The Adventure Begins: 6x12 V-Nose Conversion

[kirkupnorth]

That looks amazing. Did you glue the shiplap down or nail gun it?


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Thanks! We used adhesive and brad nails to install it.

[kirkupnorth]

We've been making progress and having fun doing it! Let's see....we got the cabinet face frames done. We went with aspen, since it looks nice and is pretty affordable. Here are the face frames, and you can kind of see the electrical utilities area on the far right:


We were really happy when the carpet arrived. We had decided early in the planning stage to carpet the lower part of the walls so that when we're hauling, the walls won't get all scuffed up. We ordered marine carpet from ebay, and I was really nervous to see what it would look like in real life. We were so happy with the quality of it, especially since it was quite inexpensive. Most of the tasks in the trailer are things we've done before, but we had absolutely no experience working with carpet. It really went pretty well, and we're happy with the end result. We plan to put it on the ramp door, too, but we're going to wait until construction is closer to being done. You can see that we also got the flooring installed. We went with vinyl planks. Installation was really pretty easy and quick. We're waiting to see how the whole "floating floor" concept works in this environment. We're hoping that it will prove to be a good choice.


Today we installed the counter top. That was actually a pretty big project, since we had to do multiple glue-ups to fill the V. Tomorrow we'll sand it and get some varnish on it. We went with aspen for the countertop, same as the face frames. We got the backsplash painted, too.


As each task is completed, the camper takes on a more finished look. We're hoping to take it out on its maiden voyage in a couple of weeks. We plan to stay pretty close to home for the first outing -- kind of a test run, just in case! There are so many great places to camp right in our own area of northern Minnesota. We have countless state parks and federal forest campgrounds on lakeshore up here.

The cooktop came today, and the sink is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Then we can get those in and get the whole countertop portion finished. Next will be some utility work, then the beds, and after that will come cabinet doors. I'll keep posting as we go.

Thanks for looking!

[Rainier70]

Looks beautiful!

[McDave]

Really nice work. Camping soon!

McDave

[kirkupnorth]

Thanks for the compliments, Cindy and McDave. My husband is a real detail oriented type of guy when he's building stuff. He's having the time of his life with this!! Today he stole the kitchen tv, and has it installed in the camper. Now he's got Gunsmoke playing while he works on the electrical and plumbing -- he's happy as a pig in slop.

[marosell]

Wow, really impressed. I just bought a 6x12 V-Nose and I'm sold on your concept and layout. I want to do one just like yours. So many questions, but I'll start with:

• Which windows did you order for the walls and the door, and where did you order them from?
• Would you share your parts list / shopping list for the electronics, lights, and electrical and plumbing hookups?
• Where did you order the luggage compartment window for the AC unit, did you have to cut a stud to get it in, and if so what did you to frame it in?
• Did you consider putting the AC unit at the top of the tall kitchen cabinet, and if so, how did you ultimately decide to put it on it's own?
• Do you have dimensions / plans that you can share for the cabinets/countertops? I'd love to do them the exact way you did yours.

Thanks!!

[kirkupnorth]

Hey, Marosell -- thanks for the feedback!

We started with a drawn up plan, (after months of thinking about it!!), but that kind of went by the wayside as we moved along. We knew we wanted an unobstructed load length of 7 feet, since we're planning to haul two dirt bikes. Once we reserved that space, we kind of built everything else to fit. The tall cabinet and the kitchen lowers are 21" deep. The uppers we kept kind of small so that they wouldn't encroach while cooking. They are only 12" tall. The cabinet doors haven't been started yet, but they will have aspen frames with birch plywood panels. The tall cabinet panel facing the rear is also birch plywood. We're planning two fold down beds, one on each side. We just started building those today, so that's going to take a little time.

We got our windows and the hatch for the AC from teardroptrailerparts.com: https://www.teardroptrailerparts.com/pricing.html
We went with the 14" x 21" windows. Because our studs are 16" on center, they fit right in. The AC hatch is on that same page - it's the WD19 Baggage Door. We had to cut a stud for that. We framed in 1" thick plywood using Kreg system and self-tapping screws into the steel framing studs. It turned out great, but you've got to make sure that the AC you get will fit in there. We went with the Frigidaire MiniCompact, and got it from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W2KG92Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We had to put the interior "decorative" frame around it, because the cargo hatch is made for 2" thick walls. It's funny that you asked if we considered putting the AC in the top compartment of the tall cabinet. Initially, that was our plan. However, we decided to move it to the other wall for a couple of reasons. We wanted the additional storage cabinet, and we wanted to be able to mount the tv on the rear-facing wall of the tall cabinet. It all worked out great.

We got the tongue-in-groove cedar on the ceiling came from Menards, and we were surprised and pleased by the quality of it.

The little LED ceiling lights came from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012ZOI3ZW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 We were pleased with those, too. They're very nice quality.

