Snuzie Cube

[crxtech]

but $137 for a 5'x10'x3/4" sheet seems pretty steep to me.

The cheapest I could find 5'x10'x3/4" birch was $199 in MD, which is why I bought 5x5 sheets and did lap joints and that still was $63 for a 5x5. Covid prices are so high here.

[Felix_Esq]

Picked up a load of radiata pine for roof spars and floor framing. Knot free and pretty dang straight. Costs a pretty penny though and I bet I'll need more. I don't think covid affected the pricing a whole bunch (maybe 10-15% more than normal) for this premium grade stuff.

. . .

I checked with a local place but they could only source half of what I was looking for at near $30 a sheet more.. Probably a better product anyway (baltic burch vs acx)... but $137 for a 5'x10'x3/4" sheet seems pretty steep to me.

About 6 weeks ago I bought enough 3/4 ply to barely finish my galley. At the end of building it out, I stupidly made a long cut barely (1/2") too narrow, thus spoiling my last long sheet of plywood. I had to make a trip back to the lumber yard. . . where I found that the price per sheet had gone up somewhere over 20%. Of course, around where I live there's a building boom going on, so I figure all that extra demand is messing with the price.

Also, I wish I knew how to weld like you. I am floundering around in the shallow end of the pool with water wings on, compared to the welds I see on your trailer frame!

Can't wait to see the frame go up.

[DrewsBrews]

Yeah I suppose this area is inexpensive compared to many other areas. Though average wages are probably proportionally low too. so average buying power probably stays about the same.

[DrewsBrews]

About 6 weeks ago I bought enough 3/4 ply to barely finish my galley. At the end of building it out, I stupidly made a long cut barely (1/2") too narrow, thus spoiling my last long sheet of plywood. I had to make a trip back to the lumber yard. . . where I found that the price per sheet had gone up somewhere over 20%. Of course, around where I live there's a building boom going on, so I figure all that extra demand is messing with the price.

Also, I wish I knew how to weld like you. I am floundering around in the shallow end of the pool with water wings on, compared to the welds I see on your trailer frame!

Can't wait to see the frame go up.

I mix up numbers in my head when going from measurement to marking all the time. I need to come up with a system that I can force myself to stick to.

Thanks for the complements on the welds! I figured my work would get all the laughs from the real welders, but the only way to really learn is to lay down some beads.

[DrewsBrews]

Im pretty sick of all the metal fab by this point. I feel all the cutting and grinding is pretty obnoxious. Ready to give my neighbors a break... Somewhat urban where I live so everyone is pretty close.
Not to mention the molten balls of steel flying around that find all the gaps in whatever protective clothing you have during welding (probably due to rosin core). One found its way through my shoe and literally cooked a spot on the top of my foot.

I came up with a satisfactory solution to mounting the fenders solidly with the leftover cutoff material I had; so I cut those pieces during the week for another push to get things done this weekend. Rainy and cold yesterday, not to mention recovering from a nasty stomach bug Friday. Today I cut and attached a bunch of spacers to try and get everything somewhat on the same plane for the floor (much to the amusement of my straight edge). Then constructed the fender mounts and attached them. Hopefully the only thing left to weld is the safety chain straps. I have the straps, just need to pick up the chains before I can do it.


(fender mockup for effect)

[DrewsBrews]

Welded up the chain straps on the tongue bars up underneath. Popped on the jack to make sure nothing was in the way of it's function. Just need to decide if Im drilling mounting holes for the floor and fenders now before paint. Thinking I should wait until I have the floor together.

[DrewsBrews]

Rain is putting a big damper on things. I picked up a "mobile garage" but I need to clear out some yard space so I can set it up.

[DrewsBrews]

Took down a rotting out play house and hauled it away. In its place went the mobile garage.

