Dusty Mark's 5 x 10 Build

[Dusty Mark]

I ordered aluminum for skinning through a very helpful local aluminum cabinet manufacturer. He was able to get the .040 red that I wanted for the sides and galley lid. His suppliers didn't stock .040 mill finish, so I had to go with .060 for the roof. 2 @ 4' x 10' red, 1 @ 4' x 8' red, 1 @ 5' x 10' mill finish, and 1@ 4' x 8' mill finish came to $447 with tax. He tacked my order in with his order for a recent big job he's about to start.



Red!

[KCStudly]

You are doing really nice, clean work.

If it's not too late you may want to consider a change to your circuitry. While it is perfectly acceptable to group multiple loads onto a single circuit (within the capacity of the wires) it is always a good practice to divide up services, such as lighting, onto separate circuits so that if one circuit goes down you are not left in the dark.

In other words, instead of putting all of your cabin inside lights on one circuit, and all of your outside lights on another, crisscross them; put one interior light and one porch light on one circuit and the other pair on the second. $0.02

[Dusty Mark]

Thanks, that's great advice. If I hadn't already wired those lights twice, I would have made the change to how the circuits are shared. At this point, I'll be rolling with what I've got and headlamps as a backup.

[Dusty Mark]

After reading many of the posts about plumbing LPG lines on this and other forums, I decided to hire a plumber to help with running the line from the tank on the tongue to the oven in the galley. I spoke with the plumber who plumbed our new construction two years ago and he'll swing by after I've done the prep work to inspect my work, flare the copper tubing, and leak check the system...YES! Besides welding the frame, this is the only other aspect of the build that I needed to contract out...

[Mushin]

Smart move, sometimes it's better to be safe than sorry

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[Dusty Mark]

Yep, and it likely won't cost me much more than a flaring tool!

[KCStudly]

Isn't copper subject to fracture when used in a vibration prevalent application? I suspect that your plumber will probably recommend black pipe with some sort of ready made flex hose for the final connections, perhaps of a corrugated metal variety.

Dunno, I'm not up on the latest materials and techniques, but to my understanding copper hard line (even the soft stuff) will work harden and crack with vibration.

[Dusty Mark]

Your reply got me to evaluate why I had switched from black pipe to copper. The only reason was that I had no way of threading black pipe after I found out that the local store no longer custom threaded pipe. I solved that this morning by ordering a Tektron ratcheting pipe threading kit and pipe cutter from Amazon. Another $100 spent is nothing on this expensive build...

[noseoil]

"Another $100 spent is nothing on this expensive build..." Preaching to the choir there on this one!

[Dusty Mark]

I'm making steady progress on the teardrop. The 1/8" plywood roof panels are fitted and sealed. Today I fitted and glued in the roof insulation. This took way longer than I expected, but it turned out well.



I insulated the front storage module first. Notice the vertical solid wood piece that will provide a solid mount for my LP gas regulator.



Deep relief kerfs allow the foam to bend around the roof curves. I routed channels for the wiring.



This is over the cabin dome light.



This is the porch light junction.



1/4" Baltic birch clamping boards screwed in with washer head screws provide enough pressure to hold the foam in position while the glue dries.



I'll even out the plywood roof edge and the solid wood spacers with a hand plane tomorrow and then staple and glue the roof in place. I also need to install foam in the space on either side of the front storage module. The plan is to apply the aluminum sides on Tuesday afternoon!

[retep]

Great work Mark. You are moving along really nicely and doing a fabulous job with your build. Very inspiring for me to get started. Cant wait to see the aluminium.

Thanks for sharing your work.

Peter

[Dusty Mark]

Thanks! I'm a retired Air Force pilot and substitute teach in the local schools. I blocked out two days per week for the build once I started and that helped me keep it moving. Now that school is out, I'm racing along at a "stupid" pace. You know that you're close when you're tripping over the aluminum for your teardrop's skin sitting on the garage floor!

[Dusty Mark]

Mary helped me install the roof tonight. I used polyurethane construction adhesive and 3/8" crown staples to hold it down.



It's looking more and more like a camper.



It was a pretty uneventful assembly since I drew lines for where the staples should run and also laid tape where they were supposed to avoid the wiring in the ceiling.



I smoothed the curve at the roofline with a hand plane before assembly and this helped give clean lines in the final assembly.



I'll flush the edge with a router tomorrow and apply some CPES to the end grain. We'll then be ready to fit the aluminum skin for the sides!

[KCStudly]

That's looking really nice!

[justageorgiaguy]

I love this build. Are you going to install a fan as well (fantastic, maxxair etc) or rely only on the A/C? I thought the cutout was for a fan, but then I read it was to pull the heat off the A/C rear. Thanks!