Build Journal: All Aluminum Bare Bones Tiny Travel Trailer

[ssuuki19]

Weather was right in the comfortable range today.. there is massive forest fire smoke infiltration in the valley again for days, it blocks out the mountains, and the sun is much less bright through all the haze. I got 5 more panels done today. Technique working out pretty well, about how to not pinch the piece as you drill it out and rivet it. The 6" metal ruler is my friend. And the sharpie. Thats pretty much how I measure out all the rivets. Made one mistake, who knows if anyone observant enough will notice it anyways. So great day! Here are the pics:

geez it looks like a sturgeon.. one more panel to go

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just a bit closer to center on the rear

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aand the sturgeon from the right, i guess :)

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[ssuuki19]

I just had to Google image search "steam punk dirigible".

Quite the task you have going on there!

Yes, yes, quite the task it is - its a fun task tho'. Funny you say dirigible and I was thinking sturgeon like submersible.. perhaps my next teardrop will be a boat. Ahh to dream once again, of a future project.. hey hey wait here, this one is barely done on year two.

It still will need finishing. I think thats what the year three is. Year two gets it useable

[ssuuki19]

Got the last panel done on the clamshell - fitment was really great as expected so didn't have to do any grinding, although may clean up some of the lines in the future. Its not a priority for now. Up next is doing all the LED lighting, complimented with 5 more insulation panels to cut.. pretty much after that it all comes together.. except for the sway control kit, fenders, and plate mount.
For the clamshell decided to go with cowling latches. Ordered 10 of them [Edit: backorder of course, well see if they arrive] so the idea is to put them all around the three sides (piano hinge covers the 4th) and when they are all latched up they will force the door to the same spot. Hoping it works out well, I also like having ten of them so the odds of a few failing won't be a safety concern. Probably ratchet strap the door shut too. Picked up a foam mattress, its a super single so its really small, but it looks about 5" thick and its really light.
Here are the pics for the day - just some more views of the clamshell, most importantly the first view of it from the interior:

first view of skinned clamshell from the interior, i keep seeing an optical illusion in this pic

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skinned clamshell from the starboard

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skinned clamshell from the port

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[ssuuki19]

Got those 5 ceiling panels done. Picked up 24ft of 1x3 fir for the ceiling battens, the first wood to enter the project! End of day today got the small LED's done. Still have to do two more amber LED's for the front of the fenders, 2 more red LED's for the rear of the fenders, the license plate light, and the turn signal/brake lights. Since I'm relatively new at wiring I'm going to do it on the outside of the insulation first with crimp connectors and service loops for the next test run of the trailer, and then after Ill solder all the connections and take up all the slack. 12ga for the primary wire and the ground, 14ga for the brake/turn signal lights, and 16ga for all the clearance and marker lights. Gonna fab up a wiring diagram tonite.. this should be interesting. Here are pics of the small 3/4" amber and red clearance and marker lights:

clearance lights (4 per side now, 2 more for the fenders)

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marker lights (4 per side plus one in the middle, 2 more for the fenders)

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another pic of the red marker lights showing 3 across top, 2 across the lower rear (hard to see both), and 2 on the sides at the rear

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[ssuuki19]

It occurred to me forgot to mention the brake/tail lights - they are 6" oval LED type and will be mounted vertically on brackets right where the two triangles are - thats why the clamshell doesn't have more marker lights on it... the brake lights will be plenty bright enough to see the end of the trailer when close from behind. In fact I've put my best effort in so that the lighting from the rear from far away looks just as typical as any square backed trailer. I'm hoping the marker and clearance lights will do a great job for safety on the road, and lighting up the cabin with a supplementary battery when camping.
Today the first row of 1x3 fir ceiling battens were installed into the rivnuts with the same 1" countersunk machine screws. These battens hold the ceiling insulation panels in place in the same way the l-track does everywhere else. If two rows 'aint good enough a third center row batten will be added, but I'm hoping its not necessary. Just like with the insulation pieces, my first two battens were the worst and I expect when this task is complete they will be the outliers needing re-work. I'm no finish carpenter, but not a total beginner either. Somewhere in-between is my quality. Its so nice to finally have some wood grain in the shell!! Guess its not all aluminum anymore
Here are the pics:

