Off-road Teardrop Design/Build

[kokomoto]

Hatch inner skin ... Done. I really hope this hatch still fits when I put it back on the galley tomorrow.

Galley light fixture blocking

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Glued and clamped

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[Dirtclod]

Looking Great !!!

You will be camping in no time !!

[kokomoto]

Today was Aluminum Day

Reyerson messed up my order, so I found semi trailer shop that was willing to cut a 20' long piece of .040 mill finish aluminum off a spool for me. No protective film. It has a light scratch he and there, but, like I said ... this is Aluminum Day. So I bought and got started. The router bit kept clogging while trying to trim the roof piece . I'm going to try to cut the walls tomorrow without that hot chip slinging, aluminum melting, infernal contraption. Router speed, worn out bit, or bad technique? I don't know, maybe all of the above

The aluminum trim hasn't arrived yet.

Aluminum bending

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Dry fitting the top

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Trimming with router

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[kokomoto]

Aluminum skinning

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The galley...so far

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Port side started

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[kokomoto]

Looking Great !!!

You will be camping in no time !!

Good Golly, I hope so!

[kokomoto]

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[kokomoto]

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[kokomoto]

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[KCStudly]

Believe it or not, kerosene makes a very good cutting lubricant for aluminum.

[Dirtclod]

Man that looks AWESOME !!!

I love the old school look with those wheels and tires.

[kokomoto]

Starboard door mounted on hinges tonight.

Starboard door

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[kokomoto]

Man that looks AWESOME !!!

I love the old school look with those wheels and tires.

Thanks! That's what I've been shooting for. With a few nods to modern technology where it makes sense.

[pchast]

[tony.latham]

That thing looks FAST!

I really hope this hatch still fits when I put it back on the galley tomorrow.

Zero spring-back, right? There's a reason for those gussets.

T

p.s. How'd you cut your doors out? Router and template? They sure look good.

[kokomoto]

That thing looks FAST!

I really hope this hatch still fits when I put it back on the galley tomorrow.

Zero spring-back, right? There's a reason for those gussets.

T

p.s. How'd you cut your doors out? Router and template? They sure look good.

Thanks Tony!

Yep, I hope my gussets keep on gusseting.

I didn't do a good job of keeping the door openings identical, very close they are, but not identical. Each door opening was traced onto a sheet of 1/4" ply, and cut it with a jigsaw on the fat side. Still didn't fit the door opening perfectly, so I carefully sanded it down so that it fit like a glove. I then marked it short 1/4" all the way around, and cut it with a jigsaw. I used that piece as a pattern to cut the 3/4" plywood with a router/pattern bit. Then I put the inner and outer 1/4" plywood on the 3/4" plywood, and trimmed those down flush with the router. I'm still not sure what will happen when I get the "T" molding on them, and see how well they seal. I was studying the ATMA build with similar door, and discovered that he had to trim the "T" molding to get a bend around the corners. He also had to add a 1/8" spacer under the hinges to obtain a good seal. I also ordered a small RAKA kit with gray pigment to seal around the door opening.

I could have saved a whole lot of work by carefully cutting the darn door openings out with a jigsaw when I built the walls. That and going the extra mile to cut the door openings in the walls using some method that would result in them being perfectly identical.

Still waiting on trim shipment to arrive from Montana. Hopefully it will be delivered before Saturday, when the rain from TS Cindy stops and I can get it out of the garage again. In the meantime, I've decided to modify the tongue box a bit and been working on that so that I can get the battery installed and wire up the gadgetry.

BTW, I weighed the tongue yesterday. 178 lbs without the tongue box/Group 27 battery and the hatch removed. It's a bit heavier than I expected, but that's what it is. I really need to install a wheel on the tongue jack soon.