New build in Wyoming - Finished Summer 2018

[peterblomberg]

Working on the doors:



Framing the inside of the door



Gluing the window framing to the skin



Framing looks good



Insulation in the door


Routing around the window frame for the window opening


Window opening routed out


Window fits!

[peterblomberg]

Asphalt paint on the bottom



Pretty much done


AND lots of gluing of interior skin and pieces:

[peterblomberg]

I was proud of myself for this next part. Was working on a seal surface for my doorway, so needed to make a piece that was 3/4" smaller all around than the doorway. Well, I did not have a bushing (not sure they even make one) that was big enough for that. So, I found that the cap to my epoxy bottles was the exact size I needed to use. Drilled a hole in the center (the size of a a different bushing I had) and then attached it to my router. and it was quite successful!


Homemade bushing!



Bushing was a little thick, so I needed to use a 1/2" piece of plywood to make my router sit a little higher.



It worked perfectly!

[peterblomberg]

the last thing I have finished was using a gel stain for the exterior skins. the birch was a bit uneven - yellow in spots, white in other, etc. But, I loved the grain pattern, so I did not want to make it too dark. I also used the gel stain and then had a duh moment when I was going over how to lay the fiberglass and realized that stain has oils and oil is bad for epoxy. Did some research and found that it should be ok...maybe. West products were successful, but I was using Raka. So, I did a test piece similar to what WEST did, and I was happy with the results. So, let it dry a few extra days and went ahead and fiberglassed it. After doing the test piece, I am confident it worked out well.


I am VERY happen with the color I used. It was Antique Maple Gel Stain



Fiberglass cloth in place. I smoothed it out after this, but was not perfect. I was super impressed with how forgiving the cloth was when I was wetting it out.
If there was a crease or anything, it smoothed out very nicely.



And the fiberglass is down! Did a fill coat and then another layer over the top of that. My wife was a huge help.


Alright, that is as far as I am. I did make a template today for the back hatch. I will use that to cut the back hatch pieces and then do a little routing for a door hinge and hatch seal. Epoxy the door openings and doors AND then - I can finally put the walls up!! I can't wait! Getting closer all the time!

[KCStudly]

Nice work.

[sagebrush]

Sent you a pm. Will

[39Ratrod]

Nice build so far! What year Toyota? Looks to be in good shape. I have an '85 mild build fun ride.

[peterblomberg]

Nice build so far! What year Toyota? Looks to be in good shape. I have an '85 mild build fun ride.

I have two in those pics.. My wife drives an 03' Tacoma - Green.


But mine, is an 88'. Love that thing. the wheel wells are, of course, starting to rust pretty badly. Turned over 258,000 yesterday driving home from Cheyenne. I plan to keep this truck forever! It is a 5 speed, 22re engine. I do not know if I will ever tow this teardrop with it, cause it currently does not have a tow package installed. Thinking about it though...I love driving it.

[peterblomberg]

Not much to update here. Today I worked on it for the first time in a long while. Was off playing music and then was busy moving into a different house when I got back. Recording music. AND, my wife wanted me to build a couple chairs for the patio in the house we moved into:




However, this morning I took some time and routed out the door hinges and glued a piece that is part of the galley. Have a few more pieces to glue to in the galley (Frederick's Seal Method). and then I will be ready to get the walls up. Will be a few more weeks until that happens.

[peterblomberg]

Making some good progress this past week! This has been fun as it is really starting to look nice.

First, about two weeks ago I got the door hinges taken care of:

[peterblomberg]

I also needed to get some pieces glued on in the galley to help with the sealing.



Then, I took some time to test fit both sides and sand down the groove a bit so that it would slide on easily - but still tight. Got it glued and both sides glued/screwed on!

[peterblomberg]

After the walls were up, I slid the cabinet face frames in and got them glued. Then, I started working on the front cabinets - starting with the dividers:








And also stained the headboard and shelf supports and got all those installed:



This is Antique Maple Gel Stain. First little bunch I have bought, but I used it on the exterior of the teardrop and now the faceframes and other parts. Really like how easy it is to use - especially on woods like birch.


Shelf supports all glued in.


Headboard all stained up and installed!

[peterblomberg]

And finally, the actual shelves being worked on and installed:


Propped up and leveled the shelves before gluing/screwing them in



Did quite a bit of sanding on the shelves. Will most likely poly them as well. The hole you see is a 1" hole that will allow the shelf to be picked up so access can be given to the storage below. Spent a bit of time deciding where to put the hole, what would work best, etc. Finally decided that I should cut the board in two as otherwise it could not really be removed easily. Made quite a few test/practice pieces this morning to make sure I would like how that looked and I love it!



Shelves all done (minus poly)



You can see the finger hole and the split. In the end, I did not want to mess with a hinge and this seemed most practice. I am very happy with how it turned out!


And the last look at the shelving area before the ceiling covers it up.


Headed to Menards to buy a few more supplies, but am thinking the ceiling will be up in less than a week. then - electrical, insulation, framing, etc!!!! and building the galley hatch. ahhh!

[peterblomberg]

It has been a while since I have posted. I have put A LOT of work in since then, and was able to take the camper on her first trip! (1,800 miles round trip to Salt Lake - Stanley, ID - Meeteetse, WY - and then HOME)The pictures I have are all too big, so I will just link to my albums online:

Here is my complete BUILD JOURNAL album:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10158602564960065&type=1&l=169e48b587


FINISHED CAMPER!








(Pretty proud of that battery box!)

[peterblomberg]

A few more pictures of the "finished" teardrop camper:

As I was finishing, I was not sure if I should have taken the time to install a sink, water, and a hot water heater. However, as soon as we ate supper the first night and went to clean up. I LOVED IT! So glad I spent the time doing all the plumbing. Super easy to use setup. Haul water in jugs and there is a hose coming from the water pump that goes right into the jug. I designed the height so that I could fit the smaller of my jugs under the sink. Then, I can just use it as cold water, or take 4 minutes to set up the water heater.






Galley not finished, but after taking it on a trip, now I have a better idea on how we will use it. one more drawer, of course in the middle. and then will build a small, pull-out cutting board/platform on the top right just for a little more cooking space.








The wife and pup enjoy it!



She looks awesome all lit up at night!



That is about it! I missed quite a few pictures, but you can see them in the link in the previous post. Super happy with how it all turned out! I have a few more projects to do on it (finish galley, build a cover for the skylight, and who knows what else!)

Thanks everyone for this great forum and the wealth of information. This build was based around the Wyoming Woody design, but that was mostly just for the initial grid pattern/curves, which I lengthened and made my own from there.

- peter.