Guess and check

[hpuckett4]

The madness has begun. I carved out my school schedule so that I have two whole periods of the day devoted to building this mini camper. Maybe one of the best moves I’ve made this year. They even gave me an entire room to myself so those beginner woodworking students wouldn’t mess with my stuff. So this is where I’m at.

I went to Harbor Freight and was able to find a 4×8 utility trailer for a great price. The next day I had it in the school ready to go. It came in two boxes.

I unloaded everything and sorted It out.

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It is actually designed to be able to fold in half for storage, but I really didn’t need that. So, I implemented a few minor modifications that I think will reinforce the middle where it is supposed to fold. After a couple of days of putting the puzzle together, I had most of the frame put together.

All I was left with was the axle and wheels, and this is where my inexperience began to shine through. And by inexperience I mean that the extent of my mechanical knowledge lives and dies with changing a tire on my car. But, with this thin, I was supposed to unpack the hub and repack the bearings and blah blah blah. I struggled for about an hour before I called in the reinforcements… the hicks. With a couple of my redneck friends, we got the trailer to the finished product that it should look like.

As far as the trailer itself is concerned, all I have to do is wire the taillights and turning signals, which I also know nothing about. Luckily, you can learn anything in the world from Youtube, so I plan to tackle that on Monday then go to the lumber yard and begin the build. Big things.

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[hpuckett4]

Week 2:
I don't really have a time parameter for this build, I just do as much as I can in the time I have. This week, I was able to wire the trailer and build the floor joists.

I know as much about wiring a trailer as...well, I just don't know anything about it okay.

Thankfully, you can learn anything imaginable from youtube.

Harbor freight supplies you with some super cheap wire and really stupid splicers and wire nuts. I would probably suggest buying your own stuff if you choose to do a build like this. I am going as cheap as possible on this one though, and miraculously all the lights worked when I tested it out.

The other thing I was able to manage was begin the wooden frame of the floorboard. I bought 2x4x8 pressure treated boards and ripped them into 2x2s.

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At this point, I'm pretty pumped to start cutting some wood and begin. I am learning patience though, I want this to be brilliant. So, I am going to have to take this slow and think it out.

[booyah]

Looks good so far!

Whats the plan for this one? Trailer for two? Benroy?

[Woodbutcher]

Good start. No going back now! Building at school will give you the ability to get extra help when you need it. Have fun with your project and keep posting your progress. We love to follow along.

[hpuckett4]

Week 3:

For the plan I really just got different ideas from people on the forum and picked my favorite parts. Most of it is in my head to be honest.

This project is beginning to look like a teardrop trailer, and many of you know how exciting that stage is. This week I went out and bought my plywood sheets. I purchased three ¾ inch sheets: two for the walls and one for the floor. Also, I bought two sheets of multipurpose ¼ inch thick plywood that I plan to use to skin the outside walls with in order to cover up some bumps and bruises.

To begin, I ripped the floor plywood to the correct size and screwed it to the wooden frame. The next part was touchy. I needed to go under the trailer and mark where the bolts would go through the floor into the metal frame. The trouble was, the floor and trailer kept shifting, meaning my pilot holes were all going to be off. I decided to drill them anyways and hope that I got lucky.

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The next step was the walls. Cutting the walls has been the best part so far because It is allowing me to see what the shape is going to ultimately be. Also, all of the kids that doubt the project are beginning to see that I might actually be able to pull it off.

I clamped the sheets together, drew out my shape, and cut it out. Simple, right? No. The curve of the teardrop meant that I couldn’t use a compass or a ruler, leaving me to freehand the shape. When it was finally cut out, it looked all janky and uneven, but enter the belt sander. Using a high quality belt sander, I was able to smooth out the sides to give it the classic teardrop shape I was going for.

While keeping the sheets clamped together, I cut out the door and pre-drilled the holes for the studs to go in around the curve. After that, It was time to dry-fit it all together. To my surprise, it actually looked like it was all going to work out.

There were several occasions where I almost made some crucial mistakes. So, at this point I am going to try and slow myself down in order to think things through better, but once I get into a project, It’s difficult to stop. The next steps are going to be bolting the floor to the frame and installing the roof studs. I want to add a sealant on the underside of the floor, but am unsure of what to use. Every day, I am learning more about the trade and more about myself. I can’t wait to see what progress will be made next week.

