Vintage Inspired travel Trailer

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Turkey Treats! - THE LOOK
With Family in town, i was able to get some help working on the trailer around the Thanksgiving holiday. There were some major decisions made that will affect both the look and the location of the build.

Lets start with the LOOK.

For the interior, I have decided to focus on a "Birch and Walnut" theme for the wood. As we already have seen, the walls will be the prefinished birch. The ceiling, and the trim/accents will be walnut.
The ceiling is going to be 3/8" bendy ply and 3/8" plywood stained with a dark walnut stain. The TOP of center of the ceiling, the flat part, is going to have birch slats with actual walnut trim.
The birch slats are going to be cut from 3/4" prefinished birch panels (this time from the GOOD lumber yard) with edge banding to make it look like birch lumber.
The light color of the slats on the dark background of the walnut ply should work to help reduce echo and lighten up the space. I have a few ideas for lighting that will really be unique to this build, so stay tuned for that!
So with some help from my brother, we stained a total of 5, 4x8 panels. 3 bendy ply, and 3 standard ply.

All 5 panels stained

5 panels stained (Phone).png (363.76 KiB) Viewed 1945 times

The contrast looks great!

Loving the Contrast

contrast (Phone).png (292.87 KiB) Viewed 1945 times

We also finally mounted the wheel wells.

Wheel Well

wheelwell (Phone).png (321.02 KiB) Viewed 1945 times

Here is a link to a video from "Builders Blueprint" that was the inspiration for the slats. Jump to 10:36 to see what we have in mind!

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Turkey Treats - THE LOCATION
After much discussion, and some pumpkin pie, there was a game day decision made as to where the project would live for the winter.
When reviewing my work and personal calendars, it was clear that if the project stayed at home, I would NOT be able to work on it between Thanksgiving and February. That is NOT good for my deadline.
For the Christmas holidays, we are going to be up at my folks house, and they have a HUGE heated shop. That seems like a GREAT place to make some progress. So we gave the project the IKEA treatment, and flat packed it up, walls, ceiling panels, furniture, and all, and made the trip north for the winter.

Road worthy... ish

Go North (Phone) (1).png (182.36 KiB) Viewed 1943 times

Parting is such sweet... yea...

Until we meet again (Phone).png (411.13 KiB) Viewed 1943 times

At this point, the frame is only 20 yards from where it sat for 20 years... so... back to where it all began I guess!

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Holiday Magic

Stay tuned for a major update! I had the chance to spend a few DAYS working with my dad and brother on the camper build over the holidays!
I am working on the content and will post an update shortly, but here is a teaser of the progress we made!

It looks like a camper now

holiday teaser (Phone).png (256.13 KiB) Viewed 1942 times

Sadly, the next time i will get to work on the build is not likely be until late February, which, for those of you keeping track at home, is well past my deadline...

so... we may have a new deadline for the first campout...
Father's day is looking realistic!

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Holiday Progress! - PART 1
Every great journey, starts with the first step...
And over the extended holiday weekend, my first step was "de-winterizing" the build!

Over the Thanksgiving (2024) weekend, I moved the trailer NORTH back to Wisconsin. We wrapped it up pretty well, and parked it behind the shop in anticipation of the week long holiday break and build session planned for the Christmas holiday.
So after opening all my presents from Santa, it was time to unwrap the present from Past self and see how the trailer survived being parked out in the elements for a month of Wisconsin WInters.

Let's face it... it has not been a typical WI winter yet!

Wisconsin Winter (TNTT).png (452.91 KiB) Viewed 1870 times

Out of the cold, into the heated shop!

Into the shop (TNTT).png (323.33 KiB) Viewed 1870 times

I am happy to report, it survived!

It survived!

DRY (TNTT).png (194.57 KiB) Viewed 1870 times

The Plan over the next week is to permanently attach the walls, mount the rafters to the ceiling and mount the ceiling to the walls, all while trying to keep everything square and plumb.

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Holiday Progress! - PART 2
"Measure Twice... Cut Thrice"

After unpacking everything, the next step was to dry fit everything to make sure there wasn't any major warping or twisting with the move and prolonged storage.

We propped up both walls and clamped them in place with pipe clamps. We also added some ratchet straps to the walls to act as diagonal bracing. The straps are nice because you can fine tune the adjustment to make sure each of the walls is perfectly perpendicular to the frame before attaching them all together.

Taking Shape

Walls up (Dry FIt) (TNTT).png (239.55 KiB) Viewed 1868 times

We performed the dry fit for two main reasons:
1: Because we wanted to take measurements to make sure we had enough paneling stained and prepped for the ceiling.
2: Because we were really excited to see what it was going to look like!


Finally, we clamped the first piece of bendy plywood in place to see how the back curve came together. This step also highlighted the need for a final "curb" on the back of the build to ensure any stray coolers or gear would not shoot out the back of the camper when I took off from a red light! This curb also provided some extra "Meat" on the back of the camper to attach the bendy wood to.