Wood! First row of ceiling battens - no complex mitering to make install easier

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Wood! With nice grain! Spent a good time choosing three nice pieces to subsequently hack into art

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Would love to leave it as is but guess probably should stain it or oil it or something

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[ssuuki19]

Today I got the second row of ceiling battens done, so the ceiling insulation panels are ready to be installed, and then the rest of the whole shell, piece by piece. All in all getting a lot better with my wood cuts, I even tried some miters and they worked out pretty well. I can hang from these battens, at least holding one on each side. They are plenty strong to 'hold the insulation'. Burnt fir smells awesome! Here are the pics for the day:

second row of battens completed, ready for insulation

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another picture of the ceiling battens

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the ceiling battens look pretty decent i'd say (btw the floor is unsupported - same blocks holding it since all the pics)

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[ssuuki19]

Hope some of you lurkers liked that ^ treat hehe - the bike was actually a test to see if it would high side when offloading (which it just barely didn't, and the driveway was a slope, and the bike is lowered from stock), where the wheels would be and where tie downs would go. Bike weighs about 275lbs wet so it was also a test of the floor. Ok, ok, funs over.
Its time to button her all up. Session 1 went pretty well, was still slow to start but happy with how much got done, if I can get most of the rest done in about a day or day and a half. Pretty much it all worked out as planned, I expected some minor gaps and some 'stick out' spots, which are of no worry for now. When the interior gets finished that will all be taken care of. For example in the first picture those panels on the right actually fit really well, they are just sticking out a bit - a bit of velcro on the back should do the trick, plus you'll notice there are cuts for the third batten in the ceiling along the center. Going to need it to make the ceiling insulation really really toight in there.
The real point is... it works dang nab it! On deck is the wiring! If you look closely in the pics you can see the pigtails for the LED lights. I will run them all to the interior through the insulation for now, so all the wiring can be done 'in the comfort and warmth of the trailer' as she gets all insulated up, and it gets colder. Its going to be a plug and play wiring harness I make, so it as well is completely removable.
Yesterday night it rained for over 10 hours - the first time in what seems like months. The good news is there was only 1 noticeable leak through a 'hollow' rivet. I got on the roof and inspected all the rivets, and then continued to the sides. All in all I found 5 hollow rivets, so drilled them out and replaced them. Super easy if you drill really slow to start and get a nice centered hole on the rivet. For those wondering about the un-sealed clamshell, it let in about a quart of water that pooled in the first sealed rectangle of the floor. The second closest floor panel to the clamshell only got some splashover from droplets and the third panel had none. So I'll leave some rear insulation panels off until the clamshell gets weather gasketted.
After this mornings rivet re-work I just started piecing it all together, finally! Like I said all these panels at the front have to be installed in a specific order, and thus need to be removed in the opposite order. Other than that its all removable! I'm setting all the machine screws with the same torque as a standard. Can't wait to see how far I get tomorrow. Over and out, here are todays pics:

woah dude! shiny! see the led pigtails?

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view centered on. super happy with the overall accuracy and precision

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view to the port. it all just blends together so well, so much aluminum makes the wood pop out methinks

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[ssuuki19]

