considering....Dorado...the other name for mahi mahi
There might be someone not to far from you out of town willing to travel for tbe spray foam

[McGuffin]

Hi Dave,

Giving something like that a name is tough.



How about using an old Norse / Viking name?

Here's a nice one: "Astrid".

Larry

[McGuffin]

Hey Dave,

Just to mention, I'm getting mine spay insulated in a couple of days. The roof void only of course. I'm being charged €175 for the job and the guy will be driving 30 miles to me to do it.

I did think of doing it myself but the only stuff I could get was the foam in large aerosols that builders use. This apparently is not the same stuff.

The foam in the cans is "open cell" foam which is porous (try to envisage a stiff sponge) and not a great insulater. The stuff the spay professionals use is "closed cell" foam which is waterproof and has more insulation value.

It all looks great anyway .... keep up the good work.

Larry