The curb will fill this gap

Rear Curve Dry fit (TNTT).png (205.76 KiB) Viewed 1868 times

I didn't get a good picture of the curb when we were installing it... but I will point it out later in the build journal.

This is the first time we have seen the final shape in person! Nice to see plans coming together!

First look at the final shape

Rear Curve Dry Fit 2 (TNTT).png (245.11 KiB) Viewed 1868 times

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Holiday Progress! - Part 3
Stick 'em with the... sticky end!

Once we were happy that everything was going to fit up nicely, we glued all the rafters to the stained panels.
Each of the 3/8" panels was 48" long by 80" wide. The final width will be 79" but we gave ourselves an extra inch, just to make sure everything lined up. We used a trim router to take the extra inch off once each panel was attached.

Just using what ever we could find for weight.

The Glue up (TNTT).png (288.64 KiB) Viewed 1860 times

Each rafter is cut from a 2x4. We resawed and planed them down to 1" thick, and kept them at 3.5" wide. Each rafter was cut to 80" and glued (TB3) to the ceiling without using any mechanical fasteners. Most of the panels (Especially the bendy ply panels) are going to be fully visible, and I did not want to fall asleep listening to crickets and counting nail holes.

Standard Ply on the LEFT, Bendy on the Right.

Bendy vs Std (TNTT).png (299.82 KiB) Viewed 1860 times

There is a significant difference in color and grain pattern between the bendy ply and the standard plywood. Each had 2 coats of Minwax Walnut stain...
I AM very happy with how the bendy ply took the stain and looked once the stain dried.
So much easier then trying to kerf cut ply to get it to bend to match the curves.
My local lumber yard had 3/8" bending ply in both 4x8 (8' tall tube) and 8x4 (4' tall tube) bend directions for $65ea. There was an 1/8" option for each available at $55ea, but I figured the 3/8" would give me some extra strength and snow load capabilities, and for only $10 more, it was worth it.

Updated interior, showing the slat ceiling concept.

Updated Interior Layout (TNTT).png (62.81 KiB) Viewed 1860 times

I am not to worried about the darker stain on the standard ply, as most of this will be hidden behind the slats for the ceiling.

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Holiday Progress - Part 4
Quit screwing around!

Using the 3-4-5 rule, we checked each of the corners of the camper to make sure the walls were square to the frame.
We made a mark on curb, 3' from the wall, towards the center of the camper.
Then we made a mark 4' back from the corner where the wall meets the frame.
If everything is square, the distance between these marks should be 5'.

3-4-5 Rule to ensure walls are square.

3-4-5 rule (TNTT).png (334.43 KiB) Viewed 1811 times

We used a 6' long level to make sure the walls were not bowed and mounted perfectly perpendicular to the frame.

The project foreman double checked all our work.

The boss checking in!

The Boss (TNTT).png (313.88 KiB) Viewed 1811 times

Once we were happy everything was square and true, we drilled 10 x 3/8" holes for 5 1/5" carriage bolts. The walls were glued to the frame before the carriage bolts were tightened.
In a few spots, we threw some extra 3 1/2" construction screws in for good measure. (Specifically around the door frame to ensure a solid foundation for the door.)

Bolts in place.

Bolted down and Ready (TNTT).png (261.61 KiB) Viewed 1811 times

There were a few KEY points we had to remember when installing the carriage bolts:
1.) The aluminum sides will wrap around the bottom edge 7/16" or more, so we had to ensure the heads were drawn all the way into the wood.
2.) The Luggage doors sit on the bottom plate, so we inverted those bolts (light blue arrow), and counter sunk the nuts into the bottom support rail, as there was more meat there to hog out and hide the hardware. (3" of material vs 1.5")
3.) We used Nylon nuts and washers to sinch everything tight... there may have even been some over squeeze on the PL3X construction adhesive that made its way on to the threads to hold it all snug.

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Holiday Progress - Part 5
An extra set of hands...

It was finally time to get the ceiling installed!
Before installing the ceiling, we installed some welting at the seam where the wall meets the ceiling. This is a quick and easy way to trim this transition, and I am very happy with the results!

This is the welting I used:
Vintage Trailer Supply - Round Cabinet Welt

We mounted some cleats to the bottom back edge of the frame to support the first piece of bendy ply.

Note the cleats used to hold the bottom edge of the first piece.

cleats (TNTT).png (318.69 KiB) Viewed 1806 times

It was crucial that we got this piece square, as the seam would be in FULL DISPLAY inside the camper. (It is one of only two seams between panels that will be visible, all other seams will be hidden!) As you may recall, we cut the ceiling panels 1" wider then the final dimension. We lined up the factory edge to our square wall.

