6x14 Build Log

[tylerjd]

The floor is done!



(Don't mind the dust...)

The bench/bed is begun!



What a good day... working in the shop out of the cold, beautiful view out the window, listening to tunes, slowly bringing my new home to life.

[Iconfabul8]

Lookin good! Are you going to have to put a little extra spring tension to lift the door?

[tylerjd]

Lookin good! Are you going to have to put a little extra spring tension to lift the door?

Thanks! No, I think it actually worked out perfect. The original plywood on the door was 3/4” or 5/8”. I replaced it with 1/2”, obviously too light, I’ve had to put a weight on the door for the past few month when I want it open. With the pine on it now, it is “neutral weight:tension” at about 50 degrees from horizontal, and it’s quite easy to open and close it.

That said, it’s heavy enough that gusts of wind haven’t been able to fling it closed.

[McDave]

Nice! Very Nice!
Love, no I mean Love that shop! I sure could use a few days like that right now. Soon, hopefully.

McDave

[dbuettner]

Great job. Kepp the updates co ming

[tylerjd]

Alright, mega update.

I went on a short trip up the Eastern Sierras mostly to climb. Trip report here.


I got the electrical system energized. I got lights and a vent fan going - still have to install AC plugs, but currently just running a power strip straight from the plug on my Inverter.





(As-built electrical diagram)

I got the bed/bench functional, build a barebones kitchen counter, built the walls for the closet and the wall for the bathroom. The closet door, when opened totally, will "close" the bathroom area.


I left Disneyland, shunpiked my way across the desert, and am now posted up in the National Forest outside of Albuquerque. The first night I boondocked just east of 29 Palms, the "The Heart of the Mojave":


Second night = Gila National Forest in NM. No pics from that one.

Abq:



I pulled Serenity up a pretty steep, off-cambered, rocky stretch of FS road - I'm not an experienced offroader (yet), so I was pretty happy I was able to get up it. I managed to scrape the diamond plate on the front of my trailer, superficial damage only. The issue there is that my trailer isn't riding level -- a combination of rear wheel sag, and I think my ball hitch is a tad low, especially since I put the straight axle in.

The solution I think is some combination of: air bags, WD hitch, helper springs, and/or a ball hitch that doesn't drop 2" from my receiver. Doing the research now to get it sorted. I think I need to figure it out because I'm likely to scrape at the hitch even worse on my way down in 2 weeks and I'd like to avoid that.

From what I can tell so far, a WD hitch is the simple slam-dunk solution: my trailer is close to or a tad over half my TV weight. But what makes it *not* a slam dunk to my mind is that every WD hitch I've seen has "stuff" below the tongue, to the tune of 4-6 inches of stuff. Based on my experience getting up this FS road, I just can't afford to sacrifice that much clearance - I'll scrape it off on a rock in no time. That's what's making me think that air bags, or helper springs, and a non-dropped ball, is what I'll wind up doing. Open to opinions on that of course.

Lots left to do to finish her, of course, particularly now that I'm living in her full time. Storage (shelving for clothing, gear, and pantry) and kitchen setup (sink, foot pump, greywater jerrycan, etc), are my top priorities now as they're the current most annoying things I have to deal with not having. From there I'll be taking things as targets of opportunity/what is annoying me most that week.

Cheers everyone, happy spring.

[featherliteCT1]

Beautiful wiring job ... nice and neat!

Question: Why do you have a negative wire going from your solar panel(s) to the grounding bar? I do not recall ever having seen that done before. I am still learning.

[pchast]

Check some of the battery sites........
There are better ways to hook up multiple batteries.

[McDave]

Yeah Baby,
Back in the Land of Entrapment! You are at Abiquiú, in Rio Arriba, Si? As opposed The Duke City, in Bernalillo, right? You don't seem like the type who would want to live in a trailer in a city like Albuquerque. There is a neighborhood called The War Zone, and another called the Barrio. And they are not kidding. As luck would have it, I lived in Tijeras Canyon and commuted to school about 15miles. Eldorado High in the Golden Ghetto neighborhood. But you wouldn't to live in Cargo or any other trailer there. You would come home one day and your house got stole. Could happen anywhere I suppose, but a lot less likely in Abiquiu. That looks like a pretty good hood right there. I'll hit you with the Espanola jokes later. Oh yeah, don't forget about Sinners and Saints if you get thirsty. They'll love you there...just sayin. 'But be careful, and be polite. You'll be fine. Watch out for those scorpions, especially at night. They head for the water source before sunup. They glow in the dark and travel in line following a pheromone trail. If you are passed out in the sand across their scent trail, they'll just march right over you. BE SURE TO DUMP YOUR BOOTS OUT BEFORE YOU STICK YOUR LITTLE PIGGIES IN THERE, EVERY TIME.
Alright then, Enjoy! That's some beautiful country right there.