The shiplap we made out of 1/4" plywood, ripped into 6" widths. We went with carpet on the lower walls because we figured it would be unscuffable when hauling.

Since the trailer is only 6"x12", we didn't have the room for a bathroom. We're going with a porta-potty which we'll store in the floor level bottom section of the tall cabinet. We installed an outdoor shower from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004NBKNM2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Again, we were surprised by the nice quality of it. You can buy little pop-up shower tents, (who knew?!?), so we're planning to get one of those eventually. Not sure, but will probably buy this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AT3T0GC/?coliid=I1Q0JIV3MWYQ9E&colid=MUJUMY3Y9V10&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

The other utility hookups are all from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XLGRAG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002XLGSHS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E6N0XFI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Just today we put some NuWallpaper up on the kitchen backsplash so it will be easy to wash. It was surprisingly easy to work with.
It has adhesive already on the back, and you can reposition it, so it went up pretty easily. We also got the sink and cooktop installed. The countertop is aspen - Menards sells "MasterCraft" boards of various widths. We went with 24" wide for the counter, and had to do our own glue ups for the extra depth of the front V.


Also today the inverter came. We went with the TigerClaw 1500W. We'd seen an electrician on YouTube do a test/review of it, and he really liked it. He seemed VERY knowledgable, and really gave it a good test, so we felt confident buying it. Tonight we tested it - we were running the refrigerator and the tv, and we plugged in and ran an 1850 watt hair dryer just to see what would happen. It ran for about 30 seconds before it went into its safety shut-down mode. We also got an AGM battery. We're hoping to get by with just one, since they're kind of expensive. The PD4045 converter/charger made the high and low voltage wiring very easy. Just needed a terminal block for the grounds and a couple larger terminals for the heavy wires.


So, that's kind of where we are right now. We're happy to answer any questions you have. If you don't have a Kreg tool, I would recommend getting one. That thing has made everything so much easier!!

[McDave]

Backsplash and lighting look great. You have come a long way in a short time. Camping soon!
Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing.

McDave

[marosell]

Awesome! It really is looking great.

What depth are the cabinets, and what height did you set the counter top to?

[kirkupnorth]

Awesome! It really is looking great.

What depth are the cabinets, and what height did you set the counter top to?

The depth of the cabinets, including face frames, is 21". The countertop is at 36" high. Of course, in the "V", the cabinet depth is different -- ranges from about 10" on the side to about 30" at the deepest point of the "V".

[marosell]

For insulation along the studs, it looks like you have strips of insulation, is it something that came on a self-adhesive roll?

[kirkupnorth]

For insulation along the studs, it looks like you have strips of insulation, is it something that came on a self-adhesive roll?

If you're talking about the silver tape you see in places, that's just aluminum tape. We got that at our local farm and fleet supply store. We pretty much used it to keep wires in place, etc. The actual wall insulation between the studs is extruded polystyrene.

We got the cabinet doors finished and hung today, and the beds finished and hung tonight. I'm going to take some pictures tomorrow, (after a massive clean-up inside the camper!!). I'll get them posted sometime tomorrow.

[kirkupnorth]

Oh, boy, we're getting close!

It's been brutally hot and humid up here lately, and the forecast says it's going to continue for 4-5 more days. So, we put the AC unit in, and we've been working in comfort! You can see how it fits in that hatch we built earlier. It's working like a charm.



Over the past week we have finished up the plumbing, so now we've got hot and cold running water. Yay!! It was the first time we'd ever worked with Pex, and we really like it. It seems very easy to work with.



Initially we had planned to rescue a Suburban 6 gallon hot water heater out of our neighbor's wrecked camper. Once we got it out and got a look at it though, we realized it was in pretty tough shape. So, we decided to spend the money on a new tankless water heater. We went with a Camplux and installed it on the exterior, near the rest of the utilities.



We also got all of the cabinet doors completed, hardware installed, and doors installed. We're very pleased with how all of that turned out!



Today we ran to town to hit the farm and fleet store, (again!!), for the stuff to hook up the gas lines. Once it cools down a little bit we'll get that done. Other than that, we're just waiting on the mattress to be delivered. Once that's done, I think we'll be ready to hit the road.

You might remember from my first post that our truck got totalled on the way home from picking up the cargo trailer. Believe it or not, we're still waiting for the truck to be finished. The body shop we're using warned us that it would be a "back burner" project in order to keep costs down. They're hoping to have it done this coming week. It will really drive us nuts if the camper is ready to go, but the tow vehicle isn't!! Fingers crossed.....

[flboy]

Wow! That looks really nice! Well done. I like that look and glad to hear it is all working!

I like the way you decided to mount the AC. I did something very similar on my first CTC build in the ramp door. The fridge height puts everything at eye level!

[hankaye]

kirkupnorth, Howdy;

Can not argue with what flboy said, every word just right and in the correct order.

including the !!!

hank