We started by using some 3/4" staples to staple the bottom edge to the frame. From there, we had one person pushing the bendy ply flat, and one person running the stapler, and slowly worked up the "flush side" to the first rafter.
Then we used some 2" construction screws to tie the rafter into the walls. We repeated the process until we had the whole panel installed.

First 2 panels installed. (from the outside)

2 panels in 3 to go (TNTT).png (252.16 KiB) Viewed 1806 times

The "top" rafter was only half glued to the ceiling panel. We left the other half of the rafter exposed, to tuck the next panel into as we worked up and around the curve of the camper. This is where the third set of hands came in handy. We applied glue to the rafter before installing the next panel, then pushed from the inside to make sure the panel adhered to the rafter. We threw a few 1" finishing nails in for good measure. (they will be hidden with trim!) We made sure to apply some painters tape to the bottom of the seam, just in case there was any dripping!

First 2 panels installed. (from the inside, note the welt)

first 2 in (TNTT).png (281.73 KiB) Viewed 1806 times

I didn't take many pictures of this process, but there is a hyper lapse video that I may get around to posting some day.

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Holiday Progress - Part 6
All hands on deck!

Maybe we are slow, maybe we over analyze every step, maybe we just want to do it once... but it took us a while to get the ceiling done. 2 days to mount 4 panels to be exact.
Ok... that is not totally fair... it was like 8 hours total, over two days. AND we had to design some fancy "H" frames to support the fan and make up for being 16" short of having enough panel to cover the whole roof!
But, I am VERY happy with the results.

The bendy ply looks GREAT installed.

Door looking rear towards Queen Bed (TNTT).png (255.31 KiB) Viewed 1805 times

The welt really looks great between the Birch and Walnut panels.

We have all but the final front panel mounted, including all the rafters to mount the MaxxFan Deluxe.
IF you look closely, you can see the middle section that filled the 16" gap we had. Part of that will be cut out in the spring to mount the fan. The seams will ultimately be hidden by the slat ceiling and framing for the fan.

Look Close, can you see the seams?

Door looking front toward bunks (TNTT).png (297.31 KiB) Viewed 1805 times

You can see the yellow strap that we added to make sure the rafters were snug to the panels while the glue was setting.

Final glue up!

Yup that aint going anywhere (TNTT).png (227.61 KiB) Viewed 1805 times

At this point, I want to make sure to thank my dad and my brother for helping out! Could NOT have done this alone!

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Holiday Progress - Part 7
I thought I was DONE wrapping presents!

Full disclosure, these steps are NOT necessary if you have a shop you can keep your build in 24/7.

We spent some time today prepping the trailer for its next hibernation.
The guys at the lumber yard were pretty adamant that any bendy ply that will be stored outside should be protected. So we threw some white primer/sealer on the bendy ply, including all the edges.

All bendy ply was primed before storage.

Primed (TNTT).png (229.1 KiB) Viewed 1798 times

I even threw some on the end grain of the rafters as well... why not!

End grain sealed.

end grain covered (TNTT).png (181.19 KiB) Viewed 1798 times

Finally, we wrapped it all up in some Vis Queen and got it ready to move back outside for a few weeks.

This better work!

Visqueen queen (TNTT).png (264.06 KiB) Viewed 1798 times

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Holiday Progress! - Part 8
All good things must come to an end. (final update for now!)

When measured floor to top of rafters, the trailer is 97.5" tall. For those of you keeping score at home, the shop garage door is only an 8' door... so... I'm 1.5" to tall!
Luckily my previous camping trailer also used 4 on 4 rims, but had much smaller wheels, so we swapped out my 12" rims for some 8.5" rims, and found the 1.5" of clearance we needed to squeeze the trailer out the back of the shop!

It has already dropped out onto the gravel, but it was a tight fit!

Tight Fit (TNTT).png (219.44 KiB) Viewed 1797 times

My dad knocked up a truss frame to set on top of the camper for winter storage. The idea here is that there is enough pitch to this frame to keep the snow from accumulating on the top of the trailer before we can complete the internal structure that will ultimately allow for the snow load. Let's hope it works!

All tucked in for winter hibernation.

Good Night Sleeping Beauty (TNTT).png (299.83 KiB) Viewed 1797 times

Future plans:
Given my current life/work schedule, it looks like the next time I am going to have ANY time to spend on this build is mid to late February, so it may be a while before the next update.
My goal for my next visit is:
1.) Finish Ceiling
2.) Install all electrical that is IN the walls. (tail lights, clearance lights, ceiling fan, etc.)
3.) Install some of the internal walls to finalize the core structure of the trailer.

Stay warm, and stay tuned! (And thanks for reading!)

[S. Heisley]

Good job! Wishing you gentle snow storms.

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Sneak Peek!

After much to-do... with little to do while my build is hibernating... I have finally released my first video of my build... more of a sneak peek really.


I have grand plans for a multi-episode video series covering the process and the build. If you have been following my build here, there will be few surprises in the video.

Stay tuned for more!
*Edit: Link Fixed!