Mercury

[rowerwet]

I see many people like to add little wings to their campers. my tear has a big wing when open. To keep that big hatch shut I need a strong latch and anchors, being a foam hatch, there really isn't a whole bunch of strong points to tie off to.
I added my own little wings as plates to anchor the galley hatch latches.

I used some of the draw latches from the lid of the pop up, with the latch on the forward part, and the latch plate on the galley lid. The latch and anchor plate are both through bolted, with the latch bolts going through the sidewall and the aft 1/4" plywood leg of the galley shelf support, and the latch anchor bolts going through the foam and the support prop caster plywood plate on the inside of the hatch. the plates are all anchored with PLp glue bolts.

the latches and plates in final form.

[rowerwet]

Since Wiley windows are not a good idea for a forward facing window, I came up with another simple widow design for the forward cabin. I call it the Gama Seal window. I originally came up with them for my foam kayaks, and plan on adding some to this tear for quick access to the galley.
Gama seal lids can be found in the paint department of Home Depot and some Lowe's. they have a ring that snaps onto a 5 gallon bucket permanently, and a lid that screws on and off. Once screwed in place they are water and air tight. They cost about $7 and come in 7 different colors online. They do not claim to be UV stable, but can be painted for UV protection, or just replaced if they fail.
You make a Gama Seal bucket lid into a hatch or window by cutting away the outer lip of the sealing ring, prying out the O-ring, then using a small pair of flush cut pliers to smooth the outer edge. You end up with a hatch or window that simply unscrews to remove. Full details can be found here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 212&type=3
I insalled four of these gama seal windows for the front cabin, they are air and water proof, fully opening for air flow, and have no internal structure to interfere with the top cabin wall storage.
As always I used the best foam cutting tool ever (IMO) a drywall saw

Once the window hole is open, insert the ring and check for a good but not too tight fit.

Once you have the PMF process done, cut away the fabric covering the window holes.


check the ring fit again, then cut out a section of fiberglass screening, larger than the ring by a few inches.

lay a bead of PLP around each window hole, and around the lip of the ring.

then push the ring in tight and secure it with screws to lock the ring in place.

trim away the excess screening, smooth the excess glue

screw the gama seal lid into the ring to maintain shape until the glue is fully cured.

in practice we found the black lids are great for total light control, white lids are translucent, good for getting up with the sun.
For airflow, remove the lid.
I plan on adding removable plexiglass windows that simply slide into a channel for viw without air.
Full details on modifying the lids here.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 2d5fa9a37d
They come in seven colors, I can get black at home depot and white at Lowe's.

[rowerwet]

As I cover in my wiley window and leak proof door thread, I found the door design that works for me. I added these doors to my current tear and used the frames as a major structural component.
I started with the off cuts from the floor panels, and one off cut from the roof panels. I put the off cut over the door hole and traced it

then took an off cut of roof spar (1x3) and traced inside the traced line for the leak proof lip.

then cut along the new line to make one half of a door lip.

I clamped these halves in place, then copied the spar notches in the foam to the door frames.

the door frames were glued to the foam using PLP and plenty of clamps, then the spars were glued into the notches, giving a roof support that is stronger at the door frame than anywhere else.

I hoped to make a doors entirely out of rot proof materials, but that proved to be expensive and/or heavy. After buying and playing with coroplast, and even thinking of plexiglass, I settled on a plywood outer skin laminated to a foam door. Doors get the most wear and tear, and see the most abuse, even with GPW's idea of chipboard laminated to foam, I just didn't see the strength and rigidity I wanted.
I hate the look of square doors on a rounded tear, so I made rounded doors on my last one, I like the shape so much I kept it for the totally square tear


cut the bottom sill at an angle this will ensure it sheds water, much like the wiley window, this door design relies more on gravity and surface tension than seals.

[rowerwet]

I can't imagine why people make tears with tiny, high-set windows, or windows that do not open. I guess they don't mind waking up to soaked sheets, in a stuffy tear, or they plan on only ever sleeping with air conditioning.
trace the foam door blank onto your plywood. Since I bought the classic teardrop style door latches, my window has to be spaced close to the hinge to clear the inner door handle and window bracket.
I also mount my windows low to bring the breezes coming in the window right down to my level on the mattress, with the glass out, a wiley window is just as good as a screen door.
trace the glass onto the foam blank,

measure in one inch on all sides and mark, draw lines, these are the window outer opening dimensions. Use a GS cap to radius the corners.

cut out the door skin, and cut out and save the window waste. trace this hole onto the foam blank. MAKE SURE THE FOAM BLANK BOTTOM BEVEL SLOPES OUT TOWARD THE PLYWOOD!!! ( the side on the floor should be smaller.)

lay the glass over the traced lines, make sure the overlap is equal on all sides. trace the glass onto the foam.

using a scrap of plywood, add the 1/4" needed on the sides of the glass for the window bracket, don't do this on top or bottom.

use a straight edge to ensure every line is straight, measure to ensure the same width top and bottom.

cut out the window hole. CUT THE BOTTOM WITH A SIMILAR ANGLE BEVEL, SLOPED THE SAME WAY AS THE BOTTOM OF THE DOOR. cut the sides 90 degrees to the face of the foam blank.

you should end up with a foam door core like this.