I've had some comments from friends and family that some of my posts are rather long and that I'm actually making them read! Well there ya go I don't use any social media beyond forums, and I write long-form so to those who struggle at sentences with more than twenty syllables, I can say little except zoom in your phone and just scan the pics. Thats all I do
Today continued with the buttoning up. Session 2 got me close to the end, the last 8 panels which are easier than most of the other ones especially on the roof! Something new for this fabricator - since this step is all done manually with a ratchet screwdriver I got a 'screwdriver injury on my right arm'. I dunno what it is exactly but the top of my right forearm is borked today. Between the laps and the piece order and the toightness on the ceiling panels and threading the LED's through, and gouging a panel here and there, and mis-measuring a few times, and ... we'll you know how it goes with original assembly. Its never been done before so I expect little. Thus since it works and is starting to look like a failed phobos lander, I am quite happy with the results! The billowing panels - no prob there they fit fine is whats important. What I really notice hanging out inside the shell with the door closed for the first time after these pics is that these acoustic insulation panels really do cut the sound down, especially the bass. More treble frequencies still qet attenuated but the low bass frequencies are really cut down. And thats with the shaggy shoddy raw install look, which I thought to share. May as well just document exactly how the build goes. So got those 4 long l-track rails to install after the clamshell is weatherstripped. Should I go to the hardware store or should I go to the local scrap yard, I wonder to myself.... here are todays pics: (no flash this time, less vibrant)

inside of the rare failed lunar module

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yep.. the wood pops when all you got is aluminum to stare at

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lunar module view to the starboard

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[dancam]

I appreciate it when people take the time to write about what they are doing, dont be pressured into writing less!
Im watching your build, just dont have much to say other than looks good!

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[ssuuki19]

Thanks, Dancam. Bye the way you have helped me say four times already in really important ways. Dedicated fused 12 awg socket to trailer with digital voltage readout, how to estimate alignment after you hit a giant pothole, etc. Appreciated. And KCStudly too, even a pip from someone is a ping. Funny how thats about it for feedback on this machine... As expected, I expected to expect nothing so lowering the bar is always the best approach.
Its just that every piece of feedback earlier in the build is always so much more important as the errors compound and the build gets finalized.

[dancam]

Just remembered. I had to return the side marker lights i bought and get more expensive ones with built in reflectors because reflectors are required by law in addition to side marker lights here. Check your local state laws and wherever you plan to travel.
Or did you have a plan for that?
Rules are fairly specific about trailer lighting here.

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[GVTrailer]

Cool build and nice bike. I have a '02 KTM 300 MXC.

[ssuuki19]

Just remembered. I had to return the side marker lights i bought and get more expensive ones with built in reflectors because reflectors are required by law in addition to side marker lights here. Check your local state laws and wherever you plan to travel.
Or did you have a plan for that?
Rules are fairly specific about trailer lighting here.

Interesting.. Dancam, back when I was designing the lighting I studied the Canadian DOT regulations for trailer lighting and the USFMCA requirements and I'm pretty sure its all good. The marker and clearance lights are DOT approved and were bought in Canada, its actually imprinted on each light, and I believe they have 90 degrees reflectivity, which means if you mounted them on a 45 degree at the top corners of a large trailer, you'd only need 4 to be legal instead of 8.
Still I was thinking about putting reflective tape and tape on reflectors on the chassis part of the trailer as well.
I'm working on sealing and securing the door for the past days, its another critical install with the aluminum U shaped stock and angle bar. I'm framing out the whole door to force it to square when shut and wedging it into a really nice PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) backed weather seal thats 3/4" by 3/4". Guy at the store says the PSA on the weather seal is really strong and that its widely used in the automotive industry. Never done weather seal before, well have to see how well it works out. I bought enough to do 2 perimeter seals, but time constraints mean only one seal will be completed now.

[dancam]

Oh, your photos are a little small, i didnt realize yours have built in reflectors. As long as they do your good. The first ones i bought were just lights.
With the seals the adhesive is usually good its surface your sticking it to that can be the issue and your prep.
Wipe the surface your sticking it to with isopropyl alcohol, sand lightly, wipe the dust off and then use adhesion promotor. Follow its directions then press your seal down hard. Thats what ive done on mine. Works well.

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[dancam]

Oh and make sure everything is quite warm when you do it. Its typically pressure and heat sensitive

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