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-Hank

[hpuckett4]

The first thing on the task board this week was to go purchase handfuls of bolts to secure the floor to the frame and the walls to the floor. I bought 4" bolts for the floor and 2" live bolts for the walls.

IMG_4961After the tedious task of tightening all of the bolts, I grabbed another student to help hold the walls up while I bolted them into the floor. Then on to the spars.

The spars are made out of 2x4x8 stud boards that I ripped in half both ways. Earlier, When I had cut out the walls and still had them clamped together, I took the time to drill the pilot holes for my spars, a move that I am now very grateful for. Doing so ensured me that the spars would all be square, all I had to do is add some glue on each end and drive in the screws.

Week 4: With the spars In, I was very eager to get the interior skin on. For the skin, I used 3/16" multipurpose ply from Home Depot. I had to cut off about an inch and a quarter off the long edge of the plywood in order for it to be flush with the walls. It was a slow process getting it to bend to my 20" radius curve. I let is bend overnight and for half of the next day, gradually clamping it tighter so It wouldn't crack on me. Unfortunately, my patience grew thin and I decided to start gluing a little prematurely.

It cracked on me a little, but nothing significant enough to be noticed from the inside. To glue it, I attempted using construction adhesive, but apparently I didn't cut the hole wide enough and the caulking tube burst after only gluing one spar. Time for Plan B. Next, I decided to use Titebond III, it ended up working fine, but was very messy and much too runny, especially in comparison to the quikrete I was using earlier.



Eventually I pulled it off. Using an assortment of pieces of scrap to hold the skin up, it secured pretty well.

Another cool thing that started this week: I was able to convince an art student to do his project on my interior wall. This is what the camper is looking like as it sits this weekend at the school. I'm Excited to get back to it on Monday

[lgatlin]

This is fun! As a past high school teacher, I love the idea that you're working on it in the classroom (or close enough by for students to watch). I think it's important for kids to see that we continue to create on our own so they can see how much pleasure these kinds of skills can give us all our lives! As an art teacher I am also kind of giddy to see a student doing their work inside! So I'm looking forward to seeing how this build goes!

[daveesl77]

Be absolutely certain to remove the wheel bearings, wash out the packing "grease" (or whatever they use for shipping) and repack the bearings (inner and outer) with real wheel bearing grease. The stuff they ship the wheels with is NOT wheel bearing grease. You can easily pack the bearings by hand, you don't need a tool. If you need info on how to do this I'll be glad to walk you through it, or I'm sure there are tons of videos on youtube on how to hand pack wheel bearings.

Your build is going very well!

dave

[hpuckett4]

Thanks Dave, I saw something in another post about SUGGESTING that the bearings be repacked, but you definitely make it sound like that is more of a necessity. I will be sure to do that before I hit the road!

[KennethW]

It is a necessity. To repeat clean and pack the bearings. Or be that person on the side of the road with no wheel!! Your call.

[hpuckett4]

Could someone throw in some input or refer me to a thread about what kind of coating would be good to put on the roof spars and the exterior of the interior skin before I put the insulation in? I've see a few different things done, just not sure what has worked best for builders. Keep in mind I'm aiming for inexpensive but practical. Thanks!

[KCStudly]

"The Mix". 50/50 blend of mineral spirits and oil based polyurethane. Soaks in really well and seals, but it does take several coats. The theory is that, even though you are using a lot of thinner, it really helps pull the poly into the fibers, rather than just sitting on top. Then hit it with full strength poly.

Oil based primer and paint from the "wrong color" bin would be a good choice IMO, too.

Some people like to use CPES (really thin epoxy) or regular epoxy, but then some people find that to be expensive and don't like the hassle of mixing, PPE, and clean-up.

[hpuckett4]

Now for the next big part of the build- the kitchen. Up to date, the building plans are still just in my head. I haven't had any major mistakes yet as a result of this, but I'm treading lightly just in case.



I used leftover spars as blocking for the kitchen. It is difficult to see in this picture, but I have the cabinet area angled outward to increase the depth of storage space. My math teacher was stoked to hear that I was able to implement some trigonometry into my build (calculating the angle by using inverse sin instead of using a protractor).



I wasn't able to get a t whole lot done this week because my other school work is increasing, but this is what it looks like this weekend.

[rebapuck]

Lucky you to have a nice dry inside place to work. And you'll get credit for it too!

[S. Heisley]

It looks like you're doing really good work. I'll bet that you're the talk of your class!