Anxiety? Regrets?

[philpom]

As I get closer and closer to being 95% done I find myself thinking things like, "what if I made some horrible design choice and it falls apart down the road?" or "What if it leaks everywhere?" or any number of other "What if" scenarios. I am pretty confident in what I have put together but this is my first camper so who knows. I guess I'll find my answers out sooner than later.

Has anyone else had these kinds of thoughts as you neared completion? It's a pretty substantial investment in $$ and time. Does anyone have any major failures they care to share that might be a lesson for others to learn from? If I have made a lemon I'll probably have a huge bon fire! First true camp out is scheduled for February.

[MickinOz]

I do have moments of anxiety.
In particular with my first build.
Not with structural integrity of the timber bit that I built.
I fully expect a collision with a kangaroo, or the small deer we get around here, will see the poor animal come off second best.
I made damned sure very bit of timber I put in was screwed, glued, nailed, and/or stapled into contributing to the structure.
Some even suggested I was perhaps over doing it a teensy bit.
She's a battleship.

BUT, I do not like the flex in my chassis.
I've done a bit of research, and I am of the opinion that the drawbar is just that little bit too long, I swear I can see some harmonics developing.

The next one is far more solid in that regard.

The other thing I did wrong: I painted with oil based enamel paint. The forum, and other places, is awash with suggestions that these don't flex enough for protecting live wood.
But Hey, I know better!

A year or so down the track, a good sand and multiple coats of water based exterior grade acrylic house paint are looking attractive. The issue is where the curved section at the front is. I used the imported pine exterior grade structural plywood, soaking it in boiling water and glued and stapled it on. The pine veneers check pretty well when you do that. I put a fair but of the mix on it, then primed and painted. But the other day when I drove home in a full-on downpour at 60 mph, I managed to get some of that plywood wet, and I now have some splits marked, that I will need to sand and repaint.

I will do those with the original paint, but later on a coat or ten of acrylic waterbased paint is looking more and more likely.

[GTS225]

I suggest that those feelings occur in all endeavors we might persue. I know that I've gotten those butterlies when about to turn the key in old cars I've done engine swaps, or major engine work to. Fingers on the key, just before you twist it, and the thoughts start......Did I do this right?....Is that tight?..... did I put in oil?, and the list goes on. Not much left to do but turn the key, or in your case, hitch it up and pull.


Roger

[Onajourney]

Oh Geez, I have had plenty of anxiety during my build. The reason for most of it is with a build like mine and many is there is many points where there is no turning back. Meaning there are aspects of the build where you really can't fix it if you do it wrong like wiring after the walls are glued and screwed closed, missing blocking in the walls, screwing up mounting T nuts in wall for roof rack brackets, designing a stargazer that leaks, and on and on. I alleviated most of it to a manageable level by planning, planning, and more planning. Also mocking up every aspect of the build possible prior to the actual build. This has been the single most important thing I have done. Many mockups worked, some didn't. All were invaluable.

We are not building rocket ships but these builds are not a cute boxes on a trailer either. I have been building and designing stuff my whole life but this is the most complicated thing I have tackled. All in all, I think some level of anxiety is healthy and proves you care about making a quality build and don't want to waste the thousands it cost. I know folks that have no worries or anxiety with there projects and they typically turn out a piece of junk.

Regret realized yesterday- I don't want any fasteners or mounting brackets showing inside but missed blocking for the exterior propane tank. Oh and screwing up the Maxxfan by cleaning it with Acetone.

[twisted lines]

Might be why I am on #2 not #1

[Pmullen503]

When designing/building anything I find it helps to imagine the finished project in as much detail as possible and essentially build it in reverse. Imagine every step in reverse order to make sure that what's needed is there; blocking, brackets, waterproofing etc.

The biggest regret is always "I should or shouldn't have done that before I got to this stage". Also, I assume I am going to make these kind of mistakes (or decide to change something mid build) so I try to build in opportunities to change/fix things later on.

[working on it]

...I made damned sure very bit of timber I put in was screwed, glued, nailed, and/or stapled into contributing to the structure.
Some even suggested I was perhaps over doing it a teensy bit.
She's a battleship.