McDave

[tylerjd]

Beautiful wiring job ... nice and neat!

Question: Why do you have a negative wire going from your solar panel(s) to the grounding bar? I do not recall ever having seen that done before. I am still learning.

Thank you! That wire from the solar panel is the frame/safety ground. I saw/read/got told that every piece of equipment needs to be safety grounded to my chassis - for example, the SC has a safety ground post, the inverter has a safety ground post, etc. That said, I'm very new to this stuff too, so I don't necessarily fully understand it all.

Check some of the battery sites........
There are better ways to hook up multiple batteries.

Hi pchast, I think you are referring to the fact that I've got both my mains connected to one battery on the end, vs. spanning the array. At the time, I couldn't convince myself why doing it one way vs. the other would make any bit of difference as electrically it seemed to be all the same, but there's also no good reason going against best practice so I'll adjust it to span the array. Thanks for pointing that out.

Yeah Baby,
Back in the Land of Entrapment! You are at Abiquiú, in Rio Arriba, Si? As opposed The Duke City, in Bernalillo, right? You don't seem like the type who would want to live in a trailer in a city like Albuquerque. There is a neighborhood called The War Zone, and another called the Barrio. And they are not kidding. As luck would have it, I lived in Tijeras Canyon and commuted to school about 15miles. Eldorado High in the Golden Ghetto neighborhood. But you wouldn't to live in Cargo or any other trailer there. You would come home one day and your house got stole. Could happen anywhere I suppose, but a lot less likely in Abiquiu. That looks like a pretty good hood right there. I'll hit you with the Espanola jokes later. Oh yeah, don't forget about Sinners and Saints if you get thirsty. They'll love you there...just sayin. 'But be careful, and be polite. You'll be fine. Watch out for those scorpions, especially at night. They head for the water source before sunup. They glow in the dark and travel in line following a pheromone trail. If you are passed out in the sand across their scent trail, they'll just march right over you. BE SURE TO DUMP YOUR BOOTS OUT BEFORE YOU STICK YOUR LITTLE PIGGIES IN THERE, EVERY TIME.
Alright then, Enjoy! That's some beautiful country right there.

McDave

McDave, nope, I'm in the hills south of Tijeras - we're neighbors just a few decades apart. I actually like the city to visit, as far as cities go, although I stay away from the rough bits. I've spent enough time in rough cities to not have any ego about staying the hell away from where I don't have any business being. Regardless, I have business and friends to attend to here that'll keep me occupied for the next couple weeks. After that I'll roam north to more desolate lands, and I guess I'll have to check out Saints and Sinners

[tylerjd]

Oh hey there folks!

Wanted to post a quick update.

I 'finished' construction at my parent's place in mid June, and have been full-timing it since. I spent a couple weeks in Santa Rosa, then a week climbing in the Sierras east of Fresno, and for the past month or so I've been in or near Truckee, CA.

As you can see, there's still work to be done. I need to close up the walls, install a window or two, insulate the door, etc etc. One of the major things I've been chipping away at is storage solutions - I've got more gear than places to put it. I've just about got my system dialed though.

But Serenity is working out amazingly. Snug at night, tows great even on bumpy FS roads.

Okay here's some pictures.











Oh yeah, and I added a legit battery monitor, and redid my battery wiring so the neg and pos are on either side of my bank instead of just the battery on the end, as per best practice.

Oh, and I added helper leaf springs to my Tacoma. HUGE DIFFERENCE, I ride almost level now, and feel much more stable. (I eventually also got all new Bilstein 5100's to replace my totally shot struts, and those made a world of difference as well).

[Ottsville]

Nice build. Like the way you hang the bike.

Also, those cams have way too much anodizing on them...less sport more trad.

[hankaye]

tylerjd, Howdy;

Looks like you've got all ya need to keep ya happy for awhile. If ya get bored,
you've still some "finishing" you can work on.

Stay safe and away from the fires.

hank

[beachguy005]

Re: Wiring your batts....here's an interesting article on charging your batts properly.

https://www.impactbattery.com/blog/tuto ... -parallel/

[featherliteCT1]

Re: Wiring your batts....here's an interesting article on charging your batts properly.

https://www.impactbattery.com/blog/tuto ... -parallel/

Good info!