[rowerwet]

lay the foam core down as shown

glue the plywood on top, you may have to scuff it up a bit after sealing the wood with THE MIX, USE WEIGHTS TO GET A GOOD BOND TO THE FOAM.

you should end up with doors like this.

I prefer my window glass to open 6" at the top resting in the bracket. This is about 1/3 of the window opening. My first tear wiley windows open like this and I never close them, unless I'm sleeping and don't want that much airflow. towing or parked they sit open. Six inches also keeps the frame from intruding too far into the doorway when open, or interior when the doors are shut.

take the waste wood from the window hole, find the maximum height from the edge, draw a line, measure 2 inches in on one end and mark it, measure seven inches in on the other and mark it. now measure seven inches from the two inch mark, and two inches from the seven inch mark. connect the marks with lines as shown. Cut out these brackets and treat with THE MIX

ensure that the brackets fit, move the glass and ensure there will not be any binding. sand the foam back as needed to clear the glass.

glue and clamp the brackets

once the brackets are glued, I use 1" foam strips to make the ledges the window rests on when open, then tie the two tips of the brackets together with one of the scraps left from cutting the brackets. glue another strip of foam to this scrap strip, trim the remaining edge to match the angle and glue another wood strip, making the leg joining the two points a V bracket of wood with foam tying it all together.

I use drywall screws to hold it all together until cured.

[rowerwet]

I like having my window brackets tied together, this way they can't knife me in the back getting in or out, can be built much lighter, and make excellent towel drying racks/curtian rods.


the wiley windows still need the drain holes cut, I also didn't show how I put my screens in, they are glued between the foam and plywood. Not long after the camping trip, my kids broke a screen. Now I have to cut the screen away and do it the right way.
After some thought, I'm going to make an inner ring of coroplast, much like the plywood one I used on my first tear doors, and silicone it in place sandwiching the screen to the door. This way the coroplast will act as a sort of gasket, and yet still act as a tiny vent even when wedged shut.

I'm also going to epoxy and wrap the doors, more coming...

[GPW]

Very Cool !!! Very innovative !!! ...

[rowerwet]

For my removable second story idea to work, I couldn't install wiley windows in the front room, even on the sides. Since I already came up with the gama seal windows for the front walls, I used them again in the front doors.
The front cabin door was made at the same time and almost the same way as the main doors. I used the foam door blank removed to make the opening,

skinned it with plywood, and then cut the hole for the window through the plywood and foam.

Since this door doesn't have the extra bracing that the wiley widow frame gives it, I added an internal brace, that also acts as a water trap.
I used the bit extension to drill holes in the door foam,

pumped the holes full of PLp

then used drywall screws and clamps to lock the internal plate in place.

not only does this plate provide a mounting point for my latch, it also becomes the inside door handle/water trap for the door. I made a drain hole to the outside afterwards.

[rowerwet]

I bought the "traditional" style tear drop door latches for my first tear, they are worth the money, as they look and function well. I robbed the set off of Storm warning, for the main cabin doors, and used one new one from Frank bear, purchased on Ebay, for the front cabin door.
I glued a plywood pate to the inside of each door to support the latch. Then drilled through the door skin, foam and inner plate to locate the hole.
Next I used a step drill to ream the outer door skin hole until it accepted the outer handle for a smooth fit.
finally I reamed the inner plate to fit the handle shaft, put the latch on, and screwed it home.
test fit says I got it right.

since the inner latch handle is most likely to be bumped in an upward direction, opening the door when you don't wan't too, I install the latches so they must be pushed down inside to open. This means the outside latch handle must be lifted to open the latch. Even after a few years, my own family forgest and comes asking for the key, as everyone's first try is to push down.

[rowerwet]

for those nights when it is too cold to have the wiley widow open at all (which turned out to be our first camping trip in her) I added a plastic soffit vent to each cabin.
I cut the hole so it sloped up toward the inside, this will keep most water out.

this picture shows the two vents the most clearly, (right now it is dark and snowing out, so no good pictures possible)
I plan on at least one more vent in the main cabin, and at least one in the galley also.
I put screens on the inside of these holes much like I did on my old tear

[GPW]

Looking great and a most unusual but creative build !!!

[kludge]

Forgive my ignorance...

Paint Eater?

PLp?

Details on the screen for the Wiley window?

[rowerwet]

Wagner makes the paint eater, you can find it in almost any paint department.
PLp is a construction adhesive PLpemium X3, sold in caulking tubes in almost any paint department in the US.
gallery/album.php?album_id=4186
Album of the gama seal window, the screen is fiberglass sold in rolls at the hardware store.

[GPW]

Ps. As one who painted his new house with a “paint eater” ... We got the one that you could hook up to a “fiver” and kept the job rolling smoothly ,otherwise , every minute , you have to put more paint in the small cup ( Good for painting small things like birdhouses ) .. The bigger paint eater wasn’t much more and was worth it ... After the job was over and done , I sold it to my carpenter for half price ... Thrifty !!!

[kludge]

Thanks!