BUT, I do not like the flex in my chassis.
I've done a bit of research, and I am of the opinion that the drawbar is just that little bit too long, I swear I can see some harmonics developing...

The other thing I did wrong: I painted with oil based enamel paint. The forum, and other places, is awash with suggestions that these don't flex enough for protecting live wood.
But Hey, I know better!
....

* I also made sure that mine was structurally solid, using steel hardware and bolts to secure all panels, with a double-dose of PL adhesive between all interfaces, then as seam-sealer on the inside & outside of every joint (no structural panel was screwed together). All panels were 3/4" plywood (with additional 1/2" x 3" oak boards as inner bracing around doors, windows, & the A/C in the rear wall. More PL adhesive, plus some Spax screws held them in place. My cabin is so solid, that it's probably the heaviest 4x8 around.

* The frame I started with was smaller and lighter than even a Harbor Freight trailer, but it was elongated and firmed-up with 1.5" x 2.5" rectangular tubing, and the original tongue was replaced with a 6' long, .188" thick piece of 3" square tube, connected to three crossmembers, and with a sistered spine running full length...no flex afterwards. Only 42" of the tongue projects forward from the front wall, and I wish it had been about 18" longer, after the fact. In addition, when upgrading the axle later, to a 3500 lb unit, I used 30 inches of 1/4" thick 2" angle, and 3/16" thick plate to box in the original frame, for the new suspension. Solid like a rock.

* I find nothing wrong with oil-based enamel paint; that's what my trailer is primarily covered with, Tractor Supply Co. (Valspar) Tractor and Implement Enamel (in Massey-Ferguson Grey). It also contains urethane and alkyd. resins, with added to its' long-lasting durability (10 years, so far, since painting). The roof, front slope, and hatch exterior (and the interior) were coated with nearly as durable TSC (Valspar) Heavy-Duty Aluminum paint, also an oil-based enamel? with alkyd. resins, but without the urethane. It reflects heat well, but needed retouching a few years back.

* The reason they've lasted so well without cracking or peeling is the fact that they adhered perfectly to the plywood, which was fully-coated with several layers of the famous polyurethane/paint thinner "mix". I used pre-sanded ACX plywood, and didn't sand between any coats of poly or paint. The poly coats were left to dry for a week before the paint went on, and all coats were done in very hot weather, in direct sun (so they shouldn't have been so good, as the conditions were completely wrong for application). I store my trailer in a garage, so that has helped the durability, but I never expected the paint to last so long (back-up plan to overcoat it with Monstaliner or Durabak wasn't needed).

* I fully expected to move on from this trailer, and build a second one, but didn't need to, nor want to, and just modified it to suit my needs as I went... cheaper, too.

[MickinOz]

I believe my issue with enamel paint, which is confined to a small area onnthe curved front, stems from not trying hard enough with the mix. Should have put more thinner coats on, and really encapsulated the curved plywood in plastic. Then, the paint is merely there to protect the mix from the sun.
But its a relatively minor issue, which will be addressed shortly. Starting with a touch up of the enamel, and see how that fares
I note the hatch cover has no issues. Larger radius curve = less checking, plus it wasn't being bombarded head on by 60mph heavy rain for an hour or so.

[tony.latham]

Anxiety? Aniety???

Try writing a how-to-build-a-teardrop book and wondering (over and over), "can someone understand this?"



Tony

[pchast]

I took pictures of the wiring and blocking before closing things.
I should have also, maybe, made measurements.......

[Onajourney]

I took pictures of the wiring and blocking before closing things.
I should have also, maybe, made measurements.......

Yup, I took pictures of all the walls with a tape measure held up before I closed up the walls and have a dimensioned drawing for record.

[philpom]

I took pictures of the wiring and blocking before closing things.
I should have also, maybe, made measurements.......

Excellent advice, I made a drawing and noted measurements for all hidden spars and supports for future upgrades, repairs etc. In my design 100% of the wiring is accessible.

[eLink]

Anxiety and overthinking is why my project has gone unfinished for so long!
Latest regret is not taping off aluminum sheeting before cutting and routing. That stuff scratches a lot easier than I expected!