Round nose hybrid build

[Flatworm]

Learnt a lesson yesterday.

Painting with 2 pot epoxy undercoat, mix said 4:1 by volume. Being familiar with mixing epoxy by weight, I just mixed 4:1 using scales. Ran out of hardener with 1/4 of paint left.

Guess paint hardener isn't as heavy. I did notice the hardener floated but thought the weight difference would be minimal.

4 layers of primer undercoat done.

Bolted caravan to trailer and ran light cables. Building off the trailer has worked well and I'd do it this way again. Easy to access parts- I even rolled it upside down to paint the ceiling. It also allowed me to build on a flat surface and then fit it to a minimal design trailer.




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[Flatworm]

Progress.

8 coats of paint and I'm ok about the finish. Getting it perfect wasn't going to happen with gloss paint but it looks pretty good. Wasn't sure about colour - bought white boat paint, thought it might be too bright so added a random amount of black tint. Looks ok for white.

Should be fast progress now although heading to south island again next week.

[Flatworm]

Door latches and seals fitted.



Wiley windows looking good. I omitted side panels and the windows open onto a cut down towel rail. I've got two panes of acrylic - one clear, one white. Planning on using the white one instead of a curtain. I'll make a third one from insect screen. This gives the option of using any combination of the three screens.

Then I need to make a cam around the rail to hold windows shut. - either that or I'll get lazy and just use wedges. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'll use wedges as this will allow me to put one screen in open position and others in closed. E.g. Set insect screen at night but have opaque acrylic in open position allowing air flow but no insects and not much light.

Easier too.

So far they look good-looking were cheap and took less than an hour to make.



Of course they might not work. Can't see why not though.

[Flatworm]

Big week this week. Registered and warranted trailer. All road legal.

Silicone around various places, weather proofing generally.

Putty on inside brad holes.

Made insect screens and finished Wiley windows. Very pleased with these.

Need to sort water supply for self containment sticker.

Fitted mud flaps and jockey wheel.

All looking pretty good. Plan to had to the south island in 3 weeks.

Pretty much campable now. Just need self containment sorted and maybe finish the kitchen.

[Flatworm]

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[Staryder61]

Awesome build and your craftsmanship is excellent..
Love the finished look with the paint.. the bevel along the top turned out really well..
Hope the rest of the inspections go well and you get years of enjoyment out of it..

[dirtsailor2003]

Looks Great! Looks like fishing is right around the corner!

[Flatworm]

Pics of Wiley windows. Made from a towel rail and a couple of wedges. Can put a combination of sheets in.
Very fast-paced cheap and water proof (so far).

White acrylic for curtain


Tinted acrylic window


Fly screen with acrylic removed


Wedges

[Flatworm]

Thanks David and dirt sailer for your comments. To be honest, I'm surprised how good it looks.

[Staryder61]

Thanks David and dirt sailer for your comments. To be honest, I'm surprised how good it looks.

I'm not surprised,, you did an outstanding job on it.. from start to finish..
Wiley windows turned out nice...
And you're going to so enjoy it......

[Flatworm]

Well, things have been going great with "light sleeper". I'm on my way to the south island for a second trip. However, mild problem tonight. Bang and a shower of sparks and the axle was gone. Actually, not gone but on the road behind me. Fortunately, having a light trailer, 2 stopped motorists helped me lift the rear of the caravan and we slipped the axle underneath. I'm currently parked in a driveway in Taranaki. Busy working tomorrow but hopeful that I can get her back on the wheels on Saturday.

I guess I should have checked the U-bolts holding the axle to the leaf springs. I had checked them earlier but have learnt my lesson.

No major damage. A few scrapes and bent mud guard. Fortunately nobody hurt.

[Staryder61]

So glad no one hurt and no major damage... You were very lucky...
Great to have someone to help when needed too..
You'll get it fixed and back to camping before you know it..
I still very much like the shape and look of the caravan..
Good luck on the repairs....

[Flatworm]

Thanks David.

In reality, repairs were easy and an obliging engineer had her back on the road by 4pm. He also assured me that the fault wasn't mine and that a snapped leaf spring had caused the failure - apparently a common occurrence when towing light weight vehicles on rough gravel roads.

Given that the whole caravan was effectively dropped onto the road at around 60kmh, the lack of damage is encouraging. A couple of repairs- worn through the gel coat to the cloth by a rubbing tyre in one place and a small crack through the weave in another. A big box, wrapped in 200g glass cloth and epoxied is obviously a very strong structure.

[Staryder61]

Thanks David.
Given that the whole caravan was effectively dropped onto the road at around 60kmh, the lack of damage is encouraging. A couple of repairs- worn through the gel coat to the cloth by a rubbing tyre in one place and a small crack through the weave in another. A big box, wrapped in 200g glass cloth and epoxied is obviously a very strong structure.

It also shows that your construction of the caravan was top notch.. In our travels over the years,we've seen first hand the total destruction that can occur to even small campers, and boats. That were glassed and epoxied. But where the construction was poor. Some being professionally manufactured.

[Flatworm]

Thanks David
all sorted now. Off for my third south island trip next week.

Am getting confident of not suffocating at night now. Pretty cold south at this time of year. Started sleeping with roof vent cracked, now just loosen window very slightly.

Having lots of fun.