The Coddiwompler

[swoody126]

just an image to dream about

53526731_10156782434363382_1466216145961877504_n.jpg (53.95 KiB) Viewed 4440 times

[eLink]

Yep!
I'm hoping this camper will give some purpose to my normally aimless wandering.

[swoody126]

:thumbsup: Yep!
I'm hoping this camper will give some purpose to my normally aimless wandering.

might that be comfort and security ?

[eLink]

Being busy at work is a good thing. But it means less time for this fun stuff.
Rear skirt installed with round-y tail supports.
Bolt-head recesses have been drilled with a 1" dia. forstner bit. (really impressive tool, thanks forum!)
1/8" thick Cross-member spacer strips glued down and held with finish nails.

I thought I would try out the spar urethane "mix" on the storage box... just to get a feel for it. Soaked right in! I'll give it another coat before painting the entire bottom side with fence post paint.

Always remember to clamp your mating pieces before screwing down pocket screws! This was a careless mistake that could have been fixed if I had noticed before the glue set. No biggie though, this will get covered by plywood skin.

[Graniterich]

Love me some clamps! Things move on me otherwise!

Sent from my Lenovo TB-8304F1 using Tapatalk

[eLink]

If I do end up installing a single table leg base in the footwell, it will require some backing. I added 1x boards, insulation and a sheet of 1/8 ply over the top.


Coated the entire underside with Black Beauty fence post paint.


After flipping the floor over I marked the bolt holes using dabs of white paint on the end of a bolt. I'm using 12 carriage bolts. Thought I was pretty clever and accurate, but a couple of the drilled holes were out of alignment. Will need to do some extra routing to get the bolts to drop in.

[eLink]

Thankfully, I have been able to work from home during the epidemic. But I still cannot seem to find enough time to work on my camper.
I had intended to get it inspected at DMV as a stock flatbed trailer. But since that office is closed indefinitely, I will just build it and take my chances once it's done.
Went ahead slid the springs back 6", flipped the axle and checked the fit for the new 15" wheels. Interesting to note that the bed height ends up about the same as stock.

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What is the consensus for keeping the stock M10 U-bolts for the underslung axle? I noticed that some people are beefing them up.

I discovered this back when I was assembling the frame...Always measure twice, or three times...

Axle.jpg (114 KiB) Viewed 3636 times

Since the frame width had been reduced by 2", I figured I would simply drill new center-bolt holes 1" inboard on each side. Turns out that the stock locations were off-center by almost 1/2 inch! So I had to grind one of the holes a little wider.

[eLink]

I repurposed the last cross-rail from the kit to support the stabilizer jacks. I don't know if they will be useful once I'm actually camping, but they should keep things sturdy while I'm building.


I didn't believe that carriage bolts would strip out of their holes... I was wrong. The first one I tried started spinning before I even got close to tightening it! Had to widen each counter-sunk hole to accommodate a torque washer, and this simple jig helped me do it quickly.


Now it's finally all bolted down!

[eLink]

Headboard and tongue storage box installed!

The headboard is the only thing that will get stain. It came out darker than I had imagined, but not bad. Everything else will be clear poly.


This bumble bee seemed attracted to the PL Premium. He did not go away for a long time, and would not respect social distancing!

[eLink]

I found out it's actually a California Carpenter Bee. That may be why it was interested in the fresh holes in the plywood.

[noseoil]

Looks like good progress, make haste carefully! Nice design on the parts & milling. Poco a poco...

[twisted lines]

Wish I had seen the underslung axle

Looking great:
Be Thankful it wasn't one of the local to you Murder Bees

[eLink]

I was having a hard time squaring up the headboard when I discovered a slight warp at one corner of the platform. Found a gap between the frame and platform where a bolt head did not fully fit within the countersunk hole.

It seems like such a small problem, but if I ignore it I suspect I will run into more problems later on. I hate the thought of unbolting everything, and jacking up the platform just to re-drill that one hole!

[KCStudly]

I realize that this was a while back, but Karl and I call this "Working like the Egyptians" (as in building the pyramids).

Peace out.

[eLink]

That's what I'm afraid of! Better to do it now I guess, while it's still light enough.