[DrewsBrews]

Did some prep on the frame for paint. Cleaned up the spots better where welding bubbled the paint to try and prevent them from harboring rust. Then hosed it all down with primer again. Once dry, I scuffed it all with scotch bright and flipped the frame over on sawhorses. Done sweating for now so paint will have to wait. Rain forecast all week

Unfortunately the humidity has probably moved in for the season. Not the greatest for the paint to cure properly. I suspect Ill need to do a refresh coat in a year or two anyway.

[DrewsBrews]

Weather forecast shows a perfect couple days for paint. First coat was this evening. Then flip and second coat tomorrow.

Now I remember why I told myself id never spray oil based stuff. Ugh. Its fast and lays a nice coat but cleanup is the worst. Tomorrow should be a bit cooler so I think ill sacrifice a pair of pants and long sleeve shirt so I dont have to use so much paint thinner on the skin.

[DrewsBrews]

Frame paint done



Built out some of the floor today.













The top plywood is 1/2" BCX (what I could find in 5x8'). The front, back and the divider wall location was allowed a gap for 2x2" to fit as a bottom plate for each wall. I went a bit "against the grain" and installed ribs front to back... Creating a sort of mesh that is supported at all the frame cross brace points. The 3/4" ply side wall will rest on top of the wood at the edge, using the 1/2" floor ply edge as a bit of a fillet support. The walls will hang out past the frame edge 3/4" (as can be seen in the last photo) in order to try and create a drip edge and give true 60" width inside. I do have some slight concerns for the strength along the grain of the wood supporting the side walls, but I deliberately extended the front and back pieces out to the side edge to give some perpendicular grain at those stress points.

I plan to install some extruded foam in the gaps between the ribs. However, I had thought to install some 1/4"ply under that to create a sandwich. I figured that would boost the strength especially where it is cantilevered past the frame at the front corners and support the wood all around the perimeter where it is supporting the walls past the frame. Then I planned to seal with the mix and pmf to cover the bottom (whole trailer will be PMF to create a whole cohesive shell).

However I'm wondering if I can get away with just PMF over the bare ribs and foam, omitting the 1/4" bottom plywood.. I'd still seal first, then install the foam (the mix would probably melt it otherwise).

I guess my biggest strength concern is the doorway.. The door has an aluminum sill meant to sit at floor level and it is very wide overall (43") so Im planning to push it as far forward as possible. So it will have only the floor to support the opening where it cantilevers past the frame. Hence stressing over whether or not to add the 1/4" ply under the floor to create a stronger sandwich structure. But if I can omit that It would probably be ~30lb weight savings.. Id bet this floor is ~100lb already judging by how much huffing and puffing it took for me to get it over to and on top of the frame.

So I intentionally stopped work here to get some input. Any thoughts?

[pchast]

A bottom skin would increase some strength.
It could be 1/8 inch.

[DrewsBrews]

A bottom skin would increase some strength.
It could be 1/8 inch.

I checked with a local supplier. They don't have 1/8"

So its either 1/4" or no

[MickinOz]

I say put in the 1/4" underside. Plenty water proof glue and staples/nails.
I believe it will be strong enough if you didn't do it, but using some exterior grade pine ply would see the thing rock solid for a very little extra weight.
I bet you can trim a few pounds somewhere else to compensate.

[DrewsBrews]

Allright so 1/4" it is.

I added in some nailer blocks where the 1/4" would butt up, then installed the foam.



I bit the bullet and purchased a tongue box. These plastic ones are a nice combo of low cost, large volume (6cu ft), and low weight (20lb). However, I dislike that the sides don't have the same angle as the standard 50deg A-frame tongue. They want you to screw in at the front and back of the box floor.. Meaning Id have to push it up probably 5-6"s away from the cabin for the front sides to cover the tongue bars enough to clear a screw with big fender washer. Im thinking of lining the bottom with 1/2" plywood, which would distribute the weight of anything in there.. Hopefully, in that case, Id be able to push the box back a bit (at least to the location in the photo). In the end I guess my tongue is longer, and thus wider, than the average they designed the box for



1/4" underside installed. Will be a nice smooth surface to PMF after sealing.