My 5X8 camper purchase that turned into a total rebuild...

[cfiiman]

Thanks guys. Another little update. Got the windows and doors back in and then started the AC "hack" design. I'm bummed a little though because of all the scratches all over her. She turned out better than I could have dreamed, it looks like a baby Airstream hahaha. The problem is every sheet of aluminum I purchased didn't come with the protective film, I couldn't find that stuff anywhere. No matter how careful I was I scratched it here and there while working (routing, trimming, etc.). And the roof piece came scratched b/c the company I bought it from cut it with a saw and left the shards on it while they rolled it up I thought about calling and complaining but then thought it wouldn't do any good. My plan is to polishing it to a mirror finish with all the grits of sandpaper and compounding and then I doubt they will show/matter. Maybe there is some freedom in knowing I don't have to worry about scratching it now. Anyhow, here are the pics from today's progress:

[Mr. Lahey]

x3 on the amazing look!!

My favorite pic to your build was the one with the two sticks of edge trim pointing straight up. The rear shot looks like it's some kind of metallic alien bug with huge antenna landed in your driveway.

[cfiiman]

x3 on the amazing look!!

My favorite pic to your build was the one with the two sticks of edge trim pointing straight up. The rear shot looks like it's some kind of metallic alien bug with huge antenna landed in your driveway.

In a Rander's voice, "Thanks Mr. Lahey" TPB Forever!

Here is a pic of the final testing of the window ac unit hack that I found on this forum (thanks to whomever did that!!!). The system works perfect, cools the camper much like a home HVAC system instead of all the noise and instant freeze out of a window unit inside! I'm planning on painting the shroud black for final installation and am in the process of modifying an abs dust collector manifold off a table saw for the evap return air box (currently just have it pointing at the thermocouple on the evaporator). I used similar 4.5" black deck plates for access to the cabin which makes for a nice watertight seal and clean install aesthetics when trailering. This really is the perfect solution IMO. Total cost since I already had an old 5000btu ac unit in a closet, was about 50 bucks for the deck plates, hoses, and dust collector port!:

[lincolnlerner]

Waiting to see the cover and the dust collector/manifold. An Idea that I have thought of for window ac applies doubly for teardrops.

Put air filters around the intake for the exhaust fan! Yes the intake for the exhaust. that would be the sides and top vent for the outside area. The fan blows straight out the back to exhaust the heat in the rear "radiator". Even on home units this is a good idea. The dirt blown into the inside of the unit is a limiting force. If people did this simple mod...

In many cases teardrops are closer to dirt and bugs. Certainly easier than replacing too....

[cfiiman]

Waiting to see the cover and the dust collector/manifold. An Idea that I have thought of for window ac applies doubly for teardrops.

Put air filters around the intake for the exhaust fan! Yes the intake for the exhaust. that would be the sides and top vent for the outside area. The fan blows straight out the back to exhaust the heat in the rear "radiator". Even on home units this is a good idea. The dirt blown into the inside of the unit is a limiting force. If people did this simple mod...

In many cases teardrops are closer to dirt and bugs. Certainly easier than replacing too....

I'll make sure to take some pics and post when I'm done with the modification. I mocked it all up tonight and it looks fantastic and works perfect. Tomorrow I should get some time to hopefully get everything attached/painted I'm hoping.

[cfiiman]

Small update, finished the AC hack. I painted the whole AC unit gloss black to match the trailer area it will sit on, should blend right in:



Next I wanted to play with some polishing techniques to see how I want to "finish" the trailer's aluminum which is currently just the mill finish. You can see the windex bottle reflection is in the "mill finish" and the Griot's bottle is reflected in the "polished" section. I accomplished this with just a few sanding grits by hand followed by an auto polisher and compound, very "mirror-like". Does anyone know if this would need to be clear coated to avoid tarnishing the metal? I have a test piece sitting outside currently, been in the hot sun and rain everyday for a week, wiped off and looked great so just wondering:



Also decided I wanted a Magma grill mounted on the back! Found a new one that was missing the regulator and had a no mount for real cheap on CL. A trip to the hardware store and I was in business Also testing the placement of my little Honda Genny:

[ojgrsoi]

Sweeet!!

[lincolnlerner]

Great Work! Let us know how well the AC works in the heat. Great job with the shrouds! I see you routed the blower fan up. Airflow should be pretty good. Hope the "pull" from inside is even stronger now. Really appreciate the work and the pics.

The evaporator filter is standard but I would think about putting high-flow filters on the condenser inlets top sides.

Fantastic!
thanks

[cfiiman]

So just wanted to update a few things on my build for anyone following along. First I wish I would have went with a better adhesive/sealant (like 3M 4000, 4200, 5200, PL Marine, etc.) because the DAP marine sealant that I "guinea pig'd" on was terrible. It reminded me of doughnut jelly. After several days I could easily unscrew any of the screws in the trim, it wasn't even as strong as regular old caulk in my opinion. Maybe I got a bad tube but this stuff is terrible. Just wanted to throw that out there for anyone considering this stuff. Here is a pic where I applied it with a syringe, and while it was crystal clear, that was the only positive:



Knowing that I had an issue on my hands I spent about 8 hours removing all of the 150 or so stainless screws and trashing them because of this junk . I got the next size up stainless screw, scraped everything off, and reinstalled all the screws with PL Marine Adhesive/Sealant. One step forward, two steps back it seems like sometimes. After that I turned my attention to wheels. I decided to go with Moon Eyes chrome smoothie hubcaps and for that I needed black wheels, so I refinished them:





The hubcaps should be here today so I'm excited about that. Also ordered some lighter, aluminum smooth fenders to replace the heavy steel ones that originally came with the trailer. I think that will give it that "Vestibule" look that I think is so nice.

[cfiiman]

My full Moon hubcaps showed up from Hubcap Mike's in CA today! Can't recommend them enough if you are looking for hubcaps. One of the hubcaps had a small blemish and they shipped me another right out. Couldn't resist popping one on and taking a pic: